Unfrickinbelievable!

This program is being run by a bunch of assclowns.

Days before IU is expected to hire a new head coach, the interim basketball coach just kicked the 2 best returning players off the team.

This reminds me of my sophomore year of high school when a substitute teacher kicked me out of school for sleeping in study hall.

The circus made a stop in Bloomington in October and has never left town. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if we hired the Bearded Lady as the next head coach.

I bet I could add the most absurd post to this blog tomorrow as an April Fool's joke and most of you would believe it because it would just be par for the course.

And once again, the timing of this is absolutely priceless. What coach in their right mind would want to come work at this zoo?

I'm not going to defend Bassett and Ellis here because I do think they are acting like children and have probably been pains in the asses since Sampson left. However, what is Dakich trying to pull here? This disaster of a season is over and we are currently in talks with the next new coach (whoever that may be) and Dakich is now kicking the 2 best players off the team for missing some meetings. I understand that it is probably a case of complete of insubordination, but the fact is that Dakich is only going to be the coach for another couple of days. This only makes the whole program look even more disfunctional and immediately puts the new coach in an awkward situation.

There are some out there that think that maybe Dakich has just done the new coach a favor by cleaning house and not having the new coach inherit these problems. However, Bassett and Ellis are already saying that they would still be interested in possibly playing for a new coach. So, it looks like the new coach will need to deal with this regardless.

I'm disappointed to hear that Bassett and Ellis have been problems on this team, but if they are now gone, this program will be at the bottom of the Big Ten for the next 2-3 years. If this situation with Bassett and Ellis stays put, I can almost guarantee that Crawford will be next and probably McGee, Holman, and Thomas as well. It is possible that we could have a hard time just fielding a team next year.

Please tell me this is rock bottom.

How could Greenspan let this happen? The interim coach is booting players as we are trying to hire a new coach. I still can't believe this.

I am really wondering what coach in their right mind would take this job.

But I guess that's the news we are still waiting on and we'll have to see what happens on that front. Best of luck to whatever brave soul takes on this tall order.

Oh Crap

Looks like Bennett has said "no thanks".... http://www.spokesmanreview.com/blogs/sportslink/ Now, the Hoosier Scoop is saying there may be 3rd-party contact with Sean Miller and that IU would be prepared to pay the $2 million buyout. I guess that would be promising in the fact that the committee seems to be going after two of the top guys. However, my fear is that Miller will also say "no thanks" and this whole thing will be yet another embarrassment for IU. http://blogs.heraldtimesonline.com/iusp/?p=1858

Airplanes, Alford, and Stevens

To prove that I don't make this stuff up about people tracking airplanes, check out this link that mentions the airplane to Albequerqe and even mentions 12-year-old Butler head coach Brad Stevens.

Ryun, it's time to throw your hat in the ring.


http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/college/chi-30-indiana-coach-bennettmar30,1,1752553.story

My Thoughts on the Weekend Rumors

Well, the so-called noon deadline or 24 hours is up on the Bennett rumors from yesterday and no news. Of course, that could mean a few things: 1. These things are often done through 3rd parties so that Bennett can deny ever talking to IU and IU can deny ever offering Bennett. Well, that could be the case here. If so, we could be in trouble. 2. It could mean that there truly has not been contact made. 3. It could mean that there has been contact, but there is not a timetable (at least not one of noon today). 4. It could mean that there has been contact and there was a noon deadline and Bennett has responded, but nobody has leaked the information yet. Regardless, I really hope that Bennett is still in the running. What scares me about this weekend is the reports that if Bennett turns it down, then IU will look to Montgomery or Kruger. That bothers me. At least as far as this weekend's rumors, we are no longer hearing names like Izzo, Pearl, Matta, or Pitino. Other things that bother me about this weekend's rumors are that the mess that is IU is being brought up more and more. At the start of this coaching search, I was enthused by both the pool of names and the fact that the NCAA hearing was not being mentioned a lot. However, this weekend, the candidate pool beyond Bennett has dropped to Tier 2 or lower and many people are talking about the NCAA hearing, the two recruits that have decommitted, and the fact that IU's 3 best returning players were suspended this year. I fear that IU doesn't have the money to truly make a run at a big name and that the up-and-comers like Bennett are even having to take a good hard look at the situation at IU. Some people are throwing out the "smoke & mirrors" theory and saying that it is very possible that nobody knows what Greenspan and the committee are truly up to. I do find it interesting that both Hutchens and the guys from the Hoosier Scoop have been pretty quiet on the issue. They have commented on the Foxsports, ESPN, and cbssportsline pissing contest from yesterday, but haven't said a whole lot else. If Hutchens and the Hoosier Scoop guys aren't getting information from their sources, then I just don't think there is much information available. Period. I see the Hoosier Scoop just weighed in. Nothing new, but still interesting to read: http://blogs.heraldtimesonline.com/iusp/?p=1856 That's all for now. I'll search for more rumors later tonight and add another post if I find anything interesting.

Foxsports: 3 IU Players Tested Positive for Drugs This Year

Yesterday, Jeff Goodman from Foxsports started the rumor frenzy about Tony Bennett by saying that IU has offered Bennett the job. Today, in Goodman's blog, he follows up with some information on how the hiring process often works these days, but then he throws in a nugget that three IU players tested positive for drugs this past year. http://community.foxsports.com/blogs/goodmanonfox/2008/03/30/HIRING_PROCESS_HAS_CHANGED

The Latest from Hutchens

I enjoy reading all the rumors and speculation, but when it comes to figuring out what is really going on, I trust Terry Hutchens and the Indy Star. Not that Hutchens has any information as to what is really going on at this point, but he does call into question some of the latest rumors. Take a look: http://blogs.indystar.com/hoosiersinsider/archives/2008/03/depending_on_wh.html

The Bennett Buzz

Even though there have been conflicting reports throughout the day, there has been enough buzz about Bennett today to believe that there is something doing.

First, it was Foxsports saying that IU had offered Bennett.

Then, it was Andy Katz saying that wasn't true, but he did say that IU hopes to announce a new head coach by Thursday.

Then, it was Gary Parrish saying that the offer was through third-party representatives and Bennett had 24 hours to decide.

Tonight, the latest buzz seems to be consistent with Parrish's story -- both that the dealings have probably been through third-party reps, but Bennett does have an offer and now many are saying that he has until noon Sunday to make a decision.

However, WSU's A.D. said tonight that he has not been contacted by any other university and it is in Bennett's contract that the A.D. must be contacted before any negotiations.

Of course, these things can be tricky with all the third-party representatives and crap like that. And I wouldn't be surprised if IU somehow botches this and ends up with Bennett declining the job and also in trouble for contacting him without the A.D.'s permission.

Here are some of the latest articles:
http://www.dailyevergreen.com/blogs/sports/

http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/foulshots/archives/135341.asp

So, if all that is true, the question becomes, does Bennett want the job?

The other rumors tonight include a lot of talk about Mike Montgomery and Lon Kruger. And as a true sign of the IU fans obsession, I keep seeing reports on airplane flights. I guess the IU Foundation has a plane. Earlier this week, it was said to be going from Bloomington to South Bend (Brey) and late tonight it was said to be going from Bloomington to Albequerqe (Alford).

As for me personally, I hope the Bennett rumors are true and I hope he accepts because the latest other rumors seem to be Tier 2 or lower.

I did also hear that Bennett may just need to indicate interest by noon tomorrow and that there is not actually an offer on the table.

Lavin just mentioned Pitino on ESPN and Digger basically said the IU job is not attractive because of the pending NCAA hearing. I hate Digger.

Well, it will be interesting to see if more comes out about all this Tony Bennett buzz in the next 12 hours.

My List of Coaches

Here we go. Here is my list of who I want to be IU's next head coach.

I've been reading every article and I have literally been thinking about this non-stop since our Hoosiers lost to Arkansas.

The order has been changing and has even changed since I started typing this, but the same group of guys have remained at the top and my #1 choice has pretty much remained the same since Sampson was fired. His picture is right up there.

