Author Archives: Kent Sterling

Indiana Basketball – More words from Bloomington as IU Athletics hopes in vain kids will suddenly listen

by Kent Sterling

Athlete misbehavior was an athlete problem that became a coach probrem that became an AD problem, and now it’s an IU president Michael McRobbie (above) problem.

Unless former Indiana University president and chancellor Herman B. Wells can be reanimated, the highest authority in Bloomington has spoken on the recent spate of misbehavior authored by athletes – primarily basketball players.

University president Michael McRobbie told a meeting of athletic department employees Tuesday, “What I do not want to see is any more stories of repeated student misbehavior. They embarrass the university, they embarrass all of you in Athletics, and they are a complete distraction from our primary role as an educational institution. This misbehavior simply has to stop.

“I expect all of you to ensure that my message is heard loud and clear by all student-athletes. I have stressed repeatedly that our student-athletes are first and foremost students! Our ultimate goal is to help them obtain a degree that will prepare them for career and life success. We owe this to them.”

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Can’t argue with any of the words, but listening hasn’t exactly been a strength of the athletes who have recently been cited, arrested, and suspended. Admonishments haven’t been in short supply, but actions continue to embarrass.

That’s because young men aren’t stupid. They understand the difference between meaningless and meaningful consequence, and minus Hanner Mosquera-Perea and Devin Davis being shown the door a couple of months ago for reportedly getting stoned in a dorm room, responses to their idiocy by the supposed adults in the department has revealed a frailty in leadership.

Kids smell fear like sharks smell blood, and it has been clear from the time Tom Crean suspended Hanner Mosquera-Perea for two games following his OWI a year and a half ago that he was more concerned with athlete availability than student education and discipline.

The horse sprinted from the barn at that moment, and he hasn’t looked back since.

Basketball players aren’t stupid, just like the other 39,987 students on campus aren’t stupid. Before acting, they ask, “What’s the worst that can happen if I break a rule?” If the imagined consequence doesn’t reach a level that gets their attention, they act with impunity, and that is where the state of discipline within the Indiana Basketball team exists today.

For those who defend Crean by pointing out the patently obvious that Crean cannot monitor the players 24/7, I would remind them that no authority figure in life can do that either – not a parent, boss, coach, or mentor. What authority figures can do is hire or recruit the kind of people they feel can be trusted, establish solid boundaries through clear communication, and enforce a culture by exerting outcomes that serve as meaningful incentives and disincentives.

Judging by the rampant drinking and drug issues in the basketball program, Crean’s report card as a leader of young men in those three areas reads F, F, and F.

When Mosquera-Perea was arrested for that OWI, it was a Mosquera-Perea problem. When Perea’s behavior didn’t change, it became a Crean problem. When basketball players continued to break laws and department rules for alcohol and drug use, it became athletic director Fred Glass’s problem. And now, with yet more bad decision making, it is a McRobbie problem.

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“Who are we? What do we stand for? What are we willing to do to enforce those positions?” are the questions that lead to the development of a culture. Those who assail Indiana Basketball for a lack of culture miss the point. The culture of the basketball team is clear. It was initiated through an indifference to enforcing boundaries and metastasized into routine debauchery shortly thereafter.

Words are not going to change the behavior of young adults, regardless of the level from which they are delivered. It is action that determines obedience. Crean has yelled. Glass has yelled. And now McRobbie has yelled.

When will they learn that the only people listening are those who don’t need to be told?

Indiana Basketball – the media liking Tom Crean has nothing to do with his fitness to coach Hoosiers

by Kent Sterling

That grabbing a cup of coffee and muffin with Tom Crean is pleasant enough, but that doesn’t mean he’s a great basketball coach.

“I like Tom Crean, but…”

If you listen to media people, myself included, appraise the work of Indiana Basketball coach Tom Crean, it’s inevitable you will hear that he is liked by that person. It’s relentless, this compulsion to declare our affection for Tom, and it makes me skin crawl.

I hear those words come out of my own mouth, and I cringe. In my brain, I ask, “Who in the hell cares whether you like Tom Crean? Why share that? Stop saying it!” Then, 15 minutes later, I say it again.

