I'm going to miss DJ White. It's not every day that a player like him comes through any school, and finding a replacement for his ability, work ethic, and leadership will probably be more difficult than can be explained. Unfortunately, it's something that needs to be done. Someone has to step up.
Enter Armon Bassett. The little 6'0" shooting guard from Terre Haute, that was only a three star recruit two years ago. The first time I saw him was the 3 pt contest at the 2006 Hoosier Hysteria. He knocked down 15 (11 in a row at one point) without even shooting all 25 balls. I looked at my dad wondering who the kid was, and where the heck we found him. After his sophomore season, he led the Big 10 in 3 pt shooting percentage, greatly improved his ability of making his own shot, and will become the guy that players look to for guidance, especially with Dakich running the team for at least the next few weeks.
Last night he was only guy (other than DJ of course) who appeared to want to win, or even be there, at all. He was 7-9 from the field, 21 points, and 7 assists. He'll be the guy that can raise Jordan Crawford into the player he could be, the guy that will talk some sense into and motivate Jamarcus Ellis, and find DeAndre Thomas a 24 oz. steak, a double cheeseburger, $20 worth of tacos, and another 24 oz steak.
He needs to be the guy that the new coach takes under his wing the way Chief took DJ. He needs to be the guy that helps everyone (myself included) forget about this nightmare of a season and look towards the greener grass ahead of us, which despite how it looks right now, is out there.
So sleep well IU fans! Things can only get better at this point.
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