Author Archives: Kent Sterling

Top 10 reasons to be optimistic about the Indiana Pacers playoff hopes

Whatever the problems with the Pacers, let’s help Monta Ellis point out some reasons for hope.

Hoping is more fun than giving up, so Indiana Pacers fans continue to believe in a team that seemingly has lost all hope in itself.

Last night’s 20-point loss to the Orlando Magic was a low point for a team that somehow remains one-game in front of the Chicago Bulls for the eighth and last playoff berth in the Eastern Conference.

The Magic are terrible, but the Pacers were much worse, so fans search for answers. They want to know who to blame. Is it the Hometown Hero, PG-13, the nicest coach in the history of the NBA, Larry Legend, the enigmatic Monta Ellis, or the still despondent former Area 55 inhabitants who were cast to the four corners of Marion County when Roy Hibbert was traded?

I’m going to try to cheer myself up by writing a list of the 10 reasons fans should remain optimistic about the Pacers. Prior to writing the list, I’m in such a foul mood about wasting my time five hours watching the Pacers lose to the Bulls and Magic Tuesday and Thursday, I may invoice the Pacers.

Prior to writing the list, I’m afraid the Pacers are incapable of winning another game – even tomorrow night’s tilt against the NBA’s worst team – the Philadelphia 76ers. Going to the playoffs appears out of the question, although I wouldn’t describe the Pacers as “despicable”, as 1070thefan.com’s Conrad Brunner did in a tweet last night. I’m just shy of that level of disgust.

Here are the Top 10 reasons the Pacers will make the playoffs:

10 – Ty Lawson? Hey, I like Lawson, and think maybe he is the long term solution at point guard. Just last year, Lawson was a dynamic force for the Denver Nuggets. He should be able to find his way back to relevance as he rebuilds his brand after a pair of DUIs and his miserable 3/4 of a season in Houston. Continue reading →

Top seven reasons college players should never boycott the Final Four to make a good point

For the record, I would love to see a group of activist student-athletes make a serious statement by boycotting the NCAA Final Four. It would be an incredibly courageous sacrifice that would likely cause long-overdue action by academic bureaucrats and television network executives to share the enormous wealth generated by an event where the participants have never been paid a single dime.

It would be a Rosa Parks moment for college athletes. Finally, the right thing might be done to at least allow student-athletes to monetize their own images – if not get their piece of that giant pie that is used today to fund obscene coaching contracts.

But the decision is not for lawyers who are trying to feather their own nests through a landmark expression of dissatisfaction in the status quo, and the likely lawsuits that would result.

This is a decision that belongs to the young men and women who have earned their one shining moment through sacrifice and diligence – a dream kids indulge in when shooting baskets alone in a dark gym.

Here are the seven reasons college basketball players are right to play games this weekend rather than to boycott the Final Fours in Houston and Indianapolis:

7 – Unintended consequences might be dire. The money paid to the NCAA by CBS/Turner to broadcast March Madness, and then from the NCAA to the member institutions funds athletic scholarships and facilities. A further fragmentation of the distribution of that cash would be catastrophic for programs cannot otherwise sustain themselves financially. College basketball players might get a piece of the pie by sitting, but that cash would likely come at the expense of programs at smaller schools where the arenas are gyms and the attendance is measured in dozens, not thousands. Continue reading →

Top 11 basketball coaches in Indiana hoops history

Brad Stevens was the head coach at Butler for only six years, but what a six years they were!

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 for the list has no hard and fast rules, but being a head coach in this state at some point in a career is necessary. Mike Krzyzewski was an assistant at Indiana for a season, but claiming him would be silly.

It’s borderline nutty to claim John Wooden, as his run at Indiana State last two years and predated his earliest success at UCLA by 15 years. Rick Majors is in there for two reasons – he was a great coach, and I wanted Ball State to have some representation.

Argue with it, call me a moron, think of me as a genius – whatever. This is my list, and I’m standing by it!

here are the top 11 basketball coaches in Indiana hoops history:

11 – Rick Majerus. One of the best teachers of defensive basketball in history, Majerus coached Ball State for just two seasons, but qualified for the NCAA Tournament in his second year. The year after, Dick Hunsaker took Majerus’ team to the Sweet Sixteen (a similar result occurred at Saint Louis the year after Majors left the program due to health issues and passed away). A master of turning middling programs into winners, Majerus could be funny, dismissive, and cruel. But he was a uniquely gifted basketball coach who left a mark in this state. [ed. note: the original version of this story stated the Sweet Sixteen team at Ball State was coached by Majerus, which was inaccurate.] Continue reading →

Top 10 reasons to keep Tom Crean as Indiana’s coach (Part 2 of 2)

Tom Crean has every reason to smile if the list below is an accurate depiction of the state of the program.