1. Tony Bennett
Bennett is my clear-cut #1 choice. He is the answer. Let's make it happen. I just think when you look at all the factors that should go into this hire, all signs point to Tony Bennett.

First and foremost, can he coach? Definitely yes. This is not a guy that's pulling in 5-star recruits and just throwing them out there. This is a guy that can flat out coach. A coach's son that was a very smart player when he played. His teams play outstanding defense and are fundamentally sound. Also, his offensive system is not nearly as boring as his Dad's. He does have an offensive philosophy of making sure you take good shots (seems obvious, but also seems to be a lost art in college basketball these days). However, he does give his players some freedom to make plays and if a good shot is open early, they take it.

In my mind, I had always thought that Dick Bennett went to Washington State and turned that team around. Then, I had in my mind that Tony took over and then just took the team to another level. However, Dick Bennett was just 36-49 in 3 seasons. Now, Tony has taken over and gone 52-16 in 2 seasons. That's quite a turn-around. Granted, Tony is doing it with players that were recruited while Dick was still the head coach. Even so, it was Tony that was hitting the pavement and actually recruiting these players. And those players most likely knew that they were ultimately going to be playing for Tony anyway.

Ok, so I just did a little more research and found that Dick Bennett does deserve credit for turning Washington State around even though he didn't get to .500. I didn't realize how bad Washington State was before Dick Bennett got there. Under Dick Bennett, he was able to break a 27-game road losing streak, break a 47-game losing streak at UCLA, break a 22-game overall losing streak to UCLA, and a whole bunch of other streaks of futility.

So, I would liken what the combined Bennetts have done at Washington State to someone going to Penn State and winning 26 games and going to the Sweet 16.

It should also be noted that this year's run to the Sweet 16 was the first Sweet 16 in Washington State's history. Hey, didn't a guy named Kelvin Sampson coach at Washington State??? Prick. Anyway, we're not talking about Kelvin anymore. Back to Bennett....

Can he recruit? Yes. He is credited with recruiting the likes of Devin Harris, Alando Tucker, and Kirk Penney while at Wisconsin. I'm not as familiar with the Washington State players, but obviously he has put together good enough players to win 26 games in each of the last 2 seasons. I have also read that he was won some nice recruiting battles, especially when you consider that Washington State is in the middle of nowhere.

For more on his recruiting philosophy and some other topics, check out this youtube video clip and then tell me that you don't want this guy as IU's next coach.

Would he represent the university in a positive fashion? Yes. I think he would be a great face for the IU basketball program. He's really just a good clean-cut All-American kid. He's the type of guy you think of when you think IU basketball. He's well spoken and does things the right way. His teams play hard and learn how to actually play basketball.

Fan Support? Yep. He's #1 on my list and that counts for....well, nothing. But he has seemed to be the fan favorite for the job to this point. Even with all the names thrown out there (including some pretty big names), Bennett still received twice as many votes as the 2nd-place vote-getter on an Inside Indiana/peegs poll that received over 500 votes.

Indiana or Big Ten or Midwest ties? Yes. Played at UWGB and assistant coach under his Dad at Wisconsin for several years. Sister coached the women's team at IU, but that may actually be the one negative as there have been conflicting reports on her departure from IU while Greenspan was A.D.

Affordable? Yes. Like it or not, but the topic of money has been mentioned a lot in this coaching search. There have been some reports that donors are ready to ante up for a big name, but the fact is that IU does not have nearly the football revenue that many other schools have. But with Bennett's current salary under $1 million, IU should definitely be able to make him an offer that would make it attractive for him financially.

Young enough to stay a long time and truly build a program? Yes. Not that IU needs to build a program, but they certainly do need a coach that will come in and rebuild the program into one that competes at a high level year in and year out. Bennett is just 38 years old so he could potentially stay for a long time.

College Head Coaching Experience? Yes....but only 2 years. However, I do like that those 2 years have been in a power conference. And I would call those 2 years highly successful.

Realistic Interest in the IU job? Yes, I would think so. This one is impossible to know for sure. Perhaps he is waiting for Bo Ryan to retire so that he can eventually take the Wisconsin job. But I have to believe that if IU wants to talk to him, he would certainly listen. We're talking about going from Pullman, Washington to the heartland of basketball.

Possible Negatives: If sister says Greenspan is a complete jerk and sometimes offense can be ugly. Sometimes, with Bennett's style of play, his teams will win ugly. And when they lose, it is really really really ugly. See tonight's 47 points against UNC. But then again, that style was going to be the only possible way that they were going to compete with UNC and they still lost by 21 points. But if you let Carolina play their style, you'll lose by 40 points. It's pretty impressive to hold that UNC team under 70 points, but you still have to score more than 47. They were simply out-manned. But even forgetting about tonight's game, there would definitely be IU fans that would groan at Bennett's offense. I'm sure I would be one of those people when they lose. But I do believe that his style of play would produce a lot of wins, they would play hard, and it would be fundamental basketball that most IU fans would enjoy when they win. I also think it is a style of basketball that can allow the program to be competitive every single year, even in years where the talent level might be somewhat down.

I say, give Bennett tonight and maybe tomorrow to unwind from the end of their season, then it's time to give him a call and talk Hoosier basketball.

Ok, so there's my clear-cut #1, but who's next?

2. Jamie Dixon
Dixon has rocketed up my list as of late. I think he has a lot of the same positives as Bennett. Again, I like that he has been highly successful in a power conference. In 5 years at Pitt, he has had 20-win seasons in all 5 and 25+ wins in 4 of them. Very impressive. He was an assistant under Ben Howland and his Pitt teams play an extremely tough style of basketball that I think Hoosier fans would appreciate. No baggage and does things the right way. Main negative might be that Pitt is as close to the Midwest as he has ever been and he originally has West coast roots.

3. Sean Miller
Doing a great job at Xavier. Tonight, his team got to 30 wins and advanced to the Elite 8. But actually, for our favorite coaches, we want them to lose! Prior to tonight, the Xavier A.D. was already saying that they were going to do everything possible to keep Miller. Imagine if they go to the Final Four or farther.

I've been reading that Xavier is tired of being a breeding ground and launching pad for coaches. This time, they want to do everything possible to keep their good coach. Miller already has a $2 million dollar buyout and he has sort of pledged some loyalty to Xavier. I don't recall his exact words, but I do know it wasn't just the neutral stand that many coaches take by saying "I don't talk about other coaching jobs." He instead said something about staying at Xavier. Of course, we know that doesn't really mean anything coming out of a coaches' mouth, but I do think many coaches have learned that the neutral stance is the best one to take.

I would love to have him, but it seems that I keep reading about his buyout, etc.

4. Rick Pitino
Again, I thought this was a complete joke when I first heard his name, but you just keep hearing that he would definitely listen if IU came calling. With Pitino, you are probably looking at a maximum of 7 years, but this guy can flat out coach and he goes to Final Fours.

5. Tom Izzo
I still think this one is a joke, but that won't keep him off my list for wanting him. Again, a proven winner. And there would be a bonus of IU hiring Izzo....he would no longer be coaching at Michigan State. They'd probably then hire Tom Crean.....Advantage: IU.

6. Bruce Pearl
Pearl has been sliding down my list a little bit. But we are still in the group of coaches that I would do backflips over, so the order really isn't that important. Part of my hesitation is that he is a big personality. Some of that would be good because he shows up at pep rallies and interacts with the fans. Much like Terry Hoeppner in that way. But at IU, the football program needs those things. The basketball program needs to focus on basketball. I'm a little bit tired of the head coach or other things surrounding the program being the main focus. I want winning titles to be the focus again.

But I do think Pearl would win and win big. His style would surely be interesting in the Big Ten, but with the way the Big Ten has been getting beat up by other conferences, I am sure it would be a successful style in the Big Ten.

The bonus would be that it would piss off Illinois fans to no end.

