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Commentary: Indiana is back…but with still a long way to go

January 12, 2012 By Jerod Morris Leave a Comment

Indiana is back!

If you have followed college basketball even tangentially this season, you have heard this refrain. It was being whispered as a possibility even before the Kentucky game, and it’s been stated with certainty ever since that Kentucky upset was followed by another one over Ohio State.

Just this week, IU cracked the top 10 in both polls, the team is profiled in Sports Illustrated, Dana O’Neill of ESPN wrote a wonderful profile of Cody Zeller, and Tom Crean is scheduled to make an appearance today on Pardon The Interruption.

Indeed, in terms of national relevancy, Indiana is back!

Image credit: Joe Eke

If you know me, if you listen to The Assembly Call, if you follow my constant Hoosier tweets, you know that no one is more overjoyed about Indiana’s 15-1 start than I am. I’m already on record saying that this year’s squad is well on its way to joining the ’92-’93 Hoosiers and the ’01-’02 Hoosiers as my personal favorite IU teams of all time (for context, I was born in 1981). That is why I hesitate to say what I’m about to say, but I’m going to say it anyway.

Yes, the Hoosiers are back, but even as we get caught up in the excitement of #TheMovement happening one year early, let’s not lose sight of just far this program still needs to go to really, truly, fully be back. Because for Hoosier fans who can still remember attending games during the Knight Era and older, “back” is a relative term. And its up to those of us who remember to pass this on to those who don’t, because while our place in the college basketball world has changed over the last decade the standard, the expectations have not.

Before I go any further, don’t start calling me some kind of Negative Nancy here, focusing on a negative in the midst of overwhelming positives. My purpose in writing this to post is not to be negative. At all. What is there to be negative about right now as it relates to IU basketball?

Rather, my point is to make sure than in the excitement about the special season unfolding right now in Bloomington that we do not forget two very important points:

Just how far IU basketball had fallen before this season.
Just how consistently great the expectations and accomplishments once were for this proud program.

So let’s take a quick look at both before I tie everything together.

How Far IU Fell

Here are a few facts about the recent history of IU basketball, before this season started:

Indiana has not reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament since 2003.
Indiana has not reached the NCAA Tournament at all since 2008.
Indiana has not finished in first place in the Big Ten since 2002.
Indiana has not won an outright Big Ten championship since 1993.
Indiana went 28-66 overall the last three seasons.
Indiana went 8-46 in the Big Ten over the last three seasons.
The last time we beat Purdue was February 19th, 2008

I could go on and on, but you get the idea; and you probably are wondering why I’m wasting time rehashing all of this awfulness when we seem to have turned a page and moved past it.

We’ll get to that in a moment.

Before do though, a quick recap of the good stuff.

How Great IU Was

Indiana has won five national championships.
Indiana has made the Elite 8 11 times and the Final 4 eight times.
Before the 2004 NCAA Tournament, Indiana made 18 straight tourney appearances
Between 1972 and 2008, Indiana played postseason basketball every season but two.
Indiana has won 20 Big Ten championships.
For the better part of its existence, Indiana has been renowned for being a successful basketball program that did not compromise recruiting integrity or academic excellence to win.

As you can see, and already knew, there is quite a large contrast from the first bulleted list to this second list. The reason why IU’s fall from grace seemed so epic is because it was so epic. Yes, there had been a slow erosion ever since the 1993 season ended, but the bottom totally fell out in 2008, followed by the crater that was the next three seasons, and only now have we finally started to show signs of digging out from underneath the rubble to resemble something like what we once were.

Already this year’s Hoosiers have:

Beaten then-#1 Kentucky
Beaten then-#2 Ohio State
Made Assembly Hall a house of horrors again for opponents
Made the top 25
Made the top 10
Re-entered the national discussion as a likely tournament team
Secured a top 5 recruiting class for next year

There are a lot of good things happening in Bloomington right now, which is why the chants of Indiana is back! can be heard ringing throughout the nation, and with such good reason, from pretty much everyone expect boobs like the Doug Gottliebs of the world.

**Yes, Indiana is back, but…**

Okay, now that I’ve fully presented the context, allow me to make my point, which is really a directive to IU fans – especially myself: let’s not get too carried away proclaiming Indiana “back” and let’s not compromise at any point on our way back up the mountain, all the while enjoying every single step on the way up, especially the stuff we used to take for granted.