Who gives a sweet damn whether someone likes Crean or not. I like a lot of people, but that doesn’t qualify them for jobs – certainly not a job that pays better than three million bucks each year.

Most of the people I like have been fired at one point or another, and they all met that adversity with a positive attitude and overcame the brief adversity career reversal provided. I’m certain that when Tom’s day comes, as it does for almost all coaches, he will quickly find the resolve to enjoy another challenge.

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If Tom Crean is fired this afternoon, he will walk away from Indiana University with a buyout check in the amount of $7,500,000. I would wish that for all my friends – most of whom I know and like much more than Crean. I would wish it for myself, and I love me!

Yesterday, as we discussed the relentless run of arrests, citations, and suspensions that have blighted Crean’s program over the last 18 1/2 months, Gregg Doyel dropped a couple of I like Toms. On 1070 the Fan’s Dan Dakich Show – more I like Toms. I said it myself – again.

What the hell is with the preoccupation of those paid to say perspective on sports with declaring our affection for a basketball coach whose job responsibilities do not include being liked by the media.

Crean is paid to win basketball games while teaching young men the lessons that will allow them to evolve into productive and compassionate adults, not curry friendships with the media.

If you listen or read, you have heard the following a dozen times over the last 48 hours:

“I like Tom, but with so many behavioral issues, has he lost control over his team?”
“I like Tom, but is a 17-22 conference record over the past two seasons acceptable?”
“I like Tom, but when is Indiana going to defend somebody?”

Three solid questions preceding by unnecessary and insipid qualifiers.

Life would be a lot more fun for managers, department heads, and owners if the only criteria for maintaining employment was liking an employee. Some businesses are run that way, but they don’t stay solvent for long. From the media, it’s even worse because our job is to peel away the noise to tell our version of the truth.

Let’s take a moment and appraise Crean’s work without any use of the L word – no, not that L word. I’m talking about “like”. Not even sure how the other L word could be weaved into any discussion of Crean, but I digress.

Players who stay for three to five years graduate, but nearly an equivalent number transfer transfer.
The Academic Progress Rate for the Hoosiers is perfect year after year.
Recruiting has been a hit and miss parade of quantifiables over culture.
Three NCAA appearances have led to a 4-3 record in those tournaments.
Since his third season – let’s not confer blame for the first two upon Crean – the Hoosiers are 44-46 in the Big Ten, minus failures in the Big Ten Tournament for an average conference finish of 6.4th.
A 3-5 record at the Big Ten Tournament without a single multiline result in any has made mid-March miserable for fans. Then, there are the arrests, citations, and suspensions.

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Whether you like Crean or not, (did I mention earlier that I do like Tom? Good, glad that’s out of the way), those are the facts – the mostly black and white metrics by which coaches paid elite money should be measured.

Is that good enough to be the head basketball coach at Indiana, whether you like Tom Crean or not?

Indiana Basketball – Given more alcohol citations, time has come for IU to get honest

by Kent Sterling

No, Tom. Only two more alcohol related issues with IU Basketball players.

How many players were cited for illegal possession of alcohol? No, Tom. only Emmitt Holt and Thomas Bryant got popped.

Two Indiana basketball players get popped for underage possession of alcohol. What’s the big deal?

One of two things can be assumed to be true because of the relentless behavioral issues authored by basketball players – that Tom Crean understands kids will be kids and drinking will be a reality for most members of the team, or that the players have no fear whatsoever of the potential consequences Crean might wield as a corrective measure.

It’s most likely that both are at least partly true.

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After Devin Davis and Hanner Mosquera-Perea were kicked off the team a couple of months ago for getting stoned in a campus dorm room, those consequences included the nuclear option.

When freshman Thomas Bryant and sophomore Emmitt Holt were cited for illegal possession of alcohol early Friday morning, they clearly judged the consequence to be worth the risk. You remember Holt, don’t you? He was behind the wheel when Davis fell off an SUV and suffered a severe brain injury.

How can Crean inspire respect for consequences when the biggest threat has been used and is now scoffed at? And if Crean can’t get the attention of players off the court, can it be expected they are willing to listen to him on the court?