7. Thad Matta
Last time, the timing was not right because Oden and Conley were on their way and you'd be crazy to leave that situation. Could it be a different story this time? Is IU still his dream job?

8. Rick Barnes
Been to the Sweet 16 in 5 of the last 7 seasons.

The above 8 coaches are what I am considering my Tier 1. I would be ecstatic if IU landed any of these guys.

I also have a Tier 2 that I would still get pretty excited about. Here they are:

9. Mike Montgomery
Originally, Montgomery was a "hell no" for me, but he has been climbing my list. Highly successful at Stanford and does things the right way. A little old at 61, but I would be confident that he would get this program back on the right track.

10. Brad Brownell
Would be a little risky because his head coaching experience is at UNCW and Wright State, but he has Indiana ties and is well respected in the Indiana high school ranks. IU is his dream job.

11. Jay Wright
I am getting too tired to actually look up stats, but I think Wright is now 8-3 in the Big Dance.

12. Anthony Grant
I hear he is the front-runner for the LSU job.

13. Mark Few
Still a really good coach if he would be interested.

14. Tom Crean
I'm down a little on Crean, but I still think he is a good coach, really good recruiter, and is a good PR guy.

15. Purdue Guy
I'm still struggling with the Purdue thing, but Stallings can coach.

16. Scott Drew
I had been hearing about questionable recruiting tactics at Baylor, but did not know what they were until today. Apparently, the Baylor staff (not Drew himself) sent a flyer to a potential recruit that said "Guess which one of these coaches has recruited a McDonald's All-American in the last two years?" Then it had pictures of Bob Knight and Billy Gillespie with an X over their face and a picture of Drew that was circled in the middle. This was viewed as negative recruiting and although it is not a violation, it's a no-no within the coaching profession.

But I would still be pretty happy with any of the guys in this Tier 2 group.

In a group by himself:
17. John Calipari
If this was based purely on coaching, he would definitely be in Tier 1. But in light of what has happened at IU this past year, I just think that this would be way too big of a risk. I just can't imagine that the Memphis program is clean. But I guess if he could convince that 10-person blue-ribbon committee that he runs a clean program, then I'd be willing to go for the ride. I think this has a 0% chance of happening.

Another guy in a group by himself:
18. Steve Alford
This is as high as I have had Alford and you can see that it's not very high. He did do a nice job at New Mexico this year and he was highly successful prior to Iowa. But the Iowa thing was a complete mess. However, if he did land the IU job, I still think he is highly connected and respected around the state of Indiana. If he landed the job, I would back him 100% and hope for the best.

And here are the guys that would make me cringe (only including names that have been mentioned with some frequency):
* Mike Brey -- He's doing a nice job at Notre Dame, but I just don't like him. I don't know why, but I don't.

* Randy Wittman -- No college coaching or recruiting experience.

* Scott Skiles -- No college coaching or recruiting experience and I fear he might be too much of a hard-ass to have any success at recruiting.

* Dan Dakich -- Again, I like having him associated with the IU basketball program, but not as head coach.

So, who's at the top of your list? Who would make you cringe?

This is all expected to shake out within the next 2 weeks. And with the way IU does thing, it's guaranteed to be interesting. They should literally sell tickets.

Let's Talk Coaches

Let's just start by making this clear -- at this point, nobody knows nothin'.

In fact, two of the more credible Hoosier basketball media outlets go in opposite directions on two names today. Those names are Rick Pitino and Thad Matta.

In Terry Hutchens' Ask the Expert blog entry from today, he is asked about a list of potential candidates (Bennett, Pearl, Miller, Matta, Pitino, and Calipari). In his response, Hutchens quickly removes Pitino and Matta from the mix, but says the others could be serious candidates.

However, peegs updated his coaching hot board and said that many of the influential alums and donors are wanting a big name and therefore peegs has moved Pitino and Matta up his coaching hot board (which he has ordered by likelihood).

Another interesting thing about the Hutchens answer was that he again mentions Tom Izzo and Izzo wasn't even mentioned as part of the question. I continue to think this is the craziest name that has been thrown out there, but Hutchens continues to bring up Izzo.

Currently, as far as rumors and names being talked about, I would say these are the guys being mentioned the most. This is not in any order, just who I am hearing talked about the most:

* Bruce Pearl -- A lot of buzz that Indiana will come calling, some of this buzz is coming from Pearl himself talking about it. It's starting to look like the Calipari move from a couple years ago of trying to get more money. In fact, it might be working as Tennessee's Athletic Director has already come out and said they are working on a salary increase and contract extension.

I've been going back and forth on Pearl. Some days, he is my clear cut #1 choice and then there are other days that I am not so sure. I definitely think he can coach and could step right in and win big. It would certainly be an interesting style of play in the Big Ten. He is a big personality and sometimes can be a little over the top.

* Rick Pitino -- I thought it was a total joke the first time I saw his name mentioned, but his name keeps coming up, especially in the past week or so. No doubt that he can coach -- taken 3 different schools to the Final Four and his Louisville team has been very impressive so far in this year's tournament.

I'm still not convinced that he would seriously consider the IU job and I'm not sure that the 10-person committee would go down this path either, but it sure is an interesting name to consider. He has never stayed in one place for more than 8 years and I certainly wouldn't expect him to do so now that he is older, but I have to admit that I would be all sorts of fired up if IU actually hired him.

Mike DeCourcy of the Sporting News just wrote an article about the circus at IU. He mentioned that he has a source that says IU wants to talk to Pitino. Unfortunately, he was only mentioning it as an example of how IU would screw up this coaching hire like they have screwed everything else up. "According to my source, they expressed interest in Louisville's Rick Pitino, 55, who already earns about $1 million more than Indiana stretched itself to pay Sampson, who isn't going to want to clean up someone else's mess and who isn't going to be eager to leave the mid-sized city of Louisville for the small college town atmosphere of Bloomington. If the folks at IU had a clue, they'd know all this. "

* Scott Skiles -- First, a Chicago paper reported that he is expecting IU to contact him and now the NY Daily News is saying that he is scheduled to have an interview. I'm not crazy about anybody that does not have college head coaching experience.

* Tony Bennett -- This is probably the name that has been most consistently mentioned. His name was one of the first thrown out there and continues to be talked about everyday. I think the reason he has been consistently mentioned is that it just feels right and seems to make sense. He's a coaches son, spent several years as an assistant in Wisconsin, plays fundementally sound basketball, and has been highly successful in 2 years in the Pac 10.

One of the questions and contradictions has been how his sister left IU.

With the way things have been going for IU lately, we will probably either not pursue Bennett or he won't want to come. Then, in a few years, Bo Ryan will retire and Bennett will go to Wisconsin and whip our ass for the next 30 years. Sorry for the pessimism but this season really beat me down.

* Sean Miller -- Generally mentioned in the same breath as Bennett. However, if all other things are equal, it is believed that Miller has a $2 million dollar buyout and Bennett does not have a buyout clause.

So, these are the guys that I am hearing the most buzz about, which means absolutely nothing. If you recall, the last time we went through this, there were again 15-25 names being talked about and Kelvin Sampson was not one of them.

Other names being mentioned (again, not in any particular order):

* Jamie Dixon - I haven't heard his name a lot, but it has been mentioned a little bit more recently and I think he is an interesting candidate. Everything that I read is that he is very well respected and very highly regarded by everyone that he comes across. Hit Pitt teams have been successful and they play hard and tough.

* John Calipari - I keep hearing that he would be interested if IU came calling. First of all, I'm a little surprised that he would seriously be interested. But more importantly, I don't see IU calling him. There are serious doubts if that Memphis program is clean and IU can't go down that path. I would think that at least half of the 10-person committee would be dead set against this one.

* Tom Izzo - Hutchens seems to be keeping this one alive, but I just don't see it. Does not even make the peegs hot board list that contains 19 candidates.

* Thad Matta - Interestingly enough, Hutchens dismisses Matta as a possibility but he is on the peegs radar. Me personally, if there was a coach that would move within the Big Ten, I could see Matta coming to IU before I could see Izzo doing it. Matta has Indiana ties.

