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

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.

History Suggests That Indiana Basketball Should Be Elite Again “Sooner” Than Some Think

The Internet has not been kind to the Indiana Hoosiers over the last couple of days.

On Monday, Ryan over at Inside the Hall encapsulated the Hoosier bashing that permeated the sports blogosphere that day. He cites FOMSF Josh Q. Public’s article about Indiana basketball, as well as the initial Deadspin take on the issue from Rick Chandler. As you can see in the comments section of the Josh Q. Public post, I took exception to points being made by both.

Anyone who knows me knows that I am like a papa bear protecting his cub when people pile on Indiana basketball. I realize that a certain amount of piling on is warranted right now given the way our administration has allowed the IU basketball program to sink to the depths it has fallen to this season. But when you start unnecessarily disparaging Bloomington, or making claims that IU basketball is finished as a national powerhouse, I feel the need to stand up and lend some perspective.

The greatest memories of my childhood involve going to IU games at Assembly Hall with my dad, and then heading right out to the driveway afterwards to pretend that I was Calbert Cheaney or Damon Bailey or Brian Evans. You mess with IU basketball and you’re messing with me. As Colin Cowherd likes to say, “fan is short for fanatic.” Well, that is definitely true in this case.

Rick Chandler, mentioned above, posted about Indiana basketball again yesterday. It took the form of a response to the criticism that he received in many corners of the sports blogosphere. And while I did enjoy the post for reasons I will get to in a second, I wholeheartedly disagree with the following assertion that Rick made in his original post and reiterated yesterday:

Oh, Bloomington will still be a great basketball town, but what I mean by basketball backwater is that the Hoosiers will always take a back seat to Duke and North Carolina and UCLA and even Wake Forest and UConn. They’re no longer special. Email me the next time Indiana reaches the Elite Eight. I’ll be waiting.

He frames this point with a terrifically entertaining anecdote of himself as a young reporter getting a surprising 20-minute interview with Bob Knight. He also describes what must have been a surreal scene in Bedford watching Damon Bailey play in high school. While I obviously do not endorse his pessimistic view of the future of IU basketball, I highly recommend reading the post for an entertaining journey back to, admittedly, the old glory days of IU basketball and Coach Knight.

After reading the article, I decided that if Coach Knight had seen enough of the young Rick Chandler to grant him an interview that surprised everyone Rick told the story to later, I could at least offer up the respect of considering his arguments. Maybe he is onto something, and Indiana basketball as I once knew it is like a dinosaur: legendary and powerful in its day, and still worthy of remembering and appreciating with both fondness and awe; but extinct and no longer relevant for contemporary purposes.

I fully realize that I am supremely biased when it comes to IU basketball. I feel like I can rationally analyze the team’s performance and not make predictions or statements that are too outlandish and blinded by fanaticism, but I know that what I consider to be objectivity can sometimes be imbued with the conflict between head and heart that all die-hard fans experience.

So after reading Rick’s article yesterday I decided that for once I would make my best effort to analyze the current state of IU basketball solely with my head, while fully knowing that it would be impossible to totally remove my heart from the proceedings.

Let’s get a few things out of the way that are and have been well established:

1. Indiana basketball still has amazing fan support. I moved from Indianapolis to Dallas last April, so I have to watch IU from afar this year, but the crowds at Assembly Hall have been outstanding this season. I knew that IU fans would rally around this year’s team if they played hard and showed heart. They have.
2. Tom Crean is the right man to get IU basketball headed in the right direction. When a program has sunk to the depressing depths that IU currently wallows in, you need a coach who is pathologically optimistic and positive, almost bordering on irrationality. Tom Crean’s boundless energy and enthusiasm, and his belief in IU basketball, are exactly what we needed in the aftermatch of the coach who will not be named.
3. You can still recruit to Indiana. Considering his late start, I think Tom Crean did an amazing job of bringing in the freshman class that he did this year. Nick Williams was the Player of the Year in Alabama last year, and came with Crean to IU after committing to Marquette. Sure, he mainly followed the man that recruited him, but the idea of playing for a program as historically prestigious as Indiana had to have a little something to do with it. Even Verdell Jones, while not a superstar by any means, was a top-150 recruit who decided to come to Bloomington late in the recruiting season. And we know about Indiana’s outstanding recruiting class coming next year, led by Christian Watford and Maurice Creek. Any rating service you find has it rated in the top-10. And this is a brand new coach recruiting to a school mired in recruiting violations, probation, and very little tournament success since 2002. The Indiana brand must not be completely dead yet.

