What the hell is going on at Indiana State University’s athletic department?
Basketball coach Greg Lansing is rumored to be on the verge on being fired. When I saw that yesterday, I thought I had lapsed into a bad dream. No such luck.
Indiana State is exceptionally fortunate to have a coach like Lansing, whose Sycamores are 11-7 in the Missouri Valley Conference. Not only does he win at a school where few want to play in a very competitive conference, he’s also a good guy who appears to be very happy living and working in Terre Haute.
They should extend his contract – not end it!
Nothing against the Haute, but it’s not exactly the garden spot of Indiana – a state without an abundance of garden spots. Hey, I happily live in Indiana. I’m proud to call it home. But let’s be honest – Gary, Fort Wayne, Terre Haute, and New Albany (the town where I went to high school, so I know what I’m talking about) are not filled with artists trying to capture their beauty on canvas.
And let’s only mention briefly the smell from the Purina plant. Yes, cat food factories smell very similar to the product they produce. When the wind blows in the wrong direction, the foul aroma is inescapable. Try recruiting to a campus that feral cats flock to like college students to Panama City.
Indiana State needs to be very careful about what it does next, because creating unnecessary change can lead to negative consequences – as it almost certainly would if Lansing is dispatched.
This is Lansing’s 11th year at Indiana State. He has a 180-163 record overall and is six games over .500 in the Valley. He’s the first coach since Bill Hodges (helped by a superlative 33-1 record in the 78-79 season almost entirely attributable to Larry Bird) to post a winning record. Hodges was fired almost 40 years ago.
Sometimes, university administrators should just leave things as they are. This is one of those times.
Kent,
Great article as it pertains to our beloved coach Greg Lansing. Wanted to clarify a few of your comments about the Haute. We don’t have a Purina plant here. Never did. The smell was from a paper mill that closed about 10 years ago. come on down to TH sometime and smell for yourself. Smells like a great mid-western town I’m proud to call home. The only foul smell you may pick up would be if you got too close the ISU’s administration offices where vindictive decisions about screwing up a successful program that continues to beat the odds in spite of being the lowest funded program in the conference. But I digress… keep up the good work!
The “SMELL” in T.H. Is NOT the non- existent, never was
Purina Plant. The “stinch” comes from ADMINISTRATORS – No $$$$ to recruit, Coach Lansing had to work hard to get recruits with no recruiting budget. Heck, they still practice w/ BBalls used by the ‘78/‘79 team !
Bones DeVore ISU Grad ‘75
I want to thank Coach Lansing for many things on and off the court. Mostly, thank you for being a positive role model for my two boys growing up, going to games and attending the great summer basketball programs. As an ISU grad, starting in 1980, I am proud to be a Sycamore for life and wish Coach Lansing great success in his future endeavors.