* Rick Barnes - I know everyone likes to see some ties back to Indiana or at least back to the midwest or Big Ten. But if I guy can coach, then I think you have to take a serious look at him.

* Tom Crean - Seems like he was a hotter name last time, but I have heard his name mentioned again. Around these parts, people can't fathom that he would even consider the IU job.

* Kevin Stallings - Otherwise known as "the Purdue guy". Seems to be very highly respected for his coaching abilities. I could probably get over the Purdue thing as long as he wins 90% of his overall games and 100% of games against Purdue. Honestly, the Purdue thing does bother me, but I guess that just means the rivalry is alive and well.

* Anthony Grant - For those that are familiar with this guy, they can't seem to say enough good things about him. People are very impressed with what he is doing at VCU and he is credited with recruiting the Florida class that won back-to-back titles while he was an assistant under Billy Donovan.

* Brad Brownell - From Evansville, played with Calbert Cheaney in high school (Brownell was a senior when Calber was a sophomore), played college ball under former Knight assistant Royce Waltman, and coached under Jim Crews. Has been successful at UNC-Wilmington and now Wright State. Might not be a name that is known around the nation, but could be a darkhorse for this job.

* Jay Wright - Again, a name that is familiar from the last go around. Villanova into the Sweet 16 as a 12 seed is certainly raising his stock.

* Scott Drew - Rebuilt a disaster at Baylor. Even though it was just one game, I don't think IU fans liked seeing Purdue hang 90 on his Baylor team in this year's tournament.

* Mike Brey - Again, it's just one game, but Tony Bennett's team held a high-scoring Notre Dame team to just 40-some points. Advantage: Bennett.

* Randy Wittman - Seems to be the former IU player that is getting mentioned the most. Again, don't like the lack of college coaching experience.

* Steve Alford - I think the mess at Iowa is still too fresh. If he has a couple more good years at New Mexico, then his name might again be mentioned for some big-time jobs (I just hope IU doesn't have an opening again for a long time).

* Mike Montgomery - Peegs just added him to the bottom of his hot board and says he has a source saying that IU might want to talk to Montgomery. He would have been a good hire when Knight left, but not now.

* Mark Few - Was one of the hottest names last time and is barely being mentioned this time. It seemed like IU probably contacted him last time and he said he was not interested. That was never confirmed, but there were some strong rumors to that effect.

* Dan Dakich - You don't announce a 10-person committee and a nationwide search for a coach right before the team's NCAA tournament game if the interim coach is a serious candidate. Also, Dakich's resume just isn't that strong. For example, one of the lesser known names on this list is probably Brad Brownell. Brownell has taken UNCW and Wright State to the Big Dance in 3 of the last 5 years whereas Dakich never went in 10 years as the Bowling Green head coach. As for this interim stint, I'm certainly not blaming Dakich, but at the same time, he wasn't able to overcome the odds and get this team to play down the stretch when it mattered most.

Unfortunately, I think Dakich had the perfect job for him before this mess unfolded. I think a great position for him and for IU would be to have Dan Dakich as the president of basketball operations. Just from his interviews and dealings with the media, you can tell that he understands the right way to do things and the IU way of doing things. I just don't think he is an elite coach, so the perfect position would be that basketball operations position that he was brought in for, but now even that is screwed up.

Ok, I think that is most of the names that have been seriously mentioned. I know there have been others, but I think this covers most of them. Again, this probably just means we now have the list of who will NOT be the next coach at IU.

Coming soon....my list of who I WANT to be the next coach as well as a list of who I THINK is the most likely to be hired.

Anyone got any other rumors or buzz on the coaching front?

Hey New Coach Guy

Hey you! New Coach! Yes you, whatever your name is, I'm talkin' to you.

Please bring back Tom Coverdale.

Yes, I know jackass. I know he doesn't have any eligibility. I didn't mean exactly Tom Coverdale. It was supposed to be a metaphor or some bullcrap like that. Anyway, my point is to bring the Tom Coverdales of the world back to IU. Bring the heart back to IU. Bring the desire to be the best back to IU. Bring the swagger that your are the best back to IU.

Oh, I'm sorry, I guess you're not the guy that can do that. You're the guy that was hired by a 10-person pink-ribbon committee that knows nothing about basketball.

My bad....I'm just a fan.....whose life depends on it.....

IU's Top 10 Disasters of the Year

1. Kelvin gets fired.

2. The way IU handles the circus of the week leading to the firing.

3. IU announces before the season self-reporting some impermissible phone calls.

4. IU and Sampson try to make Rob Senderoff the fall guy.

5. Just before the 3 biggest games of the year, the NCAA announces allegations of 5 major violations including Sampson lying to them and the university.

6. Half the team skips the first practice under Dakich.

7. IU names Dakich interim even though players wanted McCallum.

8. A.J. Ratliff gets suspended for 1st semester.

9. A.J. Ratliff comes back only to leave the team for good a few weeks later.

10. Jordan Crawford suspended.

11. Armon Bassett suspended.

12. Jamarcus Ellis suspended.

13. Bud Mackey busted for dealing cocaine.

14. Devin Ebanks asks out of LOI.

15. Holloway expected to ask out of LOI.

16. IU announces 10-person pink-ribbon committee for coaching search.

17. IU announces above right before IU's NCAA tournament game.

18. IU gets screwed with #8 seed.

19. IU proves committee right by getting ass kicked by Arkansas.

20. IU loses Big Ten title hopes on bank shot by Brian Butch on same day NCAA announces allegations of major violations.

21. IU loses to Minnesota in the cursed Big Ten Tourney on a play that is compared to the hated Christian Laettner.

I know this is supposed to be a Top 10 list, but I could probably get to 100 if I tried. So, I will stop here, but there are still a few more to come:

22. IU hires wrong coach. According to Andy, this will be Pat Summit.

23. IU current players transfer (Bassett, Crawford, etc.)

24. IU becomes completely insignificant in the college basketball scene.

If This Blog Was Made of Paper....

If this blog was made of paper, I would set it on fire.

But at least it's over. The most disappointing and frustrating season in IU history is in the books.

I feel bad for DJ White.

I feel sick that our only season with Eric Gordon ends with him playing horribly for the entire second half of the season and 0 postseason wins.

Now we can look forward to a nice quiet offseason. Probably just hire a new coach, get some NCAA sanctions, suffer some transfers, suffer some recruits backing out of LOIs, suffer a rough recruiting season.....

I feel confident that IU and their pink-ribbon (credit: Andy) committee will screw up the hiring of IU's next coach.

I feel like I have completely wasted the last 4 months of my life.

I feel bad that Tom bet $10,000 on IU winning this game.

I feel disgusted that IU not only lost their 1st round game, but did not even keep it close enough to prevent CBS from switching away from the IU game to another game that had 12 minutes left.

Andy feels like transferring his diploma to another university.

I feel like my best work on this blog for the entire year was this:

I hate this team. I really do.

The End.

Game Comments

Open for in-game comments. Believe.

Prediction Time

It's time to make your prediction for IU's matchup with Arkansas.


I'm really struggling with this one. One thing is for sure and that's if IU decides not to show up for this one, they will be done in a hurry. You would hope that they would play with intensity in the NCAA tournament, but you would have thought the same thing at Michigan State with a share of the Big Ten title on the line and again at the Big Ten tournament. So, I do think it's a possibility that this team doesn't even show up and this thing is over before it even starts.


But to prevent another short blog post, I am going to assume that they show up ready to play so that I can continue with my analysis. The good news is that they will have been off for a full week, so hopefully that will help them be ready.


I do think this is an interesting matchup. Arkansas is athletic and wants to play an up-tempo game.


On the one hand, I could see Arkansas forcing IU turnovers, getting every loose ball, and crashing the offensive boards. This would obviously spell disaster for IU.


