Author Archives: Kent Sterling

Indiana Basketball – It’s time to right the wrong done 15 years ago, that doesn’t mean bringing back Bob Knight

by Kent Sterling

Brighter days are ahead for Indiana Basketball, I think, and Fred Glass is going to be a part of that solution very soon – one way or another.

Some mistakes you never stop paying for.

In 2000, Bob Knight was fired by Indiana University for being a jerk. There was all that nonsense about Kent Harvey greeting Knight by his last name, and Knight typically exploding, but it was the incredible tonnage of bizarre idiocy in and around Assembly Hall that caused then-IU president Myles Brand to initiate the double-secret probation that zero-tolerance represented.

Knight should have walked away from Bloomington as soon as the meeting announcing the zero-tolerance madness was a adjourned, but he didn’t and the inevitable result – one guaranteed by zero-tolerance – came within months.

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Players threatened to walk out if a coach already on-staff wasn’t hired, and Mike Davis, a tee-shirt salesman a couple of years before was tabbed to follow the toughest act in the history of Indiana hoops. Davis seemed lost, unsure of where he was, most of the time he was in Bloomington. Like many coaches, Davis annoyed local high school coaches with his indifference to their players, and then baffled longtime Indiana fans by threatening to put names on the backs of the iconic IU jerseys.

His ill fit was obvious, but the trip in his second year to the NCAA Championship game bought enough equity to force fans and administrators to tolerate Davis for a total of six mostly uncomfortable years. The basketball wasn’t terrible – Davis was fired after a trip to the NCAA Tournament – but the indifference represented by the puny crowd of 7,000 at Assembly Hall for the NIT opener the year before was impossible to overlook.

Rick Greenspan was the athletic director who fired Davis, and he was also trusted to lead the search for a new coach. This hire brought an opportunity to right the wrong of the Knight firing – a chance for redemption – to set right the chain of events that would allow Indiana to return to its spot among the college basketball elite. Greenspan isn’t the only person responsible for bringing Kelvin Sampson in as the next leader of the most important marketing arm of the university. He had a helper.

Captain Velour was also instrumental in choosing Sampson.

Captain Velour was the nickname for Adam Herbert, the president who followed Brand when he assumed the leadership of the NCAA. Herbert was an odd fellow who wore velour sweat suits to basketball games, and refused calls from the governor. He was dispatched soon enough, but not before Sampson went rogue and broke the very same rules for which he was punished at Oklahoma before he took the IU gig.

We all remember the train wreck of his nearly two years as coach, and the result was one of the uglier stretches in the history of Indiana Basketball.

Dan Dakich restored accountability as the interim coach with some tickets out of town for those unable to adjust to a re-introduction of consequences for irresponsibility, and then Tom Crean was hired by Greenspan.

There was no succession plan implemented by Knight, Brand, or anyone else associated with Indiana University in 2000, and as a result the Hoosiers have suffered through mediocrity interrupted by equal doses of wretched and excellent basketball.

The fan base has been splintered into factions that are equally disenchanted with the status quo, but unsure where the program should head next, and yet another that believes Crean may in fact be the leader IU needs to rescue its standing among college basketball’s elite.

Only one thing is agreed upon – last year’s 7-11 in the Big Ten followed by this year’s 9-9 is unacceptable. A roster without a senior or NBA ready player (at least as determined by those who assemble mock drafts) has left many fans with a feeling of hopelessness, and hopelessness brings indifference – the least desirable fan temperament for university administrators.

With the end of every season comes a period of evaluation, and the possibility of a scenario exists where a wrong in Bloomington can finally be righted. I’m not saying that a Knight disciple needs to be hired to lead the Hoosiers and erase the memory of 15 mostly lost seasons, but that a leader worthy of Indiana’s supposed status as a top five or top ten program can be tabbed to restore the strong culture of winning the right way that made Knight’s lunacy worth tolerating.

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Maybe Crean suffers from many believing that he represents fruit of a poisoned tree. Maybe his salesmanship rubs people the wrong way. Hell, maybe he’s the right guy to lead a new generation of Hoosiers. But there needs to come a reckoning of fans that this is Indiana Basketball, and to finally move forward to enjoy the players and their results.

Whether that means Crean is the longterm solution or athletic director Fred Glass is able to woo a candidate to Bloomington who can unite all factions of the fans like Michigan did in luring Jim Harbaugh to Ann Arbor or not, something needs to be done because using the word “toxic” to describe the situation in Bloomington has become tedious.

