by Kent Sterling
For the second straight year, my guarantee of a Hoosier victory against the Renecats of Kentucky went unfilled, as they blow the game open late to win by 19 points.
My apologies for not being a little quicker of the trigger with a message of contrition to the UK faithful who enjoyed the game and me being wrong – again. My wife and I decided to hop in the car and bolt up to Chicago to see our son’s Loyola Ramblers play fifth ranked Kansas State.
That game started at 3p Chicago time, so I didn’t get a chance to follow the IU vs. UK game except by ESPN Gamecast. There was reason to be excited for both Loyola and Indiana for a time. IU had a second half lead, and the Ramblers got the difference of their game down to a three-point margin late before succumbing to what is most definitely not the fifth best team in the country by a score of 68-60.
Our son doesn’t play a whole lot, so anytime their is a chance of a game getting out of hand in either direction, we try to make the trip to the north side of Chicago. The team picked ninth in the Horizon League playing Frank Martin’s squad – thought to be one of the favorites in the Big 12 – seemed a good opportunity for us to see Ryan log some minutes.
The Ramblers played K-State tough in front of the biggest crowd I’ve seen at the Gentile Center in four years. Ryan sat, but the competitiveness of the game was reward enough for the three hour drive.
The fun of a border rivalry like Indiana vs. Kentucky is the jawing both before and after the game, but unfortunately the loudest talking is undoubtedly coming from south of the Ohio River tonight.
Rebuilding a program from scratch without shortcuts takes time, and Tom Crean is taking the job of re-estblishing the Indiana culture head on. That heritage of Indiana Basketball ingrained in earnestly gained excellence skipped a few years during the renegade athletic administration of Rick Greenspan and the coaching tenures of both Mike Davis and Kelvin Sampson.
Now, Crean has it back on track with commitments from outstanding student athletes who are between one-and-four years from making their debuts for the Hoosiers.
The current roster fought hard today, but as college basketball games are the perfect length to determine the best team on a given day, Kentucky found its way in time to send Indiana back to Bloomington with the knowledge that they are a ways from winning consistently against ranked teams.
These Hoosiers are better than Crean’s previous two teams, but still not quite in the league of an NBA minor league team like Kentucky.
That’s alright. The Hoosiers are a work in progress, and they will be more successful in the brutally tough Big Ten than during the past two seasons. Kentucky will do what they usually do – win games with kids who are champing at the bit to play for millions and evoke cocked eyebrows with their consistent ability to attract kids from nowhere near Kentucky with neither a promise of a championship nor an outstanding education.
So it goes. Next December will come soon enough.
First.
Now see, you start off almost (*almost*) human. Then you take your cheap shots at the end. You just can’t let it go, can you Kent? Your sad little crusade against the “evil empire” will never end.
I would like to be the bigger man and congratulate you on a hard-fought game. But I just can’t do that, Kent. Why? Because you are an annoying douche. And I’m glad your son’s team lost.
Kent, this is a question for you as you seem to be all knowing. I assume, as an Indiana fan, that you also believe Cody Zeller to be the savior of Indiana basketball.
What are your thoughts on these facts?
Cody Zeller is being billed as the savior of Indiana basketball. He’s a borderline top 25 prospect that has been built up to be more than he is because of his older brothers. If we’re going to be forced to hear about his brothers and how great they are, we might as well look at their stats. Luke Zeller averaged 4.2 points and 2.4 rebounds for his career at Notre Dame. Tyler Zeller is averaging double digit points for the first time in his career as a Junior. Why would Cody Zeller be much different? If he’s like his brothers (he is) then he won’t be doing much damage to anyone until his Junior year, and maybe not even then. He also famously spits in the face of Leonardo De Vinci’s Vitruvian Man by sporting a wingspan that is significantly shorter than his height, where as a normal person has a wingspan just slightly above their height. Those couple inches he is missing in his arms makes him less effective blocking shots. How is he going to even defend Anthony Davis, who is likely going to be about 7′ by the time he takes the floor with a ridiculous wingspan and guard skills? I’d much rather have
I like Cody Zeller, but have no idea what he’s going to do when he gets to Bloomington. He’s fairly adept anywhere on the floor offensively, but it’s hard to talk about his defense because I haven’t seen him match up against an equal.
