Author Archives: Kent Sterling

Nick Nurse’s ill-advised timeouts gave the Warriors a break – and a win to force game six

Nick Nurse is a good coach who made a bad call.

Toronto Raptors coach Nick Nurse has done a wonderful job leading his Toronto Raptors to the brink of their first NBA Championship, but he broke the first rule of coaching last night.

The first rule of coaching is a very simple axiom that mirrors the Hippocratic Oath that physicians take – “First do no harm.” In coaching, it’s “When your team is about to win, sit back and watch.”

There are other coaching rules the timeouts violated – “When an opponent is down, don’t let him up,” “Don’t take your foot off the throat of your enemy,” “When things are going your way, keep going,” and of course, “Don’t complicate winning.”

Click here for a $1 comprehensive dental exam done by the best dentist in Indiana – Dr. Mike O’Neil at Today’s Dentistry

Those really aren’t separate rules – they are the same rule phrased differently. Here’s how Nurse screwed up:

With 3:05 remaining in Game Five of the NBA Finals, Nurse decided to get clever and call back-to-back timeouts. At the time, the Raptors were in the midst of a 12-2 run that gave them a six-point lead. Kawhi Leonard had scored the last 10 points, and Steph Curry had just missed a three-pointer.

Momentum was solidly on the side of the Raptors when Nurse called the timeouts, and it evaporated while the Raptors sat. The Warriors scored the next nine points on three straight triples from the Splash Brothers, and the game ended 106-105 in favor of the Warriors.

Instead of continuing an NBA Championship celebration this morning, the Raptors are getting on a plane to the Bay Area for Game Six.

Nurse explained his decision after the game, “We just came across and just decided to give those guys a rest… Just thought we could use the extra energy push.” And then they just lost.

Sadly, Nurse didn’t recognize that a little rest was exactly what the Warriors needed to elevate their game.

See, when a coach calls timeout to rest his players, the opponents are able to rest too. They are not required to continue running as the team that exercised the timeout cops a squat. Not only does a coach need to recognize when his players are tired, he has to assess the fatigue level of his opponent too. That’s where Nurse failed.

It’s really hard for a coach to be disciplined enough to avoid inserting himself into the game. Helping is what a coach is supposed to do, but sometimes sitting and watching is the most helpful move a coach can make.

There is no guarantee that the Raptors would have won had Nurse not called timeouts, but we are 100% certain they lost after he did. The Raptors spit the bit last night, and those timeouts were clearly one of the pivot points that gave the Warriors life.

Down 3-1 with Kevin Durant staring at his torn Achilles tendon, it was the Warriors that needed a break. Nick Nurse gave it to them.

Indiana annihilates Kentucky – all-star matchup between the states should be replaced by 4-team tourney

For the past week, I’ve been bitching and moaning that Indiana’s All-Star high school team deserves a more competitive challenge than what the Kentucky team provides. Now, I bring a solution.

But first, a few post mortem of the most recent drubbing.

Over the weekend, Indiana destroyed Kentucky in their two-game home and home series. The scores – 97-64 and 120-74 – represent how lopsided this series has become over the years. The 39 1/2 average point differential embarrassed Kentucky, and will make next year’s event an even tougher sell south of the Ohio River.

Click here for a $1 comprehensive dental exam done by the best dentist in Indiana – Dr. Mike O’Neil at Today’s Dentistry

Kentucky’s lack of ability to field a competitive team has driven interest to such a shallow level that Kentucky’s home game is hosted at Bellarmine University where the gym seats 2,196. From where I’m writing in Indianapolis, I’m less than 15 minutes from at least six high school gyms that seat more than that.

In Indiana, the game is held at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Granted, the seats are not filled for the event at the Pacers home arena, but who wants to watch Indiana disembowel the Blue Grass State every year? Well, I do, but I’m a sadist who enjoys watching Kentuckians writhe in pain.

How lopsided is the talent gap between Indiana and Kentucky? Indiana has had at least one McDonald’s All-Americans on each of the last 10 teams, and a total of 18 McD AAs during that time. Kentucky has had two – Chase Behanan of Bowling Green (2011) and D’Angelo Russell (2014 – from Louisville, but went to Montverde Academy) during that same decade.