Evaluating Tom Crean needs to wait until the season ends, but here are the metrics for retaining & firing him

by Kent Sterling

Indiana is still playing, and as long as that is the case, judgments on the future leader of the program are premature. Tom Crean is the coach, and as long as there are games to play, IU has a chance to meet expectations.

Tom Crean and his Indiana Hoosiers team deserve the opportunity to complete the full season before anyone, including athletic director Fred Grass, define the team’s body of work as a failure – or a success.

Strange things happen in college basketball. The Hoosiers can shoot it, and when you can shoot it, a chance exists. That’s all Indiana might need to win a couple of games at the Big Ten Tournament and save its candidacy for an invitation to the NCAA Tournament. And then, two wins take the Hoosiers to the Sweet Sixteen – as far as they have gone in the NCAA’s since 2002.

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At that point, the season would have to be evaluated as a success, and how can firing Tom Crean even be considered? Many in Indiana have tired of Crean, and have no inclination to view Crean positively regardless of the final chapters of this odd season, but Glass is not among them I assure you.

Let’s take off crimson colored glasses for a minute and pinpoint the criteria that should be used to assess the effectiveness of any coach of Indiana’s marquee athletic program, and the highest paid public employee in the state of Indiana.

1 – Comparison with other coaches in the Big Ten – In a head-to-head battle between IU’s coach and every other coach in the Big Ten, who’s better? In a conference with Bo Ryan, Mark Turgeon, Tom Izzo, Thad Matta, Matt Painter, John Beilein, and seven others, lodging near the top of the list is tough but necessary or Indiana is doomed to mediocrity.

2 – Ability to recruit Indiana – I’m sorry to those who see Indiana as a national program who should be able to recruit the finest talent in the country, that’s not who IU has shown itself to be – not today, not ever. When Indiana is best, it chooses players from among the best in its home state, and augments with those from neighboring states (illinois and Ohio). If kids from Indiana choose to leave the state to play, why would a rational kid from California, Texas, Florida, or Massachusetts choose to come to Bloomington. This isn’t Kentucky, and it shouldn’t be. During eras when Indiana kids excel, there is plenty of talent to stock a potential champion.

3 – Ability to out-coach fans – In Indiana, this is harder than in most places. One of the cruelest legacies of Bob Knight’s 29 years in Bloomington was his generosity with a vast curriculum of basketball knowledge. Indiana fans know more about defense than the majority of high school coaches outside Indiana, and a desire to see fundamentals executed properly is strong. If a coach can’t strategize and teach basketball well enough to satisfy fans, he is doomed.

4 – Academics & graduation – Many from outside Indiana believe the blather from IU fans about grades and degrees to be hubristic claptrap that is waived as long as Indiana wins. Not for those who enjoyed the years when banners were hung while classes were attended. College basketball cannot be a minor league feeder system for the NBA regardless of banners, not at Indiana. Indiana University is a school first, a basketball program second, and players need to reflect that standard. Winning without a culture it validates is hollow, and Indiana fans won’t tolerate it.

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5 – Winning – Amassing victories is a result, not a trait. If the first four criteria are met, winning should be a given. There are fans who work backwards though. They want the wins, and have no interest in the methodology behind them. These are the people who still believe Kelvin Sampson was a good hire. Without winning, all the magnificent culture in the world is meaningless. Sad, but true. If a coach can manage to fulfill #2 and #3, he is going to win at Indiana, and he will be evaluated as a winner in #1. The kids earn #4 as compensation for their effort, even though they might see it as a penance while at IU.

As you ponder the future of the Indiana program, and the reasonability of retaining Crean as it’s leader, do what Glass does and pragmatically assess his work through whatever criteria you feel are appropriate. Mine are above. Share yours via a comment, and after Indiana’s season ends, let’s run our own system of checks and balances to see if Indiana has the right leader.

Indiana Basketball – If you think Fred Glass lashed himself to hull of the SS Tom Crean, read comments again!

by Kent Sterling

Don’t let the PT Barnum of IU athletics facade fool you. Fred Glass is very smart, committed, and pragmatic.

ESPN quoted Indiana University athletic director Fred Glass yesterday in a post that generated a lot of buzz and conjecture about how deeply Glass is committed to Tom Crean as the head coach of the IU Basketball program.

Not so fast my friends, as a former Indiana football coach who learned he had been fired while listening to the radio is fond of saying.

Glass is an attorney by trade, a very smart man, and also a good guy – way too smart and good to hint that Crean will be fired soon after the end of the season in an Andy Katz post.