Indiana needs to step up in one of two ways – tell fans that underage possession citations are not a big deal – that they are part of campus life and deserve nothing more than a slap on the wrist that shows players that it’s worth a their effort to not get caught. Or they need to admit that Crean does not have the attention of the team and the inmates are running the asylum.

One of those two things is a fact, and Indiana walking the line between them is causing a PR nightmare for the university and the program.

DUIs, positive drug tests, arrests for underage drinking/using fake IDs, and other small-to-medium potatoes mayhem have put IU Basketball in a defensive position when discussing discipline and respect for authority.

The expectations for a winning basketball team at Indiana are built on a creaky foundation of hope, and the behavior of players is so consistently aberrant that people now shrug when news of arrests, citations, or positive tests is made public.

That is the current state of the brand of Indiana Basketball – middle of the road on the court, hoping the kids stay off the road when off the court.

There have been so many arrests/citations that people are wondering whether police are targeting basketball players or they are just too stupid to avoid law enforcement.

Whatever the reason, there is a problem in Bloomington, and trusting Crean to be part of the solution has become sillier with every transgression.

No one should expect Crean to run bed checks, live in the dorm with the players, or monitor their every movement, but an authority figure should be able to get the attention of those he leads, and that has clearly not happened with Indiana Basketball for the past 2 1/2 years.

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The qualities of a great leader vary from leader to leader, but the result is always the same – respect. The continued legal issues for Indiana basketball players show a decided lack of respect for their leader, which means either Crean has recruited a group of young men incapable of respecting their coach, or that he is a leader unworthy of their respect.

Either way, it’s time for the adults in Bloomington to have a very serious talk about the direction of Indiana University’s marquee marketing arm because unless IU wants to hang a banner as America’s best party school, the job is not getting done.

Indiana Basketball – Questions and answers about Emmitt Holt and Thomas Bryant, and what their illegal possession of alcohol might mean

by Kent Sterling

Emmitt Holt has now violated alcohol laws twice while playing basketball at Indiana.

The news earlier today that Indiana Basketball players Emmitt Holt and freshman Thomas Bryant were cited Friday at 12:50 a.m. for illegal possession of alcohol brings to mind many questions and some very simple truths as answers.

According to a press release from the state excise police, Bryant and Holt were cited after being observed attempting to conceal bottles of vodka while sitting in a car at the Convenient Food Mart down 17th street from Assembly Hall, near campus at 12:50 a.m. Friday.

“Officers were alerted to the five people seated inside the vehicle when Holt allegedly attempted to conceal a 750 milliliter bottle of vodka as an officer walked past it. Holt, who was a backseat passenger in the vehicle, reportedly shouted to alert the front seat passenger of the officer’s presence. The officer then allegedly observed the front seat passenger, Bryant, attempt to conceal a 1.75 liter bottle of vodka.”

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Here are 10 questions –

Are these guys morons? (The answer to this question is self-evident.)
Why are basketball players being arrested/cited/suspended at rates far beyond normal students?
Is Tom Crean recruiting the wrong type of kids to play at Indiana?
Does Crean effectively investigate the behavior of players to whom he offers scholarships?
Do Indiana fans care enough about the drinking and drug use of basketball players that it deserves the attention of administrators/coaches?
Is there any way to stop the drinking and drug use of basketball players?
Is it unreasonable to expect any group of college students not to drink or use recreational drugs?
Can Crean control the behavior of his players?
If Crean can’t control the behavior of the players off the court, is it reasonable to assume he can control their behavior on the court?
If Crean’s attempts to discipline players relentlessly fail, is it fair to assume he isn’t fit to discipline them?

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Wow, that’s a lot of questions! While you ponder, here are my answers:

The answer might be self-evident, but can young men this inept in the art of police avoidance be expected to win possessions in the Big Ten?
For change to occur, the pain of change has to be outweighed by the pain of maintaining the status quo. The threshold of pain for misbehavior has not been ratcheted high enough to matter. This is much worse than it sounds because after Hanner Mosquera Perea and Devin Davis were kicked off the team, reasonable people in fear of losing their positions on IU’s basketball team would have adjusted. Either the players are not reasonable or they don’t mind the idea of being kicked off the team.
I’m silly enough to believe that 99% of kids will do what they are told if they are told effectively. Some kids you can’t get to, but most will do what they are told if they respect the leader.
He either doesn’t investigate properly, doesn’t inspire respect, or is unsure of the properties of a person who might be a good fit for his unique brand of leadership. Whichever it is, those who are unable to follow Crean’s rules have a decided lack of respect for him.
This is a great question because fans either don’t believe this to be a problem, or they don’t care enough about it to raise a meaningful amount of hell about it. Look, most kids in college are going to drink, and that’s life. if Indiana fans and administrators want to stand up and accept that fact of life, that’s an option. But they can’t demand chaste and sober behavior and then look the other way when it doesn’t happen. If the laws on possessing and consuming alcohol are important, then the authority figure needs to be able to meaningfully enforce them.
Sure. You can recruit non-drinkers, kids who respect Crean’s authority, or continue to churn through players until you land on 13 guys willing to stay sober.
That’s a question that requires a response. It really doesn’t matter to me, but the consistent talk about discipline followed by an ignorance of that discipline belies weakness.
It would appear than he cannot.
I have an issue with the transitive property in this case. There are plenty of coaches who have gotten players to play winning basketball while they were something south of model citizens away from it. There is not necessarily an ipso to this facto, but given the level of defensive awareness, it’s not irrational to make that connection.
That’s a question only Fred Glass can answer, but the relentless torrent of arrests, citations, and suspensions reveal a lack of respect for authority that is either perplexing or damning – likely a combination of the two It’s up to Fred to discern the proportion.

At some point, the tonnage of problems, if they continue or abate, will definitively answer all the questions. If it isn’t clear already, it will become clear in one direction or the other soon enough.

For me, the evidence cleared to another level today.

Indianapolis Colts fans should take a deep breath and relax – it’s all going to be okay; And Reggie Wayne is done

by Kent Sterling

When in doubt about anything, listen to Bill Murray

It’s okay, Colts fans. Breathe in, breathe out. As we’ve learned over the past decade, August losses just don’t matter.

For a team that lashed itself to the hull of the USS Super Bowl L or Bust, the Colts have been fundamentally flawed at best in all phases through losses against the Philadelphia Eagles and Chicago Bears. But it just doesn’t matter.

Missed tackles or blocks have marred virtually every play, and fans are starting to wonder whether the Colts are capable of winning the AFC South again, much less the Super Bowl. But it just doesn’t matter.

Before you believe that nothing good has happened during the preseason, cast a glance at the highlights of the Packers vs. Steelers game from yesterday. Packers wide receiver Jordy Nelson likely tore his ACL, and Steelers center Maurice Pouncey will have ankle surgery after Ha Ha Clinton Dix rolled up on his leg in the first quarter.

The best result in the NFL preseason is health not wins, and the Colts have suffered only small dings halfway through this seemingly endless preseason. Last year, not only did the Colts lose all four of its preseason games, the regular season began with two losses. Still, they found a way to finish 11-5 for the third straight season, and move forward another step in the playoffs to the AFC Championship.

When in doubt, allow Bill Murray motivational speeches to see you through. Repeat after Bill in the underrated “Meatballs”, “It just doesn’t matter! It just doesn’t matter! It just doesn’t matter!”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMHvrfsx0HU

The Colts will be just fine despite Jack Mewhort learning on the job at right tackle, despite back-up quarterback Matt Hasselbeck suddenly looking as old as he is, and despite serious questions about the Colts defensive front being able to stop the run.

If you looked closely, you saw a few bright spots. David Parry looks like a serious-minded, detail-oriented nose tackle who focuses every play. Frank Gore looked like Frank Gore on his two carries. T.Y. Hilton backed up a drop with a big catch (that’s looking at the cup half full). And Trent Cole appeared ready to contribute with some explosiveness.

Winning games in August means nothing in January. Outstanding execution while losing would be a solid consolation in the preseason, but excellent health will have to suffice.

Sure, there are questions. Watching the right side of the offensive line try to pass protect does not inspire anything resembling confidence, but given the consistent success of the last three seasons, wisdom dictates patience.

*************

Reports of Reggie Wayne taking a physical with the New England Patriots have Colts fans ready to march of the Colts offices on West 56th Street with torches, but they would be wise to remember the misery all football fans felt as they watched Wayne hobble through defensive backfields unable to create separation at the end of the 2014 season.