I don’t like the phrase Indiana is back because implicit in it, at least to me, is an inherent belittling of the history and tradition of this proud program. Yes, Indiana is back on the national radar screen, and it’s been a long time so that is definitely worth celebrating, but since when has that alone been satisfactory?

For Indiana to be back, Purdue needs to start suffering regular losses at our hands again. Selection Sunday needs to occur with Indiana’s name a given only what top 4 seed as the question mark. Big Ten championships need to be awarded with Indiana playing a major hand in their determination…and the Hoosiers taking them home at least semi-regularly. Opening weekend tournament losses need to be a cause of disappointment not for satisfaction.

When all of those things, and more, are happening on an annual basis, then Indiana will be back.

You may be thinking, well duh! Jerod, no one is saying that just because Indiana is 15-1 that Tom Crean’s rebuilding job is complete! Stop parsing words and creating semantics-based straw man arguments!

There is a level of truth in such an accusation; I admit it, even as I continue typing. But there is also a very good reason why I’m positing such an argument anyway, all while fully understanding its shortcomings: because I think taking a conservative, humble approach to Indiana’s resurgence makes it so much more worthwhile, enjoyable, and even sustainable.

Remember how you felt when Indiana beat Illinois at home last year? Sure, Hoosier Nation got ripped nationally for storming the court, but that was a real, cathartic outpouring of excitement after we finally beat a ranked team.

Remember how you felt when Indiana beat Kentucky this year? It is among the most jubilant sports moments I’ve ever experienced…and it was a regular season college basketball game in December.

Just this year, the road win over Evansville was thoroughly satisfying. The home win over Butler felt like a huge step (and was). Winning at NC State was cause for celebration. Beating Penn State in Happy Valley was ugly but still another big step.

The reason why these wins individually and collectively have had such meaning is because no one associated with the program could take them for granted anymore. Every win was the next step up the mountain, and every step was so exciting and necessary and satisfying in its own right.

As a sports fan, there is a big difference between the relief you feel from winning a game you are “supposed” to win and the unexpected, hard-earned jolt you get from winning a game you are not supposed to win yet you cheer for and root for and desperately hold onto optimism during anyway. After three years of barely even competing at a Big Ten level, a fan base becomes conditioned to expect the worst in every situation. It’s a horrible feeling. But the flip side, the sliver lining, is that the elation of winning can often be that much better because of it.

Actually, maybe “better” isn’t the right word. Something tells me fans of ’76 Hoosiers were pretty damn satisfied every time those Hoosiers won. Dominance can be fun too – and that’s the ultimate goal again.

For longtime fans of Indiana basketball, I do believe that the burden of unyielding expectation sapped some of the joy out of the final Knight years and really every other year since 1993 besides that magical run in ’02. We had a standard to live up to, and we just have not lived up to it much since ’93. That can make for a joyless fan experience, even when you’re winning a lot more games than you’re losing, and especially when you are losing a lot more games than you are winning.

It’s important, however, to not change the standard for excellence. In fact, it’s having that standard so high that makes the journey back towards it after the fall so rewarding.

Here is the good news: we don’t have much more time, if we even have any at all, of going into any games not expecting victory. Consider tonight’s matchup against Minnesota. This is a game Indiana is supposed to win. Getting that victory will bring some sense of satisfaction, especially if certain areas of improvement are seen, but not anywhere near the devastation that losing would bring. Yet just last year, IU fans were elated to beat Minnesota at home.

Therein lies the difference a year can make, and it’s a great feeling for any Hoosier fan. But it doesn’t mean that Indiana is back. Not yet. We’re going to get there. And I think we’re going to stay there for a while, which means that there will only be one full journey up to experience. So let’s experience it.

What IU fans are experiencing this season, because of what we’ve been though, is unique. It’s fun. It’s exhilarating. We know where we were, we know where we want to be, and it’s one hell of a ride in between.

But if we forget either of the end points, or rush to claim the journey complete, we waste an experience that, while we hopefully never have again, is one that we’ll also never forget.

So to all IU fans, and really to myself as well, I just want to be one subtle voice in the midst of all the happiness and hysteria that is a reminder of the big picture. And the big picture is that in some ways Indiana is back all right, but don’t forget how far we still have to go. It’ll make the journey there that much more rewarding.