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If I’m Crean reading that Katz post, I would have gone to sleep last night with the stomach ache that precedes imminent termination. Here’s why.

Nowhere does Glass say that Crean will be back next season. He had plenty of chances, but never said, “Tom will be back in 2015-2016!” Many times, the words of an attorney need to be assessed based on what is not said, not what is. Let’s go through the quotes in the post one by one:

“I’m bullish on Tom. He’s done a really good job with these guys. It’s ridiculous to say that someone is coaching for his job for one game and that it would be up or down in one game.”

Okay, here is another way to say the same thing – I like Tom, but his fate will be determined during a comprehensive postseason evaluation of a full body of work and the potential for success or mediocrity in the future.

“He’s a great coach. He has my full support. I have a great deal of confidence in Tom’s body of work. This team overachieved early and then hit a tough patch.”

All present tense. No proclamations about the future. Here’s an alternate version, Tom Crean will remain the coach through the end of the season, at which point I will review his status. My confidence in Tom as a coach will continue until he is no longer the coach – as is the case with all good boss/employee relationships.

“There is a sense that Tom is only keeping his job because of the buyout,” Glass said. “And while that’s a big number and a significant amount of money, that’s not what is keeping him in the job. I think he needs to be the coach. … I want him to be the coach here.”

When Tom gets fired, the buyout won’t be an issue. Fred wants Tom to be the coach, as most employers want their employees to succeed even as they know it will likely come to an end. Another version of this quote, When Tom gets gassed, the buyout won’t be an issue, and I won’t enjoy firing him.

“The rise and fortunes of Indiana [athletics] is with Indiana basketball,” Glass said. “Everybody thinks the guy with the clipboard, the next guy, can be better. But starting over is overrated. You can’t be willy-nilly about it.”

Yikes! This one is where I would get nervous if I was Tom, and with the size of that buyout ($11-$12 million) who wouldn’t want to be Tom? Here’s the alternative – When Indiana Basketball doesn’t excel, donations dry up. If we can get the right guy who will excite the fan base enough to write checks, we will replace Tom in a Monroe County minute.

“We have a super, young team,” Glass said. “James Blackmon has hit the freshman wall. I’m really optimistic about this team. Losing Collin Hartman was a big blow, and not having Devin Davis was tough.”

This can be interpreted in a bunch of ways – an honest litany of excuses, a defense that will suffice in explaining Indiana’s mediocrity to potential Crean suitors, or an acknowledgment of mediocrity without throwing the players under the bus.

“We have a chance to win our 20th game and be 10-8 in the Big Ten,” Glass said. “I would take that in a heartbeat at the beginning of the season.”

Uh-oh! I thought this season might have been much worse is not exactly a ringing endorsement for the leader of a program whose success and failure is so intrinsically tied to the financial health of the university and athletic department.

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Don’t be so naive to embrace the Katz interpretation of Glass’s comments. Fred is way too smart to say what he’s thinking about a coach still in the middle of a season that could still take a dramatic turn – especially to Andy Katz. If Indiana Basketball fails this season, it will not be because of Glass spouting off to ESPN.

And Glass will never allow himself to be the cause of future malaise and indifference among fans. That’s when ADs get gassed.

Indiana Basketball – IHSAA sectionals and a great effort by Purdue and Michigan State distract from potential “Creaning” of Tom Crean

by Kent Sterling

While Fred Glass makes decisions, Hoosier fans should spend their time watching some great basketball instead of obsessively reading tea leaves.

Like most people who grew attached to Indiana University Basketball during an extended stay as a student – a leisurely, but stressful six years for me – the occasionally interrupted mediocrity of the Hoosiers program under Tom Crean is baffling and a source of angst.

I spent the majority of my radio show yesterday strip-mining the nonsense to find the nugget of truth that would flip the switch on an answer that might restore a vestige of hope for a long-frustrated fan base. As you might guess, the show ended with our search leading to only more annoyance.

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My head throbbing after deciding to put off worrying about the big fix at Assembly Hall until after whatever lies ahead this Saturday against Michigan State and next week’s Big Ten Tournament, I drove to Carmel High School to watch Zach Gunn lead Hamilton Southeastern against Westfield and Derrik Smits of Zionsville show the way against Noblesville.

Because I was ready for yet more hoops, I then watched Purdue take on Michigan State in a very important game for the Boilers as they try to return to the NCAA Tournament.