However, on the other hand, I could see the up-tempo and a pressing defense from Arkansas as just what the doctor ordered for IU. Could that style of play lead to some different types of looks for Eric Gordon and IU's offense? I think if IU can hang on to the ball, they could score some serious points in this one. So, I'm just not sure how they style of play is going to impact the game.


Another thing about Arkansas is their size. They have a few guys that are 6-10 or taller. The thing that I am not really sure about is how good these big men are. Their 7-footer was on the SEC's defensive team, but does nothing on offense. They have another 6-10 player that is a good offensive player though, so I do think that DJ is going to have his hands full.


I'm not too concerned about DJ's scoring. I think IU's guards are going to be the key for IU's offense. If the IU guards can handle the ball and hit some shots, IU will be fine. The key for DJ is going to be rebounding. He needs to be a monster on the boards. Arkansas beat Vanderbilt and Tennessee by beating them on the boards, especially the offensive boards. IU lost to Penn State and Minnesota by giving up too many second chance points. Not a good combination, so DJ will have to own the glass.


But DJ will need help and a big factor will be Jamarcus Ellis. First, Jamarcus needs to get his head straight and show up to play. He could play a huge role in this game. He obviously needs to have a big game on the boards, but he could also play a big ball-handling role against the Arkansas pressure defense.


Ok, I have several more angles on this game, but this post is just rambling and not really providing any useful information at all.


Therefore, I am going to try to summarize and get to my prediction.


I fear that Arkansas may get to all the loose balls, crash the offensive boards, and generally run circles around IU. I also fear that IU gets off to another horrible start and it should be noted that Arkansas is 18-0 when leading at halftime.


However, I do also think that if IU can handle the defensive pressure, they might be able to get some really good looks against Arkansas. This isn't going to be the Wisconsin defense where you have to earn every point you get. I'm expecting this to be high pressure and athletic, but there will be holes and some easy baskets if IU doesn't turn the ball over. And maybe, just maybe, if IU can get some easy baskets, then maybe the 3-pointers start to fall again.


The brain is telling me that there is a big risk that IU doesn't even show up and that Arkansas may just run circles around our Hoosiers.


My heart is telling me that Eric Gordon is going to get a big-time tomahawk dunk followed by a flurry of 3-pointers.


My family jewels are telling me that they would give anything to stop taking low blow after low blow from this team.


My prediction: IU 80 Arkansas 76

Go Hoosiers!

A Look Ahead to UNC

I wanted to take a moment to look ahead to North Carolina for 2 reasons:

1. We're fans and we are allowed to look ahead.

2. After we lose to Arkansas, it won't make any sense to look ahead to UNC.

So, when looking ahead to UNC, I think the real question is whether there is any possible way that IU can beat North Carolina.

The answer to that question is no.

So, I guess that ends this post.

Good talk, Russ.

Coach Talk

Another name that has been mentioned for the IU job has been Scott Drew. If you are not familiar with the massive rebuilding job he has done at Baylor, check out this article from cbssportline.

Rebuilding the mess that Kelvin Sampson created at IU would pale in comparison to what Drew had to do at Baylor. The IU mess is from phone calls. The Baylor mess was from one teammate murdering his best friend and fellow teammate. Yes, I said murdering. And if that wasn't enough, the coaching staff also got into all sorts of trouble with the NCAA including the head coach encouraging players to lie to NCAA investigators -- more on this from wikipedia.

If your interested in more on Scott Drew himself, here is a link to his bio.

Here's what I would consider the positives about Scott Drew:
1. Son of a Coach (good ole Homer)
2. Ties to Indiana -- Butler grad, assistant under his Dad at Valpo for several years and head coach at Valpo for one year before taking the Baylor job.
3. Great Recruiter -- 3 straight Top 20 classes at Baylor.
4. Ability to rebuild -- again, the IU mess would look like nothing compared to what he stepped into at Baylor.

As for the negatives:
1. Still young and inexperienced.

In many ways, I see Scott Drew as a similar candidate as Tony Bennett -- coaches son, ties back to the state and/or midwest, has been successful but has only been the head man for a few years.

And if you like the young up and comer and coaches' son type of candidate, you may also want to check out the bio for Drake's Keno Davis. Son of Dr. Tom, Keno Davis has been winning National Coach of the Year awards this year. And rightfully so. After last year's 17-15 team graduated 4 starters, Keno took over as head man and won the Missouri Valley conference with a team that predicted to finish 9th. Also served as an assistant under Bruce Pearl at Southern Indiana.

So, what do you think of Scott Drew as a possibility? How about Keno Davis?

Coaching News and Rumors

So, with that crappy-ass draw we got in the tournament, I figured we might as well start chasing the coaching rumors. Might as well have some fun with it.

This isn't a rumor, but it is a good article by Pat Forde if you are interested in Bruce Pearl as a possibility for IU's next coach.


I hadn't given Pearl a lot of thought because I just don't see it happening, but his name is consistently mentioned. I think IU would have to pay him a gazillion dollars and I'm not sure why he would want to leave what he has going at Tennessee (a Top 10 program) for IU. But Tennessee is a football school and a women's basketball school. So, if he does dream of being the man in the spotlight, then head coach of the Indiana men's basketball team might be intriguing.

I'll tell you one thing, out of any of the coaches out there, Bruce Pearl might be the one at the top of the list of coaches that I would be fully confident that he would come in and win. Not just win, but win a lot. For example, I'm all for Tony Bennett, but I can't say that I am 100% confident that he would come in and win a ton. I think he would, but I am not 100% sure. As for Pearl, after watching him on the local scene here in Milwaukee and then seeing what he has done at Tennessee, this guy knows how to win basketball games. Might be an interesting style in the Big Ten as well.

What do you think?

The other notable story today was the article in the Chicago Sun Times that says IU is expected to contact Scott Skiles. First of all, I don't like this entire category of coaches -- NBA coaches that do not have any experience recruiting or coaching college basketball. So, that includes Skiles, Wittman, Woodson, and Isiah. Secondly, do you really think Skiles hard-ass style is really suited for recruiting today's young players. I don't.

To start thinking about several other coaching possibilities, you must read Terry Hutchens blog post where he names and comments on 25 possibilities from a few weeks ago. Here are a few interesting things about Hutchens' post:

1. Bruce Pearl -- Hutchens says "I just think some of his past problems (especially when he was at Iowa) would make him not a desirable candidate especially when you're trying to get as far away from the troubles you've experienced over the last two seasons as possible." I guess I don't really understand this comment. The situation at Iowa was that he blew the whistle on Illinois. I guess it was a questionable tactic to record phone conversations, etc., but I still see him as a whistle-blower, not a cheater. Besides, that was 20 years ago and he paid the price by basically being black-listed from D-I coaching jobs for several years.

It would be fun to get a guy that Illinois hates more than Eric Gordon and continue to keep whipping their ass.

2. John Calipari -- Will most likely again use the IU opening to get another raise. Also, everyone knows that Memphis is not a clean program and there is no way IU brings in a slick guy like this.

3. Tom Izzo -- Hutchens says "I've heard it from enough people now to believe that if Indiana came calling that Izzo would give the Hoosiers a long look." This is completely crazy to me. Izzo is God in East Lansing. Why in the world would he go to another Big Ten school where there is still an open NCAA investigation? Also, he would then be hated in East Lansing and he would not be guaranteed love from Hoosier Nation if he doesn't win right away. I just don't see this, but I find it interesting that Hutchens is hearing this from "enough people".

4. Steve Alford -- Good ole Stevie is not very high on my list because of the mess at Iowa. However, he did a great job in his first year at New Mexico and he did a great job prior to going to Iowa. So, you do have to wonder if the entire Iowa situation was just a mess beyond his control? Still not in my Top 10 for candidates, but if you wanted someone from the IU family, I could get behind Alford.

5. Rick Pitino -- I love the comment by Hutchens on Pitino...."Never say never. He's had Kentucky and Louisville. Why not complete the trifecta with the Hoosiers?" This guy can coach, there is no doubt about that. I have a horrible memory....does Pitino have violations or rumors of violations in his past?

