Why not Indiana?

The hype started a week before it was known for sure that Cody Zeller and Christian Watford would return to IU for the 2012-13 season. Multiple major sports journalism outlets had the Hoosiers tabbed as the #1 team in the land, or at worst #2. There were still some loose recruiting ends
to tie up that could have changed the thoughts on the admittedly early top 25 rankings, but at least for the time being, IU was the team to beat. Almost immediately after Watford and Zeller’s announcements, the hype machine started again, with everyone reporting that this would almost assuredly make the Hoosiers one of the handful of teams with realistic dreams of cutting down the nets next April in Atlanta. Among the thoughts that were shared around this time, were comments from CBS Sports’ Jeff Goodman and Sports Illustrated’s Seth Davis. Goodman and Davis both were skeptical of IU early in the season, with Goodman seeming to come around to believing in them by the end of the season, but Davis was a well documented pessimist when it came to the Hoosiers. Both of these journalists wrote on Tuesday that IU’s billing as the top team in the NCAA was more of a statement about the sad state of college basketball than anything else. I can’t help but ask though, why not IU?

These media types are so fond of saying that they don’t root for teams, they root for stories. While I find it laughable that there could be nobody in the media with a hidden agenda, or a couple of favorites, let’s go with that rationale for now. The media should want the best story possible. What is better than the story of the IU Men’s Basketball program over the last half decade? Five years ago, this was a program on the rise, eagerly awaiting the arrival of heralded freshman Eric Gordon. Until it was revealed that Kelvin Sampson continued the behavior that put Oklahoma in the NCAA’s crosshairs, it looked like the program was on the rise again.
And then the thud.

We’ve just passed the fourth anniversary of the hiring of Tom Crean. To think how far this program has come since then is amazing. On April 11, 2008 fans were looking at a team made up of Kyle Taber and Brett Finklemeier. That’s it. Fans were worried about how we would field a starting lineup, not imagining the possibilities of starting lineup combinations. Over the next 3 seasons the teams combined for 28 wins overall and 8 wins in the Big Ten.
Last season, the team nearly matched that total.

The story is one of rebirth and reclamation. It’s a story of hard work and perseverance. It’s a story about a bunch of players and coaches who came to Indiana to build something special and didn’t leave for greener pastures when the going got tough. The aforementioned Jeff Goodman spent half the year texting and calling Purdue’s Robbie Hummel, writing countless words about his struggle through two ACL injuries. As much as I detest reading good things about Purdue, the Hummel story is what makes people sports fans. This story is no different.

True, the IU roster isn’t stocked top to bottom with NBA first rounders. It may not be a roster that “wows” anyone associated with major American professional basketball. But ask Michigan State about the guys on the roster. While you’re at it, ask Kentucky, Ohio State, Michigan, Purdue and VCU about them too. They’ll tell you that this is a legitimate roster of talented guys, each one bringing his own strengths to the table. Add the incoming highly touted freshmen, and it makes for a possibly special season. This isn’t even mentioning the fact that many of the state school’s best players will be from the state; the way it should be. The storylines are endless: How will IU react to being the hunted? How will the talented freshmen mix with the older players? Will Maurice Creek finally play a full season? How will players handle taking a backseat for the good of the team? Can a team be more than the sum of its parts? These are merely 5 of the myriad that are possible.

In a few hours, this argument could be moot. Kentucky’s checks may clear, and they may add yet another superstar mercenary or two to their cadre. The tale of players who have no business playing college basketball will have another chapter written, and nobody outside of the Commonwealth of Kentucky and Wildcat fans will enjoy seeing it unfold. Just like the Yankees, Patriots and Lakers; nobody likes to see the rich get richer in sports aside from the people with a vested interest in them. The Jeff Goodman’s and Seth Davis’ will have their new number one team, all will be right for them and they'll have a new story to write. Another story of all that is wrong with college sports. A story of players just waiting for the NBA Draft to come along and want to play on TV along the way. That story will be nowhere close to the one taking place a few hours north of Lexington, but they’ll try to make it that way.

P.S. - "Give me five" is back

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.