The 07-08 Indiana Basketball season has mercifully come to an end with another lackadaisical effort, this time against Arkansas in the NCAA Tournament. Of course, if you've given no effort for 3 weeks, why would the tournament be any different right? Since there is so much to talk about from this season, I'll break it down in to a few segments for you to break up the reading.
PART I:
This season had to be one of the most difficult to ever go through as an IU fan. At least in my lifetime, there hasn't been a season that started with as much promise and ended in nearly every negative emotion possible. On January 25th, Indiana was 18-1 and 6-0 in the Big 10, they were ranked in the top ten in the country, were a legit contender for a deep tournament run and the favorite to win the conference. Most prognostications had them going to the NCAA's as a 3 seed. In the last 7 weeks, they finished 7-7, lost their coach and quit trying.
Now, I'm not going to waste time writing about Kelvin Sampson here....everyone knows the situation, he cheated, lied and ran himself out one of the premier coaching jobs in college basketball. In his wake he left a previously spotless program tarnished, a fan base embarrassed and angry and a handful of college kids confused and hurt. He's not worth the time of discussion, yet what he did will linger at Indiana for years to come. I have few qualms with him as a coach, sure his offense was boring, but the kids played hard and actually defended which was more than you could say for the previous coach. Unfortunately, this thing was never about X's and O's and Kelvin didn't seem to get that.
There is plenty of blame to go around here, but when it comes down to it, the issue with how this team finished the season ultimately rests on two people...Sampson and AD Rick Greenspan. How in the world Greenspan still has his job is well beyond me. There is no reason he shouldn't have been out the door following Sampson, since he was the main player in his hiring. Greenspan, wanted to be so secretive about the hiring process and wouldn't let anyone in on the decision, then he ends up with a cheater that wasn't on anyone's radar and he (Greenspan) couldn't believe the lack of support for the new hire. Like most IU fans I thought it was a curious decision at the time, but since it was "my" team, I got on board. I honestly believe that until Greenspan is no longer the AD, this thing won't completely heal.
Although Sampson and Greenspan are to shoulder the bulk of the blame for the finish to this season, I do think that the players have some culpability for their performance. Now, trust me, I understand that these kids have gone through a very difficult situation that is in no way their fault. From their standpoint, they lost their coach....the main reason some of them came to IU in the first place. Now, to put this in a real world perspective, I'm sure that if I went to a job because I loved the boss and wanted to work for and learn from them, I'd be pretty upset if he/she was all of the sudden gone. Yeah, I may understand that they did something wrong and it had to happen, but that won't take away my disappointment the fact that they are no longer there and I'm now working for someone else. However, in the end, I am responsible for how I react to the situation. Again, I understand that we're dealing with 19-21 year olds here, but adversity is never a reason for quitting.
This last month or so was unbelievably frustrating watching this basketball team. There was no heart, no pride, no defense, no composure....and no winning. I really don't think there is any other way to say it, but this team quit. Unfortunately, since this is a "team" (and trust me, other than in name, it is not. It's mostly individuals with their own agenda wearing the same color shirts and shorts) everyone gets lumped in together. I don't think anyone could accuse DJ White of "quitting" on the season. In fact, he is about the only player with a "major" role on this team that looked like he cared. One of the worst things you can say about an athlete or a team is that they quit, but I don't think there is any doubt this one did. Whether it be because they were emotionally drained, physically drained or just ready to move on (all natural reactions to the circumstance) they didn't even appear to try and fight through it. The most glaring evidence was their inability to get back on defense, block out or get after the ball at all....anything you'd consider a "hustle" play. Don't worry, they didn't lose all their desire, any time they had a chance to chuck up a 3 or take any shot in general, they weren't shy [sarcasm if you're not catching on].
So, as of today, this season is over...finally. Although it's effects will go on (as long as the NCAA chooses) IU fans can at least look to the future and to some change. I'm just glad I don't ever have to watch this "team" again.
to be continued...
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