Hoosier Hoops Thankfully Halts
I fully expected the inevitable outcome of last night’s debacle. As projected, IU had no solution for the big Hogs underneath, other than Bassett, Stemler and DJ the Warrior, the Hoosier offense was non-existent and their overall physical posture (heads down, whining, lost looks, etc) showed they weren’t focused on anything more than getting the season over.I was also embarassed by the continued negative comments by the game announcers trashing the IU Athletic Department for hiring Sampson, choosing the wrong interim coach, announcing the search committee this week and indicating that the team had been given up on by the university. That really helps with a new coach search and possible recruits….not.
Eric Gordon should move on to the NBA next year as the reliance of the team on his supposed offensive brilliance was a big factor in their late season slide. Sure he’s a kid and in his final game for IU he epitomized the lost feeling of the whole team. No fire, no play, just going through the motions, looking ahead to the NBA Draft.
Last night, phenom Gordon spent most of the game cutting across the baseline to the weak side corner hoping someone would throw him the ball. I never saw him setting a pick or coming out to help Bassett and Crawford who were being swamped by the Arkansas guards. But his lack of play was just a part of a total Hoosier melt down.
More than anyone, I feel for the proud warrior DJ White a player we’ve watch grow from a gangly Alabama kid into a powerful Big 10 MVP player. As he’s done all season, DJ left it all on the court and made all Hoosier fans proud again he chose to stay and graduate from IU.
What happens next? An off-season filled with intrigue, false hopes and possible long time redemption for a program that deserves better from the AD down. We’ll see an exodus of players, shake-ups throughout, name calling and finger pointing, coaches hoped for, coaches refusing - a true sports drama about to unfold.
Coach Dakich was right with his post-game comments that ”…a lot of things have to occur within IU basketball, and a lot of things will occur within IU basketball, that need to occur here in the springtime. So it’s far from over.” Truer words were never spoken.