**********

Join us tonight and after every IU game for The Assembly Call IU Postgame Show.

Filed Under: The Assembly Call Tagged With: christian watford, indiana basketball, indiana hoosiers

Big Ten Player of the Year Power Rankings

January 11, 2012 By Andy Bottoms 1 Comment

Since we’ve reached the halfway point of the season, I wanted to break down the contenders for Big Ten Player of the Year. I think it’s fair to say this list has some significant changes compared to what I would have put together prior to the season.

Ohio State’s Fatal Flaw Has Danger Lurking in Columbus

January 11, 2012 By Jon Washburn 1 Comment

Full disclosure: I really like Ohio State’s basketball team this year.

Fuller disclosure: Coming from me, that means a lot…because in general, I absolutely hate Ohio State.

Indiana beats Kentucky…and I remember why I bother with sports in the first place

December 10, 2011 By Jerod Morris 26 Comments

Happiness.

When Christian Watford’s three pointer swished through tonight with 0:00 on the clock and Indiana ahead by one point on the scoreboard, that is what I felt.

Happiness.

Image credit: Joe Eke via @TomCrean

You may be thinking: Brojangles, you watched the IU game by yourself, in your apartment, alternately jumping around screaming like a madman and taking notes in prep for the postgame show. If that gives you happiness, then your life is kind of lame.

How wrong you are.

Because understand this: the euphoria I felt tonight when that shot when through and I realized that yes, we had indeed beaten the #1 team – and more than than, #1 ranked Kentucky – had nothing to do with me. I couldn’t have cared less that I got to hop around my apartment for two hours like a fool enjoying watching some kids in white jersey score more basketball points than some kids in blue jerseys.

But I was happy as hell for some of the other people who go to.

I was happy for my brother, who has never quite been able to share my obsessive love for Indiana basketball simply because he hasn’t had the first hand experiences that I have. Now he has one that I don’t, watching this game in the student section and storming the floor when CWat’s shot went through. I talked to him tonight after the game as we was in his dorm room, about to head out to Mother Bears and then to Kirkwood. He was ecstatic. He had felt it. As he said, he now got to experience beating the #1 team his junior year in college just like I did. In subtle ways, this win will bring us closer. Think that’s crazy? Maybe. But then, you don’t know IU basketball.

I was happy for the old school fans. Guys like @ChronicHoosier and gals like @TaxMegan; folks who I know, like me, have lived and died, figuratively speaking, with this team over the past three years, and really the past decade. I talked to both on the phone tonight, and I could sense a difference type of fully satisfied joy that wins over NC State or even Butler just can’t bring. I’m happy for them, and by proxy every other longtime IU fan who bleeds Cream and Crimson and who can properly put this victory into context.

I was happy for the IU students. So happy. Like my brother, they didn’t know what Indiana basketball truly was…until tonight. Many of the old timers (relatively speaking) like me had grown a bit frustrated with the students in the weeks leading up to this game. This week, IU’s basketball-loving student body rose to the occasion. This quite from John Calipari after the game says it all:

“Indiana and this crowd made us play the way we played. It’s not like we were awful. I’m proud of my team.”

Indiana won tonight by one point. One single point. Do I think the fans who filled Assembly Hall with Hurryin’ Hoosier spirit contributed to that one point difference? You bet I do; and I’m right. And I am just so glad that these students are out there right now, as I type this, creating joyful memories with their classmates that they’ll remember forever, like I do thinking back to the night we beat Duke in the Sweet 16.

I’m happy for Tom Crean. What this man has done to bring the pride and winning back to Bloomington is monumental. Monumental. He was the perfect man for the job when we took it, and he is proving to be the perfect man for the job now that we’ve grown from a team of two walkons three years ago to a team that is undefeated and will be back in the top 25 next week. I could write a whole article on Tom Crean. He is the leader of this movement. Most people just didn’t expect things to move quite so much this year.

And just watch Crean’s face after Watford’s shot goes in. It’s like he wanted this win so badly that when it came true he had no clue how to react.

Update: Reading Dana O’Neil’s article about the IU victory, I came across this quote, which shows that Tom Crean and I share exactly the same feeling right now:

“This is one of the most shared moments, maybe the most shared moment I’ve ever been a part of,” Crean said. “You want to share it with so many people.”

