A Long Weekend...

After something of a long week, thanks to the Sean Taylor situation, the weekend contained more ridiculous drama than should be allowed in a year.

We start with the simple (and happy...for me, at least). Indiana's basketball team did something that it just hasn't been able to do for several years: go on the road, against a ranked opponent, and win. No wonder it's cold outside, Hell must've frozen over. Since I'm feeling lazy right now, I'm not going to bother trying to find out the last time the Hoosiers beat a ranked opponent on the road, but I can tell you it's been a pretty long time. A little execution and a lot of defense made the difference for the Hoosiers, with the Salukis' game being symbolized by Randall Falker's airballed free throw in the first half. This was a great warmup for Big Ten road games and I have a lot more confidence in this team going into Big Ten play.

Also in the happy department, the Football Hoosiers have officially punched their tickets to Tempe, AZ, to play Oklahoma State in the Insight Bowl. Now, I really don't know much about Oklahoma State apart from this: they are 6-6, and 4-4 in the Big 12; they have Kellen Lewis' long-lost twin at quarterback, since this fellow has the same throw-and-run abilities as the Hoosier QB; their coach can become very angry when provoked sufficiently. I know I'll be in Tempe come December 31 and I'll be wearing my Cream and Crimson.

In more sour news, the Washington Redskins still stink more than a pound of limberger. I have a sinking feeling that the defining play of this season for the 'Skins will be Joe Gibbs calling an illegal second timeout in an attempt to ice Buffalo's kicker -- a decision which resulted in a fifteen yard penalty which moved the Bills from a 51-yard field goal to a 36-yarder. This will be the play that ends Joe Gibbs' head coaching career, which is something that I ultimately think will benefit the team. Joe Gibbs is more of a personnel guy and a businessman at this point, which makes him a perfect candidate for the general manager position -- a post Dan Snyder has refused to fill up until now. Gregg Williams, whose defense is so utterly brilliant even without Sean Taylor, has proven himself as a decent head coach when he had zero personnel in Buffalo. Al Saunders, who seems to have not gotten a decent chance to put his insane offense on the field because of Gibbs' intervention, needs to get full control of the offense so they can have a set system and a reduction of confusion.

In the more ridiculous, yet entirely obvious, the BCS is still the worst thing that ever happened to the world of collegiate sports. I pretty much entirely agree with the fact that LSU and Ohio State will be playing for the national championship, because those two teams play the best defense in the country. Everyone will say that Ohio State, who has not played in two weeks, doesn't deserve to be #1 because, well, they didn't play. Not playing turned out to be the reason Ohio State got in because you can't lose a game when you're not playing -- every other top-ranked team in the nation fell victim to the post-thanksgiving football game. My one surprise was that Virginia Tech, who came into the weekend ranked higher than LSU and also won their conference championship game, got shafted by the human polls and placed behind LSU.

Now, you may hear a noise coming from I-70 East between St. Louis and Indianapolis. That would be the sound of really, REALLY pissed-off Missouri fans marching on the NCAA headquarters with torches and pitchforks. How in the name of all that is good in this world did Mizzou get beat to the BCS bowls by Illinois and Kansas? Oh, by the way, Mizzou beat BOTH of these teams on neutral fields in very convincing fashion. Now, I can maybe understand Illinois, who have turned their football program around in huge fashion, getting put into the Rose Bowl because the folks in Pasadena absolutely love that annual Big Ten-Pac 10 matchup. But Kansas, who lost in Kansas City to Mizzou just a week ago and is ranked BELOW Mizzou in the final BCS poll, has absolutely no right to be in the Orange Bowl. Instead, while Mark Mangino eats every orange and grapefruit in the state of Florida (along with a few immigrant children or something), Missouri is sitting in Dallas saying, "What the hell?" The worst part of this whole deal for Mizzou is that the Big 12 has two teams in the BCS bowls and wont defend them in the same fashion as the SEC when Auburn was shafted out of the title game in 2004. The other worst part of this deal is that there aren't any computers to blame this time around -- the rankings got it right this time around. This is entirely the fault of the representatives from the Orange Bowl and the folks in the BCS offices who said, (Person A) "Well gee, Missouri lost this week and Kansas didn't." (Person B) "Wait, Kansas didn't play because they lost to Mizzou last week." (Person A) "You're fired."

That's my rant. Stay tuned for a preview of IU vs. Kentucky on the hardwood and the Insight Bowl. Later, folks.

Fly-Swatting

Well, the Hoosiers didn't quite knock the Yellow Jackets to pieces as I thought they would last night. While that was a bit discouraging, the fact that IU managed to overcome deficits no less than four times in this one to ultimately take their four-point victory was very nice to see. Instead of folding up under pressure like they did on Saturday against Xavier, the Hoosiers found their stride and, with a little help from the Assembly Hall crowd, managed to overwhelm Georgia Tech in the second half.

