Another great Hoosier Basketball story..

Just came across this on Peegs.com. I can't vouch for the validity, but if it's true, it is an awesome story about what makes a Hoosier fan and the extreme 'coolness' of Tom Crean. Courtesy of hoosier4life, posted at peegs.com:

Was in town for the holidays, and went to the college mall to start our day. While there my 4yo son and I had the pleasure to run into Tom Pritchard & Kory Barnett what 2 great kds they are. They came over and shook my sons hand and mine and were very nice about turning around and letting us interrupt their day.

So here is the best part of the day, around 3pm my son and I went over to see if we could get into Assembly Hall and just look around and take some pictures. As we walk in we see Coach Crean sitting at the scores table doing some paperwork. I shouted down and said hi to him and stated we just wanted to look around, so he tells me to bring my son down to the floor and let him look around. As we enter the floor Coach gets up and greets us, at which time my son instantly asks if there are any basketballs to play with. Coach says sure help yourself and feel free to shoot around as long as you like we don't have practice to 4. So as we shoot around on the court Coach brings over a brand new hat and program and signs them to my son with the words always work hard Tom Crean(How Awesome). I then have my son stand at center court for a picture, and Coach sees this and asks if we want him in the picture with us, which of course we say yes to. We stayed about 20-25 mins, and as we leave he says you sure you don't wanna stay and continue shooting hoops? What great Man we have as a coach and our players are just as exceptional.

Picture from anythinghoosier.blogspot.com

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!!!!

Support IU Basketball - Tom Crean Public Address

Coach Crean is giving his first public address to the IU student body and Bloomington community. He will be discussing the upcoming season and his future plans for the basketball program. There will also be an extensive Q&A session to follow. Below is more information:

Coach Crean Lecture
Monday, 10/6
7:00pm
IU Auditorium
FREE to all - no tickets required


Come and support our new coach!!

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.!

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.