Turns out it’s a lot more fun to watch great kids fight like hell on the court than to wonder about what will go on in conference rooms at Assembly Hall as Tom Crean’s future at Indiana is discussed.

Let’s start with the last game first. Purdue was in East Lansing on senior night for Tom Izzo’s Spartans and they knew a max effort would be required to leave with a win, and effort is what they brought. This game was as physical as it gets without somebody throwing hands. Those who say college basketball is broken need to watch this game.

The drama wasn’t in the result of the game, but in who would triumph from possession to possession. The Big Ten might not be the top conference in college hoops this year, but nobody competes harder than Purdue and Michigan State. Some teams might show up during spurts, but from an effort and toughness standpoint, Purdue and Michigan State were splendid last night for 40 minutes.

It was awesome, and it cleansed my mind of all the financial concerns being discussed by those who want more out of the Indiana program than Crean has been able to provide.

Prior to that, I was so impressed again by Zach Gunn as he knocked in 22 to lead HSE to an easy win over Westfield and move on to Friday night’s semifinal against Zionsville – a team featuring the progeny of the Dunking Dutchman, Indiana Pacers great Rik Smits.

Regardless of the bleating of those who still long for a return of the one class tournament celebrated in the film “Hoosiers”, every round, every game of the tournament brings great drama because these games mark the last competitive basketball played by the vast majority of those who have spent a lifetime dribbling between cones, shooting endless baskets, and taping ankles after inevitable sprains in order to make it this far.

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The only decision for a basketball fans during sectional weekend to make is which site to wander into looking for great hoops action. Not all the games are dramatic, as HSE and Westfield demonstrated, but with the stakes so high as losers are forced to end their seasons – and seniors end their careers – it’s still a magnificent diversion from real life, or in my case obsessively pondering the future of the Hoosiers program.

Life is too short to spend every waking moment thinking asking about coaches’ buyouts, booster malaise, recruiting Missouri kids instead of those in Indiana, and “Creaning”. Last night was for watching kids put to the test all the strength, talent, and competitive zeal they have built over a lifetime spent devoted to a silly game whose goal is the throw a leather ball through an orange rim.

There are games when it’s a shame that someone has to lose. It was fun to watch three of those last night after a day spent asking whether the Hoosiers will be forced to retain a coach because his buyout is too steep to write the check to move forward toward hope.

Indiana Basketball – Can the Hoosiers and Tom Crean survive after loss to Iowa at Assembly Hall?

by Kent Sterling

The happiest day of a coach’s stay at a school is the first, and then it’s a slow decline toward the eventual doom that will come for all but Coach K.

If Indiana is both the Crossroads of America and the home of basketball, then Assembly Hall is the home of the Crossroads of college basketball.

For the fourth time in 15 years, one of the steadiest programs in the history of the game is in turmoil, and unless a major pivot is made Saturday against Michigan State and in the Big Ten Tournament, unpleasant decisions will need to be made regarding the leadership of the Indiana basketball program.

Six weeks ago, the Hoosiers were 5-1 in the Big Ten, and looked to be one of the bright spots among a bunch of mediocrity in the Big Ten. This morning, after the Hoosiers seventh loss in 11 games, they have played themselves onto the bubble of the NCAA Tournament.

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Two consecutive years of not making the Big Dance is bad for job security in Bloomington, but to play without displaying the urgency, toughness, and unity of purpose shown by opponents makes the end of this narrative appear more immediately dire.

But it’s way too early to make that kind of assessment – just as it was to declare Crean a candidate for coach of the year because of nice results after one-third of the conference season.

There is more work to be done this Saturday at high noon against Tom Izzo’s Spartans, and then at the Big Ten Tournament before any declaration of a need for change is made, but last night’s 77-63 home loss to Iowa was not an affirmation of Crean’s ability to get the best from his team.

Some statements of fact can be made – Indiana is a terrible defensive team. The lapses of concentration and execution are relentless, and there is a lack of comparative toughness that has been fatal. Offensively, there are moments of grace that allow Indiana to stick around in games, but there is a reason the wins go to those who defend best.

Another fact is that Crean is despised by many with whom he has worked, annoys those with whom he regularly deals, and is seen as odd by many fans. The conversations with those who have been on the inside that might head off any talk of replacing Crean are usually peppered with anecdotes that reaffirm the doubts of those who are emotionally invested in IU Basketball.

