A friend, upon hearing that I was going to the Iowa game tonight, asked: "Why do you torture yourself?" He was implying that, because we would lose, it would be torture to put myself through the experience, as it was "torture" when we lost at home to Purdue, as it was when I watched us lose to Northwestern on TV, when I watched on TV IU lose to Maryland (a game we could have won if Troy hadn't missed two dunks!).
Do I expect IU to win tonight? No, I don't expect it, but I hope they do. Above all, win or lose, I want to be there to support the team and the coaches, even if the players are prone to inattentive turnovers, even if the coaches haven't adequately prepared the team to play defense, even if our coach sometimes is less than impressive with his X's and O's. I go to the games to support IU. If we win, I'm ecstatic; if we lose, I'm depressed. I know many fans have given up on them, and are predicting a meltdown, as with last season. I sometimes wonder if they'd rather be right than have us win and prove them wrong. I'd like to think they care so much for IU that they are bracing them against an "inevitable" loss.
But, I figure, as a fan, as much as IU basketball means to me, I don't put in near the investment that the players and coaches do. That, as smart as I think I am in seeing what the players should do, and what the coaches should emphasize (defense and rebounding, transition defense, etc.), my "contribution" to the team pales in comparison to that of the players and their families, and the coaches and their families. It's easy for me to criticize when we lose, but I don't have to watch film of losing games if I don't want to (and I almost always don't want to), I don't have to look at the faces of fans who look at me as if I've let them down personally.
I am glad that I'm not a fan of some "elite" basketball programs, like pUKe where players pretend to be students for a semester, where a student, Eric Bledsoe, can get an A in Third-year Algebra, when he flunked First-year Algebra, and skipped Second-Year Algebra; like UNC where players maintain their eligibility by not going to classes, and getting credit all the same, and who is being sued by students who think that UNC has gypped them of an education; or USC where the Heisman Trophy winner, Reggie Bush, had to return the trophy because he broke NCAA rules; or Syracuse who's trying to cover up more serious offenses by self-declaring itself ineligible in the postseason. Yes, we had that happen with Sampson (for offenses which are now within the rules). Yes, I supported Bob Knight, even though he acted like an ***hole on more than one occasion. But, whatever Bob Knight was, he supported the student part of student-athlete. He spent time raising funds for the library; he read; he was, himself, a student. He knew, as good as he was at coaching, that it just wasn't right for him to coach in the NBA. It just wasn't him. And for all his intensity and egotism, he had a sense of humor. One of my favorite stories was an exchange he had with Ted Kitchell in 1983, after Kitchell was injured. "Hell," Knight said to Kitchell, "That's nothing. I saw Havlicek play with a shoulder injury and a knee injury" (referring to the Ohio State team with Jerry Lucas, Larry Siegfried, that won the national championship in 1960 -- Knight was on the bench). "Yeah, Havlicek had to play," Kitchell replied: "Look who their sixth man was!"
Do I wish IU had more banners up than Kentucky? Of course I do, But there's also luck involved in a NC. I won't mention Derrick Coleman missing his foul shot in 1987 prior to "the shot" by Keith Smart. I'm also thinking of IU's 2011-2012 team that not only beat UK in December 2011, but gave the Wildcats the best game in the NCAA tournament, scoring 90 points on an outstanding defensive team (who, by the way, sank 33 out of 35 free throws: I don't think there's another team in NCAA history that sank over 90% of its free throws in more than 30 attempts). It was also luck, this time bad, that Scott May's wrist was injured in 1975, that Ted Valentine refereed the Duke game in the Final Four in 1992; that Alan Henderson hurt his knee in 1993.
In the Crean era, one of the enduring satisfactions for an IU fan is Victor Oladipo, who was eager to come to IU (and who was hardly impressive to IU fans, since he was ranked 139/140, was only a three-star player, and not recruited by the "elite" programs). The development of Victor from an under-rrecuited prospect to a #2 draft choice for the NBA, meanwhile picking up his undergraduate degree in 3 years, is a feat that you won't find at, say, Kentucky. I am grateful to Tom Crean for whatever part he had to do with that development.