Yes indeed Coach.

And last but certainly not least, I’m happy for the players. And I save them for last only because I want to highlight them the most.

I’m happy for Christian Watford, for emerging as a mature, tough, physical leader who takes and makes big shots when his team needs them.

I’m happy for Verdell Jones, who induced a number of “Damnit Verdells” tonight, but who ultimately ended the game on the highest of highs by unselfishly dishing the final assist on one of the greatest single shots in Hoosier history.

I’m happy for Tom Pritchard, who started as a freshman and now is just a role player. But damn if he doesn’t fill his role well. He scraps, he claws, and he helps to lead this team with toughness, attitude, and maturity.

I’m happy for Jordan Hulls, who has been doubted his whole life because he’s too small and too slow, but who stepped up in key moments tonight to make winning plays. He made some bad decisions, yes; but he also made winning plays – clutch 3s, hustle rebounds, steals – which is why he is this team’s leader.

I’m happy for Cody Zeller, whose commitment to IU despite all of the losing set this victory, and the many that will come after it, in motion. Somehow, this guy has been better than the hype. The only thing holding him back is that his teammates don’t know how to use him.

I’m happy for Sheeladipo – Victor Oladipo and Will Sheehey – who came in unheralded, but who may just end up graduating as the most influential two-man recruiting class in IU history. These guys are sophomores? They need to button up their shot selection a bit, but not if it comes at the expense of their energy and confidence. When you’re passing out plaudits for Indiana’s 9-0 start, don’t overlook these two. They are our swagger and our athleticism, and even with Zeller and the experience of Watford, Hulls, and Jones, we’re only 7-2 or 6-3 without them.

I’m happy for Daniel Moore. Do you realize Daniel Moore – Daniel Moore – played key minutes in a victory over Kentucky? He did. And he didn’t look out of place doing it. He was solid. Like Tom Pritchard, he leads this team with energy and attitude, and that’s why he is not out of place being in the rotation for a 9-0 team about to be ranked for the first time since 2008.

I’m happy for Maurice Creek. Of course I’m devastated that he couldn’t play in this game, and I’d give him my knees if I could (seriously), but I’m glad that he got to experience this win as a team leader. Included in that one point difference, to some degree, is the character and toughness of Mo Creek that his teammates have absorbed by osmosis. You won’t convince me otherwise.

I’m happy for Derek Elston. He didn’t play tonight, but he’s seen the tough times. And I’m sure he’ll enjoy the good times like tonight.

Update: And of course I’m happy for Matt Roth! How could I forget Matt Roth? Goodness gracious, if any IU player ever reminds of myself as a high school basketball player, it’s Roth. He’s a testament to humbly fulfilling a supporting role and doing it spectacularly despite injury and adversity.

And yes, even though Remy Abell and Austin Etherington are new, and have only experienced winning as Hoosiers, I’m happy for them too. They are part of the “new IU” that is going to be used to winning and success, and that’s terrific.

And I’m happy for Yogi Ferrell, and Jeremy Hollowell, and Ron Patterson, and Hanner Perea-Moquera, and Peter Jurkin, because now #themovement doesn’t have the pressure of rebuilding IU basketball. That happened the last three years (perhaps more than we realized) and is taking a giant leap this year. Now #themovement is just about taking it to the next level. What will that level be? Who knows. This year’s team obviously has a much higher ceiling than anyone thought.

I’m also happy for Don Fischer and Chuck Crabb and Tim Garl, and everyone else who has been around for the ups and downs, and who tonight is basking in the glow of a major up.

This was a signature win in the history of Indiana basketball. That’s not hyperbole to say. In the grand scheme of the 2011-12 season, it doesn’t mean much more than a great resume builder for the NCAA Tournament…but for those who consider themselves a part of this program, even if only very peripherally, as I do, it’s easy to understand why this win is so much more than that.

This win was just…joyful. It was wonderful.

And like I said at the beginning of this post, it just made me feel happy…for all of the reasons that I enumerated above. For my brother, for the fans, for Coach Crean, for the players…99.9% of the joy I feel right now is because I know what they’re feeling. And that makes me happy. And that is why I still bother with sports. For these moments.