Coaching is a business where being fired is a virtual certainty. The day when boxes will be unceremoniously filled and carried from an office come for all but a precious few. Hell, even Joe Paterno was canned, and if you think that was 100% Sandusky driven, you don’t know anyone at Penn State. Crean knew that when he walked into Assembly Hall arm in arm with former athletic director Rick Greenspan almost seven years ago holding a “Crean & Crimson” tee shirt.

If Indiana rights the ship by playing a tough brand of basketball and all five defenders finally seeing both the ball and man, Crean may be given another season to try to fix again what he originally fixed before it broke – a culture where excellence can be expected rather than dreamed of.

If not, current AD Fred Glass will need to think long and hard about a potential year eight of the Crean era that may or may not fulfill the hopes of a fan base that is growing increasingly impatient for the kind of March Madness not experienced in Bloomington since 2002 – the last time IU won a Sweet Sixteen game.

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Last night’s 14-point loss at home to a similarly bubblefied Iowa team does not secure IU’s spot in the NIT nor Crean’s ticket out of Bloomington, but it was another motion filed on behalf of the growing chorus of naysayers who are tired of Indiana being a middle of the road Big Ten team rather than a consistent player in the national race for a championship.

Indiana needs to give Michigan State it’s last best shot Saturday, or the 2015 Hoosiers may fall off the ledge into obscurity and indifference, and pull with it Crean’s career.

Fixing college basketball is all about finding another 300 Fred Hoibergs to coach D-1 teams, not repainting lines and shaving the shot-clock

by Kent Sterling

Fred Hoiberg loves teaching basketball, and fans should love him back.

Smart people in and around college basketball are proposing corrections to the lack of offense that is making college basketball less like a nonstop episode of Sportscenter and more like never-ending root canal.

Last night, a team that will be named a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament scored a total of two points in the first 13+ minutes of a game that it wound up winning in non-dramatic fashion. Virginia made a layup with 11:59 remaining in the first half against Syracuse, and then a three-pointer with 6:06 left. That was the offense for more than one-third of the game.

Seriously.

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Then they scored another 54 points over the next 26 minutes. Was college basketball broken during the first 14 minutes, wonderful during the last 24, or both? Did the officials widen the lane, expand the no-contact arc, shave five seconds off the shot clock, and extend the three-point line to the international distance at halftime?

Of course not. The game didn’t change, the quality of play did.

As Iowa State plays basketball with all the offense anyone could possibly want, are ratings for their games markedly higher than those played by Virginia? They are not. Iowa State coach Fred Holberg is teaching the Cyclones to play exactly the kind of basketball critics say fans crave, but no one without a tie to Iowa State watches them.

The rules aren’t different in Ames, Iowa. Yet, the Cyclones are scoring and winning.

Anyone who believes trimming the shot clock will lead to more productive and engaging offensive basketball doesn’t understand that doing things more quickly generally results in additional errors.

The problem with basketball related to the rules comes from the insanity of slowing the game to a crawl at its most exciting point. Each coach is allowed five timeouts, of which only four may be taken in the second half. Referees may stop play for video reviews inside the last two minutes of the game for a variety of reasons – clock corrections, decisions on possession, etc… The result can be a 10X ratio of game time to real time. Three minutes on the clock can equate to 30 minutes of mind-numbing tedium.

If a rule needs to be changed, adjust the number of timeouts (or eliminate them), and get rid of replay reviews by officials.

The question that needs to be asked is for whom is the game played. If the answer is the coaches – add some timeouts and extend replay to ensure all calls are correct. Allow the games to be eight hour marathons. Those guys have millions of dollars on the line, and exactitude in officiating and strategic execution could mean the difference between getting an extension or being fired. That’s important stuff.

If the answer is the fans, timeouts needlessly delay the end of the contest, and who in their right mind sees the logic of a two-minute stoppage to determine off whose hand the ball caromed before going out of bounds? Abolish timeouts and reviews to make the game more fun to watch.

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The game at its core though is for the players. The lessons learned through competition in college athletic participation are profound, and were the reason universities decided kids should play in the first place. I doubt many college basketball players would rather execute a specific play diagrammed by the coach rather than use their skills and wills to determine whether they win or lose a game. And kids are pretty smart about replays too. They know bad calls even out in the end.

All that said, I’m watching more college basketball than ever, and that’s saying something. I record at least one game per night while flipping between at least two others. If college basketball is broken, it’s loved here, and that is with the time extending, meaningless timeouts taken by coaches so unsure in their own ability to teach the game, they need to stop it relentlessly to assert control.

Late game timeouts are like a teacher stopping a test in the middle to review a lesson, but I digress.