And this year, while there have been disappointments -- the blowout at MSU early in the season, the loss to Maryland (so close, so close), the disappointing effort at West Lafayette, the crushing loss to Purdue at AH, the disappointing but not entirely unexpected loss to Northwestern in Evanston, there are still things to celebrate. Collin Hartman, coming back from an ACL tear, rehabbing, alone and determined, so he could contribute, on a limited basis in November and December, and as a starter in late January and early February, when Hanner was out with an injury. And, we shouldn't take for granted that we've had the privilege of watching the game and valiant Yogi Ferrell, who doesn't reach 6' 0" on his best days, playing with character and courage. Whatever he does, wherever he goes, watching him play these last three years has been a joy (even when he suffered from what I call "Big Shot-itis" when he should have passed off -- as in the Purdue game; but, on the other hand, you can't fault Yogi for the confidence with which he takes -- and makes -- big shots (like the ones that tied Georgetown, sending the game into overtime). And the "good" Troy is something to behold, even if it is sometimes offset by the "bad" Troy, turning the ball over, predictably, when he goes the length of the court, with a dazzling behind-the-back dribble, and finishing with a thundering dunk -- only to have the basket nullified by a charging foul.
I went to every Big Ten home game in 2008-2009, when we were 6-25 (1-17 in the Big Ten), when we weren't even a competitive jayvee team (playing a 5th-year walk-on as a starter). Yet, that season, outmanned and outgunned, we played with grit. What was impressive was that IU was 11th in the country in attendance that year (how many empty seats do you think there would be in Rupp Arena if Kentucky ever went 6-25?).
It won't come to that, but if ever IU loses 30 games, and the negative nannies and the boo-birds and the faint-hearted fans have abandoned Assembly Hall, I will be there cheering the Hoosiers on, because, as someone famously said: "It's Indiana!"
Go Hoosiers!
This post was edited on 3/3 5:44 PM by HKHoosier
Do I expect IU to win tonight? No, I don't expect it, but I hope they do. Above all, win or lose, I want to be there to support the team and the coaches, even if the players are prone to inattentive turnovers, even if the coaches haven't adequately prepared the team to play defense, even if our coach sometimes is less than impressive with his X's and O's. I go to the games to support IU. If we win, I'm ecstatic; if we lose, I'm depressed. I know many fans have given up on them, and are predicting a meltdown, as with last season. I sometimes wonder if they'd rather be right than have us win and prove them wrong. I'd like to think they care so much for IU that they are bracing them against an "inevitable" loss.
But, I figure, as a fan, as much as IU basketball means to me, I don't put in near the investment that the players and coaches do. That, as smart as I think I am in seeing what the players should do, and what the coaches should emphasize (defense and rebounding, transition defense, etc.), my "contribution" to the team pales in comparison to that of the players and their families, and the coaches and their families. It's easy for me to criticize when we lose, but I don't have to watch film of losing games if I don't want to (and I almost always don't want to), I don't have to look at the faces of fans who look at me as if I've let them down personally.
