Author Archives: Kent Sterling

Indiana Basketball – Since Knight, winning hasn’t been worth the hassle for the University

Indiana won games, conference championships, and hung banners with Bob Knight as coach. Since his firing, Indiana University has decided that level of winning is not worth the headaches.

Do you watch Indiana Basketball and wonder why it is on a never-slowing treadmill of mediocrity?

Here is the answer – Indiana University is punishing its Basketball program and its fans for the success it reaped during the Bob Knight era.

Three national championships, five Final Fours, 11 Big 10 titles, and a 659-242 record came with a lot of baggage.  The head butt, kicked shin, flying flower pot, thrown chair, myriad of embarrassing public comments, and Knight’s overall boorishness became intolerable as successes diminished in frequency, so Knight was fired.  But Indiana wasn’t done punishing the program.

Mike Davis was hired to replace Knight, despite being entirely unprepared (by his own admission) for the challenges of the job.  Kelvin Sampson was hired to replace Davis, and he went bananas recruiting talented but behaviorally challenged players.  He broke rules, was fired, and replaced by Dan Dakich.  Too briefly, all was right with the world.  Indiana understood itself again.

Then IU decided to step outside the Knight coaching tree again to hire Tom Crean.  Until he absolutely wore out every coach, player, and recruit’s family in the state of Indiana, Crean found the right combination of in-state and out-of-state talent.  His tenure ended when it became clear his teams were evolving in the wrong direction while his ego remained championship sized.

Archie Miller replaced Crean, and the program has been stuck in suspended animation since.  Each year the promise of growth is broken, and the return to glory is delayed.  This season is still unfolding, but the results so far have been very similar to years past.

As programs at Illinois and Ohio State continue to careen toward excellence after hiring coaches simultaneous to Miller in the 2017 offseason, Indiana sits just under .500 at 6-7.  Brad Underwood and Chris Holtmann have built the Illini and Buckeyes programs that are currently ranked in the top five.

During the 20 years since Knight’s firing, the Hoosiers have won three Big 10 titles (2002*, 2013, and 2016), been to the 2002* Final Four (*with players recruited by Knight), and have compiled a record of 393-285.  That’s right, Indiana won 266 more games under Knight than it has during  for the five coaches who have followed him, while losing 43 more.

Indiana understands exactly what it is doing.  Mediocrity ensures control over a coach, and championships provides popularity that might unleash a massive ego to cause administrative torment and misery in the way Knight did.  Better to be okay in the present with the ability to sell potential for a bright future than play at a championship level.

It’s not really a matter of Indiana punishing itself for creating the monster Knight became, but more an unwillingness to venture down that road again where the basketball coach becomes a campus behemoth – the most famous and popular person in Indiana, not just Indiana University.

IU receding from the blue bloods is a contrived strategy that won’t end with Miller’s firing whenever it comes.  it will continue with yet another underwhelming hire, and another, and another.

The only hope is that athletic director Scott Dolson will be able to find a generational championship level coach whose managerial strength lies in humility, not arrogance.  That John Wooden and Brad Stevens are the only examples of servant-leaders that won big I can think of tells you a little about their scarcity.

Indiana Basketball is mired in mediocrity because of a willful decision that it should be.  The price necessary for greatness has not been paid by IU’s president, board of trustees, athletic directors, or silly blue ribbon panels convened to vet candidates each time the coaching job opens.

Future banners are unlikely to be won because at Indiana it is believed they can only be hung by self-immersed jerks who fail to understand the consequences of hubris.

Draymond Green opens mouth, inserts foot in demand for respect on behalf of Andre Drummond

Draymond Green is very passionate – sometimes for good, and sometimes in a way that underscores a lack of understanding of who watches the NBA.

Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green demanded respect last night.

The short story is that Green would like franchises and the NBA held accountable for their behavior and attitude at the same level currently reserved for players.

Here is the long story – in Green’s own very honest words:

“I would like to talk about something that’s really bothering me, And it’s the treatment of players in this league. To watch Andre Drummond, before the game, sit on the sidelines, then go to the back, and to come out in street clothes because a team is going to trade him, it’s bulls—.