As promised, here is part 2 of the internal dialogue I have with myself regarding the future leadership of the Indiana basketball program.

Yesterday, we dealt with the negative – 10 reasons to replace Tom Crean as coach. Today, we list reasons to embrace Crean as the right man to coach the Hoosiers.

As with everything Crean related, for every positive there is a negative and for every negative there is a positive.

Regardless of which side of the ledger you pledge allegiance, you must understand an adverse argument can be made. One area where Crean and at least one of his predecessors share is the polarizing effect they have on the Indiana fanbase.

Here are 10 reasons that Crean is the right coach for the program moving forward:

10 – The organizational workflow issue for the staff appears to be solved. At least when I sat behind the bench during the too-short visit to the Big Ten Tournament, the lone voice directing the Hoosiers belonged to Crean. The cacophony of multiple directives during the same event two years ago was impossible for players to understand. Extrapolating that the workflow confusion in all areas has been corrected is a hell of a leap, but I’m giving Crean the benefit of the doubt here based on the excellent communication during the tourney game against Michigan. Continue reading →

Top 10 reasons Tom Crean should be replaced as Indiana’s head coach (Part 1 of 2)

This embrace between Tom Crean and Thomas Bryant lasted five minutes, according to media to videotaped most of it.

This is the first of two lists regarding Tom Crean and the future of the Indiana Basketball program. Tomorrow’s will provide a list or reasons coach Tom Crean should be retained. Today’s enumerates the reasons a change should be made.

There have been no NCAA compliance or academic issues to fuel talk of a need for change, and two Big Ten regular season championships and three trips to the Sweet Sixteen in the last five years are results many programs covet, so why would anyone in his right mind advocate a change in leadership?

There are Indiana fans who continue to see a need to make a change. Keep in mind the list for retaining Crean will come tomorrow. And remember the first rule of firing people – “Never fire anyone without having a better option ready.”

Here are the top 10 reasons Tom Crean should be replaced:

10 – Indiana will celebrate 30th anniversary of last championship next season. Only eight of the last 29 seasons of failure can be blamed on Crean – and really six because it took time for Crean to sweep up and rebuild after the Kelvin Sampson debacle in 2008 – but 30 years is a very long time for a supposedly elite program to not win an NCAA Championship. Is there a path for Crean to be the coach who gets Indiana to the promised land? Not a path revealed by past results. Continue reading →

Top nine reasons tonight’s win would be the biggest of the Tom Crean era at Indiana

If Indiana’s players want a slice of Tom Crean’s 50th birthday cake, they better damn well beat North Carolina tonight!

Tom Crean faces a tough test tonight as the Hoosiers play North Carolina with a trip to the Elite Eight on the line. Crean has been here before – twice – with the Hoosiers, but has never been able to advance beyond the Sweet Sixteen threshold.

That makes tonight a big game. If Indiana wins, this will be the biggest victory of Crean’s eight-year reign running the program. If Indiana loses, this game will join the Kentucky loss in 2012 and the loss to Syracuse in 2013 as its most disappointing moments.

There is a belief that a switch flipped for Crean and his program this season. Something happened to make Indiana different from the team it was during Crean’s first seven seasons in Bloomington. If it did, a win tonight would serve as tangible evidence. A loss will bring a return to doubt that Indiana can ever return to sustained relevance in college basketball.

Yes, this is a big game, but a win would be the biggest at IU for Crean – including the Watford game against Kentucky in 2011.

Here are nine reasons why:

9 – How better to celebrate his 50th birthday than with a win? Crean turns 50 today, and this day will be forever remembered in the Crean household because of the result of this game. If Indiana wins, Crean and his family will recall the day their father and husband turned 50 with joy. If they lose, Crean’s 50th birthday will never be spoken of again – at least not in front of Tom. Continue reading →

Top 10 reasons Butler’s Chris Holtmann should say no to Pitt

“Psst, thanks but no thanks. I’m staying right here at Butler,” Chris Holtmann should say if offered the gig at Pitt.

Butler University basketball coach Chris Holtmann’s name has popped up on a list of candidates to replace Jamie Dixon as the head coach at Pitt.