All of this being said, I am not foolish enough to think that Indiana is still currently on the same level as UCLA, North Carolina, or even Duke, which itself has played below its previously established standards in recent seasons. Even in the Big Ten, Michigan State is now the alpha dog. While teams like Purdue, Wisconsin, Ohio State, and Illinois have joined Indiana in a rotating wheel of top-level Big Ten competitiveness this decade, Michigan State is always at or near the top.

But we all know that Indiana basketball once was among the elite of the elite. Between 1975 and 1987, Indiana won three national championships, made eight Sweet 16s, had two undefeated regular seasons, and won six Big Ten titles. Expand that to 1993, the last truly great Indiana team, and there were twelve Sweet 16 appearances, seven Elite 8 appearances, and nine Big Ten titles.

Since 1993? The Hoosiers had a magical run to the National Championship game in 2002, and “only” missed the NCAA tournament twice, but only got to the Sweet 16 one other time (1994) and tied for a Big Ten championship in 2002. That’s it. Considering the greatness that IU fans had become accustomed to, the last 15 and now going on 16 years have been pretty down.

So what basis, if any, is there for IU fans to say that Rick Chandler or any number of other non-believers is wrong to say that Indiana basketball as we once knew it is essentially dead? Is there another college basketball program out there that fell on comparably hard times but was rejuvenated?

Let’s consider UCLA as an example. We know about their greatness under John Wooden, but the last season of Steve Lavin’s tenure and the first season of Ben Howland’s tenure produced a record of 29-36. Over the last three seasons, UCLA has been rejuvenated and reached the Final Four every time. But between 1993 and 2002, the Bruins won a National Title, and played in six Sweet 16s. So while they had a momentary blip of failure, there was not such a systematic and consistent decline as we have experienced in Bloomington. Plus, I don’t think even Rick Chandler would consider UCLA’s campus to be “backwater”, thus rendering UCLA moot for purposes of this comparison.

Kentucky is a proud basketball powerhouse that has fallen on more modest times recently, finishing the last three seasons unranked. But before that Kentucky finished #1, #2, and #7 from 2003-2005. There is not really a comparison to be made here, as Kentucky is currently mediocre but certainly not at the depths of Indiana.

Admittedly, I have not dug as far as I could, but I do not have a perfect college basketball comparison to make that suggests Indiana can reclaim its pre-1994 stature among the elite. Perhaps this absence of a direct comparitive college basketball argument to Rick Chandler’s article can be seen as implicit acknowledgment of the validity of his point; but I ask you to hold on for just a minute. While there is a not an obviously perfect basketball comparison to make (at least that I can find), there could be a pretty solid comparison to make from the world of college football.

The program I will reference and explore is Oklahoma. Let’s do some quick analysis:

National Championships:

• Oklahoma has 7
• Indiana has 5
• Both schools are among the top 5 in history in their respective collegiate sports’ record books.

Conference Championships:

• Oklahoma has 42
• Indiana has 20
• Oklahoma is first in Big 12 history, Indiana is second only to Purdue’s 21 in Big Ten history.

All-Time Wins

• Oklahoma has 791 all-time wins, good for #8 in college football history. The Sooners have won approximately 72.8% of their games.
• Entering this season, Indiana had 1,635 all-time wins, good for 10th all-time heading into this season. (They are 11th now, with Notre Dame vaulting over the Hoosiers). Indiana has won 64.8% of its games.

Legendary Coaches

• Bud Wilkinson followed up a very good coach in Bennie Owen and established Oklahoma as a true national power with 145 wins and 3 National Titles between 1947 and 1963. Barry Switzer continued the tradition with 157 wins and 3 more National Titles between 1973 and 1988.
• Branch McCracken followed up a very good coach in Everett Dean and established Indiana as a true national power 364 victories and 2 National Titles between 1938 and 1965. Bob Knight continued the tradition with 661 wins and and 3 National Titles between 1971 and 2000.

Just looking at these raw numbers, there is certainly a comparison to be made. Yes, Oklahoma has the advantage in each category, other than the striking similarities in coaching history, and if you were comparing Oklahoma football to Indiana basketball, the edge would be to Oklahoma; but that is not the goal here. The goal is to establish the comparison of a national powerhouse, located in a so-called “backwater” college town, that has experienced great success, then fell on hard times, but the resurrected itself back to national prominence.

