Regarding Romeo, I think IU fans expected more because of the hype. It didn't help him that iU fans are starved for a savior to take us back to the promised land. If Romeo had better players around him, his 16 points would have been acceptable, as they would any other freshman with that average. With the players not performing well as a team, fans didn't cut Romeo any slack, especially knowing it would be a one-and-done deal. IU fans are a surly bunch...have been since losing the consistency of Knight, the edge he had over other teams for so many of his years here.
Regarding Hartman, I like the kid and never had any complaints about him. I think he gave it his all. He was never expected to be a star, just a roll player, unlike Romeo.
I've always wondered if players read Peegs.com and/or Hoosier.com and how tough it must be to take, if they do. The same goes for their parents...how they must feel, knowing how much their kid has sacrificed all his life for this "moment". That said, it's not any different here than it is any place else of higher caliber basketball tradition. To think it is any worse at IU because Indiana fans are more knowledgeable about basketball is delusional. Basketball is not rocket scientists (sic). It's a recreational game, a battle of physical and mental talent designed to entertain us. For mere fans watching, it accelerates the flow of adrenaline...endorphins, if you will, which stimulates us to newer heights, much like the orgiastic rhythms experienced during a rainy night in Spring with the windows open.
The farther I get away from the coaching days of Bob Knight, the more I realize I just need to let the game unfold as it be, that whatever will be, will be. Why is this so very difficult? It must go back to childhood...my brother and I sitting on the living room floor with our folks behind us, watching the final years of Branch McCracken's 'Hurry'n Hoosiers". It was intense even back then. It must have been that adrenaline rush I enjoyed so much, that stimulation that elevated me above the more mundane existence of just growing up, the days before the nights filled with inklings of desire, unfulfilled.
~Mindless thoughts of 20 Spring Quarantine 20~
aka, The Daze of Lockdown