As for that .1% that I didn’t account for above…I’ll admit, that’s for me. In that moment right after Christian Watford’s three went through, I spent 5-10 seconds jumping around my apartment, scaring the shit out of my dog, and high fiving my wall. This happened. Video of it would surely be hilarious, ridiculous, and perhaps even somewhat pathetic. But in those 5-10 seconds, I was immersed in pure personal joy because my team won.

My team won. Our team won.

What a night to be a Hoosier.

Coach Crean, the players, and the fans who willed us on all night long: thank you…though not for me, as I have other memories like this. Thank you for giving my brother, yourselves, and new IU fans a memory like this so now we can all relate. We all have one. We all know what Indiana basketball feels like.

Is Indiana basketball is back? Not yet. Not totally.

Indiana basketball will be “back” when Big Ten titles are the standard and competing for national championships is the expectation. We took one giant leap closer to that tonight, but we still have a ways to go.

But in terms of energy, spirit, and that unbridled Cream and Crimson hysteria…yes, Indiana basketball is definitely back. This is what tonight signified.

This is why I’m a sports fan.

**********

Join me after IU basketball game on The Assembly Call. For now, relive tonight’s: http://assemblycall.com.

Also, please forgive any typos. Cloud 9 doesn’t have spellcheck.

Filed Under: CBB Tagged With: christian watford, indiana basketball, indiana-kentucky, tom crean

Season of Expectations Begins Tonight for Tom Crean, Indiana

November 11, 2011 By Jerod Morris Leave a Comment

There are few days on the sports calendar I look forward to more than the first IU basketball game. And there are few first IU basketball games I have ever looked forward to more than tonight’s home tilt against Stony Brook.

The reason is easy: the Season of Expectations is finally here for the Hoosiers. (As is the first episode of The Assembly Call.)

First Impressions of 2011-12 Big Ten Basketball

May 20, 2011 By Andy Bottoms Leave a Comment

While the Big Ten has been the benefactor of a low number of draft early entrants in recent years, many of the league’s best players graduated following last season. Seriously, there are real live players graduating (or at least staying in college for four years). Novel idea for college athletes, don’t you think?

That’s a rant for another day, but a quick look shows that the conference lost three first team All-Conference performers, eight of its top 12 scorers (including the top three), six of its top 10 rebounders, and its top two assist men.

Still, the league will be bolstered by the unexpected return of Jared Sullinger and may well boast the nation’s top point guard in Jordan Taylor. Throw in do-it-all forward Draymond Green, the return of Robbie Hummel, and three or four Top 25 recruiting classes (depending on which recruiting site you trust), and the Big Ten may not be down quite as much as people think.

Since the conference is my first love despite being the butt of its share of jokes around the style and pace of play, I’m starting in the midwest with an early look at how each team is shaping up.

Maryland Visits Assembly Hall Tonight in Biggest Game Yet of Tom Crean Era

December 1, 2009 By Jerod Morris Leave a Comment

The biggest game yet in the Tom Crean Era of Indiana basketball tips off on ESPN2 tonight at 7:30 ET at the center of McCracken Court in Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Indiana.

The 4-2 Maryland Terrapins visit the 3-3 Indiana Hoosiers in the 2009 Big Ten/ACC Challenge.

I am as patient a Tom Crean supporter as you will find anywhere. I was able to find the silver lining throughout the bleak blackness of last season. I was disappointed, but not dispirited, by IU’s porous 0-3 performance in Puerto Rico.

But make no mistake about it: I expect the Hoosiers to be very competitive at home tonight.

IU Kicks Off 2009-10 Season with Graceful Home W

November 5, 2009 By Jerod Morris 1 Comment

christian-watford-big-10-2011-12-basketball-season-preview

(Come on…you knew the headline had to have some kind of lame pun involving “grace”.)

Yes, it was only an exhibition game against Grace, but last night proved to be an encouraging and auspicious beginning to the 2009-10 basketball season for a program seeking redemption.

Tom Crean and the Indiana Hoosiers did exactly what an IU team should do: impose their will on a far inferior opponent and cruise to an easy victory. Though reports of the game indicate that Grace played the Hoosiers tough for the first 24-25 minutes, IU won the game 96-73.

Coming off of a season that saw the Hoosiers lose home games to Northeastern and Lipscomb, any win — even an exhibition win that doesn’t count — is a welcome event.

And for anyone who took IU’s opponent last night for granted, just ask Syracuse fans how that worked out for them.