Consider the performance of Oklahoma in the aftermath of the controversial final few years of Barry Switzer’s tenure. Gary Gibbs took over and won 65% of his games, going to 3 bowl games over half a decade. Howard Schnellenberger coached one disastrous season in which he went 5-5-1. Then John Blake coached the team for two years, going 12-22 and Oklahoma fell off the national radar. Then the Sooners hired Bob Stoops away from Florida, everyone hailed him as the perfect fit for Oklahoma, and the program did a complete 180. Stoops has won 82% of his games, brought another National Title to Norman, and has Oklahoma among the nation’s elite again.

Now consider the performance of Indiana in the aftermath of the controversial final few years of Bob Knight’s tenure. Mike Davis took over and won 59% of his games, reaching four NCAA tournaments and had the one magical run to the title game during his half decade. Then the lying snake who shall not be named coached the team to a 43-15 record over two seasons, but was fired in the middle of last season, after which Dan Dakich coached the team to a disastrous 3-4 finish. Now Tom Crean has taken over, and everyone has hailed him as the perfect fit for Indiana. The team is still struggling with the disaster left behind by the coach who shall not be named however, so the 180 has not been as immediate for Crean and IU as it was for OU under Bob Stoops.

The way I see it, the years after the departure of Bob Knight in Bloomington are following a very similar path to the years after the departure of Barry Switzer in Norman. Right now, Indiana is in the midst of its “John Blake years”, so to speak; with the obvious difference being that Blake was not the long-term answer, but Tom Crean is. Crean has taken over a once elite program that returned all of 30 points last season. This year’s Hoosiers are one of the youngest and least experienced teams in college basketball history. The Hoosiers’ performance this year certainly is not an indictment of Tom Crean, and he should not really be judged by wins and losses until probably two seasons from now, next year at the absolute earliest.

So why can’t Indiana experience the same phenomenal resurrection that Oklahoma has experienced? The fan support of the two school is similar, the strength of the historical brand is similar, and both schools’ administrations are committed to fielding elite-level basketball and football programs, respectively. Plus, Oklahoma’s turnaround was marked by the arrival of a high-energy, high-enthusiasm coach known to be a good recruiter. Tom Crean has arrived in Bloomington with obvious energy and enthusiasm, and is also known as a good recruiter. Plus, unlike Stoops when he came to OU, Crean has head coaching experience and has been to a Final Four. You don’t think the status that comes with being Dwyane Wade’s college coach and having a Final Four on your resume won’t help him on the recruiting trail? Look at next year’s class; it already has.

Plus, if Bloomington is “backwater” then what, exactly, is Norman? As referenced by Ryan over at Inside the Hall, Forbes recently rated Bloomington as one of the top-10 college towns in America. (As an alum, I wholeheartedly concur.) And while no one is claiming that the Forbes list is the be-all end-all, I don’t see Norman on there. Yet Bob Stoops consistently signs top-10 recruiting classes. Additionally, Tom Crean has the opportunity to recruit to a “better” academic institution than Bob Stoops, at least according to the prestigious U.S. News and World Report rankings. Indiana was rated #71 out of all U.S. universities while Oklahoma came in at #108.

Again, let me reiterate: my purpose here is not to try to say that Indiana basketball is better than Oklahoma football, and I’m not trying to tell you that Bloomington and Indiana University are necessarily better than Norman and Oklahoma University. The entire purpose of this breakdown of the two programs and the schools is to show you the similarities, and is my best effort to provide solid evidence that Rick Chandler is wrong to believe that my beloved Indiana Hoosiers basketball program can no longer reach elite levels.

After going through this entire exercise (and completely blowing off work this morning), I feel confident in asking Rick Chandler and any other IU basketball non-believers one very simple question:

If Oklahoma could do it, why can’t IU?

I do not dismiss offhand the possibility that there could be compelling counter-arguments to what I have presented today. But, what I can say is that the process of writing this post has made me even more excited about the Tom Crean era of IU basketball and even more fervent in my belief that the Hoosiers can once again become a consistent national contender. At the very least, the story of Oklahoma football has given me a legitimate and very comparative example to grasp onto as I search for reasons to believe as much in the block IU, the candy-stripe warmups, the banners, and the cream & crimson as I did back in 1993.

Who knows, maybe cream & crimson just happen to be the official colors of college sports powerhouse resurrection? Bob Stoops did it in Norman and I see no reason why Tom Crean cannot do it in Bloomington.

You can assess for yourself whether I am making that judgment more with my heart or with my head. I feel pretty good that it’s a healthy combination of both.