One total bright spot for the Hoosiers was the absolutely inspired play of Lance Stemler. Ever since getting kicked in the head during a Fall '06 practice by Xavier Keeling, then spraining his ankle later in the season, Stemler had not been the same person he was early in the '06-'07 season. He did pick up the pace a little bit when IU played UCLA in the NCAA Tournament, but this season started off rather slow. Tuesdaynight, however, everything seemed to change. Playing with the same intensity that he began exhibiting during IU's game with UNC-Wilmington a week prior, Stemler did things like drive the lane for floating layups, tip offensive rebounds for two points and, most importantly of all, knock down a few threes. The fans had been waiting for this from Stemler, and when it happened, the crowd just exploded.

On the other side of things, Eric Gordon still looks a little shaken up after the game against Xavier. I think the problem in this situation was that someone told him he needs to dish the ball a little more and stop trying to make things happen on his own. Now, Eric had the right idea going when he made pretty much all of his passes and he showed that he can certainly dish the assist every now and then, but almost all of his passes sailed over everyone or was deflected out of bounds. When Gordon made his drives to the basket and finished them off, he was unstoppable. He should really keep up with that and only pass out of the drive when he knows the guy on the other end is open and he can make the pass actually happen.

One other note is that Jordan Crawford got suspended for three games for "violating team rules". My guess is that he screwed up somewhere on the Chicago trip last weekend and Kelvin Sampson was less than pleased. Of course, three games may seem a little steep given that we do not know the offense, but it does bring Jordan back off the bench just in time for one of the more interesting story lines of the early season: Jordan vs. Joe on December 8. I think Coach Sampson decided that three games would be perfect because it would still allow Jordan to come off the bench to face his brother, who plays for Kentucky. Unfortunately, the lack of Crawford's presence off the bench and the fact that Brandon McGee is sick forced IU to play a zone defense to avoid foul trouble -- a move that nearly killed the Hoosiers' chances on Tuesday.

Next game is going to be a real doozy when the Hoosiers go to Carbondale, IL to take on a ridiculously good Southern Illinois team. This is the one I picked the Hoosiers to lose in the non-conference when I looked over the schedule, but I was not expecting the loss to Xavier. Maybe the Hoosiers have learned from the Xavier and Georgia Tech games and can pull off the big win on Saturday.

Forgetting the Weekend, and Looking to Tomorrow

I know I didn't write about the bucket game, and here's my opinion: 1) Austin Starr is the greatest thing that ever happened, and 2) Insight Bowl.

Since bowl selection day is a painful six days away, we're going to move on to something that totally matters: BASKETBALL. Okay, I realize that Saturday may not have been the best day ever for the basketball Hoosiers, but let's look on the bright side of things. First of all, this Xavier team is a very similar one to the team that played Gonzaga tough in the '05 Dance, and was just a bit of completely blown officiating away from knocking down eventual runner-up Ohio State last year. The Atlantic 10 conference may not be the Missouri Valley Conference, but it's certainly nothing to laugh at. I expect Xavier to make the NCAA Tournament and maybe get through the first weekend.

As for the Hoosiers, they looked like a total mess, but everyone has to do it at some point in the season (see Michigan State, Kentucky, USC, Louisville, etc.). Luckily, the Hoosiers got this nasty loss out of their way nice and early, instead of putting it in sometime during Big Ten play. Knowing the tenacity of one Kelvin Sampson (which has gotten him in trouble in the not-too-distant past), I would say that practice has been tough and nasty since the Hoosiers returned from Chicago. The boys will be pouring over the tape and understanding that they simply cannot do things like play Mike Davis' old 4-around-1 offense, take shots when they should pass, and pass when they should take shots.

The other bright spot that comes out of this one is that Eric Gordon had a bad game. While one might say, "How on Earth is that a good thing?!" I would respond by saying that this could very well be the low point of his collegiate career. Given the work ethic that Gordon reportedly has, I would imagine he went to the nearest basketball hoop after he got back to Bloomington and just started throwing basketballs at it until he couldn't miss. Also, since he found the breaking point of his ridiculously stoic demeanor on Saturday, he and Coach Sampson will know exactly what to do to keep him cool and collected and doing what he should be doing on the floor.

Honestly, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets should be shaking in their Nikes right about now. First of all, the team will be mad. Second of all, the coaches will be mad. Third of all, there will be 17.456 very scary Hoosier fans looking for someone to take their disappointment over Saturday out upon, and those gold-uniformed Yellow Jackets will provide the perfect target. I'm not saying the atmosphere will be anything like the Duke game in the fall of 2005 (we save that sort of atmosphere for Kentucky and Michigan State this season), but it will certainly be loud in Assembly Hall. I can only hope that the 7 PM start time does not throw off the alumni and the students, who will be somewhat hard-pressed to get away from evening classes or jobs and get to their seats. Having the game on ESPN will help a lot on that front, and it will certainly be fun to attend an ACC/Big Ten game that the Hoosiers are actually picked to win.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

We're talking about Indiana University's basketball program, which has gone through one of the most ridiculous weekends since Bob Knight was choking his bench players.