Wayne got old last season, and when football players get old, there is no turning back the clock. It happens to all football players and they unfailingly recognize it themselves – just as Wayne did during a game at MetLife Stadium against the Giants. He reportedly sat at his locker after the game near tears with his jersey and pads on long after teammates had showered.

Through the rest of the season, Wayne tried to compete but couldn’t. And now, Wayne has succumbed to a condition common with football players – a compulsion to prove to himself that he is not athletically irrelevant.

The Patriots might try to milk the last drop of football Wayne has in him. Sadly, we saw that utter run dry last year.

Odd that both the first and last guy to know a player is done is the player himself.

Eron Gordon needs to relax, gather facts, share decision with family and coaches

by Kent Sterling

Grabbing a hat in front of a bunch of boosters and cameras is no was for an 18 year old to enter adulthood.

Choosing a college is a very big deal for the kid making the decision.

When deciding which college to attend, you aren’t just picking a school. The town where the college is located will become a special place – the first place where a young man or woman begins to think like an adult.

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There are thousands of colleges across America where work ethic can be developed and will be rewarded, where new friends can be found, and where mistakes can be made without terrible consequences (for most). Picking one can be stressful.

Eron Gordon is a basketball player with scholarship offers from some of the best programs in America. He is ranked among the top 100 players in the class of 2016, and tweeted Tuesday that he would announce his college decision this Saturday at 12p at the Jewish Community Center on the north side of Indianapolis.

Then on Wednesday, Gordon tweeted the announcement would be delayed indefinitely as he needs more time to gather the information necessary to make the right call. Actually, what he tweeted was, “I’ve decided to postpone the College Commitment would like explore my college visits.”

Nothing wrong with anything in Gordon’s process so far, minus the tweet that alerted everyone to the announcement in the first place.

How Gordon or any other high school senior makes this crucial decision is family business. There are a dozen different factors, but it’s a subjective assessment of comfort that matters most – or should. Selecting a new hometown requires reflection.

What it does not require is the silly and self-indulgent pageantry of a staged announcement with cameras, media, and the creepy gadflies who routinely show up for these things.

Where Gordon goes to college shouldn’t matter any more to people outside his family and friends than any other high school senior, and it certainly does not require Gordon sitting behind a table behind a selection of hats bearing the logos of the finalists.

It’s not easy for a high school senior to call the coaches who have been recruiting him to tell them he has chosen another suitor, but that’s what adults do. It’s not easy to put together a plan that allows a high school senior to make an informed choice as to where he or she will attend school and play a sport, but that’s what adults do.

What adults should never do is unnecessarily call attention to these decisions as though they are triumphant moments worthy of civic celebration and blanket media coverage.

Gordon needs to gather information through visits – as he plans – sit with his family – as he will – discuss the ramifications of choosing each school, and pick the place and coach that best fits his academic and athletic goals and comfort level. Then, he needs to make some calls to inform the parties involved as to the results of that process.

After that, he should go to bed and get a good night’s sleep.

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Nowhere in that timeline is there a mass media availability at the JCC, an idiotic hat dance, or the potential for the kind of self-congratulatory idiocy that still tarnishes LeBron James’ otherwise stellar image.

Where Gordon goes, or anyone else for that matter, is none of our business. Just because the media machine that swirls around collegiate recruiting demands to be fed, kids like Gordon and their families decide ceremonies are a just and decent end to the process. That’s the tail wagging the dog.

Now Gordon can now step back, take a deep breath, and do it the right way – without the lights, cameras, and gadflies.

IU Basketball – Cathedral’s Eron Gordon to make decision Saturday; what would he mean to Hoosiers

by Kent Sterling

Eron Gordon will announce his decision Saturday. It might mean nothing to Indiana – it might mean a lot.

Eron Gordon would be the third Gordon brother to play basketball at Indiana University, but he’s a different player from either Eric or Evan.

Saturday at Noon, Gordon will announce his decision at the Jewish Community Center on the north side of Indianapolis. This event won’t be the watershed moment that Eric’s decommitment from Illinois and subsequent decision to attend IU was, but it would be meaningful if Gordon pledges IU.