All that critics demand in college basketball can be granted if micromanaging coaches are driven from the game and replaced by guys like Hoiberg, who know how to teach the game.

Shaving the shot clock and re-painting lines on the court will only mask the root cause of a decline of excitement in college basketball. Coaches who can’t teach or govern the game are the problem – if there is one.

Marshawn Lynch exactly right in assessing Super Bowl play call

by Kent Sterling

Marshawn Lynch doesn’t like or trust the media, but that doesn’t make him wrong.

Haters gonna hate, and Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch has his share of haters because of his aversion to talking to the media.

What he said over the weekend to a Turkish TV network in his first meaningful comments about the controversial play call that led to a game-deciding interception in the Super Bowl win by the New England Patriots has stirred more debate about the mercurial star.

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America was incredulous as Russell Wilson threw the ball rather than hand it to Lynch with less than a yard separating the Seahawks from a rare back-to-back championship. As you might guess, so was Lynch:

“To be honest with you, I would be lying if I didn’t tell you that I was expecting the ball. Yes, I was expecting the ball. But in life, these things happen. Like I told a reporter after the game, it’s a team sport,” he said in the interview.

“I had no problem with the decision of the play calling. I mean, you know, I think it was more of a … how do I say this? When you look at me, and you let me run that ball in, I am the face of the nation. You know, MVP of the Super Bowl, that’s pretty much the face of the nation at that point of time.

“I don’t know what went into that call. I mean, maybe it was a good thing that I didn’t get the ball. I mean, you know, it cost us the Super Bowl. I mean, I have full … I have full confidence in my teammates to execute that plan because we’ve done it so many more times. But would I love to had the ball in? Yes, I would have.

“But the game is over, and I am in Turkey.”

Now, instead of applauding Lynch for speaking his mind about the call and result, there are those who complain that Lynch kicked coach Pete Carroll and offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell under the bus. Haters gonna hate, right?

If Lynch had said the Seahawks did the right thing by throwing the football, he would be seen is a player lacking championship competitiveness. That explains Lynch’s reticence in dealing with the media. When that media is annoyed with you, pleasing it is impossible, and Beast Mode knows that he will never be a darling of the Fifth Estate.

Talking to an obscure (to us) Turkish sports network rather than ESPN, Fox, CBS, or NBC did Lynch’s relationship with the American media no favors, but his comments were reasonable, well-considered, and thoughtful.

Lynch wanted the ball, as every running back should. The game was in the balance, and a historic moment was ahead. If Lynch scores to win the Super Bowl, he becomes an immortal in Seattle, and the media gets a bunch of nonsense from the guy who has suddenly become the NFL’s biggest star as they try to put together postgame stories.

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Conspiracy theories are ridiculous most of the time, but is it impossible to imagine Carroll and Bevell allowing the consequences of Lynch assuming the mantle as the face of their franchise? Probably, but these are high-level thinkers who enjoy their own image as clever fellows. Maybe they didn’t factor in the full palette of consequences, but it’s hard to trust entirely their denials.

Lynch is honest, and people judge him. Lynch is secretive, and people judge him. Lynch does nothing but fulfill obligations in a way that keeps him from being fined, and people judge him.

Haters gonna hate.

Indiana Basketball – Hoosiers lose at Northwestern not because of shooting, but because they just don’t defend

by Kent Sterling

Hands down during a defensive closeout allowed Northwestern’s Tre Demps to make the three-point shot that resulted.

There are a million sayings about the importance of defense in basketball. One of the most concise and on-point is “Defense travels.”

Better than any other, that axiom explains why Indiana was unable to beat Northwestern with so much on the line last night in Evanston.

Tom Crean discussed ad nauseum during the postgame press conference how Indiana’s inability to knock down shots cost them the game, but after one half of basketball where Indiana shot lights out (9-of-14 from beyond the arc), the game was tied at 40.

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Another great saying among coaches is “First, you need to out-coach the fans.” In “The Outlaw Josey Wales”, Fletcher tells Senator Lane, “Don’t piss down my back and tell me it’s raining.”

When Crean tries to spin the reason Indiana loses toward shooting woes, he underestimates Indiana fans’ ability to watch basketball with a critical eye.

Indiana loses, and has lost, because of defensive lapses that are elementary. Poor closeouts with hands down, inattention to the ball, and slow feet have made it easy for opposing coaches to attack the Hoosiers.

