So, I've been less than diligent in updating my basketball blog, as my life has dictated a very limited amount of time to dedicate to blogging at all. And, what little time I did have I dedicated to the Irish, my first love.
However, a more settled life situation of late means that I can get back to blogging about my Hoosiers again. Of course, I may be doing this for only my benefit, as I'm certain that both of my readers decided to stop checking this site somewhere around a year ago.
Also, I spent much of last season watching my Irish play hoops as well, so I'll probably have quite a bit of Irish hoops to speculate on as well. Especially with Harangody returning for what could be an epic season for him. (preseason All-American)
Of course, I'll also be the first to admit that I didn't know a damn thing about last year's team. That good for nothing bastard Kelvin Sampson essentially saddled the Hoosiers with the equivalent of the death penalty last year. We started a whole bunch of freshman and a walk-on senior. Under a new head coach. Not exactly the recipe for success.
But, I'm committed to following the Hoosiers more diligently this year, and I should be able to get a season preview up by the end of the week.
Welcome back, fair readers!
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Crean & Crimson
Just as I started this blog, and began to get excited again about IU basketball, the coach of the Indiana Hoosiers, Kelvin Sampson, was discovered to have betrayed the trust that Hoosier Nation placed in him. Never in my life as a fan of sports have been more ashamed and disappointed in an individual in sports. As a fan, I have always taken pride in the integrity of the programs that I love.
Notre Dame is, in my mind, the pinnacle of collegiate athletics. Their viewpoint on collegiate athletics was summed up in the following quote from former President Theodore Hesburgh:
This commitment to excellence has been the cornerstone of the cleanest and winningest program in the history of college football.
As an alumnus and fan of Indiana University, I also took pride in their commitment to this same kind of excellence. Say what you will about Bobby Knight, but he always ran a clean program at Indiana. And when his behavior violated the standards that Indiana had set for him, they had the courage to fire a hall-of-fame coach who was revered in the state.
But the hiring of Kelvin Sampson was a disgrace to the University. Hiring a coach who had already violated NCAA rules, with only a promise that he would never do it again. I was upset at the hiring, but I tried to give Sampson the benefit of the doubt. When he violated NCAA guidelines again, he robbed the Hoosier Nation of their best chance in decades to contend for a national championship.
I stopped blogging about Indiana basketball as a protest of sorts (weak as it was, as I had probably one reader at the time - thanks, Mom). But I couldn't in good faith promote a program that had cheated.
With today's press conference announcing the hiring of Coach Crean, formerly of Marquette, I am willing now to forgive the program and the athletic director that hired Sampson in the first place. But I, much like the rest of the country, will never forget. This hire, worthy as it was, was the hire they should have made a couple years ago.
Coach Crean is as forthright and ethical a coach as there is in the game, and he's no slouch when it comes to coaching them up on the hardwood as well. He is a Big Ten product, having coached under Tom Izzo (and had been widely believed to be waiting in the wings as Izzo's eventual replacement). He has a respect and understanding for the tradition and history of Indiana basketball.
And, for the first time in a long while, I am proud to say on this day that I am a proud supporter of the Indiana basketball program.
Welcome to the Hoosier State, Coach Crean.
Notre Dame is, in my mind, the pinnacle of collegiate athletics. Their viewpoint on collegiate athletics was summed up in the following quote from former President Theodore Hesburgh:
There is no academic virtue in playing mediocre football and no academic vice in winning a game that by all odds one should lose. ... There has been a surrender at Notre Dame, but it is a surrender to excellence on all fronts, and in this we hope to rise above ourselves with the help of God.
This commitment to excellence has been the cornerstone of the cleanest and winningest program in the history of college football.
As an alumnus and fan of Indiana University, I also took pride in their commitment to this same kind of excellence. Say what you will about Bobby Knight, but he always ran a clean program at Indiana. And when his behavior violated the standards that Indiana had set for him, they had the courage to fire a hall-of-fame coach who was revered in the state.
But the hiring of Kelvin Sampson was a disgrace to the University. Hiring a coach who had already violated NCAA rules, with only a promise that he would never do it again. I was upset at the hiring, but I tried to give Sampson the benefit of the doubt. When he violated NCAA guidelines again, he robbed the Hoosier Nation of their best chance in decades to contend for a national championship.
I stopped blogging about Indiana basketball as a protest of sorts (weak as it was, as I had probably one reader at the time - thanks, Mom). But I couldn't in good faith promote a program that had cheated.
With today's press conference announcing the hiring of Coach Crean, formerly of Marquette, I am willing now to forgive the program and the athletic director that hired Sampson in the first place. But I, much like the rest of the country, will never forget. This hire, worthy as it was, was the hire they should have made a couple years ago.
Coach Crean is as forthright and ethical a coach as there is in the game, and he's no slouch when it comes to coaching them up on the hardwood as well. He is a Big Ten product, having coached under Tom Izzo (and had been widely believed to be waiting in the wings as Izzo's eventual replacement). He has a respect and understanding for the tradition and history of Indiana basketball.
And, for the first time in a long while, I am proud to say on this day that I am a proud supporter of the Indiana basketball program.
Welcome to the Hoosier State, Coach Crean.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Connecticut 68 Indiana 63
The Hoosiers dropped their marquis non-conference game today at home, a major blow to their seeding in the NCAA tournament. They played poor offensively, and didn't pass the ball around, often settling for poor shots.