The time has finally come for the powers that be in Indiana to change opponents to resuscitate the energy for the final high school game Indiana’s best will ever play, and there are plenty of options.

In fact, there are so many options, we shouldn’t limit this event to one opponent. The high school basketball in the other three states that neighbor Indiana is excellent – far better than Kentucky.

A four-team single elimination two-game festival that brings the best from Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio to Indianapolis would be a wonderful celebration of competition, fun, and education. Semifinals would be played as a doubleheader on Friday, followed by a third place game and championship Saturday.

Tradition is the only reason Kentucky “competes” against Indiana, and that adherence to tradition may kill the entire event. Embracing the new format will be the defibrillator necessary to shock fans’ attention back to what should be a unique celebration of all that is good about high school basketball.

NCAA rules changes include moving three-point line back – good for hoops; great for Indiana

Without a shooter like Steve Alford, Indiana stands to benefit from the three-point line moving back to the international distance of 22′ 1 3/4″. Archie Miller would likely lobby for a move all the way back to half court (at least this year).

College basketball’s three-point line is moving back to the international distance of 22 feet, 1 ¾ inches, and I love it.

As shooting has improved, teams have gone to an offensive scheme where the midrange game no longer exists. The game has evolved into chuck it or dunk it, and basketball has suffered as a result.

Moving the three-point line back will lessen the reward for jacking up threes, so teams will choose to move the ball to where they get the most bang for their shot. It will also force offenses to space the floor, and thus spread the defense.

Anyone who watched last season’s NIT saw the immediate difference the move to the international distance made. Basketball looked quite a bit like basketball again.

This move is also very good news for Indiana University – a team that was not in love with the three-point shot in 2018-2019, and did not benefit from it in the same measure as other teams.

Click here for a $1 comprehensive dental exam done by the best dentist in Indiana – Dr. Mike O’Neil at Today’s Dentistry

IU scored 25.4% of its points via the three-point shot. That ranked ahead of only Minnesota in the Big 10, and 325th in the nation. The Hoosiers hit only 31.2% from beyond the arc, which ranked 311th. Devonte Green was the only Hoosier to hit 35% or better from the previous three-point distance. Green’s conscience did not preclude him from popping from 25-feet or beyond, so this move is not likely to affect his bomber mode.

If Indiana can stay static from the new distance – not too withering a standard (31.2% from 22-feet should be doable) – while everyone else backslides three-to-five percent, that’s a big win for the Hoosiers.

The real winners here though are the players and fans as basketball will be more fun to play.

The NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel approved a few other rule changes – most we won’t often notice – but they prove that the oversight panel is not beyond silly adjustments. Here they are:

The NCAA is moving the PC line back a few feet too. Players will be assessed technical fouls for using derogatory language about an opponent’s race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation or disability. God forbid anyone is ever insulted.
Coaches will be allowed to call live-ball timeouts in the last two minutes of the second half and overtime. Over the past couple of years, calling live ball timeouts has been up to the players throughout the game. Thank God more control of the game is being ceded back to the coaches. How could any team manage to play basketball without their constant input?
Instant replay expands for goaltending or basket interference calls in the final two minutes of the second half and overtime. More replay! Oh that’s just great!

All in all, one really good rule adjustment trumps three silly exercises in micromanagement – especially when Indiana should benefit disproportionately.

Big 10 to name Kevin Warren commissioner – why can’t Big 10 schools produce a Big 10 leader?

Kevin Warren will succeed Jim Delany as Big 10 commissioner, and this Grand Canyon, Arizona State, and Notre Dame graduate will do a fine job.

The Big 10 has 14 member universities who promise to help students become community and corporate leaders, but the conference will again turn to a graduate of a non-member school to lead it.

Kevin Warren will be announced this morning as the successor to Jim Delany, who is retiring after 30 years in the position. Delany graduated from the University of North Carolina, and Warren has degrees from Grand Canyon University, Arizona State University (MBA), and the University of Notre Dame (JD).

