And you can view the whole album HERE.
That last one isn't actually Carson's room.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Carson's room
As always, click on the picture to see the larger view.
And you can view the whole album HERE.
That last one isn't actually Carson's room.
And you can view the whole album HERE.
That last one isn't actually Carson's room.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Fourteen years
Memories... light the corners of my mind... misty water-colored memories... of the way we were...
Without further ado, I present the last 14 years of Indiana's great basketball program. Summary chart is at the end.
Without further ado, I present the last 14 years of Indiana's great basketball program. Summary chart is at the end.
1994-95
Coach: Bob Knight
19-12 Overall
11-7 Big Ten
FG%: .484
Opp FG%: .410
Starters: Alan Henderson
Brian Evans
Andrae Patterson
Neil Reed
Michael Hermon
NCAA - 9 seed
Final Game - Lost in 1st round 65-60 to 8 seed Missouri
1995-96
Coach: Bob Knight
19-12 Overall
12-6 Big Ten
FG%: .472
Opp FG%: .409
Starters: Brian Evans
Andrae Patterson
Neil Reed
Charlie Miller
Sherron Wilkerson
NCAA - 6 seed
Final Game - Lost in 1st round 64-52 to 11 seed Boston College
1996-97
Coach: Bob Knight
22-11 Overall
9-9 Big Ten
FG%: .438
Opp FG%: .422
Starters: AJ Guyton
Neil Reed
Andrae Patterson
Jason Collier
Charlie Miller
NCAA - 8 seed
Final Game - Lost in 1st round 80-62 to 9 seed Colorado
1997-98
Coach: Bob Knight
20-12 Overall
9-7 Big Ten
FG%: .491
Opp FG%: .446
Starters: AJ Guyton
Luke Recker
Andrae Patterson
William Gladness
Michael Lewis
NCAA - 7 seed
Final Game - Lost in 2nd round 78-61 to 2 seed UConn
1998-99
Coach: Bob Knight
23-11 Overall
9-7 Big Ten
FG%: .469
Opp FG%: .419
Starters: AJ Guyton
Luke Recker
William Gladness
Larry Richardson
Lynn Washington
NCAA - 6 seed
Final Game - Lost in 2nd round 86-61 to 3 seed St. John's
1999-2000
Coach: Bob Knight
20-9 Overall
10-6 Big Ten
FG%: .478
Opp FG%: .388
Starters: AJ Guyton
Kirk Haston
Dane Fife
Lynn Washington
Michael Lewis
NCAA - 6 seed
Final Game - Lost in 1st round 77-57 to 11 seed Pepperdine
2000-01
Coach: Mike Davis
21-13 Overall
10-6 Big Ten
FG%: .453
Opp FG%: .394
Starters: Jared Jeffries
Dane Fife
Tom Coverdale
Kirk Haston
Jeff Newton
NCAA - 4 seed
Final Game - Lost in 1st round 77-73 to 13 seed Kent State
2001-02
Coach: Mike Davis
25-12 Overall
11-5 Big Ten
FG%: .460
Opp FG%: .408
Starters: Jared Jeffries
Dane Fife
Kyle Hornsby
Tom Coverdale
Jared Odle
NCAA - 5 seed
Final Game - Lost title game 64-52 to 1 seed Maryland
2002-03
Coach: Mike Davis
21-13 Overall
8-8 Big Ten
FG%: .426
Opp FG%: .416
Starters: Tom Coverdale
Jeff Newton
Bracey Wright
George Leach
Kyle Hornsby
NCAA - 7 seed
Final Game - Lost in 2nd round 74-52 to 2 seed Pittsburgh
2003-04
Coach: Mike Davis
14-15 Overall
7-9 Big Ten
FG%: .397
Opp FG%: .425
Starters: Bracey Wright
Marshall Strickland
AJ Moye
George Leach
Donald Perry
NCAA - None
Final Game - Lost 71-59 to Illinois in BTT
2004-05
Coach: Mike Davis
15-14 Overall
10-6 Big Ten
FG%: .425
Opp FG%: .420
Starters: DJ White
Robert Vaden
Marshall Strickland
Bracey Wright
AJ Ratliff
NCAA - None (NIT)
Final Game - Lost 67-60 to Vanderbilt in 1st round NIT game
2005-06
Coach: Mike Davis
19-12 Overall
9-7 Big Ten
FG%: .461
Opp FG%: .436
Starters: Robert Vaden
Marco Killingsworth
Marshall Strickland
Lewis Monroe
Earl Calloway
NCAA - 6 seed
Final Game - Lost in 2nd round 90-80 to 3 seed Gonzaga