Coaches have bounced out of Butler to higher paying, more prestigious jobs for more than 15 years, and for good reason. They are really good at it, and have learned how to win while endowing a program with a positive culture.

It’s not surprising that Holtmann is being targeted as a candidate for an ACC gig, but that doesn’t mean he should embrace the opportunity to coach the Panthers if it is offered.

There are plenty of reasons for Holtmann to politely decline the Pitt overture in favor of remaining at Butler. I could rattled off 25 great reasons, but for the sake of brevity, I’ll leave it at a list of the top 10.

Here they are:

10 – Jamie Dixon just left for TCU. Maybe Dixon was pushed, maybe he realized his career clock was ticking. Maybe he realized coaching at the school where he played was worth the financial sacrifice. Whatever the reason, Dixon was a very good coach at Pitt, but couldn’t consistently crack the upper-echelon of America’s elite basketball conference. Sure, Dixon has stuffed his bank account with a bunch of Pitt’s cash, so he is flush in a way Holtmann is not, but maybe this chatter will get Holtmann a better deal in Indianapolis. Continue reading →

Will Romeo Langford be the best Indiana high school baller ever tops list of today’s top basketball questions

Can Romeo Langford be the best ever? That’s a question will ask beginning this weekend. It’s up to Romeo to answer it for the next two years.

This is a huge weekend of basketball in Indiana. Both Notre Dame and Indiana will play Sweet Sixteen (and perhaps Elite Eight) games. The Pacers are on the precipice of earning a playoff berth (or dropping out of the race). The high school state basketball championships may feature the coming out party for a sophomore who may be among the best who have played by the time he finishes his high school career.

Some questions will prompt more questions, but answers will also avail themselves for us to enjoy.

The questions will be answered starting tonight at Lafayette Jefferson High School as Griffith and Marion play the semi-state that needed to be rescheduled because of the horrifying bus crash Saturday morning that miraculously resulted in only minor injuries to the Griffith team.

Here are eight of those pressing questions:

8 – Can Robert Johnson’s ankle hold up for 40 minutes against the nation’s best team? Indiana will need everyone at his best to compete successfully with the favorite in the NCAA Tournament, and that means it would be a boon to the Hoosiers’ hopes if Johnson can go. Defending the North Carolina guards is going to be a tough job, and the fivesome Tom Crean deployed prior to the under-eight timeout against Kentucky might not have the same good fortune against the Tar Heels. Continue reading →

Top nine reasons the Indiana vs. Kentucky home and home series should resume

After losing to Indiana, Kentucky coach John Calipari should be willing to resume the series between the Wildcats and Indiana Hoosiers.

When Indiana beat Kentucky Saturday to eliminate Big Blue from the NCAA Tournament, not only was it a triumph of good over evil, it may put in motion talks to resume a home and home series between two of the most storied basketball programs in America.

Indiana playing Kentucky makes way too much sense not to happen every year, and with Kentucky a loser in the latest NCAA Tournament mandated matchup between the Wildcats and Hoosiers, Kentucky coach John Calipari might be motivated to play Indiana again on a regular basis alternating between Rupp Arena and Assembly Hall.

Here are nine great reasons for the resumption of the home and home series:

9 – The SEC has eroded into virtual basketball irrelevance. Only three teams from the SEC qualified for the NCAA Tournament, and only one remains after a miracle comeback against Northern Iowa. The Big Ten put seven into the field as it usually does, and while only three survived the first weekend, that’s three times as many as the SEC. Kentucky would never be a candidate for an invite to the Big Ten, so they need to play a robust non-conference schedule or risk a negative adjustment in its seed – as happened this year. Continue reading →

Top 10 great outcomes of Indiana beating Kentucky in NCAA Tourney’s second round

The weeping sax player is the lasting image of Indiana’s defeat of Kentucky in the round of 32 yesterday.

Two things happened simultaneously yesterday that Indiana basketball fans love. The Hoosiers won to move on to the Sweet Sixteen, and Kentucky lost to end its season.

Yea and yea!

There will be plenty of time later to talk about the challenge of competing against top-seeded North Carolina Friday night in Philadelphia. Today is a time for reveling in yesterday’s success.

