The Almost-Comeback of the Tournament

The view from the Cheap Seats will no longer be of Indiana Basketball -- at least not until October. The Hoosiers got right to the edge, but could not take the final step against UCLA. Thus, the team will remain in Bloomington until Novermber, instead of getting ready to go to San Jose.

The first half of the NCAA Second-round game in Sacramento was really hard to explain, but I'll give it a shot. Great defense, plus inconsistent offense, equals a nasty, low-scoring game. I've seen some ridiculous things in my twenty-odd years on this planet, but a 20-13 first half in college basketball is way out there. These two teams had amazing offensive capabilities, with guys like Afllalo, Mbah-Amoute, and Collison out there for UCLA and White, Wilmont, and Ratliff out there for IU. However, if you these guys can't get a shot off, there's obviously no way they can score points.

Luckily, the second half was a decidedly smoother one to watch. IU still made some interesting mistakes here and there, but they found their stride around the 8 minute timeout. Then UCLA did something that has become a norm for them: collapse towards the end. Indiana, consistently down by 10 or more, managed to tie the game at 49 with a minute to go. Lance Stemler, who seemed to be morally against effective shooting for most of the year, hit two key three-pointers. UCLA couldn't get a ball to go through the rim if they climbed a ladder and placed the ball above the basket. Everything was pointing towards a comeback and upset.

It was 51-49, UCLA, and Indiana was ready to go down the floor and tie or take the lead. Stemler was inbounding the ball after a kicked ball by UCLA, and he threw it in just in front of Earl Calloway. Guess what else was just in front of Earl Calloway. UCLA's defense, which stole the ball away. In Lance's defense, this was the second Division 1 tournament game he'd ever played. The energy of the team was climbing inoxerably, and the resultant jitters caused the error. IU had plenty of time to score a basket, but the boys wanted to get it done right then and there. Lance's pass was intercepted, and UCLA ended up drawing two intentional fouls in order to jump ahead for good.

So, what does this mean for the Hoosiers? Well, there's an upside and a downside to the end of this season. On the downside, two of the most energetic players on the team -- Errek Suhr and Earl Calloway -- will be moving on to the life of a college graduate. Likewise, this year's best shooter, Rod Wilmont, is probably heading to the NBA. On the plus side, the loss of Wilmont should be no problem, because AJ Ratliff should be stepping into that hole and Eric Gordon will take Ratliff's spot. Another big plus will be the addition of Eli Holman to the team, giving the Hoosiers 5 big men to rotate on and off the bench. I think the key to next season will be either finding a new point guard in the recruiting class, or seriously improving the point play of Armon Bassett. The kid is a good guard, but he makes some key mistakes when they put him in the 1-spot.

All things considered, though, next year should be quite an interesting one for the Hoosiers. Look for a deep tournament run for the Cream and Crimson this time next year.