IU Basketball - How cool is this

I think I have found my favorite quote of the year, and we're only 5 games into the season. John Gasaway, author of the basketball blog, Basketball Prospectus, made this statement in a recent blog entitled, "Closing a Chapter: The NCAA bans Kelvin Sampson"

That was then. The current Indiana team spent last week in Maui, playing in a tournament whose tip times are dictated by the convenience of viewers several time zones away. At the press conference after his team lost by 26 to St. Joseph's, Crean actually choked up when he talked about how hordes of red-clad IU fans had filled the stands at the Lahaina Civic Center before eight in the morning local time to support a team of freshmen and walk-ons that just hours before had been blown out by 38 points.

I submit that if you have fans that will do that, and a coach who will not only notice and salute that fact but will actually get a little verklempt when he talks about it, your program is already operating at a very high level. It's going to take a while for the final scores to catch up to the truth, but this is already an elite program.

How cool is that? That's why I bleed red & white. Go hoosiers!!!!

Kelvin Sampson the Anti-Coach

Okay, so here is my Kelvin Sampson opinion. He sucks. This drama should never have occurred within such a storied establishment as Indiana University. To hire someone with such questionable integrity was such a risk, and Indiana will now pay the price. Most devastating is the legitimate concern that he lied.

A coach is a coach. Someone who is put in a position of responsibility with the intention that they will benefit and grow their students. I hope that IU can avoid sanctions that limit post-season play, but I have a strong feeling that they will be facing a one or two year ban of post-season action.

Moving forward, IU must become a stronger team. They need to center around their true court leader, DJ White, and they need to persevere through these confusing times.

Out of hard times, comes courage, and from strength one builds strength.

Indiana, our Indiana
Indiana, we're all for you!
We will fight for the cream and crimson
For the glory of old IU
Never daunted, we cannot falter
In the battle, we're tried and true
Indiana, our Indiana,
Indiana we're all for you! I-U!

Fight for the Cream and Crimson,
Loyal sons of our old I. U.
Fight for your Alma Mater,
and the school you love so true.
Fight for old Indiana,
See her victories safely through,
GO! I.U! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!
For the glory of old I. U.!

Saturday Morning Rituals

Here's just a few ramblings for this lazy Saturday morning. First, let's set the background for all my readers. The television is showing a Real Estate Show featuring the seller agent from our home purchase. He's pushing a house in Geist. He's been pushing the same house for 3 weeks. It's not going to sell, man. Give it up.

Also, I just viewed pictures from a friend who was involved in a hit & run last night. From the pictures, I'm assuming they were the hit portion of the equation. If Mr. Runner is reading this...two words. Vigilante Justice!

I'm kind of tired of conservatives using liberals in their hate crimes, but Mitt Romney does have some nice hair. He should be on one of those Jellin' commercials.

My superbowl prediction: Giants 23 - Patriots 14. MVP - Peyton (oops I mean) Eli Manning. Here's my reasoning, I know the Patriots are good, but I have applied the Rule 317. Rule 317 states that 'all little brothers are increased opportunities when following accomplishments by their older brothers.' As a little brother, I am a firm believer in Rule 317.

Also, after 2 consecutive loses, the IU fanbase is fuming. They are calling for Sampson's head. Here's how I see things playing out. IU is currently 17-3 and in second place in the Big Ten with a 6-1 record. The still have to play 3 tough games at Illinois, at Ohio State, and at Michigan State. The also have tough games at home against MSU, OSU, Wisconsin, and Purdue. In my opinion, at Northwestern, at Penn State, and home against Minnesota are easy W's, but I will likely lose at OSU or MSU and maybe a home lost. I see IU going into the Big Ten tourney with a record of 26-5. Three loses in the Big Ten could still win the championship.

Here's some other comments: AJ Ratliff has never really played consistently, and his is an unlikely contributor to the team unless he adopts a better on the court work-ethic. He needs to play like Stemler with a vertical leap. He's way behind the others due to his academic mishap earlier in the season.

IU fans are great. People who state that IU fans are not as crazy as fan-bases form other schools need to think back to the Connecticut game. In one IU defensive series, the crowd was so loud that a disoriented Hasheem Thabeet threw up an ill-advised shot due to the crowd count-down. He thought he had only a few seconds on the shot clock, when he actually had about 10 seconds to get rid of the ball. It was amazing.

IU Basketball - Progress Report

Well, at this point IU is 11-1 and will begin the Big Ten season on Wednesday. So far, IU has been only slightly challenged by their opponent, but we can make a few observations from their play so far.

First, DJ White is the cog that moves this team. Although EJ leads the team in scoring, DJ will be required to provide the only inside threat available for Indiana. As the Big Ten wears on, he will need to stay out of foul trouble, rebound well, and continue to move the offense through passing. To date, DJ is averaging 16.4 points per game and nearly 10 rebounds per game.

Second, IU will likely cut the rotation to 8 or 9 players. We know that Basset, EJ, DJ, Stemler, and Ellis will receive substantial minutes with Deandre Thomas, Jordan Crawford, and Mike White receiving minutes. The big question becomes the presence of Ratliff. Will he be able to receive any minutes as the season wears on? Without an injury or suspension, Ratliff falls as the odd man out.

Finally, how will Indiana perform against improved defenders. To win the Big Ten, IU will face an increase in pressure at the guard spot and will need to make better decisions. Overall, I feel that Indiana will win all there home games and lose at Michigan State, at Wisconsin, and at Purdue. Their record at the end of the Big Ten season will be 27 - 4.