6. Tony Bennett -- Two interesting things here. First, Hutchens has Bennett listed down in the middle of all the non-serious candidates such as Dane Fife, Pat Knight, Bob Knight, and Rick Majerus. Second, Hutchens mentions the problems that his sister had while at IU and the way she was let go. I had done some research on his sister at IU and did not find anything that sounded negative, but I guess Terry Hutchens would know a lot better than anyone. Anyway, for those of us in the Bennett camp, this blog post by Hutchens certainly did not get my hopes up.

Other than that, it seemed to be a pretty standard list. Overall, I've definitely heard some additional names, but this list covers most of them. I would say that approximately half the NCAA tournament field has coaches that have been mentioned for the IU job.

Well, I imagine the rumors will really begin heating up in the next few weeks, so please post a comment or send me an email anytime you hear one.

Any other rumors that you have heard? Or just initial thoughts on the next coach?

Don't Get Excited About Arkansas Injury

Don't get excited if you see a headline about an injury to Arkansas' leading scorer. It is true that Sonny Weems left practice with a hurt knee today, but it sounds like he is going to be perfectly fine and ready to play on Friday.

Ebanks Officially Asks for Release

We all knew it was coming, but it's official now.....Ebanks has asked out of his letter of intent and IU will grant the release.

Still not ruling IU out for sure, but I would be shocked if he still seriously considered IU after all this crap.

I'm just hoping that IU can keep Pritchard and Roth for next year and Elston for the following year. All 3 are hard-working whiteys that could be solid 4-year players and fill some nice roles for getting the program back on track.

IU Names Committee for Coaching Search

Yesterday, IU put out a press release to announce they had formed a 10-person committee to perform a nationwide search for a new coach.

The head of the committee will be Harry Gonso who was the QB for IU's Rose Bowl team. Basically, that means he's old.

Other recognizable names on the committee include Greenspan (pictured throwing up in his mouth a little bit), Wayne Radford, Jerry Yeagley, Grace Calhoun (IU Athletics Compliance), and Bruce Jaffee (faculty representative on athletics committee).

The rest of the committee is rounded out with some other stiffs from the IU Alumni Association, the IU Varsity Club, the IU vice president for engagement (whatever the hell that is), and the dean of the graduate school.

So what do you think of this committee?

I'm not so sure about it. First of all, what in the world do most of these people know about hiring a college basketball coach?

And who will be accountable for the hire?

Personally, I'd like to see this hiring decision made by Greenspan. I know he is not the most popular person in Bloomington right now, but it is an Athletic Director's job to hire coaches and oversee the athletics department. At Indiana, that basically means you are overseeing the men's basketball program.

I'm fine with getting input from a committee, but I want the decision to lie in the hands of the Athletic Director. That's his job.

As for Greenspan himself, I would have been perfectly fine with him getting canned with Sampson. However, other than the Sampson debacle, he has some pretty good decisions and accomplishments to his name, including Terry Hoeppner and the facilities that are currently under construction. Even with the Sampson hire, I still think it was reasonable to believe that Kelvin Sampson would not do the same damn thing that got him into trouble at Oklahoma. So, if Kelvin could have just put the cell phone down, that hire would probably be looking pretty good as well.

I guess I'm just not really sure how a faculty member, the vice president of engagement, and an IU Varsity Club member are really all that helpful in hiring a college basketball coach. Hell, I'd like to think that I could add value as a committee member, but the truth is that I don't spend all day everyday involved in this stuff (even though it might seem that way sometimes). I want the decision made by someone whose job is to know what to look for in a coach and that's the athletic director.

Again, get input from a committee, but the decision should be made by the Athletic Director with a stamp of approval from his boss (the President or whoever Greenspan's boss is). If it doesn't work out, Greenspan is gone. No questions asked. Well, if it doesn't work out, there won't even be a program anymore so I guess it won't matter.

I also thought it was curious that IU would put out a press release to announce this committee and nationwide search.

First of all, I'm hoping Greenspan and his team have been working on this ever since Sampson was fired.

Second, I don't think it's any big secret that Dakich is not a candidate for this position, but does it really help motivate the guy to announce the nationwide search right before their NCAA tournament game? I'm fine that the committee has been formed and is getting underway, but do they really need a press release this week?

Finally, Mac Jurko & Harry had this story as a post-commercial tease yesterday. I thought it was kind of interesting that they would be dangling this story as a tease to keep you around for the other side of the commercial, but it turns out that they were just kind of making fun of IU for feeling the need to announce a nationwide search. They were saying that they thought IU's coaching search was going to range from Evansville to Fort Wayne until IU announced it's nationwide search.

Anyway, so what do you think of this 10-person committee for the coaching search?

My Early Keys to the Game

1. IU's 3-Point Shooting The Hoosiers have gone icy from the arc and that will have to change if they want to advance. Gordon, Bassett, Crawford, and Stemler have all been abdolutely ice-cold from downtown and that ain't Dakich's fault. These guys need to start knocking down some shots. 2. Rebounding As noted earlier, Arkansas pulled off the big wins over Vanderbilt and Tennessee by owning the glass. However, I also went back and looked at the box scores of the 11 Arksansas losses to try to find a theme. The only theme that I could find was that Arkansas got outrebounded in 9 of their 11 losses. In general, they are a good rebounding team, but if you keep them off the glass, you can certainly beat them. 3. The IU Fog/Funk Their head coach is gone, the interim coach may not be their favorite, another player serves a suspension, their last 2 games were their only losses to non-tourney teams including a heart-breaking buzzer-beater in the Big Ten Tourney, and now they get slammed with an 8 seed and a horrific draw in the tournament. The players will try to be prepared and try to be ready. But for whatever reason, things are not clicking on the floor for this team. And I don't think that is a switch you can just turn on for the NCAA tournament. If we as fans are feeling like it is us against the world, I can only imagine what the players are thinking. 4. FT Shooting Statistically, it would appear to be the most significant advantage that the Hoosiers have over Arkansas. Let's hope they can take advantage of it. Let's also hope that the play-in game winner can be the first team to pull off the #16 over a #1 upset. I'd love a rematch against Coppin State in the second round.

IU to Play Friday Night Late Game

It looks like the Hoosiers will tip at approximately 9:40 EST on Friday night.

The Statistical Matchup

Points per Game: IU 75.1 Ark 74.2 Field Goal %: IU 46.3 Ark 46.6 3-Pt Field Goal %: IU 34.6 Ark 34.6 Total 3-Pointers Made: IU 211 Ark 192 FT %: IU 76.3 Ark 67.4 Total FTs Made: IU 571 Ark 463 Rebounds per Game: IU 40.8 Ark 39.8 Turnovers per Game: IU 13.7 Ark 15.5 Assists per Game: IU 13.2 Ark 14.8 Steals per Game: IU 7.0 Ark 7.1 Blocks per Game: IU 3.8 Ark 5.3

A Look at Arkansas

Arkansas is a pretty balanced team with 5 players scoring in the 9 to 14 point range. I haven't seen them play much, but I have been gathering up some information. From what I can tell, they are athletic and a good rebounding team. And they have some size that they can throw at D.J., including a 7-foot Senior (Steven Hill) who doesn't do a lot offensively but does average over 2 blocks per game. In addition, they have a 6-10, 254-pound Senior (Darian Townes) that averages 12 points a game. They also have a 6-1 Sophomore guard (Patrick Beverly) that averages 12 points and an impressive 6.8 rebounds per game. And their leading scorer is a 6-6 Senior (Sonny Weems) at 14.3 points per game. Their starting point guard is a 6-0 Senior and averages 9.3 ppg and 3.6 apg. Key reserve is a 6-8 Senior (Charles Thomas) with 8.6 ppg off the bench. It looks like they have 9 players that see minutes -- 6 of those players are Seniors and the other 3 are Sophomores. Prior to the SEC tournament, Arkansas was struggling a little bit and had lost 5 of their last 8 games. All 5 losses were on the road. However, they got hot in the SEC tournament with impressive wins over Vanderbilt and Tennessee before losing to a Georgia team that was on some sort of mission. The key to their big wins over Vandy and The Vols was rebounding and especially offensive rebounding. They outrebounded Vanderbilt 45-24 and Tennessee 34-22. In IU's losses to Penn State and Minnesota, giving up offensive rebounds was one of the biggest factors in those losses. But I am sure that Dan Jock-Itch (nickname credited to the IU Hoops Nickname Master, Ben Prifogle) will have that shored up this week. In SEC games were Arkansas scored 70+, they were 10-3. When they were held under 70, they were only 1-5.