“Because when James Harden asked for a trade, and essentially dogged it, no one’s going to fight back that James was dogging it his last days in Houston, but he was castrated for wanting to go to a different team. Everybody destroyed that man. And yet a team can come out and say, ‘Oh, we want to trade a guy,’ and then that guy has to go sit, and if he doesn’t stay professional, then he’s a cancer. And he’s not good in someone’s locker room, and he’s the issue.”

“And we’re seeing situations of Harrison Barnes getting pulled off the bench, Or DeMarcus Cousins finding out he’s traded in an interview after the All-Star Game, and we continue to let this happen. But I got fined for stating my opinion on what I thought should happen with another player, but teams can come out and continue to say, ‘Oh, we’re trading guys, we’re not playing you.’ And yet we’re to stay professional.

“At some point, as players, we need to be treated with the same respect, and have the same rights that the team can have. Because as a player, you’re the worst person in the world when you want a different situation. But a team can say they’re trading you. And that man is to stay in shape, he is to stay professional. And if not, his career is on the line. At some point, this league has to protect the players from embarrassment like that.

“We talk all of this stuff about: ‘You can’t do this, you can’t say this publicly, If you say that publicly – Anthony Davis got fined I think $100,000 dollars or something like that for demanding a trade – but you can say Andre Drummond’s getting traded publicly and we’re looking to trade him publicly, and he’s to stay professional and just deal with it?

“And then when Kyrie Irving says, ‘Oh, my mental health is off,’ everybody go crazy about that too. Do you not think that affects someone mentally? As much as we put into this game to be great, to come out here and be in shape, to produce for fans every single night, and most importantly, to help your team win, do you think that doesn’t affect someone mentally?

“As players, we’re told to, ‘Ah, no, you can’t say that, you can’t say this, but teams can? It goes along the same lines of when everyone wants to say, ‘Ah, man, that young guy can’t figure it out.’ But no one wants to say the organization can’t figure it out. At some point, the players must be respected in these situations, and it’s ridiculous, and I’m sick of seeing it. Y’all have a great night. I’ll see y’all tomorrow or Wednesday.”

Indianapolis Colts – Sam Darnold will not be Ballard’s choice despite hopes of deranged fans

New York Jets quarterback Sam Darnold is a name that is consistently advanced by Colts fans as a potential target for general manager Chris Ballard as he searches for a fourth different starter in as many years.

It’s good that Ballard is running the franchise and not fans!

The #3 overall selection out of USC in the 2018 NFL Draft, Darnold has struggled during his first three seasons as a starter.  Statistically, there is no justification in believing that Darnold would be an upgrade over recently retired temporary solution Philip Rivers.

Advocates point to Darnold’s age (23) and the team for whom he toils as reasons to anticipate  a turnaround in his performance if the Colts acquired him.  They say the quality of the Colts offensive line and weapons at his disposal would allow Darnold to achieve results more in line with the position at which he was drafted.

Here are some hard truths about Darnold:

  • During the 2020 season, his passing performance under pressure and while having a clean pocket were very similar.
  • Has never achieved a QBR of 46 or better.
  • His Pro Football Focus grade has never ranked higher than 29th among quarterbacks with a minimum of 300 snaps.
  • In 2020, Darnold’s yards per attempt averaged 6.6 (this is one of the chief metrics cited for  Jacoby Brissett being replaced by Philip Rivers after 2019 – Brissett’s average was also 6.6).
  • Darnold also averaged a paltry 7.7 yards per intended passing attempt during the 2020 season (Brissett’s was 7.9 in 2019).

Maybe Darnold explodes into a historic turnaround – an era of incredible productivity and winning with a change of scenery, but there is no reason to foresee it.  His statistics and tape show a level of quarterback play that would motivate a team like the Jets to deal Darnold for what they can get rather than invest his his future by exercising their fifth year option.

Darnold is an excellent athlete with good feet and a strong arm, but there is more to winning at quarterback than athleticism.  For a team whose stated goal is to win multiple Super Bowls there is no justification for acquiring Darnold instead of someone with a higher ceiling in his past, present, and future like Carson Wentz.