I could write a book about everything that made Indiana beating Kentucky great, but because you and I are both too busy looking forward to next weekend, I’ll keep it to a short and sweet top 10 reasons yesterday was glorious:

10 – Ashley Judd silenced for another year. I’m not sure how the 47 year-old former actress, best known for her ability to arch an eyebrow to express every emotion, became the representative Kentucky fan for TV networks. We’re also not certain Kentucky fans aren’t as annoyed by her constant enthusiastic yammering about the Wildcats as we are, but it sure is nice to know crowd shots with Judd will be gone from my living room for the next eight months.

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9 – OG Anunoby is now seen by America in the same way he is in Indiana. Anunoby is a difference maker no one saw coming. His commitment was lightly covered in the media (we had both he and his high school coach on my show, but that’s what we do), and he was seen as a project. He has shown himself as a business-first force who can change a game with his intellect, athleticism, and length. His three blocks against Kentucky were huge. He reminds me as a quieter and taller version of Victor Oladipo.

8 – Yogi Ferrell tops Tyler Ulis head-to-head. There are a lot of ways to compare two players at the same position, especially point guard. There are tangibles like points, assists, and turnovers, and intangibles like leadership and a sense of calm amid turmoil. Ulis outscored Ferrell 27 to 18, but Ulis jacked up seven more shots. Ferrell led in assists four to three and in rebounds – five-zip. Ulis turned it over four times to Ferrell’s one. As for the intangibles, those are best weighed by the result of the game. Indiana won by six. Advantage Yogi. Ulis is an elite point guard on both ends, but yesterday Ferrell was better.

7 – Sweet 16 is in Philadelphia. In both 1976 and 1981, Indiana won national championships in the City of Brotherly Love. The 1981 championship came at the expense of North Carolina – Indiana’s first opponent Friday in the regional finals. It’s hard to argue that success 35 and 40 years ago is meaningful to 18-22 year olds, but it doesn’t hurt.

6 – Indiana earns another shot at a blue blood. Indiana tries to sell its brand as a relevant basketball program rather than a historical footnote, and after beating Kentucky, the Hoosiers get another shot at one of the great programs in the history of college hoops that has managed to keep it rolling. The path to consistent excellence runs through and over the top of Kentucky, North Carolina, Kansas, Michigan State, and Duke. One down.

5 – The Big Ten vs. the SEC – not even close. The SEC got three teams into the the 2016 NCAA Tournament. Vanderbilt crapped out in a play-in game. Kentucky was sent packing by Indiana. Texas A&M lives. The Big Ten hasn’t been a bastion of magnificence either with Michigan State, Michigan, Purdue, and Iowa sent home. Kentucky was the SEC’s great hope, and yesterday’s loss means the Aggies of A&M are it. Hey, at least neither the Big Ten or SEC has matched the ineptitude of the vastly overrated Pac-12.

4 – Nothing like ruining the day for Big Blue Nation. There are a few sane Kentucky fans who express their passion for the Wildcats without hideous vitriol, but they are out shrieked by the lunkheads who attack anyone with a non-blue-centric vision of the world. They are haughty in the extreme on social media, and having Indiana shut them up is a delightful sidebar to the Hoosiers win.

3 – Yogi Ferrell’s career at Indiana lives for yet another week. Yogi is not the best point guard in the history of Indiana University. That designation belongs to Isiah Thomas, who is one of the best in the history of the game. But Yogi is really good, and it has been a joy to see him develop as a highly touted high school player at Park Tudor into the leader he is today. One of Tom Crean’s best pieces of coaching is embodied in the evolution of Yogi from a gifted but immature freshman to the player and young man he is today.

2 – John Calipari shown the door. There is nothing more satisfying than to see hubris crumble, and no one in college basketball defines hubris like Cal. He speaks and acts like a guy who expects the world to genuflect each time he deigns to appear before them. It’s an obnoxious act that makes a loss by UK as all the more enjoyable.

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1 – Tom Crean out-coached John Calipari. I was not a huge proponent of the players on the floor for Indiana during the final minute of the game, but I was even less impressed by Calipari choosing to slow his offense during the final 10 minutes. Thomas Bryant validated Crean’s trust by knocking down three free throws late as well as guarding the pick and roll much better than earlier in the year, and Indiana found a way not to turn the ball over despite Troy Williams being on the floor. Despite losing Robert Johnson and Juwan Morgan to injury during the game, Indiana continued to find a way to handle Kentucky. Calipari made it easier by slowing the pace. Crean wins that battle.

Kent Sterling hosts the fastest growing sportstalk show in Indianapolis on CBS Sports 1430 every weekday from 3p-6p, and writes about Indiana sports at kentsterling.com.