It is difficult to believe, but after a great run of success (1973 FF, 1975 season, 1976/81/87 NC, and even 1992 FF), IU has been to only one FF (2002 title game) and has generally been an easy-out in the NCAA tournament. More than 30 years since the last title, and I would never have thought that possible after Keith Smart’s winning shot. That fiery young coach from the east with midwestern roots really had the program going, but even his last several years were mostly disappointing.
What happened? Was IU just a quick flash-in-the-pan from 1973-87? Was the rest of college basketball just having “down” years? Did everyone else just “catch up” to IU? No doubt that “fiery young coach” became older and lost on the “Is he bigger than the university?” challenge. The fiasco that followed (players demanding to choose their own coach; hiring a known cheater; hiring a true “one-time-lucky-guy” who made only one FF due to, well, “blind squirrel” luck) finally dragged the program to a status that in 1987 was truly unthinkable—mediocre, middle-of-the-pack, "maybe" getting a bid to NCAAT. Just a year ago, after yet another disappointing season, IU was invited to NIT but turned down a home game. Wow, that was low.
This past season, a new coach—relatively young, midwestern roots, has some fire, emphasizes defense, uses bench for teaching. This might work. As is always the case on a coach firing/hiring, he gets in too late for recruiting and generally has to “recruit” existing players as well as incoming newbies. Cupboard is somewhat bare, but if all players play their average-to-best games (when does that ever happen?), IU will have a good season ahead.
Season starts with home blow-out losses to two in-state low-majors (they’re not really “mid-majors”). Surprisingly beat a good (at the time) ND squad in Indy. B1G season scheduling is weird, but normalcy remains as IU loses for the umpteenth time at Wisky (even though Wisky finishes a poor 11-17/7-11) and at Illinois (14-18/4-14). IU goes 0-7 against teams above it in final league standings. Blow out 65-43 win at bottom-feeder Rutgers, but less than a short-month later squanders an early 16-point lead and loses to Rutgers to open and close BTT.
Season over.
Each year I like to evaluate the past season and look ahead/forward to IU basketball resuming in the fall. Now, at age 61, not so much. Really, I was only 30 when IU won its fifth NC and was on top of the BB world. Thirty-one years later, we’re still at 5 banners but we can't even see the top of the BB world except when we play Duke, UNC, and maybe Mich St.
I remain hopeful that IU has found a solid, long-term coach. With former coach’s poor management, this year we lose 5 seniors (Priller, bench; Newkirk and McSwain, transfers; Hartman, turns 24 this summer; and Johnson). Not sure if we’ll lose any more. Juwan (another of Crean’s miracle- or just-dumb-luck recruits) is our centerpiece, but will he return? Our only big man played just15 games, averaged 4.3 rebs, and will be coming off Achilles surgery; I don’t think I even saw him on the bench last night, so will he be back? Our only other returning player listed taller than 6-8 played only 43 minutes in 9 games, shooting 3-12 and looked like a deer in headlights, but was that due to him playing with the mop-squad or is he just a project? Looks like we’ll find out. Team did reduce its TOs and seemed to respond at least a bit to bench therapy for mistakes, a real positive going forward. And, I liked Juwan’s answer at the post-game press conference about IU’s lack of scoring when he said it was that they couldn’t get enough stops on D. Hopefully that is his and the team’s mindset as it is hard to change the “emph-O-sis” under Crean.
Will Romeo choose IU? My rose-colored glasses say he should, but then he’ll only be in college hoops for one year, and I have no idea what his goal for that year is (I assume it has a lot to do with him getting as high in the NBA draft as possible). Maybe that’s not what IU needs long-term, but no doubt he’d be a shot-in-the-arm (like EG). Depending on what happens with Romeo, IU still has 1 or 2 open scholarships but no post-players on the horizon, so I’m not sure what the thinking is on that point.
I’d like to see 20 wins next season. I’ve not looked at any potential schedules, but for B1G I would like to see a top-4 finish. I’m probably too optimistic.
Would like to know how others view the season as a whole and where IU goes next season.
What happened? Was IU just a quick flash-in-the-pan from 1973-87? Was the rest of college basketball just having “down” years? Did everyone else just “catch up” to IU? No doubt that “fiery young coach” became older and lost on the “Is he bigger than the university?” challenge. The fiasco that followed (players demanding to choose their own coach; hiring a known cheater; hiring a true “one-time-lucky-guy” who made only one FF due to, well, “blind squirrel” luck) finally dragged the program to a status that in 1987 was truly unthinkable—mediocre, middle-of-the-pack, "maybe" getting a bid to NCAAT. Just a year ago, after yet another disappointing season, IU was invited to NIT but turned down a home game. Wow, that was low.
This past season, a new coach—relatively young, midwestern roots, has some fire, emphasizes defense, uses bench for teaching. This might work. As is always the case on a coach firing/hiring, he gets in too late for recruiting and generally has to “recruit” existing players as well as incoming newbies. Cupboard is somewhat bare, but if all players play their average-to-best games (when does that ever happen?), IU will have a good season ahead.
Season starts with home blow-out losses to two in-state low-majors (they’re not really “mid-majors”). Surprisingly beat a good (at the time) ND squad in Indy. B1G season scheduling is weird, but normalcy remains as IU loses for the umpteenth time at Wisky (even though Wisky finishes a poor 11-17/7-11) and at Illinois (14-18/4-14). IU goes 0-7 against teams above it in final league standings. Blow out 65-43 win at bottom-feeder Rutgers, but less than a short-month later squanders an early 16-point lead and loses to Rutgers to open and close BTT.
Season over.
Each year I like to evaluate the past season and look ahead/forward to IU basketball resuming in the fall. Now, at age 61, not so much. Really, I was only 30 when IU won its fifth NC and was on top of the BB world. Thirty-one years later, we’re still at 5 banners but we can't even see the top of the BB world except when we play Duke, UNC, and maybe Mich St.
I remain hopeful that IU has found a solid, long-term coach. With former coach’s poor management, this year we lose 5 seniors (Priller, bench; Newkirk and McSwain, transfers; Hartman, turns 24 this summer; and Johnson). Not sure if we’ll lose any more. Juwan (another of Crean’s miracle- or just-dumb-luck recruits) is our centerpiece, but will he return? Our only big man played just15 games, averaged 4.3 rebs, and will be coming off Achilles surgery; I don’t think I even saw him on the bench last night, so will he be back? Our only other returning player listed taller than 6-8 played only 43 minutes in 9 games, shooting 3-12 and looked like a deer in headlights, but was that due to him playing with the mop-squad or is he just a project? Looks like we’ll find out. Team did reduce its TOs and seemed to respond at least a bit to bench therapy for mistakes, a real positive going forward. And, I liked Juwan’s answer at the post-game press conference about IU’s lack of scoring when he said it was that they couldn’t get enough stops on D. Hopefully that is his and the team’s mindset as it is hard to change the “emph-O-sis” under Crean.
Will Romeo choose IU? My rose-colored glasses say he should, but then he’ll only be in college hoops for one year, and I have no idea what his goal for that year is (I assume it has a lot to do with him getting as high in the NBA draft as possible). Maybe that’s not what IU needs long-term, but no doubt he’d be a shot-in-the-arm (like EG). Depending on what happens with Romeo, IU still has 1 or 2 open scholarships but no post-players on the horizon, so I’m not sure what the thinking is on that point.
I’d like to see 20 wins next season. I’ve not looked at any potential schedules, but for B1G I would like to see a top-4 finish. I’m probably too optimistic.
Would like to know how others view the season as a whole and where IU goes next season.