I am glad that I'm not a fan of some "elite" basketball programs, like pUKe where players pretend to be students for a semester, where a student, Eric Bledsoe, can get an A in Third-year Algebra, when he flunked First-year Algebra, and skipped Second-Year Algebra; like UNC where players maintain their eligibility by not going to classes, and getting credit all the same, and who is being sued by students who think that UNC has gypped them of an education; or USC where the Heisman Trophy winner, Reggie Bush, had to return the trophy because he broke NCAA rules; or Syracuse who's trying to cover up more serious offenses by self-declaring itself ineligible in the postseason. Yes, we had that happen with Sampson (for offenses which are now within the rules). Yes, I supported Bob Knight, even though he acted like an ***hole on more than one occasion. But, whatever Bob Knight was, he supported the student part of student-athlete. He spent time raising funds for the library; he read; he was, himself, a student. He knew, as good as he was at coaching, that it just wasn't right for him to coach in the NBA. It just wasn't him. And for all his intensity and egotism, he had a sense of humor. One of my favorite stories was an exchange he had with Ted Kitchell in 1983, after Kitchell was injured. "Hell," Knight said to Kitchell, "That's nothing. I saw Havlicek play with a shoulder injury and a knee injury" (referring to the Ohio State team with Jerry Lucas, Larry Siegfried, that won the national championship in 1960 -- Knight was on the bench). "Yeah, Havlicek had to play," Kitchell replied: "Look who their sixth man was!"
Do I wish IU had more banners up than Kentucky? Of course I do, But there's also luck involved in a NC. I won't mention Derrick Coleman missing his foul shot in 1987 prior to "the shot" by Keith Smart. I'm also thinking of IU's 2011-2012 team that not only beat UK in December 2011, but gave the Wildcats the best game in the NCAA tournament, scoring 90 points on an outstanding defensive team (who, by the way, sank 33 out of 35 free throws: I don't think there's another team in NCAA history that sank over 90% of its free throws in more than 30 attempts). It was also luck, this time bad, that Scott May's wrist was injured in 1975, that Ted Valentine refereed the Duke game in the Final Four in 1992; that Alan Henderson hurt his knee in 1993.
In the Crean era, one of the enduring satisfactions for an IU fan is Victor Oladipo, who was eager to come to IU (and who was hardly impressive to IU fans, since he was ranked 139/140, was only a three-star player, and not recruited by the "elite" programs). The development of Victor from an under-rrecuited prospect to a #2 draft choice for the NBA, meanwhile picking up his undergraduate degree in 3 years, is a feat that you won't find at, say, Kentucky. I am grateful to Tom Crean for whatever part he had to do with that development.
And this year, while there have been disappointments -- the blowout at MSU early in the season, the loss to Maryland (so close, so close), the disappointing effort at West Lafayette, the crushing loss to Purdue at AH, the disappointing but not entirely unexpected loss to Northwestern in Evanston, there are still things to celebrate. Collin Hartman, coming back from an ACL tear, rehabbing, alone and determined, so he could contribute, on a limited basis in November and December, and as a starter in late January and early February, when Hanner was out with an injury. And, we shouldn't take for granted that we've had the privilege of watching the game and valiant Yogi Ferrell, who doesn't reach 6' 0" on his best days, playing with character and courage. Whatever he does, wherever he goes, watching him play these last three years has been a joy (even when he suffered from what I call "Big Shot-itis" when he should have passed off -- as in the Purdue game; but, on the other hand, you can't fault Yogi for the confidence with which he takes -- and makes -- big shots (like the ones that tied Georgetown, sending the game into overtime). And the "good" Troy is something to behold, even if it is sometimes offset by the "bad" Troy, turning the ball over, predictably, when he goes the length of the court, with a dazzling behind-the-back dribble, and finishing with a thundering dunk -- only to have the basket nullified by a charging foul.
I went to every Big Ten home game in 2008-2009, when we were 6-25 (1-17 in the Big Ten), when we weren't even a competitive jayvee team (playing a 5th-year walk-on as a starter). Yet, that season, outmanned and outgunned, we played with grit. What was impressive was that IU was 11th in the country in attendance that year (how many empty seats do you think there would be in Rupp Arena if Kentucky ever went 6-25?).
It won't come to that, but if ever IU loses 30 games, and the negative nannies and the boo-birds and the faint-hearted fans have abandoned Assembly Hall, I will be there cheering the Hoosiers on, because, as someone famously said: "It's Indiana!"
Go Hoosiers!
This post was edited on 3/3 5:44 PM by HKHoosier