Click here for a $1 comprehensive dental exam done by the best dentist in Indiana – Dr. Mike O’Neil at Today’s Dentistry

Warren is obviously qualified, and he may be very successful as commissioner. My issue is not with Warren or his selection, but with the universities that comprise the Big 10. They appear incapable of providing the necessary tools for the development of a candidate worthy of the position.

Remember the two divisions the Big 10 used for football before finally embracing the geographically driven East and West? They were called the Leaders and Legends. Well, evidently the schools of the Big 10 are ill-equipped to produce leaders legendary enough to run the conference.

Out of state students paid $49,554 to attend Indiana University during the 2018-2019 academic year. Multiply that by four years, and an education at IU will set a family back $198,216. For that kind of jack, a position like commissioner of the Big 10 should be guaranteed for a graduate.

Instead, the Big 10 will look to a guy with three degrees from non-Big 10 schools to run the show.

Bulldogs will bounce back in 2019-2020 – Butler’s non-conference schedule released

LaVall Jordan needs Butler to bounce back in 2019-2020 – and they will.

Coaches, fans, and players know what they are going to get in the Big East – a true home and road challenge in the deepest conference in college basketball.

This morning, we get our first look at the full non-conference portion of Butler’s schedule for the 2019-2020 season:

2019-20 @ButlerMBB Non-Conference Schedule

Sat., Oct. 26 – IU-Kokomo (Exhibition // Homecoming Weekend at Butler)
Fri., Nov. 1 – University of Indianapolis (Exhibition)
Wed., Nov. 6 – IUPUI
Sat., Nov. 9 – New Orleans (Family Weekend at Butler)
Tues., Nov. 12 – Minnesota (Gavitt Tipoff Games)
Sat., Nov. 16 – Wofford (Hall of Fame Classic – on-campus game)
Fri., Nov. 22 – Morehead State (Hall of Fame Classic – on-campus game)
Mon., Nov. 25 – vs. TBA – Hall of Fame Classic; Kansas City, Mo.
Tues., Nov. 26 – vs. TBA – Hall of Fame Classic; Kansas City, Mo. (Oklahoma, Missouri, and Stanford are the other participants in the event)
Tues., Dec. 3 – at Ole Miss
Sat., Dec. 7 – Florida
Tues., Dec. 10 – at Baylor (BIG EAST-Big 12 Series)
Sat., Dec. 14 – Southern
Sat., Dec. 21 – vs. Purdue (Crossroads Classic; Bankers Life Fieldhouse; Indianapolis, Ind.)
Sat., Dec. 28 – Louisiana-Monroe

This is how a non-conference schedule should be assembled. There are enough quality opponents to test Butler and boost their strength of schedule, and enough lesser opponents to not exhaust the Bulldogs prior to the beginning of the very rugged Big East where there is no rest for the weary.

Click here for a $1 comprehensive dental exam done by the best dentist in Indiana – Dr. Mike O’Neil at Today’s Dentistry

Butler should improve this season with the return of Kamar Baldwin, Jordan Tucker, Henry Baddley, Aaron Thompson, Bryce Golden, and Sean McDermott. LaVall Jordan’s third Butler team adds Khalif Battle and John-Michael Mulloy.as freshmen, and Derrik Smits as a grad eligible transfer to replace Joey Brunk who left for IU..

No one was pleased with a Big East tie for last with DePaul and Providence, but the Bulldogs finished just two games out of a tie for third. Those two wins needed to get to third could have been had by hitting one more free throw in their two overtime losses.

This is a big third year for Jordan, who has yet to have that GREAT year that establishes his Butler era as a continuation of the Collier, Matta, Lickliter, Stevens, Holtmann lineage.

Cubs Albert Almora breaks down after foul ball hurts child; how do we protect fans at the ballpark?

Albert Almora did nothing wrong last night, but that didn’t lesson the sadness of knowing a ball he hit caused injury to a child.

In the top of the fourth inning of last night’s Cubs vs. Astros game, Albert Almora pulled a line drive into the stands just beyond the Cubs dugout. Almora immediately dropped to one knee and buried his head in his hands.

