Is Indiana an elite college basketball program? Not by Ken Pomeroy’s math, they aren’t. Fans point to NCAA failures as evidence that IU’as star is dimming. No National Championships in almost 30 years. No Elite Eights since 2002. Blah, blah, blah. Forget about that March Madness stuff when evaluating IU. One-and-done tournaments reward hyped-up underdogs. […]
Butler did the near impossible tonight. The Bulldogs out-executed and out-toughed Villanova. In his postgame press conference tonight, Butler coach Chris Holtmann said, “Players win games. Players win games. Players win games.” Yes they do – and yes they did. It had to happen eventually. Villanova’s reputation for grinding out wins possession by possession is […]
One day each basketball season I set aside all emotional investment in who wins. That day is today. The Crossroads Classic is a wonderful event that celebrates the love for basketball that’s absolutely unique to the State of Indiana. Butler University, Indiana University, Notre Dame University, and Purdue University basketball programs and their fans came […]
No offense to Indiana or Butler (both programs I love), but how much fun was it to watch Fort Wayne and Indiana State beat their more talented and better-known in-state rivals? It was great theater in front of fans in Fort Wayne and Terre Haute who lie awake at night dreaming of beating the media […]
Yesterday, Butler University hosted a celebration for the life and legacy of former basketball player Joel Cornette. It was attended by a couple thousand of his closest friends. There were 13 speakers, and all told different versions of the same story. Passionate teammate whose level of belief in friends led to their rising to meet challenges on […]
For the third time in 2016, Butler’s basketball program has suffered a profound loss. First came the expected but extremely sad passing of Andrew Smith, whose goodness and competitiveness forever endeared him to staff, teammates, and fans for the latter seven years of his way-too-short 25 year life. Then we heard about “Little Em” Kampen, […]
What a year of hoops action Indiana basketball fans have to look forward to. So much potential for thrills and heartbreak with every shot, pass, and recruiting visit. This is why we love basketball – virtually anything can happen, and it likely will over the next 10 months. Some of the biggest stories in Indiana that […]
June is the time for Indiana sports fans to dream, and today we dream big. The Colts were one win away from a Super Bowl just 17 months ago, Indiana has won the Big Ten twice in the last four years, and the Pacers are coming off a nice bounce back season where they played […]
These are interesting times for Indiana sports fans. Mediocrity is everywhere, but all that may be about to change. Professional teams boast potentially transcendent talent that are capable of championship level play, and the college football and basketball teams are arching toward meaningful improvement. I’m normally a cynical critic of management and mediocrity, but there […]
There may come a time when Frank Vogel, Mike Brey, Matt Painter, Chris Holtmann, and Tom Crean qualify to be listed among the all-time greats in a state that is well known for its love and mastery of basketball. But that day is not today. This list – like all lists – is imperfect. Qualifying […]