Fans have tended to favor Darnold over Wentz, thinking that Wentz’s 2020 performance was so off the rails hideous that he cannot be trusted by the Colts or anyone else.  The truth is that by every legitimate measure, Wentz enjoyed a better year than Darnold despite leading the NFL in both interceptions and sacks.

Last year, Darnold’s PFF grade and QBR were 58.4 and 40.2 – ranking #35 and #33.  Wentz was at 65.0 and 49.2 in those two measures – ranking #32 and #28 respectively.  Those two grading schemes are imperfect, but quarterbacks who played in the AFC and NFC Championships were ranked #1, #2, #4, and #7 by PFF and #1, #2, #3, and #9 in QBR.  Long story short – having a QB who grades well reflects a level of play that leads to winning in January.

While Darnold has languished over three years with the Jets, Wentz showed stretches of good to excellent play from 2017-2019 with the Eagles.  Wentz was ranked 6th, 14th, and 14th by PFF during those seasons while Darnold has never been ranked higher than 26th.

This is not to scream that Wentz should be the choice for the Colts, just a better option than Darnold.  It’s true that Wentz’s injury history makes him a risk – especially given the expensive contract extension commencing during the upcoming league year.  Darnold is healthy, and headed into the final year of his rookie contract, making him a substandard but low risk single year option.

Ballard has many decisions to make about his Colts over the next 11 weeks.  The most important will be who his quarterback will be.  It would be shocking if the Colts landed upon Darnold.

It may not be Wentz, but it sure as hell won’t be Darnold.

Indiana loses 78-59 to #4 Ohio State in game where hope was lost early

Tim Garl has seen a lot of basketball in his 40 years as Indiana Basketball’s trainer. He seemed to know which way this one was headed as he watched.

What did you think was going to happen?

Indiana got waxed 78-59 today in Columbus by a top five Ohio State team.  That’s the way it goes in the Big 10.  The better team, and the Buckeyes were obviously the better team, won today.  If Indiana and Ohio State played in Columbus 10 times, Ohio State would win 10 times.

It’s true that Indiana caused itself a great deal of distress with so many of the same issue that have corrupted its ability to take a meaningful step forward in Archie Miller‘s fourth season, but even if they hit every free throw and cut turnovers to single digits, they likely lose by five or six.

A game after Indiana got off to a weak 21-7 start at Northwestern, they limped to a 21-6 deficit during the first nine-plus minutes of this game.  Unfortunately, Ohio State is just a tad better than Northwestern, and Indiana would make only a cosmetic run at the lead as the game plowed forward toward its inevitably negative conclusion.

With 14:15 remaining, a Trayce Jackson-Davis dunk cut the Ohio State lead to five at 45-40.  The Buckeyes subsequent 22-4 run ended all doubt as to who the victor would be this afternoon.  That stretch was representative of Indiana’s play with four turnovers leading to eight points, three Ohio State Offensive rebounds that lead to six points, and a technical by Jerome Hunter that led to one point.

Self-inflicted wounds for the Hoosiers included:

  • 15 turnovers
  • 12 offensive rebounds allowed
  • 10 free throws (out of 22) missed

Toward the end of ESPN’s broadcast, analyst Jay Bilas began hedging his bets as to IU’s potential as an NCAA Tournament team, but who wouldn’t after watching the Hoosiers sleepwalk at 80% effort for the majority of the game.  Several times in the first half, Bilas said, “Indiana IS a tournament team.”  Late in the game, that wild optimism evolved into a safer, “I think Indiana is a tournament team.”

Discussions continue about why Indiana exists in this state of perpetual mediocrity, but today’s result was appropriate given the Buckeyes effort and execution, and IU’s lack thereof.  

Indiana remains bubble-ridden with Minnesota and Michigan State visiting Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.  If they win both, Indiana’s record jumps to a respectable 13-9.  A loss to either would mean the Hoosiers would likely need a victory against Michigan or Purdue to validate Bilas’s confidence.

In the meantime, IU fans hope the switch goes on for a group that appears content to play a game rather than compete in a quest for excellence.