A four year-old child was crying after being hit by the foul ball. She was taken to a hospital shortly after, and is reportedly fine.

Almora was still shaken as he discussed that moment during his postgame media availability, “As soon as I hit it, the first person I locked eyes on was her…Just praying. I’m speechless. I’m at loss of words. Being a father, two boys.”

Kris Bryant said he wants Major League Baseball to erect protective netting from foul pole to foul pole to protect players.

Click here for a $1 comprehensive dental exam done by the best dentist in Indiana – Dr. Mike O’Neil at Today’s Dentistry

A kid being hit by a foul ball can bring tragedy to a family – and baseball. Last night’s incident is unfortunate, and no one is to blame for the ball hitting the child. The important thing is that she recovers fully from what we all hope was more scary than damaging.

What Almora needs to embrace is that he did nothing wrong. The parent(s) of the little girl need to care for her without asking what they might have done differently to prevent the ball from striking their daughter.

For the rest of us, this can be a learning moment to keep kids and adults safe during baseball games.

Here are some tips for your next trip to the ballpark that will help ensure your safety:

Put your smart phone in your pocket, and pay attention to the game. If you need to check your texts, wait until the end of the half inning. Make sure the phone is back in your pocket before the first pitch of the next half inning.
Sit in seats where you are comfortable if a ball is hit in your direction. Line drives hurt, and if you don’t feel you can protect yourself, move to a seat farther from the plate. When I took my toddler son to games at Wrigley Field, I sat in the bleachers or upper deck.
If you bring a kid or senior citizen to the game, take the seat closest to home plate so you will be able to get to the ball before it strikes those you need to protect.
Again – watch every pitch. The odds are long a ball is going to strike you, but that doesn’t mean it can’t or won’t.

Netting has expanded over the years, but professional baseball has existed without pole to pole protection for 118 seasons. At some point, we need to take some measure of responsibility for our own safety. Fans need to understand there is not an invisible membrane protecting us from harm as we walk through life.

Offer up a prayer for the little girl who was hit – as well as her parents, and then use their experience the next time you go to the ballpark to remind yourself how important it can be to watch the game.

LSU’s Will Wade still protecting his job – convenient & evasive in answering questions

Will Wade might have thought himself clever yesterday as he answered media questions, but it doesn’t take a lawyer to see him for what he is.

LSU head basketball coach Will Wade lawyered up immediately when reports surfaced of a phone call captured by federal wiretap in which he claimed to have made “a strong ass offer” for a recruit.

He was suspended in early March – within a day of the report – and it was rescinded in mid-April after the turbulent waters surrounding the accusation died down and the wiretap was not admitted into evidence during a federal trial.

In answers to the media for the first time since the suspension, Wade claims to have some regrets, “I wish, looking back on things, we could have gotten into a room together a lot quicker than we did. That was my mistake. I respect LSU’s decision based on that.”

That comment is an insult to any intelligent human being who values honesty. Wade’s goal from the moment the “strong ass offer” report surfaced was to keep his job. Now that his mission is accomplished, he wants to decry the very strategy that allowed him to win.

And that is ridiculous.

Click here for a $1 comprehensive dental exam done by the best dentist in Indiana – Dr. Mike O’Neil at Today’s Dentistry

Does he really expect reasonably intelligent people to let him off the hook that easily? Maybe LSU fans who value winning over ethics will say, “Well, if he says he regrets bringing in lawyers to save his job, I forgive him for acting like a very smart crook.”

Smart college basketball fans and media won’t.

Then there is a nice little dodge that occurred during yesterday’s media availability that reveals more about how cagey Wade is. When asked about an alleged $300K payment to recruit Naz Reid, Wade said, “”It was absolutely false and did not happen.” OK. That’s a very strong rebuke.

When asked if he ever made the “strong ass offer” comment, Wade turned lawyerly, “I’ve not heard the recording so I don’t know.”

You don’t need a law degree to see through that non-denial denial.

Wade isn’t nearly out of the woods yet. The NCAA may at some point decide to re-engage as a necessary authority figure in college athletics enforcing rules designed to guarantee fairness. If the NCAA does find sufficient evidence that Wade is the cheat he was alleged to be, LSU can punt him based upon concessions Wade agreed to in order to have the suspension lifted.