And so fans scratch their heads wondering whether Crean knows a hell of a lot about the game he is paid so handsomely to teach youngsters to play at a high level. Crean knows plenty about basketball, but continues to spout silliness hoping that fans don’t recognize it for the pap that it is.

As long as the Hoosiers beat either Iowa or Michigan State next week at Assembly Hall, their spot in the NCAA Tournament will be secure, and that was the goal at the beginning the season. Once into the tournament, anything can happen.

But what needs to happen beginning right now is for Crean to start leveling with fans who understand basketball at a higher level than most. Defense is causing the Hoosiers trouble, not shooting. Say that, and there will be a feeling of hope because then fans (and media) will have a sense that at least the diagnosis of the issue causing losses is correct.

All coaches love for their teams to throw the ball in the bucket at a high rate, but they know that offense is only half the game. Defensive fundamentals must be displayed consistently or any Division 1 opponent is going knock down shots. Since January 22nd, the Hoosiers have allowed their opponents to shoot 50.9%, 62.3%, 58.7%, 44.4%, 60.4%, 50%, 49%, 49.1%, 46.2%, 37%, and 51%. The only under 40% result was an aberration driven by the dumpster fire that is Rutgers Basketball.

Of the top 49 teams in NCAA D-1 as measured by RPI, Indiana has the lowest Defensive Quotient (-3.3). It ranks 261st of of 351 overall. Because Indiana scores a lot of points, it’s defensive quotient would be lower than most, but it’s still evidence of problems in Bloomington in the area of forcing an opponent into uncomfortable looks at the basket.

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More to the point is the non-arcane statistic of losing six of its last 10 games, alternating losses and wins since the beatdown at Mackey on January 28th.

Indiana’s spot in the NCAA Tournament is still secure, but until Crean starts talking to fans through the media with a little respect for their basketball knowledge, there will be questions about the direction of the program, and whether Crean is the right guy to lead it.

Indiana and Butler face tough games tonight in search of win #20

by Kent Sterling

“Psst, we could be pretty good, or the wheels might fall off the cart of these teenagers,” whispers Butler’s Chris Holzmann.

The college basketball season changes in the middle of February. Teams that appeared unbeatable in January are suddenly flawed, and those that couldn’t win earlier find the right combination of effort, experience, and talent to vanquish foes.

Fans saw it last night as Syracuse beat Notre Dame in South Bend, Maryland upset Wisconsin, and NC State hammered North Carolina.

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Northwestern couldn’t get over the hump through their first 11 Big Ten games, but then the switch flipped. They have won three straight since. Wobbly Indiana travels to Evanston tonight for a potentially huge game against a suddenly competent Wildcats team.

The Hoosiers need a win tonight to guarantee a winning record in the Big Ten, which would almost certainly punch their ticket for a return to the NCAA Tournament. A loss and the stakes will grow for the last two regular season games at Assembly Hall against Iowa and Michigan State. Lose those and the first round of the Big Tourney becomes enormous.

A first round bow out after losing its final three in the Big Ten regular season, and Indiana might get bad news come Selection Sunday. Unlikely, but the possibility heightens the pressure for tonight’s game. Forgive Indiana fans for fearing the worst after years of disappointing finishes stretching back to 2012 when the Hoosiers qualified for the tournament for the first time since 2008 and qualified for the Sweet Sixteen.

Butler faces a different challenge tonight as they host Marquette at Hinkle Fieldhouse as it takes aim at its 20th overall win and 10th in the Big East. The Golden Eagles have won only once in their last 10 games, but two of those games were to overtime, and three others were decided by four or less points.

Matt Carlino leads Marquette in scoring but hasn’t played in a couple of weeks since suffering a concussion. If he returns tonight, that could pose an additional challenge for the Bulldogs as they figure out how to complete as a whole without its heart – the nationally underappreciated Andrew Chrabascz,.

Add what appeared to be some serious fatigue at Creighton that followed an all-in effort against Villanova, and who knows whether they can hold serve tonight at home?

If the Bulldogs lose, the road to the tournament becomes a little more difficult with games remaining against DePaul at their place, Georgetown at Hinkle, and Providence there. None of those games is a guaranteed win. Win out, and the Bulldogs finish second in the Big East. Lose out, and they likely drop to sixth. Will the Big East get six into the NCAA? Probably, but trusting the selection committee to do the right thing by Butler.

This is the magic of the college basketball season. People might pretend they know what the hell is going on in December, but there is no way to predict what might happen come March. Good becomes mediocre and bad becomes competent. Great recedes to the mean, and mediocrity finds a way to shine. Strong becomes tired, and passive finds motivation.