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Eric was a splendid high school and summer player who was always the best on the floor – even when teaming with future NBA MVP Derrick Rose in the 2006 Reebok Big Time Tournament in Las Vegas. He was strong, athletic, smart, and supremely confident. He was seen as a one-and-done player, and he was.

Evan was a solid player with great shooting range who accepted an offer to follow in he dad’s footsteps to play at Liberty before transferring to Arizona State and then ending his college career with a season at Indiana.

Eron’s skill set falls somewhere between his two brothers. He’s not as comparatively strong as Eric and can’t shoot quite as well as Evan, although it’s close.

Gordon will apparently choose between Indiana, LSU, Auburn, and Arizona State, and the winner will get a physical guard whose best spot might wind up being point guard. For those of you familiar with former Illinois PG Demetri McCamey, think of him but with a much better feel for the game on both ends.

If the choice is Indiana, Gordon would be a candidate to fill the void left by the soon-to-graduate Yogi Ferrell, or perhaps slide to a wing where he is ability to attack the rim and shoot threes could be exploited. He’s a versatile defender who can guard three spots.

There aren’t many four-star guards with almost unlimited upside, but Gordon is one of them. He has all the physical tools needed to succeed at the highest level. The tough part of evaluating Gordon is figuring out why the upside hasn’t been exploited at this point. He’s been around baseball forever, understands the game, is a generous teammate, and gets to the line like Eric did.

Why then doesn’t he produce at a higher level? In summer basketball, his EG10 Central Stars team had difficulty beating nationally ranked teams, and as the best player on the team, Gordon bears some of the responsibility for that.

In a head-to-head match-up with fellow IU target Rawle Alkins, neither showed as elite. Judging the level of a player based upon an isolated game in the summer is foolish because when a kid plays twice a day for a long weekend, you are never going to see him at his best, but this game seemed oddly meaningless to both.

Could Gordon develop in the same way Victor Oladipo did for the Hoosiers? That’s a once per generation young man, but the potential is there for Gordon to be a good Big Ten player right out of the crate.

If Gordon opts to play elsewhere, the decision would be a blow for the Hoosiers because he will have read the tea leaves that Indiana is for some reason not the right place for him despite being an hour south of home and a place that he is very familiar with. I saw Gordon on the Assembly Hall floor after IU beat Ohio State in 2008. He wasn’t celebrating – he was shooting threes, and making a ridiculous number of them in a row as a 10-year old.

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Why a kid would decide to play elsewhere where his two brothers played at IU and Evan played for Tom Crean is a question with only unpleasant answers for Hoosiers fans.

While Indiana might not need to open a spot for a sixth National Championship banner if Gordon chooses Indiana, if he decides to roll elsewhere, that could be a sign that a very savvy basketball family has decided that Indiana’s best days under Crean are behind them.

This is a high end basketball player deciding where he will play college basketball, not a referendum on Tom Crean, but enough decisions in the wrong direction may have the same effect.

Indiana’s new deal with Adidas brings cash and pressure for excellence to Bloomington

by Kent Sterling

Great job by these four men getting Adidas to pony up major cash, but now the expectations are even higher.

Indiana University Athletics will continue its partnership with Adidas with significantly more generous revenue coming to IU.

For the privilege of outfitting Indiana athletes and associated marketing opportunities, Indiana will receive $6.7 million per year, up 81% from the previous payout of $3.7 million, according to an Indiana University release..

That places Indiana among the elite in collegiate athletics in terms of the revenue from an apparel company.

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And that means the pressure on Indiana Football and Men’s Basketball has never been higher. Adidas is not paying Indiana that level of jack because of the exposure the men’s golf and women’s field hockey teams provide the company.

This is about exposure that needs to be driven by a level of excellence that has been lacking for more than 20 years in both revenue generating programs.

Football has gone to one bowl since the 1993 season, and minus the outlier that came during the wonderful March of 2002, basketball has not advanced past the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament during that same span.

Investment brings expectations, and if Adidas is willing to lay a stack of cash on the table that falls short of those paid to only Michigan and Notre Dame, the success and resulting popularity of the teams that generate the greatest visibility will be of keen interest for those stroking the giant checks.

