WASHINGTON —
Indiana University men’s basketball isn’t back yet, because as Tom Crean has famously said, “This is Indiana.”
The Hoosiers enter the season as the No. 1 ranked team in the AP and USA Today polls, which has Bloomington thinking about the program’s first National Championship in 26 years, a time when most IU undergrads weren’t even born.
The rebuilding of the Hoosiers historic basketball program by Crean has been nothing short of outstanding in his four years in Bloomington. Crean came to town ready to continue the tradition that Branch McCracken and Bobby Knight instilled in the men’s basketball program with 1,026 victories and five national titles. After the program was completely gutted following the firing of then head coach Kelvin Sampson, Crean was left with one player from the 2007-08 team, walk-on Kyle Taber.
Last year’s 27-win season, which ended with a Sweet 16, immediately had analysts and Hoosier fans alike thinking about IU raising its sixth championship banner in 2013. The Hoosiers will begin their march towards the Final Four in Atlanta with the home opener Nov. 9 against the Bryant University Bulldogs.
As an IU alum, you can not go more than a day on campus without being reminded of the five banners hanging in the Assembly Hall rafters, a constant reminder of what is expected from the men’s basketball team. When Christian Watford’s game-winning three pointer swished through the net to upset No. 1 Kentucky last December at Assembly Hall, IU moved closer to relevancy, but they weren’t back yet. When the Hoosiers lost to arch rival Kentucky in the Sweet 16 they appeared on the cusp of something great. Championships are how fans gauge the success, not just regular season wins. This is the same logic that has been the ammunition that every IU fan has used against in-state rival Purdue. The Hoosiers have five championships, and the Boilermakers have none, making them the permanent little brother to the cream and crimson when it comes to basketball in the state of Indiana as far as the Hoosiers see it.
The term of a team being “back”, as many people use it, is hard to judge as often as the term is thrown out these days. For example, in the case of Tiger Woods you often hear that Woods and his 14 Major Championships are ‘back’. Woods hasn’t won a major since the 2008 U.S. Open, so that word doesn’t make much sense to me. He has won numerous tournaments, but has wilted in recent majors. I use the same logic with the Hoosiers. IU hasn’t won a title since 1987, but they are preseason No. 1 so according to this logic they must be back, not so fast.
Knight didn’t earn his reputation as one of the best college basketball coaches of all time with big regular season wins, but by winning games year in and year out in March and sometimes April. IU’s fan base demands such high expectations, despite more than two decades without raising a banner. Crean has nabbed some big recruits over the last two years, but none bigger than Cody Zeller. Zeller is the third in a line of three brothers all seven-footers who have played division one basketball. Zeller’s outstanding freshman season, which saw him lead the Hoosiers in points and rebounds per game, as well as steals, assists and field goal percentage, suddenly made a sixth banner seem like a realistic goal.
As the preseason No. 1, the Hoosiers are in prime position to raise their sixth banner this April. If they accomplish this goal they will be back, but not until then.
After all, this is Indiana.
Local Sports
Hoosiers are coming back, but title will mean all the way
Glade's Games
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Tennis doubles sectional at Jasper
The girls tennis doubles sectional at Jasper will have an all area flavor starting this evening.
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Vikings get 16th victory
The Barr-Reeve baseball team (16-6) defeated Southridge, 2-1, Saturday in one of its final tuneup's before the Class A Sectional at Loogootee.
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Heller places 12th
Vincennes University freshman and former Washington High School graduate Chloe Heller placed 12th in the Women's 10000 meters at the 2013 Division I NJCAA Outdoor Track & Field National Championship.
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Barr-Reeve upsets North Daviess in Sectional
The road to a championship almost always involves overcoming obstacles and a little bit of adversity.
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All good things come to an end for Washington
All good things come to an end.
Heritage Hills (21-6) defeated Washington (14-9), 5-0, in the first round of the Class 3A Sectional Monday behind a dominant pitching performance from junior Kaitlin Kralj.
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Obaseki moving up the ladder
Ben Obaseki was happy with his performance at the three-day rookie mini-camp of the Green Bay Packers. Now it is up to the Packers, or another team, to make a call.
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Dubois wins Loogootee Sectional
For the second time this season, Northeast Dubois got the best of Barr-Reeve in girls tennis.
Northeast Dubois defeated Barr-Reeve 5-0 Thursday afternoon to win the Loogootee girls tennis sectional. -
WHS girls soccer call-out meeting
A Washington girls soccer call-out meeting will be held Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. in the Lena Dunn cafeteria. The meeting is for girls entering 7th-12th graders who are interested in junior high and high school soccer.
For more information, please contact Mary Clifton at 812-259-5051. -
Cougars win one for Samantha
Senior night is always an event packed with emotion, but this was different.
The North Daviess softball team (20-7) defeated Jasper 8-4 Friday night at North Daviess on a Senior Night that meant so much to the home team.
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Wagler places 2nd in 1600 meters
Loogootee’s Zach Wagler placed second and fourth in two events at Thursday's boys track sectional.
Wagler placed second in the 1,600 meters in a time of 4:33.15, and was fourth in the 3,200 meters in 10:21. - More Local Sports Headlines
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Tennis doubles sectional at Jasper
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