Crean v Painter I – What We Learned About Purdue’s Present and IU’s Future

February 21, 2009 By Jerod Morris 1 Comment

$E\'Twuan Moore and Matt Painter$ This morning, because I’m insane, I woke up at 5:30 and went to the office. I did get some actual work done, but quickly decided to pop open the trusty blog and do a preview of today’s Indiana-Purdue game, the first meeting in what should be a great rivalry between Tom Crean and Matt Painter.

The game is now over, with the Boilermakers winning 81-67. My prediction was a 4-point win for the Boilers, I think they were favored by 22, and it ended up at 14. I guess that sounds about right. Here is the IU-Purdue box score if you’re interested.

While I am never happy about a loss, especially to Purdue, I think Indiana represented itself it well by playing hard, looking competent for stretches on the offensive end, and not allowing Purdue to ever run away with the game. Until E’Twuan Moore’s three-pointer with about 3:30 minutes left, the Hoosers were hanging around between 6-10 points down, just a few quick threes away from making it a game. But Moore’s three was a dagger that pushed the Purdue lead to 12 and effectively ended IU’s hopes of a comeback.

Here are a few observations and things we learned today:

1 – It is an absolute travesty that IU and Purdue are only playing once this year

This point is really too obvious to spend a lot of time worrying about. Does the Big Ten conference just stick its head up its own rear when it decides on the schedule? Certain rivalries should always be played twice a year, end of story. Indiana should always play Illinois and Purdue twice a season, no questions asked. I’m not even saying anything else because it is the one thing that IU and Purdue fans can agree on. There should be a meeting in Assembly Hall. The Hoosiers might not win, but they certainly could make it a competitive game. Now that this game is over, the fact that IU and Purdue are only playing once this year is really starting to piss me off.

2 – If Purdue shoots well in March (and Hummel is healthy), they can make a tournament run

I am impressed with this Purdue team. They struggled out of the gates in the Big Ten season but are playing really well right now. They play suffocating man-to-man defense and have solid continuity on offense. And when E’Twuan Moore is shooting the ball well from outside they become especially difficult to defend. The big caveat is Robbie Hummel’s health. I don’t think they have enough multi-dimensional players to compete with the top teams in the nation if Hummel is out, as evidenced by their 1-3 Big Ten record without him. With Hummel in the game, however, he provides that one guy with size who can do a little bit of everything.

3 – JaJuan Johnson is talented, but will never realize his potential until he learns how to focus

Full disclosure: This is the first full Purdue game I have watched this year, so Boiler fans can correct me on this one if I am wrong; but JaJuan Johnson really seems to lack focus. He played a very good game today though. 14 points, 10 boards, and 5 blocks. He showed range on his jumper, obvious athletic ability, and has undeniable talent. Yet, he made some really careless turnovers and got caught out of position a number of times on defense. And while I love Tom Pritchard and Kyle Taber, they are not in the upper echelon of big men that Johnson will have to face come March. If Johnson increases his ability to focus, he could be a monster as a junior and senior. He’s so talented, he may be anyway.

4 – Indiana has a team full of role players, but two guys have emerged as pieces to build around for the future

Nick Williams, Devan Dumes, Matt Roth, and Malik Story all bring unique individual abilities to the floor, and all will be solid players in the cream and crimson for the next year (Dumes) or three (the others, all freshmen). However, on a good team that can contend for a Big Ten title, they should be bench players who fill specific roles playing 10-15 minutes a game. And I don’t think that is a knock on them at all. They are getting tons of playing time as freshman because IU had so little coming back this year, and will be better players because of it. But each has critical deficiencies that put ceilings on their potential:

Nick Williams is too short to be a guy who lacks quickness and handle
Devan Dumes is not consistent enough as a shooter and plays out of control with the ball
Matt Roth is a non-factor if he is not getting open looks from 3, and lacks quickness to get open if defenses focus on him
Malik Story is simply average from a skill standpoint and athletic ability standpoint

With all that said, all four of these guys have tremendous heart and because of it they have been more productive than their respective talent and skills would suggest they’d be. They have also continued to fight in the midst of an awful season and will forever have my appreciation and respect, as well as that of Hoosier fans everywhere. And while they will improve moving forward, these are the kind of guys who should be like Pat Graham, Brian Evans, and Todd Leary on the 1993 team: solid role players who are not asked to do more than they are capable of doing and who contribute to a winning team.