Football appears to be making steady incremental improvements both in athleticism and belief in their ability to reach that tipping point where sustained respectability can occur. Going to a bowl is treated by the players as the least of their goals for 2015 – which makes them either brashly prescient or delusional.

Basketball is different. As one of the few schools (Duke and Kentucky are the others that immediately come to mind) where the basketball program is the marquee on-campus experience and TV product offered by a university, basketball needs to find a path to greater success than has been earned over the last two decades.

Elite money requires elite results, and the decision needs to be made at some point what level of leadership is required to build a reasonable expectation and delivery of excellence. There is more to the equation of running a collegiate athletic program than winning – like academic progress, degrees earned, behavioral issues, etc… – but when companies invest many millions of dollars in an athletic department, participation in bowls and latter rounds of college basketball’s biggest stage should be a focus for the football and men’s basketball programs.

That puts pressure on Tom Crean, and to a lesser extent Kevin Wilson. In 49 states, Wilson would be under the greater duress, but this is Indiana. Basketball drives passion for Indiana University from prospective students, donations from IU alums and boosters, and investments from major sponsors.

Crean earns more than double Wilson’s total income, which is also a driver of fan expectations for basketball.

At some point, one of these programs is going to have to author success if it is going to continue to command interest from companies like Adidas – and fans. Malaise among fans has long been a problem for football as fans tend to arrive late and leave early despite overt efforts to engage them.

Basketball fans, the students in particular, have adopted the attitude of football fans as they are prone to leaving Assembly Hall long before games end, particularly during non-convference games against inferior competition.

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Passion drives the investment of the apparel companies, and the Hoosiers’ entrenched mediocrity has allowed indifference to nest in Bloomington. Consistent winning will bring a return of the passion, which will drive greater investment.

In the short term, that needs to happen with basketball. The selling of hope can only sustain fans for so long. Football gets more slack because minus a nice seven-year run by Bill Mallory’s teams in the late 1980s and early 1990s, winning on a regular basis hasn’t been experienced in Bloomington since Bo McMillan led the Hoosiers.

it’s time for both Crean and Wilson (in that order) to prove they can lead their programs to an elite level. Elite level capital investment demands elite results.

Rick Venturi best part of Colts preseason debut as TV analyst

by Kent Sterling

Rick Venturi was comfortable in the booth yesterday because he prepares like a coach.

Colts fans have become used to disappointing results in the preseason. Last year’s 0-4 preseason record brought shrugs because fans were smart enough to know they would celebrate an AFC South Championship.

We know that nobody remembers the preseason once the regular season rolls around. Despite the impulse to believe what we see – the missed tackles, poor timing, and occasional flagging effort has a lot more to do with who makes the final roster than whether a team wins the Super Bowl.

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The highlight of the game was the upgrade made in the broadcast booth. Rick Venturi, who spent 27 seasons on the sidelines for the Colts, Browns, Saints, and Rams, slid very easily into the analyst chair next to play-by-play pro Don Fischer. He shared information and perspective with comfort and humor, and made the game a lesson for viewers.

Fans and media can always use a little schooling in how football works, and few are better at imparting that knowledge than Venturi.

I thought I knew something about football until I sat next to Venturi in the press box at the Jones Dome in St. Louis for a 2011 Rams game. He spent three hours showing me the intricacies of defensive football, and I became a better informed fan.

Fans tend to watch the ball. Coaches watch everything else, and that’s where the success or failure of plays can be found. A missed block, a bad route, or maybe a defensive player inexplicably diving away from the ballcarrier. Venturi saw it all that day, generously and patiently explaining what happened every play.

It was like sitting next to the human embodiment of Google. For every question, there was an answer. For every observation there was an explanation. It was invaluable. I’ve done it again a number of times, and always left with a better grasp of the game.

Venturi’s wisdom doesn’t come without great effort. When we worked together at 101ESPN in St. Louis, Venturi regularly watch five hours of Mizzou football tape to prepare for a 10-minute interview with coach Gary Pinkel. Up at 4:30 a.m. every day, Venturi prepares like a defensive coordinator getting ready for an offense led by Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, John Elway, or Dan Marino – which is exactly what Venturi did for a living for nearly three decades.