We Got Screwed

We got so screwed that I cannot even believe it. 8 seed!?! No frickin' way. I understand we are playing lousy right now and that our strength of schedule was not the strongest this year, but even with all those things factored in, IU should have been a #6 at worst. All of the major publications/websites had IU as a 5 or a 6 and then the committee comes up with an 8 seed!?! That makes no sense. We finish ahead of Michigan State and they end up a 5 seed and we are an 8!?!? I'm fine with Michigan State being a higher seed, but if they are a 5, we are a 6 for sure. 25 regular season wins and 14-4 in a power conference.....8 seed. Bullshit. Even if this team can pull it together for a first-round win against a hot Arkansas team, then you play the #1 seed of the whole tournament in their own backyard. I can't think of a worse possible draw. And it came right out of the gate too. A lot has gone on this year, especially in the last month, but I was still excited to see our tournament draw. I couldn't wait to see what I expected to be a winnable game against an 11 or 12 seed and then see the potential path of a tournament run. Even though this team is playing like crap right now, I was still excited to envision that possible tournament run. Then, boom, right out the gate on the Selection Show -- death sentence. The very first game that is mentioned after the #1 seeds and all my hopes (as ridiculous as they may have been) were gone. I mean, that's half the fun of the tournament, right? The hope and excitement of your team possibly making a run? But no, this is pretty much a death sentence. It feels personal. I think Myles Brand and the NCAA are really screwing with IU and their fans. First, the NCAA finally responds to the Sampson situation right before IU's biggest stretch of games against Wisconsin, MSU, and PU. Interesting timing on that one. Then, they set the hearing for June with an ultimate ruling not likely until August which really handcuffs IU's coaching search and ability to recruit new players and keep existing players and recruits. Now this. You ever notice in the years we have been on the bubble, it seems that we never get announced until the fourth bracket. Even in some of those years, it seemed we would still end up a 6 seed or something. This year, we are safely in the tournament and they lay an 8 seed on us where if you win your 1st round game, then you play the best team in the country in their backyard and they announce that immediately. I couldn't even enjoy the rest of the brackets. I'm so pissed. What a total crock of shit. IU deserved to fall to a 6 seed, but not an 8. Not 3 full seeds lower than Michigan State. Just take a look at some of the teams with better seeds than IU. It's mind-boggling. This season has been unbelievable. Low blow after low blow. IU better get this next coach right. Whoever it is needs to come in here, get this thing on the right track and take a run at a title. And when we do win another title, I'm walking around for a full year in IU gear and my middle fingers blazin'. I'm just angry at the world right now. I'm guessing we are probably looking at a first-round loss. After Friday night's game and now this draw in the tournament, this team is going to be hard-pressed to break out of the fog they have been in since Sampson screwed them over. They might continue to say the right things and have good practices, but it's my guess that they will continue to be in that fog and get bounced out right away in the first round. Of course, that could save them a 107-37 thumpin' from North Carolina. This season has taken my pride. It's taken my livelihood. I'm a shell of a man. 8 seed?!?! I still can't believe it.

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

Being IU basketball fans may have been the worst life decision ever made. This is torture. Why don't we just all put on our 1982 Nike's, drink some Kool-Aid, lay down and wait for the spaceship to arrive. The End.

IU vs. Minnesota

They say it's tough to beat a team 3 times in a season, but I really think that's just something the media idiots like to say. So, what do you think? Do you think this pathetic Hoosier team can pick themselves up and play some decent ball? If you're like me, you are completely disgusted with where the program is right now. This season has been such a train wreck that the Penn State debacle didn't even infuriate me. I just watched it unfold and said to myself "yeah, that's about right". If you are in that same state of mind, then you have probably made comments like "well, I guess IU only has 2 games left this year" or "at least I'll have this weekend free" or "I hate these fucking Hoosiers". Excuse the language, but sometimes you have to go for the f-bomb to get your point across. To continue with this line of thinking....you would not at all be surprised if the Hoosiers lost to Minnesota and you're probably saying that IU is ripe for a 1st round upset in the Big Dance. I know what you're doing because I have been doing the same thing. You're trying to protect yourself from more disappointment from this Hoosier team. Your heart can't take the ups and downs (and downs and downs and downs) of this season. But hey, we are Indiana basketball fans. And like the quote under the IU Hoops blog title says, we are often irrational, but always passionate. So I say it's time to be irrational and passionate about this team. It's March, it's the postseason, and the one good thing about this year is that the Hoosiers are safely in the Big Dance (I am thankful for not being on The Bubble like we have been far too many times over the past 10-15 years). So, go ahead, get excited. You know you want to. Still not convinced? Still think this team is going straight into the crapper? Ok, well I am going to first tell you why IU will beat Minnesota and then I will tell you why Indiana could still be a dangerous team in the NCAA Tournament. Here's why IU will beat Minnesota: 1. Jamarcus Ellis J-Ellis is an emotional guy, but if he gets those emotions headed in the right direction, he can be a difference-maker on this team. Reports are that he is expected to play and I expect him to play well. The one game that he seemed to have his head on straight since Sampson left was the Minnesota game where he had 10 points, 13 rebounds, and 4 steals. Of course, he got suspended right after that game, but it seemed that his attitude was probably wearing on Dakich ever since Sampson left and then something in practice was the final straw. 2. Eric Gordon Offense Rumor is that Gordon is going with a lighter wrap on the left wrist this week. The new wrap no longer covers any part of his hand, it only wraps around his wrist. Perhaps this is just wishful thinking, but I think Gordon might start to find the range again. EJ is 10 for his last 50 from the arc. I have to believe that the wrist injury and the wrap covering his hand has affected his shot. Also, there was that brief stint in the Penn State game where he scored 12 points in a 2:30 span with a traditional 3-point play immediately followed by 3 bombs. During that stretch, IU quickly went from being down by 5 or 6 to taking an 8-point lead. Even though EJ played like a steaming pile of 2-guard during the final minutes and overtime, that little stretch still showed me that this team is at a whole new level when he is hot. 3. Eric Gordon Defense There have been a handful of games this year where an opposing guard is on fire in the 1st half and then IU puts Gordon on that guy in the 2nd half and he shuts them down. What I can't figure out is why Gordon isn't on these guys in the first place. Take the recent Minnesota game as an example. McKenzie (who always tears up IU) is on fire and then Gordon shuts him down late and the Hoosiers pull away on Senior Night. Why isn't Gordon on him in the first place? So, I say put EJ on McKenzie at the outset. And I also think Gordon responds to challenges, so I would challenge him to completely shut-down McKenzie. We'll see if Dakich does this. 4. 3-point shooting In just the last 2 games, Bassett is 5-21, Gordon is 4-20, and Crawford is 2-9. These guys are simply better shooters than that. As mentioned above, I think Gordon breaks out of his slump and then it becomes contagious. 5. FT Shooting The main reason that IU beat Minnesota in both games was the FT shooting. 6. The earlier game at Minnesota If Minnesota could not beat IU in The Barn when IU had nearly 30 turnovers, then they're not going to do it at the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis. Prediction: IU 74 Minnesota 66 Now, here's why IU could still be a dangerous team in the NCAA tournament. 1. D.J. White D.J. has been awesome all year and even with all the crap that has gone on, you can bet that he will play some inspired basketball in the Big Dance as a senior. 2. Eric Gordon This team is great when he is playing great. And this team can still be pretty damn good when he is playing pretty good. We at least need him to play pretty good. I think the turnovers will still be an issue because we still want him to be aggressive and get the FT line 10+ times a game. But he needs to get his shots to start falling again and then IU could be dangerous. 3. Everybody Else So, you know what you're going to get out of D.J. because he's been consistent all year. You know what you hope for out of Gordon. But it's the other guys that need to deliver. Crawford has been terrible lately. We always know that we are going to have some good and some bad out of Jordan, but lately it has been all bad. He needs to get hot again and making plays again. As for Bassett, he has shot a high percentage all year from the arc, but if you miss 9 treys in a row like you did at Penn State, you're going to get bounced out of the tournament quickly. Ellis just needs to keep his cool and do his thing. Taber just needs to get minutes and do his thing. I'm a big fan. Stemler.....well, I've practically given up on Stemler but he almost came up heroic against UCLA in last year's tourney and he has been known to hit some pretty big shots.....so maybe, just maybe he can find the range at a key moment this year. 4. FT Shooting Hitting your freebies is always important, but it's even more important in March when there is the pressure that you are done if you lose. IU has come through with the clutch FTs all year long and it could be a big advantage for them in the NCAA tournament. In fact, in one of my daydreams, FT shooting was the biggest factor in IU knocking off Memphis for this year's national title. 5. 3-Point Shooting If you get hot as a team at the right time in March, you can make a deep run in the tournament. 6. The Drama The Indiana Basketball program is a magnet for drama. What better drama would there be than to have an interim head coach (who has virtually zero chance of being named the head coach) lead the team to a national title. So, there you have it. Maybe it's all a stretch, maybe it's wishful thinking, maybe this team really is done. But, what the hell, I'm all in. LET'S GO! LET'S GO! (think Bill Cowher pumping his fists and yelling this on the sidelines....while spitting and slobbering on his big chin) GO HOOSIERS!!!