The Good

Friday night's Hoosier Hysteria event was an absolute blast for the fans and players alike. The players on both the men's and women's team were in great spirits and the crowd of 13,000 that showed up was pumped up beyond belief. When the lights died out for the introduction of the men's basketball team, the building shook in a way I haven't felt since the Hoosiers took down the #5 Wisconsin Badgers last season. On top of the amazing atmosphere, we learned some interesting things about the team.

First of all, this team is deep. In fact, it's beyond deep. Even walk-on Brett Finkelmeier showed some promise and he will be useful in the close-out stages of games. One thing that these Hoosiers don't have to worry about this time around is injuries to the front-court players. The list goes as follows: DJ White, Mike White, Lance Stemler, DeAndre Thomas, Eli Holman, Brandon McGee, Jamarcus Ellis, Kyle Taber. All of these guys except maybe Taber could conceivably start. If any of these guys goes down, someone will be there to take his place. The back-court has the same scenario, with Armon Bassett, Jordan Crawford, and Eric Gordon holding down the fort while Ellis, Stemler, and McGee can easily make the plays from the outside. Also, watch out when AJ Ratliff finds his way back onto the court in a couple of months.

Second, the size of that front-court is freakishly good. DJ White is still himself, and he will be backing down defenders and hitting his turnaround jumper all season. Eli Holman, who averaged a quadruple-double during his high school career, has a wingspan of 7'8", which will translate to big blocks and big rebounds. Mike White is still a bowling ball of a forward and he still plays some amazing defense. The highlight is DeAndre Thomas who, even after losing 57 pounds over the summer, still weighs 298. Despite his size, Thomas can dunk the ball and he put up some solid defense on DJ White during the Cream vs. Crimson scrimmage.

Third, "Er-ic Gor-don" (clap clap clapclapclap). I hadn't really gotten a look at Eric Gordon's play before Hoosier Hysteria, but I know now what the big deal was about. Even though his first play in front of an Assembly Hall crowd was a missed dunk, he showed such a great shooting touch and some amazing athleticism while electrifying the crowd. The only downside to all of this is that after this season, he probably won't be wearing an Indiana uniform.

The Bad

Barely a day after they sent his name thundering down from the seats at Assembly Hall, members of the most reactionary fan base this side of Lexington, KY, are calling for Kelvin Sampson's head. Much as it was last summer, the topic du jour is Coach Sampson's telephone. This time around, it was determined that a collection of 10 three-way phone calls between Sampson, one of his assistants, and recruits were made. Sampson has said that he was unaware that nine of the calls were conference calls, but he did know that one of them had two people on the other end of the line. Since three-way calls of this type have been deemed illegal by the NCAA, Sampson got a self-imposed pay cut for next season and an extension of his telephone restrictions by the IU Athletic Department.

The other issue here -- one that doesn't involve Coach Sampson in any way, for the record -- was a collection of 35 phone calls apparently made by assistant coach Rob Senderhoff. Senderhoff was disciplined by the Athletic Department by being put under what is essentially house arrest. He cannot talk to recruits and he cannot go on the road to visit the recruits. If he gets caught breaking these rules again, you would have to expect that he would be fired outright.

What really annoys me about this whole situation is the reaction from the fans and the media around this program. When you look at the evidence, Kelvin Sampson was involved in only a few of the impermissible calls and the Athletic Department reacted properly. Some people around here, under the leadership of The Indianapolis Star's Bob Kravitz (I won't share my opinion of him with you because, in the end, I would like to retain some journalistic integrity), want Sampson and Athletic Director Rick Greenspan fired immediately for these transgressions. These so-called "fans" who just want Bob Knight, who is supposedly a perfect human being, to return to Bloomington cannot accept the fact that there is a different coach in town.

This, of course, is absolutely insane. We went through the same process when Mike Davis, who did better here than Bob Knight would have ever done between 2000 and 2006, was sent packing by fans after two poor seasons. All of these people trumpet the integrity of the program under Knight's stewardship as the reason that we need to return to the good old days (like 1982, a.k.a. the "season on the brink). While there may not have been much in the way of recruiting violations in those days, but I would say that verbally and physically attacking players and coaches on both benches does not do much for the integrity of the program either.

I believe that, despite the fact that there definitely needs to be some better book-keeping in the basketball offices, this is an honest mistake on Sampson's part. Sampson made no outgoing calls on his personal phone during this period, and the conference calls were all set up by the assistant coaches. As for Senderhoff's 35 illegal calls, those fall on his head and his alone. One might say that the head coach should be responsible for the actions of his assistants, but how do we know that Senderhoff may not have been doing this in secret himself. If you can look me in the eye and tell me that you haven't done something against the rules at work while the boss wasn't looking, I would call you a liar anyway. The bottom line is that Sampson, after taking a huge pay cut for next season and having his sanctions extended, will come out of this cleanly.

The Ugly

Apart from all of this bunk about phone calls, the ugly part of the 07-08 basketball season will be the scoreboard at the end of a lot of these games. This team is so incredibly strong that there are only a few opponents that can really give them a run for their money. The Hoosiers will need to watch out for Kentucky, Wisconsin, and Michigan State, but I don't think there is anyone out there beyond those three that can really scare this team.