What the commitment of Zeller did was send a signal to other kids in Indiana that IU is able to compete with the big boys of recruiting heads up. Roy Williams pushed hard to try to get Cody Zeller, and Indiana got him. That was a big step in the right direction.
I think Cody is going to be very productive eventually at IU. For me, the big guy is Yogi Ferrell. He’s a stud point guard who can play and lead. He might be the best PG at IU since Isiah Thomas.
No one is giving a lot of love to Austin Etherington, who I think is going to be really good, if his health problems are behind him. He can flat out play basketball.
Fans should dial back their expectations for Zeller, if they believe he’s going to be an instant stud. He’s going to need time to develop.
We are Sith Lords. Fear us.
Someone please adopt me!!! My dad is a douche and I don’t wanna grow up and be a douche like him!!! PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wow you are picking on a mans son because you disagree with what he says how big of you. Hey there was a 4th grader that booed during the game too you should probably go to his elementary school and verbal abuse him to show how much of a man you are.
His son is an adult now. In addition, Kent constantly insults and makes fun of an entire state, belittling its residents and citizens simply because he does not like its flagship university. They are toothless, uneducated, unsophisticated hilljacks with no culture or sophistication, no life and no hope.
I’d say Kent has brought this on himself…and then some.
How does the fact that ryan is an adult make it okay to pick on a mans son and while kenter does make fun of kentucky(everyone outside of the state does) is anything he said in this article wrong. Do you hear the ku recruits talking about how excited they are to go to a good school. No they talk about how it will be a springboard. Bring facts not personal attacks they have no place here.
I’ll bring facts, dude, when Kent does. To answer your question, YES! MUCH of what Kent writes is wrong. Yes, yes, a thousand times yes!
I’ve pointed it out to him numerous times and yet he is either unwilling or unable to acknowledge that much of what he writes is nothing more than his own biased perceptions. He seems to lack the ability to recognize his many inconsistencies.
And by the way, I never “picked on his son.” I just said I’m glad he lost. Just like I’m glad IU lost. It would seem I’m frequently glad.
Here is a quick thought. IF YOU DONT LIKE KENTS WORK DONT READ IT. When has kent ever claimed to be anything but an Indiana homer, NEVER. You once again failed to bring the facts all you said is you have tried to point out inconsistency. Cite something please make yourself sound like you can at least properly defend your side. I like how you have gone to attacking the members of a mans family and making it personal when you have never even talked to anyone who stepped on the court for the wildcats last weekend.
I suck, and so does my dad. Thats why I don’t ever play for a shitty team and my dad pretends to be a journalist on the internet.
Smart playing the ‘son’ card. That, plus the routine nature of crushing Indiana, lessens any enthusiasm for I-told-you-so.
I’ll just say this: The-wait-til-next-December mantra is fatuous and futile.
Indiana will have the same team next year, minus Rivers and plus Zeller and a scrub.
Kentucky will have the same team minus Jones (a non-factor yesterday) and plus four (or five) FIVE STAR recruits, including three who have been picked as first team all americas. Teagues, Gilchrist, Davis, Knight (probably) Lamb, Miller, Liggins, Vargas, Wiltjer, Poole, possibly Kanter, Hood (better than Hulls in high school but can’t see the court with UK) and likely Deandre Daniels.
Seventeen point beating last year. Nineteen points this year. The trend line is obvious: 21 points next year.
Two weeks ago, UNC coach Roy Williams said that he looks to recruit the best of the best each year, understanding that they could leave after one or two years. He, however, is never criticized about his recruiting. Take a look at his roster and find all those recruits who hail from North Carolina? (Harrison Barnes, Tyler Zeller, John Henson, Leslie McDonald, Dexter Strickland, Larry Drew, and Justin Knox are all out of state recruits) But, then again, Coach Williams is a class act and North Caroina is a great program.
