Author Archives: Kent Sterling

Indiana Basketball – Did Brad Stevens really refer to himself as Celtics coach in the past tense?

Is Brad Stevens coming home? The prospect became a whole lot more real last night.

Yep.  Indiana basketball fans are turning into those fans – the kind that examine every word in a quote to try to find a hint of truth as the search for a new coach is underway.

Indiana fired Archie Miller Monday, and during the last 48 hours the smoke signals that wafted our way for three weeks that Brad Stevens might be the next head coach have exploded into an all-consuming conflagration.

The fire of interest in Brad and his interest in returning to the state he still refers to as home burns like the inferno that destroyed the north side of Chicago in 1871 after Mrs. O’Leary’s cow kicked over a lantern.

But this fire won’t destroy a city or us – it only serves to warm the hearts of Indiana fans who have been waiting patiently (kind of) for any hint of hope that a return to relevance in college basketball is coming.

When asked prior to last night’s Celtics vs. Jazz game about interest in his accepting the IU job, here is what Stevens said:

“It means a lot.  It means a lot. I know that … listen, I’ve got a lot of friends back there. I’ve got a lot of people that are really important to me there. My dad’s still there. That does mean a lot. I won’t act like that doesn’t. Like I said earlier today, it’s flattering.  But I also realize that I’m the coach of the Celtics and that’s — it’s been an amazing opportunity, an amazing challenge every day for the last eight years and I’m extremely grateful for that.”

Okay.  Does that sound like a guy closing the door on the idea of returning to Indiana to lead the Hoosiers?  Correcting himself from “that’s” to “it’s been” in talking about the “amazing opportunity” with the Celtics tells us something, right?  it’s not like Brad is some verbal oaf who is baffled by the vagaries of verb tenses.  “It’s been” is past – as in maybe Brad is ready for a different amazing opportunity or challenge.

Until I watched him say those things last night, I viewed the possibility of Brad coming to Indiana as a huge long shot – a pipe dream that might keep us engaged in athletic director Scott Dolson’s search for the next coach until some other coach was introduced to great fanfare and yammering about home runs and championships.

After watching Brad wax rhapsodic about Indiana and the meaning of the state to him and his family, my feeling was transformed from “wouldn’t it be nice if Brad came home?” to “It will be nice when Brad comes home.”  See how important verb tenses are in conveying a thought?

Does that change in phrasing mean it’s a sure thing that Brad will leave the Celtics after the season to lead Indiana Basketball?  Of course not.  But instead of this being some kind of ethereal dream – like me playing shortstop for the Cubs, it’s now more attainable, like maybe one day I’ll own a boat.

Last night, Brad Stevens walking out of the tunnel at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall became an image that is not farfetched all – not like it was before he described coaching the Celtics as a part of his past.

Colts lose chance to sign Trent Williams as 49ers make him highest paid OL in NFL history!

Trent Williams is staying with the 49ers, so Chris Ballard will have to find a different left tackle to protect Carson Wentz.

Trent Williams has signed an extremely lucrative deal to remain the left tackle for the San Francisco 49ers, so that free agent option is off the table for the Indianapolis Colts.

And that is a very good thing.

Even with the $46 million general manager Chris Ballard has at his discretion, lavishing the extreme wealth the 49ers are investing in the soon-to-be 33-year-old Williams was never an option.  The deal is worth $138 million over six years with $55 million guaranteed.

Williams would have been a wonderful security blanket for incoming Colts quarterback Carson Wentz, but $23M per year through Williams’ age 38 season would have caused more problems than it solved.  The Colts need a left tackle they can trust, but not at one-eighth of their salary cap!

In need of a left tackle, and upgrades at edge, receiver, cornerback, and linebacker, Colts fans see the quiet on 56th Street and get nervous.  They should remember Ballard is usually a slow play master when it comes to acquiring free agents.  Dumb money spends early in NFL free agency, and the draft will plug some of those holes too.