LSU negotiated the right to fire Wade for cause if he is found to have committed a Level I or Level II NCAA violation, and he can also be terminated if the NCAA infractions committee issues a formal notice to LSU that Wade was involved in a Level 1 or Level 2 violation.

It’s a good guess that Wade’s work to keep his gig at LSU is not over, and that the lawyers he contracted to help him through his initial issues with LSU will likely be needed again.

If his job is threatened again, we’ll see if his recent regret changes his tactics. I doubt it.

Torch not passed directly from Knight to Miller, but maybe Miller is finally the right coach

(Fox 59)

Indiana Basketball getting back to where fans crave it to be is not about Bob Knight. It’s about the values that are established by successful basketball programs – many of which were embraced by Knight as he led the Hoosiers to 11 Big 10 titles and three national championships.

Being successful is not dependent upon the ideology of a coach 19 years removed from his position as a program’s czar. It’s about recruiting, culture, athleticism, intellect, diligence, compliance, and other factors.

There is no single way to skin this cat. Coaches of disparate styles and levels of integrity have found ways to win. At Indiana, the DNA of the program requires several traits be adhered to – recruit the best high school players from its home state and region, remain NCAA compliant (and then some), graduate players, play tough man-to-man defense, and embrace an extreme level of toughness.

Click here for a $1 comprehensive dental exam done by the best dentist in Indiana – Dr. Mike O’Neil at Today’s Dentistry

Sounds like Knight, right? Sure, he’s been gone for 19 years, but that doesn’t mean the recipe he used to win no longer works.

So how’s the latest IU coach doing in measuring up?

Archie Miller is recruiting Indiana exceptionally well. He got IU into the game for Indiana high school kids who had turned their backs on the program when Tom Crean was the coach. He’s 2-for-2 in delivering Mr. Basketballs, and has surrounded them with other well-regarded Indiana All-Stars.

Academics are trending up. The most recent APR (Miller’s first year as coach) saw a single-year improvement to 980 after several bad years under Crean, who knew he was on a short leash and threw a couple of Hail Marys to win enough to earn either an extension or another job.

If Miller is cheating, he hasn’t been caught or implicated. IU fans’ need for a level of clean beyond what’s demanded by the NCAA is a direct reflection of the Knight years. It’s not enough to win for IU fans. We need to be able to beat the crooks and rub Hoosier values in their faces.

Miller has IU playing man-to-man, which IU fans understand because of decades of watching Knight teams do it. This was a disconnect with the Crean teams. IU fans had trouble figuring out what the hell IU was trying to do on the defensive end. That’s not Crean’s fault, but it was like taking a history class at IU taught by a professor who spoke only French.

As far as toughness, this is a place where IU fans have a bone to pick with Miller. A lack of toughness might be penalized behind closed doors or at practice, but during games players are allowed to continue to trot back on defense after a turnover without being pulled from the game. Minutes talk, and Miller’s refusal to bring out a quick hook for violators is a problem.

Miller is not a Knight disciple, but the methodology is similar enough to give longtime fans hope.

Clearly, this wasn’t an orderly passing of the torch like we saw at Purdue as Gene Keady gave way to Matt Painter, but in the end it might be as successful – if Miller can make toughness a clear priority.

Kent Sterling’s Indiana University Fantasy Camp is going to be different from Victor Oladipo’s

Victor Oladipo is going to host a basketball fantasy at Indiana University, so I’m thinking about hosting an IU fantasy camp of my own.

Here’s the info on Vic’s:

The Victor Oladipo Basketball Fantasy Experience in partnership with Indiana Basketball provides fans with the opportunity to spend a weekend in the life of a Hoosiers basketball player. Attendees have the option to play or coach and will receive expert instruction from Victor Oladipo, head coach Archie Miller, the current IU men’s basketball staff, former IU basketball greats, and other celebrity guests. The event will be held in the world-famous Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall and the state-of-the-art Hoosiers Basketball practice facilities.