Kentucky, on the other hand, is a cheating program with a scum bag coach. Right? haha..such a goober, yet you have a forum to spout your nonsense. Here’s a fact Kent..IU sucks!
How did that feel last night Kent? Liked it didn’t you big boy.
I know you are an Indiana fan and have your opinion, but at least have a somewhat rational opinion, instead of the homer-fueled one you do have.
The FACT is that Kentucky has won 14 of the last 17 against Indiana. This isn’t a Calipari thing, a future NBA pro thing, a Tom Crean thing … it is a fact that over the last 2 decades, Kentucky has completly owned your team.
Robert Montgomery Knight is not walking through that door.
The funny thing is Indiana has lost 16 of the last 20 to UK, so it would not matter if BOBBY KNIGHT walked through the door he was the one that started losing these games? Anyone remember 1996 game in Dec @ Freedom Hall, IU was ranked higher than UK, IU was coming off PRESEASON NIT CHAMPIONSHIP, I think they may have beaten DUKE, but UK put a beat down on them 99-65? So does it really matter who is playing or coaching these teams the last 20 years, looks like IU will usually win one of five, so there is hope for IU FANS, you have now lost 3 in a row,so odds are you MIGHT get a win soon! As for people knocking KENT’S son, is he not the same age as kids playing at UK that KENT seems to go after with negative articles? SO I SAY HAVE AT IT WITH NEGATIVE COMMENTS AT HIS SON AND SEE HOW IT FEELS!
I have never written a negative word about any of the players. They have no ownership of the issues that plague UK and college basketball. The players are the only class in that sad act.
You’re a liar, Kent. You have made many negative comments about the players. Wall? Bledsoe? Cousins? Orton?
And why is UK a sad act, Kent? God, I’d love to debate you face to face, you turd.
Not once. Never said anything negative about the kids. I did write that John Wall screwed around with his smart phone while a tutor did his homework, according to a women’s tennis player who I trust. That’s not a criticism of Wall, but of a culture within the UK athletic community that allows tutors to give kids an easy way out.
I wrote about the nonsense in Birmingham that took place to get Bledsoe to a point where he was eligible to play as a freshman. I’m not even sure Bledsoe know what the hell was being done on his behalf.
Even if someone comes forward and says that the kids or their families accepted money from Kentucky boosters, that’s not a ding against the kids. Someone walks up and hands you an envelope full of cash, you put it in your pocket, as long as nothing is asked in return. No matter what happens with Cam Newton, I find no fault with what he did, and I would find none with the UK kids. The adults are a different story.
hahahaha wrong again. yeah it will beven worse for you next December!!! we will be LOADED and you know it!!!! hahahaha turning into more of an annual beating than a rivalry. kentucky players and fans don’t even get as excited for this game anymore like the IU fans do. hahaha maybe next year!!! as a kentucky fan who lives in indiana and listens to all these fair weather IU basketball fans, I couldn’t be happier!! Oh well it will be Notre Dame football time soon enough for you IU fans. HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!
I honestly want to know why you hate uk so much. This is oboisvly a biased website. But idk why you choice to put never heard of rumers on your page?
I don’t hate UK. I dislike corruption and those who benefit from it. My unease over Bruce Pearl at Tennessee is just as strong as anything I feel toward UK or Calipari. Last season, I wrote many times how much I enjoyed watching UK play. Wall, Bledsoe, Patterson, Miller, and Cousins were great fun to watch. They played fast and defended with grit.
What I don’t like is that Kentucky hired Calipari, and we can dance all around the fact that despite losing two Final Four appearances to NCAA sanctions that he was never named in any report as being at fault, it is widely (and by widely, I mean by people who are deep inside college basketball) believed that Calipari has at the minimum benefitted from the kind of sleazy deals that the NBA’s one-and-done rule rewards.
That bothers me. It’s not Kentucky the state or university, nor its players who I would never blame for whatever gain they enjoy from a system that forces kids without any interest in academics to attend school for a year before earning the money that should have been theirs already.
Does that make it a little more clear?