2006-07
Coach: Kelvin Sampson
21-11 Overall
10-6 Big Ten
FG%: .446
Opp FG%: .416
Starters: DJ White
Roderick Wilmont
Earl Calloway
Armon Bassett
Lance Stemler
NCAA - 7 seed
Final Game - Lost in 2nd round 54-49 to 2 seed UCLA
2007-08
Coach: Kelvin Sampson & Dan Dakich
25-8 Overall
14-4 Big Ten
FG%: .463
Opp FG%: .412
Starters: DJ White
Eric Gordon
Jamarcus Ellis
Armon Bassett
Lance Stemler
NCAA - 8 Seed
Final Game - Lost in 1st round 86-72 to 9 seed Arkansas
B10 B10 Opp NCAA NCAA
Win Loss Win Loss FG% FG% Seed Games
94-95 19 12 11 7 484 410 9 1
95-96 19 12 12 6 472 409 6 1
96-97 22 11 9 9 438 422 8 1
97-98 20 12 9 7 491 446 7 2
98-99 23 11 9 7 469 419 6 2
99-00 20 9 10 6 478 388 6 1
00-01 21 13 10 6 453 394 4 1
01-02 25 12 11 5 460 408 5 6
02-03 21 13 8 8 426 416 7 2
03-04 14 15 7 9 397 425 - 0
04-05 15 14 10 6 425 420 - 0
05-06 19 12 9 7 461 436 6 2
06-07 21 11 10 6 446 416 7 2
07-08 25 8 14 4 463 412 8 1
Avg 20.3 11.8 9.9 6.6 455 416 6.6 1.6
Number of wins over higher-seeded teams: 2 (both in '02)
Number of losses to lower-seeded teams: 5
Number of losses to higher-seeded teams: 7
Number of wins over lower-seeded teams: 8
Overall NCAA tournament record: 10-12
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
What might have been
In 1948 UCLA was looking for a new basketball coach...the two finalists were Joe Schmo from L.A. and John Wooden from Indiana. The fan base and alumni were screaming for a "UCLA Guy" or a "west coast guy". Joe Schmo was hired. John Wooden, somewhat depressed, accepted a job at Pfizer Chemical in Terre Haute, Indiana...he retired after 40 years of service in the maintenance department.
In 1961, North Carolina's basketball coach, Frank McGuire, was forced to resign due to a recruiting scandal. The fan base and alumni blamed the University for hiring a New York native and former coach at St. Johns. They screamed for a "Carolina Blue Guy". The two finalists were Jim Schmo (brother to Joe) who had a degree from Carolina and Dean Smith, who was McGuire's assistant coach for 3 years. Smith was not chosen because people felt he was tainted by the scandal and was a midwesterner from Kansas. Smith eventually accepted a position at IBM and flipped houses in his spare time.
In 1971, Indiana was seeking a new basketball coach and hired Billy Jo Bob, an IU grad and high school phenom. They had considered Bob Knight but the fan base and alumni didn't want an Ohio native and one who played collegiately at Ohio State. Bob was the coach at Army but later founded an outdoor publication called Walleye Insider...he was never seen again after his lightweight Cessna disappeared from Winnipeg's radar screen in 1976.
In 1975, Duke University was looking for a new basketball coach. Despite grumblings from the fan base and alumni, they gambled on a Chicago kid nicknamed coach K, who was a graduate assistant for Billy Jo Bob at IU.
In 1961, North Carolina's basketball coach, Frank McGuire, was forced to resign due to a recruiting scandal. The fan base and alumni blamed the University for hiring a New York native and former coach at St. Johns. They screamed for a "Carolina Blue Guy". The two finalists were Jim Schmo (brother to Joe) who had a degree from Carolina and Dean Smith, who was McGuire's assistant coach for 3 years. Smith was not chosen because people felt he was tainted by the scandal and was a midwesterner from Kansas. Smith eventually accepted a position at IBM and flipped houses in his spare time.