And despite all the naysaying, I feel great about future of the Crean & Crimson.

What do you think?

Can Indiana become an elite college basketball powerhouse again?

• No
• Yes

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Indiana Wins! Devan Dumes Leads Tom Crean and Hoosiers to First Big Ten Win Over Iowa

I have been following Indiana basketball since the mid-80s, and rarely have I been as geeked up over a regular season win as I was last night when Indiana broke its 11-game losing streak by beating Iowa 68-60 at home. I was jumping up and down like a madman when Devan Dumes hit the three from the top of the key that sealed the Hoosiers’ first conference win of the year, and the first Big Ten victory for Tom Crean.

A little background: back in the day, my dad had two season tickets and went to the games with my mom, until one fateful night when Bob Knight grabbed the jersey of then-IU freshman Delray Brooks and she vowed never to go to an IU game again. (Brooks, of course, later transferred to Providence and played on their Final Four team under Rick Pitino.) Her loss, however, was my gain. I slid into her seat and never missed a game until the year after my family moved from Bloomington in 1994. And I guess the timing of this move was fitting, considering the 1993 IU basketball team is my favorite sports team of all time, and IU basketball has never been as good since.

Well, in the more than 20 years that I have been following Indiana basketball, from both up close and afar, I would rank last night’s home victory over Iowa in my all-time Top 10 most rewarding and appreciated wins. Sure, scores of wins have meant more in the conference standings or for tournament seeding purposes. And it isn’t like IU knocked off a conference giant — quite the contrary, as Iowa is in 10th place and was playing without their best player. And the game was at home, in Assembly Hall, where victories used to be a given and not a cause for jubilant celebration.

But this is not a normal season, nor a normal team. And I do not feel one iota of shame or embarrasment or foolishness for feeling, at least for a split second, like IU had won some kind of championship. When you have 5 national championships, a history of consistent success, and are one of the winningest programs in the history of college basketball, you aren’t supposed to be excited about being 1-8 in the conference. Well, screw that. I am excited, and I am really proud of Tom Crean and the Hoosiers.

I would also be remiss if I did not dole out some well-deserved kudos to Devan Dumes. He has taken all kinds of flack — and deservedly so — for lacking poise late in games and making silly turnovers or taking unnecessary shots. Think back to the Michigan game. But last night, Devan Dumes literally put on a shooting performance that is among the best ever witnessed in Assembly Hall. For one night, Devan Dumes allowed IU fans to harken back to the days of Steve Alford, Greg Graham, Calbert Cheaney, Damon Bailey, AJ Guyton, and Tom Coverdale, among others. Look at his statline:

Devan Dumes versus Iowa:

• 27 points
• 8-9 FG
• 5-5 3 FG
• 6-8 FT
• 4 Reb
• 2 Assts
• 2 Stl
• 2 TO
• 35 minutes played

If you substituted Calbert’s name atop that statline and told me it was a game against Michigan and the Fab Five or Jim Jackson and Ohio State, I’d believe it. That’s how good Devan Dumes was last night. And he was certainly not the only one who brought it.

The entire team only committed 11 turnovers, which is how many the Hoosiers have by halftime a lot of games. Kyle Taber played very solidly inside, grabbing 8 boards and scoring 7 points. Nick Williams was his usual scrappy and AJ Moye-esque self, grabbing 9 rebounds (6 offensive) and scoring 14 points. And Malik Story came off the bench to score 9 points in 15 minutes, while being the confident and assertive player that we have seen emerge over the last few weeks.

And as Dumes said after the game, according to the Big Ten Network, the team is looking forward to more such victories over the next month:

“I’m just focused on the second half of the season, and coach told us we can make some magic things happen,” Dumes said. “It’s just really exciting to finally get that first win. There was a lot of smiles in the locker room and a lot of relief.”

Ah yes, the coach: Tom Crean. He is off to one of the worst starts, record-wise, in the long and storied history of IU basketball. Yet, I feel more confident about the direction of our program right now than I did at any time under Mike Davis or the jackass who shall not be referred to by name. Crean’s attitude and positivity and optimism just speak to what I have always wanted IU basketball to be about. And I have been so impressed by how hard we have played all season long despite the consistent losing.

