The Face of the 2008-2009 Indiana Hoosiers

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.

Season starts Thursday

For our own emotional and physical health, let's all forget last night's Big Ten tournament. Instead, watch this video, remember better times, and get excited for what lies ahead:

And let's not forget, we still have this guy:

Who as we saw last night, will do anything he can to make sure we win the game. 

So sleep well IU fans, the season starts Thursday.

Farewell Chief

It's done. After one of the more painful and frustrating Fridays in recent memory, the correct decision was made, and now no one has any idea what will happen.

But aside from all this tom foolery, here some things I'll remember and miss about Kelvin Sampson as a Hoosier.

1) The blue shirt, red tie ensemble that was embraced and adopted by the entire student body.

2) Disqualifying the dunk contest participants at his first Midnight Madness (now Hoosier Hysteria) and making DJ White and AJ Ratliff finish it off.

3) Creating the DJ White we know today.

4) His complete domination of the overly sensitive and feminine Bruce Weber. (Specifically getting Getting this guy.)

5) Undefeated at home last season.

6) The bizarre show of affection pictured above.

7) This:

So Farewell Chief, and good luck.

Iowa. Flipping Iowa.

I had to spend Tuesday in Iowa, which means I had to watch DJ White and company take out "conference leader" Purdue in a Holiday Inn bar.

For those of you who don't know, Iowa is far.

This is what I had to look at for 7 hours.

Believe that. And you know what, the middle of Illinois is about the same. I felt like we were driving on a treadmill that had been strategically placed in the middle of an anonymous cornfield.

However, my current happiness exists on two levels, which inevitably made the trip a success.

1) We were privileged enough to drive on a road called "Coonhunters Drive." No lie. And,

2) Inside the luxurious Holiday Inn bar, I was able to watch my Hoosiers pound the hated Boilers while sitting next to some idiot wearing awful colors, and chanting "Boiler Up" for no apparent reason.

Remember at the beginning of this season when people were getting excited about a possible Final Four run? Remember when we looked awful for most of the Big Ten season? Remember when DJ White went down and we thought the entire universe was against us? Remember when Bobby Boucher showed up at halftime and the Mud Dogs won the Bourbon Bowl?

Hoosiers win the Big Ten. And the Big Ten tournament. Watch and see.

The link between Chief and Rocky, and how it applies to IU basketball

In case you missed it, our beloved Hoosiers looked unstoppable last night in a humiliation of then #9 in the country (and apparently unreasonably over-rated) Michigan State. Hardly anyone gave us much of a chance, including myself, given the week that Kelvin Sampson (who will be referred to as 'Chief') has so generously given us, and the fact that we started the game down 15-4.


In response to such inspiring play, Chief became overwhelmed and joined with a couple players in an embrace that could only remind me of this.

In all seriousness, the entire scene at Assembly Hall seemed a bit surreal. After a week of accusations against a cheating program, and a 25 foot game winning bank shot from a Polar Bear, the mighty Hoosiers played like, and celebrated like, they were in the National Championship. Mrs. Chief was next to tears. The students were chanting Kelvin Sampson again (the probably didn't really think that through). Eric Gordon was back. Jordan Crawford showed signs of maturity, finally.


The next morning we wake up to realize that come Friday, the coach that brought hope back to IU basketball, brought us Eric Gordon, turned DJ White into the best power forward in the country (Tyler who?), will be either suspended or fired. Performances like last night make it really hard to continue to push to fire our Chief. Personally, I felt bad for the guy. But make no mistake he will, and needs to, be let go.


Regardless, at least for a little while, the focus was away from Chief and his phone bill and back to basketball. And now we look to Tuesday when the apparently mighty Boilermakers come to town. The team has confidence back. The fans have faith back. And assuming we'll have DJ White back, I don't see any way Purdue leaves hostile B Town with a win. Even if DJ can't go, we know we can play with the best in the Big Ten.