The cost for this weekend of sweating and exertion is $3,995 or $5,995, depending upon your appetite for swag and bonus amenities. (For comparison purposes, my entire freshman year at IU cost my parents $3,300.). Eligibility requires participant be 30 or older.

The specific itinerary is not available, but I expert extreme exercise is part of the curriculum.

Click here for a $1 comprehensive dental exam done by the best dentist in Indiana – Dr. Mike O’Neil at Today’s Dentistry

I am considering hosting my own Kent Sterling Indiana University Fantasy Camp, which will immerse participants in the culture of Indiana University as we knew it and the cost will be much more reasonable.

Below is the itinerary for my event that may take place on the same three days as Vic’s weekend of cramps, pulls, and icings:

Friday, August 23rd

8a-10a – Check in at the luxurious Hampton Inn on Walnut, just south of SR 46.

10a – Grand Slam Breakfast at Denny’s – 40 feet northeast of the Hampton.

10:45a – Welcome kegger at the pool of the apartment complex formerly known as Walnut Knolls. Due to time constraints and aversion to physical activity, we ask campers to refrain from swimming. Pool side activities are limited to ogling.

11:00a – We board A Buses at Memorial Stadium for a comfortable cruise through campus to Kirkwood and Indiana, make the 74 yard walk to Nick’s, and hunker down in the Hump Room for a brief eight-hour game of Sink the Biz, interrupted only by infusions of strombolis and onion rings.

8p – A line of taxis from the Great Pumpkin Cab Company will be waiting to shuttle all participants to Kilroy’s Sports where we will provide a spontaneous symposium for current students entitled, “Wasting time productively.” Breakout sessions will include “Turning four years of education into a six-year marathon of fun,” “Choosing laughter with friends over snobby girls,” and “Drinking like Sinatra.”

1a – Taxis outfitted with sacks of tacos, chalupas, and burritos from Taco Bell will ferry participants to Assembly Hall where a door propped open by an easily paid off custodian will allow campers to enjoy an endless snack in the men’s basketball locker room.

3a – Bedtime (Each room will be equipped with a caged canary to gauge methane levels for camper safety.)

Saturday, August 24th

10a – Jim Izard/Ron Felling memorial wake up beers are served in each camper’s room.

10:15a – Prank phone calls to other guest rooms offering a free stay if they agree to come to the front desk and switch rooms immediately.

10:30a – Breakfast at Denny’s, where will talk about playing golf at the IU course but dismiss the idea because the track is too tight, and drinking beers at Nick’s sounds like more fun.

11a – Splashing students at bus stops (weather permitting). Rental cars from Ugly Duckling will be provided to all campers, and a tour of Bloomington’s best splashing spots will be led by Len Totlan – IU’s all-time leading splasher.

12p – Lunch at Nick’s. This is scheduled to end at 1:30p, but will linger until 5p as one beer leads to another and leaving where we are already having a great time will be dismissed as ridiculous.

5p – Walk to Brother’s where we will order pork brain sandwiches, which were always the special at the Peanut Barrel – the bar which formerly occupied that space. Annoyed servers will eventually ask campers to leave.

9p – Count Bop & the Headliners at the Bluebird. Golf carts will convey campers across the street to the Bluebird for a trip back in time for a concert by the heirs to the Dr. Bop throne. The great Dr. Bop passed away over a decade ago, but the Count, Senator Floyd, and the Velendez Sisters continue to play oldies will tequila-fueled energy.

9:30p – Back across the street to Brother’s where another demand for a pork brains sandwich is answered by a threat to call the cops.

10p – A trip to the Delta Gamma sorority house where we demand to see our daughters immediately. We tear through the house yelling about safety, grades, and idiot boyfriends. Each camper will talk to a DG about how our lives are not what we dreamed, how our kids are disappointing, and hope empathy brings an invitation to continue our talk somewhere more private.

1a – Back to Taco Bell and then Assembly Hall for a second infusion of barely solid beef, cheese, and dozens of packets of hot sauce.