We still have a great shot at winning the Big Ten, but with the performance the Big Ten has put up this year against other conferences, our shot at a No. 1 seed may have just washed away.
We still have a great shot at winning the Big Ten, but with the performance the Big Ten has put up this year against other conferences, our shot at a No. 1 seed may have just washed away.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Indiana beats Minnesota despite turnovers
Despite 26 turnovers, by far a season high, the Indiana Hoosiers managed to beat a scrappy Minnesota team in Minneapolis on Thursday night.
Despite the ugly game, I think that this was a big step forward for the Hoosiers. They went on the road against a top in-conference opponent, didn't play a very good game, but still managed to come away with the win. The game on Thursday night was the kind of game that so often I have seen the Hoosiers lose in recent years - they couldn't get out of their own way, committing stupid errors that kept the other team in the game. However, they closed out the Gophers in the end, maintaining their position at the top of the Big Ten and the top of the national rankings.
I just hope that they get some credit where credit is due in the wake of the losses by #1 North Carolina, #4 UCLA, #6 Georgetown and #9 Texas A&M over the past week.
Despite the ugly game, I think that this was a big step forward for the Hoosiers. They went on the road against a top in-conference opponent, didn't play a very good game, but still managed to come away with the win. The game on Thursday night was the kind of game that so often I have seen the Hoosiers lose in recent years - they couldn't get out of their own way, committing stupid errors that kept the other team in the game. However, they closed out the Gophers in the end, maintaining their position at the top of the Big Ten and the top of the national rankings.
I just hope that they get some credit where credit is due in the wake of the losses by #1 North Carolina, #4 UCLA, #6 Georgetown and #9 Texas A&M over the past week.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Early returns - Hoosiers are a legit threat
Despite an early season loss to the surprising Xavier Musketeers, the Hoosiers have proven to be a solid all-around team, led by freshman Eric Gordon.
What most impressed me is the poise shown during Sunday's 4-point win over the Fightin' Illini. Gordon had originally committed to the Illini, before switching after Sampson's hiring at Indiana.
The Illini had plenty of motivation going into this game, and they played probably the best game of their season, leading by as many as 9 points. But the relentless and consistent inside-outside attack led by White and Gordon endured the ups and downs of such an emotional game, and sealed the victory.
Currently ranked in the top 10 and tied with Wisconsin at the top of the Big Ten standings (thanks to a Michigan State loss to Iowa), the Hoosiers are poised to have their best season since the days of Bobby Knight.
Another statistic to keep your eye on is the Hoosier's home winning streak - currently at 27. My Fightin' Irish are just ahead of us at 30, but Memphis leads the nation at something like 44 straight home wins. BYU has the easiest home schedule of the teams ahead of us in consecutive home wins. Memphis faces No. 7 Tennessee on the 23rd of February. Notre Dame faces tough Marquette and Pitt teams at home this year. If we are consistent, our biggest challenges to the home winning streak will be Connecticut on the 26th of January, and back-to-back games against Wisconsin and Michigan State on the 13th and 16th of February.
I'd like to see us (or Notre Dame) have the nation's longest active home win streak at season's end. Indiana has always been, to me, the home of basketball (we've all seen the movie Hoosiers...) and having the top 1 or 2 home win streaks would help bring some of the attention back to Indiana after so many years of obsession with Tobacco Road.
What most impressed me is the poise shown during Sunday's 4-point win over the Fightin' Illini. Gordon had originally committed to the Illini, before switching after Sampson's hiring at Indiana.
The Illini had plenty of motivation going into this game, and they played probably the best game of their season, leading by as many as 9 points. But the relentless and consistent inside-outside attack led by White and Gordon endured the ups and downs of such an emotional game, and sealed the victory.
Currently ranked in the top 10 and tied with Wisconsin at the top of the Big Ten standings (thanks to a Michigan State loss to Iowa), the Hoosiers are poised to have their best season since the days of Bobby Knight.
Another statistic to keep your eye on is the Hoosier's home winning streak - currently at 27. My Fightin' Irish are just ahead of us at 30, but Memphis leads the nation at something like 44 straight home wins. BYU has the easiest home schedule of the teams ahead of us in consecutive home wins. Memphis faces No. 7 Tennessee on the 23rd of February. Notre Dame faces tough Marquette and Pitt teams at home this year. If we are consistent, our biggest challenges to the home winning streak will be Connecticut on the 26th of January, and back-to-back games against Wisconsin and Michigan State on the 13th and 16th of February.
I'd like to see us (or Notre Dame) have the nation's longest active home win streak at season's end. Indiana has always been, to me, the home of basketball (we've all seen the movie Hoosiers...) and having the top 1 or 2 home win streaks would help bring some of the attention back to Indiana after so many years of obsession with Tobacco Road.
Saturday, December 22, 2007
New Blog
With some extra free time on my hands, I thought I'd expand my blogging to include my alma mater, the Indiana Hoosiers. I got my Bachelor's degree from IU before attending Notre Dame law school, and I am passionate about both schools.
This blog will primarily follow the basketball team, but I'll throw in the occasional football post as well, so that I don't get grief from my brother for posting about IU football on my Notre Dame blog.
Thanks for reading!
This blog will primarily follow the basketball team, but I'll throw in the occasional football post as well, so that I don't get grief from my brother for posting about IU football on my Notre Dame blog.
Thanks for reading!
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