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 endsto 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