Spending a big bucket of cash on a difference maker is something Ballard is not averse to.  Last year, the Colts threw $25 million at Philip Rivers to lift them into the playoffs.  He also dealt a first rounder to the 49ers for defensive tackle DeForest Buckner, and then gave him a huge extension.

It’s not that Ballard won’t spend, but that he refuses to squander.  That should make fans happy, not nervous.  His prudence is the primary reason the Colts have $46 million in their pocket to throw at upgrades or internal contract extensions.

Look for Ballard to wait for the rubes to stop throwing cash around.  Spending $10 million on a mediocre and fading quarterback like Andy Dalton is exactly the kind of move Colts should be thrilled Ballard avoided.

Cash is scarce with a salary cap reduction, and there will be high quality players still on the shelf  once the dumb money is exhausted.

Williams would have looked very nice in a Colts uniform, but not for that kind of jack.  Instead of watching the action with envy, fans should enjoy the quiet knowing that if dumb money spends early – smart money spends late.

Sometimes the best deals are those unmade.

Judge the offseason when camp opens.  Any energy toward angst prior to that is wasted.

Indiana Basketball – Save your tears! Archie Miller doesn’t need or deserve them!

Archie Miller will be paid like a CEO for the next three years while drinking Cornas on a remote beach if he chooses. Two thumbs ups indeed!

People are talking about Archie Miller being fired as Indiana’s basketball coach as though he has passed away and requires mourning.

COVID did not get Archie.  He is not the latest cautionary tale of a young man without underlying conditions who was ravaged by the newest mutation of the virus.  He lost too many basketball games and provided no hope that IU’s fortunes would change in 2022.  There is no network of masks he could have worn to protect his job against the devastation caused by a four-year run of non-winning Big 10 seasons.  There is no vaccine to make safe a coach who doesn’t earn one invite to the NCAA Tourney in four years.

Let’s not weep for the destitution that could befall his family either.  Miller is leaving with an outlandish parting gift – $10.5 million guaranteed over the next three years.  Yes, he will be paid by Indiana in the same exact amount as he would have been if he still blew his whistle at Cook Hall.  That’s more money than you are likely to earn in your life in exchange for NOT doing his job.

Some in the media are saying that Miller deserved another year to prove himself, and I have yet to hear a good reason why.  Did COVID decimate his team?  No.  Did the first three years hint at breaking through the crimson ceiling established by the coach he replaced?  No.  Did IU fail to provide him with the tools and facilities needed to win.  No.  Miller just didn’t do the job.

Indiana under Miller just concluded the longest run of non-winning conference seasons since the end of World War I and Babe Ruth’s trade to the Yankees.  Yeah, Babe Ruth!  His career ended before the NCAA Tournament was ever dreamed of!  Bob Knight was more than 20 years from being born in 1919.

Sure, IU could have waited until eight years passed to admit its mistake – like Minnesota did with Richard Pitino, who was also canned yesterday.  What’s the point of that?  If athletic director Scott Dolson decided Indiana Basketball would be better served with a new basketball coach and the university didn’t have to reach into its own wallet to make him leave, that’s a pretty strong case to act right now.

Archie is 42 years old, and never has to work another day in his life.  That’s a pretty good haul for being historically mediocre at his job.  You and I should be that lucky for doing stellar work, much less for winning and losing in equal measure..

Indiana will move on.  So will Miller.  If he wants to coach again, there is no doubt someone will hire him.  Miller’s failures weren’t so egregious that he’s toxic to other potential employers.  Hell, Pitino already has been snapped up by New Mexico, according to reports.  Former IU coach Tom Crean got the Georgia job after a year of putting his feet up at ESPN, and Indiana scourge Kelvin Sampson is making a triumphant return to Assembly Hall this weekend as Houston’s coach.

Coaches always get another gig.

Save the grief and lamentations for those who deserve it.