Sunday, August 24th

9a – Ambulances will be lined up outside the Hampton Inn to convey campers to Bloomington Memorial Hospital for a battery of tests to provide a unique prognosis for each camper, complete with updated life expectancy.

Cost – $699

ESPN’s “Chasing Ghosts” looks at those who followed Bob Knight, and fail to grasp what “right guy” at IU means

Archie Miller might be the right guy, but IU found out Davis, Sampson and Crean were not worthy successors to Bob Knight.

Today, it’s Indiana’s turn in the crosshairs of the “Chasing Ghosts” series at ESPN.com, and the regurgitation of the last 19 years since Bob Knight was fired is not pretty.

Mike Davis, Kelvin Sampson, Dan Dakich, Tom Crean, and Archie Miller are discussed as unworthy successors to Knight’s throne as the King of Bloomington, and all but Dan are mentioned as those IU might have regretted separating from.

Ironically, all but Dan proved themselves in a variety of ways to be unworthy successors during their reigns.

Click here for a $1 comprehensive dental exam done by the best dentist in Indiana – Dr. Mike O’Neil at Today’s Dentistry

There are several truths about the responsibilities associated with the position Indiana University that must be embraced. Bob Knight set a hell of a standard in how to build a program that must be met. His behavior was self-indulgent to a historic degree, but his run of excellence on the court, in the classroom, and doing it clean should be a model for anyone interested in succeeding at IU (or anywhere).

Four things must happen at IU for fans to embrace a coach:

The team must win.
Players must graduate
NCAA rules cannot be violated
Must embrace history and traditions of the program

There are subset of requirements – like recruiting high school players from Indiana, as is being able to out-prepare and out-scheme Big 10 peers – but let’s stick with those four basic criteria as we evaluate those who have come and gone.

Mike Davis won with Knight’s players the first two years, and then regressed. There was loud chatter about Davis dealing with agents in a way for which former Auburn assistant Chuck Person has been convicted. Davis was better at recruiting his home state of Alabama than Indiana. He recruited Greg Oden without pitching Mike Conley, and he wanted names on the backs of IU’s jerseys. That last bit seems a petty reason to dislike Davis, but it isn’t to Indiana fans.

Kelvin Sampson’s flaws extended far beyond the impermissible phone calls and texts that led to his separation with the university. He recruited kids with substantial character issues (compared to typical IU recruits). The only box Sampson was interested in checking was winning, and that’s not enough at IU. That demand for clean recruiting of “good” kids is what colors the perception of this job as tough. Coaches have to win the “right” way with the “right” players.

Dan Dakich understands Indiana better than anyone alive. He played and coached for Knight for the better part of the 1980s and 1990s, and he wasn’t going to put up with any bullshit when he took over from Sampson. He knew first hand that Sampson had populated IU’s roster with bad eggs, and they had to go. Dan could have won with what he had and then cleaned house, but that isn’t in Dan’s character. Playing for IU is a privilege that is earned, and those who don’t earn it need to go – not tomorrow, next week, or next year. They need to go now – and they went. We’ll never know what might have happened if he had been given the opportunity to stick around.

Tom Crean did the right thing and achieved the right results for his first five years. Wins increased every season. Indiana kids wanted to play at Indiana. The APR was almost always 1,000. The only reported hint of cheating was because of a scheduling error that led to an impermissible visit to Gary Harris at Hamilton Southeastern High School. Then, it all went wobbly. Crean’s relationships with Indiana high school and AAU coaches wore very thin, recruiting was handled by a coach who has since been accused of paying cash to family members of a recruit at Louisville. The APR dropped. Winning seasons became less frequent.

Archie Miller has done everything but win. Recruiting and academics have improved. IU’s reputation with coaches is light years ahead of where it was when Crean was fired. Miller’s grade is incomplete, but there are reasons to believe the momentum is headed in the right direction.

Coaching basketball at IU is an impossible job for the wrong guy, and Indiana has hired the wrong guy at least three times since Knight was canned in 2000, and the 2000 version of Knight had evolved into the wrong guy for the very job he mastered.

Indiana fans will love an Indiana coach who leads Indiana kids to success on the court and in the classroom without cheating. Sounds easy enough!