And it’s all determined by the behavior and work ethic of a bunch of teenagers – or those who are still in the clunky midst of finding their adult selves.

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For anyone who has watched Kentucky roll through the first 27 wins of this undefeated season, it’s almost inconceivable they could lose. They’ve have some close calls, but have always found a way to survive, and those games would appear to make an undefeated run more likely. All that is true until you realize John Calipari is trying to herd adolescent ‘Cats for whom immature decisions are virtual given.

Tonight will bring yet another chapter of a season for Indiana and Butler that could take a turn toward excellence or malaise at any point, and both games will be fascinating. The Hoosiers and Bulldogs are capable of virtually anything, as are all teams trying to do their best work after four months of trials and tribulations.

That’s why will watch.

College Basketball rule changes should include elimination of timeouts and replay reviews

by Kent Sterling

Nothing like Jim Boeheim drawing up a play for the Syracuse Orangemen to engage fans.

Normally, I’m not a fan of Quixotic causes, but a couple of potential rule changes would make college basketball a lot more fun to play and watch, and neither have anything to do with the shot clock.

Sadly, neither have any chance at all to be implemented.

I still rage against the machine that tries to put more control in the mediocre brains of anal coaches and less where it belongs – in the imaginations, knowledge, and skills of the players.

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The two rule changes I favor are a complete elimination of non-media timeouts and a reversion to the time when replays were enjoyed by those watching the game at home and not used by the referees to confirm or overturn calls.

Replay is a wrongheaded tool in all sports that elevates the importance of the result of the game beyond that of the enjoyment of watching the game. All fans and players should care whether their team wins or loses, but not so much that pixels are examined for minutes on end to determine the efficacy of a referee’s judgment.

Watching and playing sports is a leisure activity whose significance has lapped reason many times – particularly in college. I understand that self-immersed goofs who work in professional sports will always believe that society orbits them, but college sports can serve as leaders who show us the way out of our delusion that Purdue sweeping Indiana in basketball can alter the spin of our planet.

As for timeouts, coaches continue to diagram rather than teach. Prepare a team during practice. Teach during practice. Allow the games belong to the kids. Back in the day when the clock continued to run after made buckets, I understood the need to call timeouts to keep time from expiring, but timeouts today are used specifically to allow coaches to control game action, which allows their assumption of power and control to grow beyond logic.

In last night’s Louisville vs. Georgia Tech game, Georgia Tech took its last timeout with 52-seconds left, and Rick Pitino ran through his allotment at the 3:00 mark. The result was a thrilling finish that allowed the kids to make plays and decide the result with their ability and knowledge. It was almost hockey-like, and what is more exciting than the final minute of a hockey game decided by one goal?

Neither of these rule changes will ever come to pass because the fans and players have virtually no voice in enacting rules governing play, and the result is apathy by fans and ignorance from players who are told where to go but not why.

Coaches run the show, and no group in the history of society is more self-important than coaches. They would prefer to control players like chess pieces than allow fans and players to enjoy the game.

One of the biggest challenges of collegiate athletics is to attract students to games. No-shows are a huge problem. For some perspective as to the enormity of the issue, Alabama football’s student season ticket holder no-show rate is 35%. The problem is that just as the game should be at its most thrilling, constant stoppages of play make the final minute the most tedious.

Eliminating timeouts would increase the importance of teaching the game ten-fold, reduce TV time for far too visible men like Tom Crean, Tom Izzo, and John Calipari, and make games much more watchable for fans. It’s a win/win/win, which means it will never happen.

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As for replay, the question of using easily used technology in order to make sure calls are correct is so logically answered in the affirmative that making the argument it should be abolished is mocked as antiquated lunacy. That is until the importance of a basketball game is rendered to it’s essential elements, in which case “Who cares?” is the only relevant question.

Ironically, there will be a rule change that makes no sense at all. Reducing the shot clock from 35-seconds to 30-seconds is a solution in search of a problem. Who benefits from that change? Players? No. If anything, coaches will be able to exert more control over the game. Fans? What does a fan benefit from players having five fewer seconds for their favorite team to find a quality shot? Coaches? More possessions equals more opportunities to coaches ’em up (or down), I guess.

My advice for all leagues trying to deal with pace of play issues is to engage fans in the discussion. No fan enjoys a timeout, and fewer revel in the “thrill” of a replay review. Eliminate the negative, and all that remains are positives.