IU 64 Penn St 68

I hate this team. I really do. The End.

IU's Next Coach

Trust me when I tell you that there will be plenty more blog entries about IU's next coach in the next few weeks, so let's start slowly. For now, I'm interested in hearing what type of coach that IU should go after. So, let me know what you think. I see 3 categories: (1) The proven winner. A veteran coach that has a winning track record at a major program. (2) The young up-and-comer. A younger coach that has been highly successful at a mid-major or perhaps a school within a major conference that might not be high profile or have a rich basketball tradition. (3) The IU family. Which category do you think that IU should focus their coaching search on?

How about some more bad news

There's been conflicting reports today as to whether Devin Ebanks has de-committed from IU. At the very least, he is looking at other schools. It's just not clear whether he has definitely decided to back out of his IU commitment or not.

My take: He's a goner.

Might have to get used to this type of news over the next several months.

And if the bad news out of the basketball program every other week is not enough for you, how about some bad news out of the football program! Kellen Lewis has been suspended indefinitely and will not participate in spring practice with the IU football team.

For more info on both of these stories, check out The Hoosier Scoop links to the right.

IU 69 Minnesota 55

I was going to skip the post tonight because I am still pouting about Sunday's lackluster performance. Throw in the Brett Favre retirement news and I feel like I have been getting kicked in the nuts repeatedly for the last 96 hours straight. But since this game was on the BTN, I figured those are the games that many of you are interested in hearing my rambling thoughts. Speaking of the BTN, the coverage was horrible tonight. They must have had an intern operating the main camera because the player with the ball was not even in view about half the time. Can someone with BTN back me up on this? It was really strange. It was like they were using a camera without zoom capabilities. Anyway, back to the game. For those that did not see it, I think the best thing that I could tell you was that this was pretty much a typical home victory for IU against a weaker opponent. They've played this type of game all year. You know the one. They look decent and have a 5 or 6 point most of the way, but they let the team hang around. Then the game is tied or they lose the lead by a point or two and it stays tight until about 8 minutes to go in the 2nd half. Finally, IU hits their FTs down the stretch and eventually secure an unimpressive home victory. Highlight of the Game: After Minnesota had cut the lead to 1 with 1.7 seconds to play....Stemler throws a baseball pass to DJ....DJ catches, turns, rises up with a defender in his face, and drains a 25-footer at the halftime buzzer. It was awesome. DJ's first career 3-pointer comes on a halftime buzzer-beater on Senior Night. He ran off the court with the biggest grin on his face. He looked like a grade-schooler who just scored his first points ever. Overall Team Performance: C Let's just say that this game certainly did not make me forget Sunday's grotesque performance. But once again, I do have to say how much I love the way this team shoots FTs. 20-22 from the line tonight. That can win you a lot of games when you are not getting your ass beat by 30+ (see, I'm still not over Sunday's debacle). D.J. White: A+ The actual game performance was probably in the B range, but DJ gets the A+ from me on Senior Night. D.J. White is a great Hoosier and has done himself, the team, the university, and the entire Hoosier Nation proud. I still don't think they try to get DJ the ball enough. For example, DJ was 6-8 at halftime and the rest of the team was 6-22. They would go through 4 or 5 minute stretches tonight without a FG and wouldn't get DJ any touches. The only problem with trying to feed DJ is that this leads to a lot of turnovers. Gordon, Stemler, and Bassett all had turnovers tonight when trying to get DJ the ball. Anyway, find a way to get the Big Ten Player of the Year the ball more! After hitting the halftime buzzer trey, DJ then tried his luck with an 18-footer in the 2nd half. It rolled around the rim twice, went half way down, but then popped out. I was bummed because if he would have hit the 18-footer, you know another 3-ball would have come next, but no such luck. Be sure to check out The Hoosier Scoop's "Senior Speeches" link for some paraphrasing of the speeches. I am hoping that bigtennetwork.com will release video of the speeches as well, but nothing yet. Armon Bassett: B Armon was pretty good again tonight. The shot wasn't falling a lot, but he did still hit a few big treys. 3-9 from the arc on the night, but that's a helluva lot better than some of the guys we will be talking about a little bit later. Jamarcus Ellis: A Jamarcus was great tonight. I think Ellis has been pretty bad the last couple of weeks, but he looked like the J-Ellis we saw for the first half of the year. 13 rebounds, that's outstanding. He even added 10 points to make it a double-double. And the points were key because they came in the lane against the zone defense and they came at times when IU could not hit any jump shots. He also had 4 steals and was around the ball all night long. Eric Gordon: C- Gordon continues to struggle. First, the bad: 4-11 from the field including 0-4 from the arc and 4 turnovers. His shot is gone right now. IU has down-played the wrist injury, but that's a long time to be wearing protection and a heavy wrap. It also seems to coincide with Gordon's struggles from the arc. I haven't done any specific research, but I know his 3PT shooting percentage has been on a steady decline. As for the good, Gordon still managed 20 points, mainly by hitting 12-14 from the line. He also hit a 15-foot jumper and a nice floater in the lane that helped fuel IU breaking this game open. As bad as this team has looked in the post-Sampson era, I still think there is one way this team can make a run in the tourney and that is for Gordon to get his shot back and simply play better all-around basketball. If he starts feeling it from long range again and gets his overall game on track, that can elevate this team to another level. But the way he has been looking lately, that would seem to just be wishful thinking. Lance Stemler: D+ Just play Taber. Stemler was another 0-3 from the arc tonight. Jordan Crawford: D+ Head firmly up the ass tonight. After missing a dunk on Sunday, he misses a layup tonight. Hit his first 3, but looked like crap after that. Kyle Taber: B+ Only 13 minutes, but grabbed 3 boards and made his only FG attempt on a nice offensive rebound and put-back. DeAndre Thomas: C 5 minutes and 1 foul....seems about right. Go Hoosiers!

IU 74 Michigan State 103

Because this blog is not a paid service, I feel no obligation to waste my time commenting on that piece of crap. Perhaps I will find the motivation to write on this blog again next year....