State of
Indiana ensured another winter of discontent: IU and Purdue both short on
talent, again
By Biff Stevens, THG Sports
Last year was one of the
longest winters for Hoosiers around the state in recorded history. No, it
wasn’t so much the weather that made it unbearable, but rather the poor play of
its two marquee Division I basketball programs. I’m referring to the storied
programs of Purdue and Indiana
University. These two teams, in the past, have collectively enabled Hoosiers to
take pride in their state, reasons which normally are in short supply. These
two bastions of basketball power combined to have one of the sorriest basketball
seasons this state has ever seen.
Indiana struggled to its
first losing season since 1970; Purdue had a winning record but was shut out of
the NCAA tournament. This year promised to yield far different results for
several important reasons. Indiana had high hopes on the heels of one of the
best recruiting classes in the country. Purdue had the extra motivation of
being Gene Keady’s 25th and last season in West Lafayette.
The early returns?
Dismal, to say the least.
Let’s begin with IU. To
start, it’s very difficult to have a competitive program without a coach. Some
might say Mike Davis in the Hoosiers’ coach, but in this sportswriter’s opinion
he is someone put on the sidelines just to hold down a chair.
The Hoosiers are now two
games over .500 (If I were Rick Greenspan I’d take a picture of their record
because it’s not going to look like that again the rest of the year.) That’s
the positives. The negatives: their two wins have come by a combined 8 points
over national powerhouses Indiana State
and Western Illinois.
Davis doesn’t have a clue.
After the Indiana State
game (a game that the referees saved for IU), Davis was in the newspaper saying
how proud he was of his team and what a positive game this was for the program.
The IU faithful had a far different interpretation of last Tuesday’s game. Many
could be heard leaving Assembly Hall uttering the same mantra “that’s just not
Indiana basketball.”
I’m sure the excuse makers
will line up to bail out Mike Davis. Some of them might say that Indiana State
was a vastly improved program—that’s the reason the game was so close. Indiana State
quickly debunked that theory by being throttled Saturday night by another
national power, the University of Buffalo, 92-64.
Others might point out the
fact that IU is a very young team that hasn’t had time to gel. That is true to
a point—IU does have 5 freshmen listed on their roster and the seniors on the
team won’t be accused of making significant contributions the past three years.
But folks, let’s face it, this is the new reality of college basketball. With
underclassmen and high school players departing for the NBA quicker than you can
say NBDL, your freshmen need to come in and be productive IMMEDIATELY. Even if
there is a learning curve, quality recruits, using just sheer athleticism should
be enough to overpower the Sycamores and Leathernecks of the world.
Judging by the paltry
attendance for the two opening home games (between around 10,000 and 11,000
respectively), it easy to come to the realization that Mike Davis is close to
destroying one of the most storied programs in college basketball, in a very,
very short time. When contemplating what a long, dreary winter in Bloomington
it’s going to be once again, I ask myself, “Why couldn’t have Davis taken the
Auburn job?”
Now for Purdue: they’re
not going to get the criticism that IU does because, simply, they have no
talent, excluding Matt Kiefer. Also, it’s really not worth this writer’s time to
go in too much into detail about the Boilers for the simple reason that no one
cares.
This antipathy was
demonstrated Saturday at Conseco Fieldhouse for the Wooden Tradition. Purdue was
playing a well known team, the Cincinnati Bearcats. There weren’t any quality
football games on the tube, so no reason not to drive downtown and see Coach
Keady in his next to last game in Indianapolis. Purdue fans, on the other hand,
decided to stay away in droves. The lack of Black and Gold in the stands was
really surprising; from my vantage point it appeared as if there were just as
many UC fans as Boiler fans. Hence, Purdue, playing in its home state had zero
home court advantage; the complete opposite of Illinois, whose fans, came out in
vast numbers to support their team.
Having said that, why
comment further on a team no one cares about? All’s anyone has to know is the
Boilers have a record of 1-2. Early indications from their game Saturday are the
team might not crawl its way out of this hole all season.
So there it is basketball
fans—further erosion of one of our state’s cherished institutions. It’s bad to
write off teams in November, but I feel it’s my duty to forewarn fans early.
Find something else to occupy your time this winter, because the usual
distraction of college basketball is not going to yield any satisfaction.