There are two guys on this year’s team, however, that are proving to be future starters that IU can build around: Tom Pritchard and Verdell Jones.

Pritchard has been pretty consistent all season, though his play dipped a bit recently. I thought he played well today though. He was active offensively, made some tough shots, did a solid job on the boards, and played well with fouls in the second half. He finished with 12 points and 8 boards, which I think will be a similar line to what he’ll put up as a senior when he plays Purdue. Pritchard has obvious deficiencies in foot speed, overall athletic ability, and free throw shooting — only one of which he can really do anything about. But he is a physical presence with decent skills and a high basketball IQ. He can be a Matt Nover-type contributor who you can pencil in for 10-14 points and 8-10 boards every night. He is almost that right now as a freshman.

In terms of improvement, no Hoosier has improved more from the beginning of the season to now than Verdell Jones. Honestly, at the beginning of the season I was wondering why we gave him a scholarship and why he was playing so much. He looked scared, he turned the ball over left and right, and had no physical toughness. Over the last few weeks, Jones has shown off his offensive abilities and become a much more poised leader with the ball in his hands. He still does not dribble especially well and makes lazy passes, and he simply has to get stronger, but 16 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists in his first trip to Mackey is nothing sneeze at.

I thought Verdell was outstanding today. For the first time all season I thought he looked completely comfortable on the floor. He made some beautiful passes, did a great job of pulling up for the 10- to 15-foot jumpshot, and led an IU offensive attack that played pretty well, all things considered, against a team that really knows how to lock down on defense.

Verdell Jones also has one huge advantage that cannot be taught: height. At 6’5, he is a tough matchup for most guards in the Big Ten. He has gotten eaten alive though by shorter, quicker players this season when he is careless with the ball; but as his ball-handling and decision-making improves he is going to become a really tough matchup on a night-in, night-out basis. With talented players Maurice Creek and Christian Watford, among others, coming in at the guard and wing spots next season, this year’s freshmen will have more competition for playing time. Verdell Jones is proving that he has the talent to be a starter on a top-flight Big Ten team. If he can continue grow physically, as a ball-handler, and in the mental aspect of the game, we could be looking at a player who puts up stat lines like today’s on a nightly basis.

5 – The IU-Purdue rivalry is going to be really fun again

In the late 80s and into the mid-90s, the IU-Purdue rivalry was awesome. Calbert Cheaney against Glenn Robinson. Brian Evans against Cuonzo Martin. AJ Guyton against Chad Austin. And of course, Bob Knight against Gene Keady. Over the last decade or so, while the game is always exciting, it has lacked that extra bit of star power and top-level performance. A major part of it has been the two programs’ transition from legendary coaches to the guys at the helm now. Another part of it is a huge lull in the two programs’ ability to keep the top in-state talent at home. And honestly, it has been rare recently for both teams to be really good at the same time.

But I think with Tom Crean and Matt Painter settling in as the long-term stewards of Indiana and Purdue basketball, this rivalry is on the right track towards becoming one of the elite rivalries again on a yearly basis.

Painter has done a great job of building a solid nucleus around in-state players. Tom Crean is bringing some good Indiana kids in next year and supplementing them with top-flight national talents like Creek and Watford. Give IU one more year to settle in next season, and then I think these two programs are poised to be in the upper third of the Big Ten for the next decade. And with these two coaches we know that the games will be extremely physical and hard fought.

For once, I am not completely despondent after a Purdue loss. I have resigned myself to the pitiful fate of seeking moral victories in every loss. The state of our program demands it. Today, the Hoosiers showed that they have two starters and four solid bench players ready to go for next season. Assuming three or four of the new guys are ready to step in and contribute right away, we can look forward to a still young but much more talented team next season that should be ready to compete for a Big Ten title again in 2011.

And hopefully, God willing, moral victories will no longer be an option.

Filed Under: Big Ten Basketball, CBB, Featured Column Tagged With: Big Ten Basketball, CBB, christian watford, devan dumes, e'twuan moore, Indiana Hoosiers Basketball, iu-purdue rivalry, jajuan johnson, malik story, matt painter, matt roth, maurice creek, nick williams, purdue boilermakers basketball, Robbie Hummel, tom crean, tom pritchard, verdell jones