When you do the work on the front end, the comfort during the performance makes for a fun broadcast. That was the case yesterday for Colts fans who stuck with the game beyond the time when the result was in question – basically the first quarter.

Now, all of us have that opportunity throughout the preseason as Venturi leads fans from ignorance toward enlightenment during games that would otherwise be a frustrating waste of time.

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Venturi will also co-host a weekly pregame show on CBS4 where he will share more wisdom without worry about wrapping it up before the next snap.

Radio listeners already look forward each week to his hour with Dan Dakich on 1070 the Fan. Every Wednesday at 12:30p, Venturi coaches up Colts fans including Dan who seems to enjoy it as much as we do. While I host a radio show on a different station (CBS Sports 1430), I never miss Venturi on Wednesdays during the season.

Venturi is a rare talent in media who can communicate what he knows in vernacular that we can all understand. And while we might be ambivalent about the Colts effort and results during the preseason, at the very least the investment of our time to watch meaningless football will be rewarded by increasing our knowledge of the game we love.

indiana Basketball – Tom Crean gets commitment from kid who tried to sneak into practice last year

by Kent Sterling

Crown Point’s Grant Gelon’s dream to be a Hoosier is going to come true next year.

This is the kind of story I never get tired of telling, but was unsure I would get the chance to tell again.

An Indiana high school player overlooked by many of the bigger programs dreams of playing for the Hoosiers impresses the IU head coach, gets an offer, and accepts it after discussing it with his parents for all of a couple of minutes.

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In 49 states, this story might end in disappointment, but this is Indiana where kids shoot tiny basketballs at Little Tykes rigs as soon as they can stand. The reason this story has a good chance at ending happily for all concerned is the same as the explanation for how ‘scrappy’ Indiana teams go to summer tournaments and beat national powers filled with top 20 ranked talent.

Indiana kids know how to play winning basketball, and by “Indiana kids”, I’m not imposing geographic limits. I’m talking about hoops savvy – the ability to diagnose and attack instinctively on both ends of the floor. “Indiana kids” have it whether they live in Indiana, Illinois, or Croatia.

Grant Gelon of Crown Point visited Assembly Hall Wednesday, Tom Crean offered him a scholarship, and before he left Assembly Hall, Grant told his future coach, “I want to be a Hoosier.”

Some fans are curious why a kid whose only other offer was from Western Michigann belongs at Indiana. These are the same guys who whine about too many Indiana kids, too few Indiana kids, too many ranked players, and too few ranked players. Here’s a tip for Grant – you can’t please these buffoons, so don’t sweat their psychosis.

For those of you who allow yourselves to be excited about a basketball player who knows what Assembly Hall is and what Candy Stripes look like before showing up for his first workout in Bloomington, Grant’s story gets better.

“I was down in Bloomington visiting my sister and we went to Assembly Hall,” Grant told me on my radio show (3p-6p weekdays on CBS Sports Indianapolis). “They had a practice going on, and I couldn’t get in there to sneak a peek because the doors were all locked. It’s kind of cool that I was trying to get in there last year, and now here I am. It’s kind of amazing.”

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During a time when some high school players are jaded after years of being pampered and treated like they are special before doing anything meaningful, Grant’s excitement in telling the story of what happened Wednesday night is a welcome change, “We were talking to Coach Crean and he was explaining where I would fit in the program… IU had a scholarship and they would like to offer it to me. It was just so fulfilling. It was just everything I could have imagined it being. It was nerve-wracking, but after I said ‘I want to be a Hoosier,’ it just felt great.

“I’m excited to get my hands dirty and get to work. I know I’ve got a lot to work on, but I’m ready to put in the time and the effort. I’m an Indiana guy from the Region, and it just couldn’t be a better fit for me.”

That goes both ways.

Grant Gelon likely isn’t the second coming of Steve Alford, Randy Wittman, or Calbert Cheaney, but he’s a shooter willing to defend who’s damn excited about being a Hoosier. That’s enough for me.

Indiana needs more Grant Gelons. Lucky for Tom Crean, Indiana has plenty.

Here’s the full interview with Grant from my show:

https://soundcloud.com/sports1430/grant-gelon?utm_source=soundcloud&utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=twitter