And Then There Were Five...

Nobody had ever experienced something like this before, not here at least. There have been ups and downs before, but never so many of them so close together. For the five seniors who will take to Branch McCracken Court for the final time on Sunday, this has been the story of their lives for the past 4 years.

The story of how the Hoosiers reached historic lows is well known, the only argument being when exactly the decline started. Was it when Bob Knight was fired? Was the lazy and shortsighted decision to retain Mike Davis after a modestly successful interim season the catalyst? Was the even lazier and more shortsighted hiring of Kelvin Sampson to blame? Or was Sampson's departure the real beginning? Perhaps some would say the slow decline started years before any of this, with the inability of the Hoosiers to play beyond the first weekend of March Madness through most of the 1990's. Whatever your answer of choice is, most everyone can agree that the crescendo, or more appropriately, the decrescendo, came in the 2008-09 season, with a 6-25 record, the program's worst. Suffering through this nightmare of a season were players who had nothing to do with the demise of a proud program, but were asked to rebuild it.

Among the new names on the roster, and basically all the names were new, were Mike Santa, Kipp Schutz and Tijan Jobe. A team manager, a walk-on, and a project that never panned out. Including the walk-ons, there were 8 freshmen on that squad. Of those 8, five stuck around through the seemingly Sisyphean task, to become the elder statesmen on a top 25 team just 3 seasons later. Kory Barnett, Verdell Jones III, Daniel Moore, Tom Pritchard and Matt Roth have seen the lowest of the lows. No matter how far they take this ride into March, and hopefully early April, they can play their final home game knowing that they succeeded in their work.

As time passes, these five seniors may become mere footnotes in the illustrious history of IU basketball. One day they may be "what's his name" or "that one guy" or just a mere number on a jersey. I can only hope that despite the various records for futility that they were a part of, despite the sometimes empty stands that they played in front of and despite the snickers and barbs they received, especially the ones from IU fans, that they retain a special place in the history of IU basketball.

When the only other people who wanted anything to do with IU basketball were Tom Crean and the NCAA Infractions Committee, they were there. When their fellow players were leaving for greener/easier pastures, they were there. Close losses, blowout losses, Lipscomb, and Northeastern. They were there. Throughout all of this, they've helped develop the players that look to be leading IU even further in the right direction by showing them the ropes of playing in the Big Ten and of playing for the flagship athletic program of the state's flagship university. They've been model citizens off the floor, only showing up in the papers for positive things, earning degrees early, and moving on to graduate studies. Most of all, they've shown what commitment, perseverance and hard work can do. They've been what every program should hope for in a senior class.