IU fans remember the NCAA tourney flameouts during the final years of Knight’s tenure in Bloomington, and the often disinterested look that Mike Davis’ team gave, and the complete lack of discipline displayed under the lying snake of a man who shall not be referred to by name. Sure, Tom Crean is only in his first season and all of the players are fresh and new — but for a team that has been so consistently beaten down this year to just keep getting up and fighting, and to never give up, well it’s all I want to see out of my basketball team. Wins, no doubt, will follow.

After the game, Tom Crean and the Hoosiers stayed on the court for a little while and soaked in their first victory. The Hoosiers high-fived the fans and Tom Crean even took the microphone to personally thank the fans and tell us that this win was ours. Watch the highlight video from the Big Ten Network if you didn’t see it last night. For any IU fan who has suffered through the last 11 games, and who will probably suffer through more losses this season, last night was a great reprieve from a very frustrating season.

And Coach, while all IU fans appreciate your dedication of the victory to us, last night’s win was yours and the teams’. You guys have battled, and fought, and clawed your way to so many close losses against teams with a lot more talent. Last night, you earned a well deserved victory. We’ll take the next one, but last night was yours.

And the first of many, many, many memorable wins that will happen under Tom Crean at Assembly Hall.

Indiana Beats Bemidji State 72-54 in Final Exhibition Game

The Indiana Hoosiers played their final tune-up game before the 2008-09 season officially tips off on Friday, November 15 against Northwestern State on the Big Ten Network.

Earlier tonight, reserve guard Malik Story sparked the Hoosiers off the bench with 15 points en route to a 72-54 victory over Division II Bemidji State. Malik Story was one of the three players in double figures, along with freshmen Nick Williams and Tom Pritchard, both of whom scored 12 points. Follow the link to view the box score from tonight’s game between Indiana and Bemidji State played at Assembly Hall in Bloomington.

Thanks to the Big Ten Network I was able to catch some of the 2nd half of tonight’s game online. The much maligned network has fallen into my extreme good graces so far this year. First, when I found out that the Big Ten Network was being carried on Verizon in Dallas; and second, when I learned that even when games are not on TV, they can be streamed live.

And guess who does the play-by-play for the live streaming games on the BigTenNetwork.com? That’s right, the incomparable Don Fischer and and his trust sidekick Todd Leary.

Leary made a couple of interesting points during the part of the game I was able to see. Vincennes transfer Devan Dumes and freshman Verdell Jones did not play a great deal in the 2nd half. According to Leary, both were making too many mistakes in the first half and Tom Crean was using the bench to send a message that they needed to bring more focus to the floor. Leary was also impressed with the rebounding of Nick Williams and Tom Pritchard, who grabbed and 9 and 7 boards a piece, respectively.

Obviously there is not a whole lot that can be ascertained this early in the season with such a young team in a game against competition that is not comparable to what the Hoosiers will face once the regular season starts; but, from what I saw there was one very noticeable positive and one very noticeable negative:

• Positive: Ball movement. I liked the ball movement on display during the period I watched. There was some interior passing that led to layups for Tom Pritchard and Kyle Taber, and Malik Story had one drive-and-dish in particular that was very nice. The Hoosiers only had 10 assists against 13 turnovers for the game, but I thought the pacing and movement on offense was solid for this early in the year.
• Negative: Shooting. At home, you always expect to shoot well. But the Hoosiers struggled from the field tonight, shooting just over 41%. More ominously, we only made 56.3% of our free throws. With such a young team, the home court advantage of being comfortable with your own gym probably has not had time to set in yet, so I’ll give the Hoosiers a pass on this one. Hopefully as the season goes along we will be able to make shots at home. Wins will be hard to come by this year and with our undersized lineup it will probably be hard for us to win games that we do not shoot well.

The main feeling I took from the 2nd half of tonight’s game against Bemidji State was just excitement that another season of Indiana basketball is right around the corner, and optimism at the energy and style of play under new coach Tom Crean. I have never tempered my expectations so much heading into a season, but as Mike Davis was famous for saying, “help is on the way.”

The other big Indiana basketball news from today is that November 12th marks the beginning of the early signing period for college basketball recruiting. Tom Crean has received verbal commitments for next season that have many people ranking Indiana’s incoming recruiting class for 2009 among the best in the country. All of the recruits who have verbally committed are expected to sign on the dotted line tomorrow (or today I guess, since it’s now past midnight.)

But that’s for next year. First, we have to get through this season. The games start counting for real on Friday and despite the tempered expectations of Hoosier fans everywhere, I know that I cannot wait for the first step of the Tom Crean era to begin.

[tags]indiana hoosiers, tom crean, college basketball[/tags]