In 1971, Indiana was seeking a new basketball coach and hired Billy Jo Bob, an IU grad and high school phenom. They had considered Bob Knight but the fan base and alumni didn't want an Ohio native and one who played collegiately at Ohio State. Bob was the coach at Army but later founded an outdoor publication called Walleye Insider...he was never seen again after his lightweight Cessna disappeared from Winnipeg's radar screen in 1976.
In 1975, Duke University was looking for a new basketball coach. Despite grumblings from the fan base and alumni, they gambled on a Chicago kid nicknamed coach K, who was a graduate assistant for Billy Jo Bob at IU.
Monday, March 10, 2008
My conflict over Rick Pitino
First off, just to be clear, I'll give our new coach a chance no matter who it is. If Greenspan hires Charles Manson to be the new coach, you'll see me on the board saying things like "Sure, what he did was wrong, but that was before he was coaching at Indiana, and I'm sure he knows that stuff won't fly here," and "Technically, I don't think brainwashing people to commit murders is an NCAA violation." I'm not going to take my ball and go home if Greenspan doesn't pick "my" candidate (and so far I don't have a particular guy that I'm pulling for... and I'm trying hard to stay that way).
That said, it obviously doesn't mean that I have no feelings about the search at all. Basically, there are a number of coaches that I've seen mentioned for the job that I don't want to see hired. They fall into two main camps:
1. Coaches who I think just aren't very good and are only mentioned because of some IU tie (like Dakich, Alford, Stallings, etc.)
2. Big-name coaches who I don't think are clean enough (like Calipari, Pearl, etc.)
And then there's Rick Pitino. Pitino represents a real conundrum for me.
1. As far as I can tell, Pitino runs a clean program, and has run clean programs for years.
2. As much as he's considered an "East coast guy", he's spent most of the last 20 years coaching within a couple hour drive of Bloomington, Indiana. He knows the midwest.
3. I think he's a good coach.
4. From a distance, I like his relationship with his players. He doesn't try to be their friend, but they seem to like playing for him anyway.
5. I think Pitino would be really successful at Indiana. Really successful. Like Final Fours and National Titles.
And yet, I have a big problem with Pitino. I hate his style of play. That's it in a nutshell. I don't think his style is bad or it makes him a bad coach, I just think it's ugly to watch.
When Pitino went to Kentucky, Kentucky was not in good shape. They had a little talent, but nothing like what would come later. When a team doesn't have much talent and needs to beat more talented teams, conventional wisdom says that you want to slow the game down and decrease the number of possessions. The fewer the possessions, the less chance the more talented team has to pull away.
Pitino turned that on its ear. He decided that what he wanted to do was minimize the number of halfcourt possessions, both offensively and defensively. So he focused on reducing the opponent's halfcourt offensive possessions by playing full court, pressure, trapping defenses that generated turnovers and made the opponent score in transition (which seems like a bad thing, except it was outside their comfort zone). And he focused his team on scoring in transition, even when the numbers weren't in his favor, and particularly on shooting 3s in transition (which wasn't commonplace back then). And of course he played his whole bench in order to wear the other team down. He increased the importance of athleticism at the expense of "basketball smarts". This was a brilliant coaching move, and it also was a style that the players loved, so recruiting followed.
And I hated watching it.
As Kentucky's talent increased, the effectiveness of this technique increased even more... or did it? I would submit that it didn't. Kentucky had so much talent that they didn't need to rely on high-risk/high-return techniques to win. Early on, the techniques turned probable losses into wins, but at some point it stopped doing that. I think it starting turning probable wins into blowouts... and then UK would run into a team with great guards who could consistently break UK's fullcourt press and POW the core of UK's gameplan was useless. In other words, they reached a point where Kentucky's style was most effective when it was least needed, and least effective when it was most needed.
And I hated watching it.
Giving credit where credit is due, Pitino's reliance on fullcourt defense and 3 point shooting seems to have gone down over time and he's adjusted to today's game. The man's a good coach. If he was hired by Indiana, I'm sure I'd feel some excitement over the success I think he'd bring to the program. But I'd also feel some real disappointment at the prospect of watching Indiana play that style of ball. There's nothing evil about it. There's nothing stupid about it. I just don't enjoy it.
I'd be very conflicted.
That said, it obviously doesn't mean that I have no feelings about the search at all. Basically, there are a number of coaches that I've seen mentioned for the job that I don't want to see hired. They fall into two main camps:
1. Coaches who I think just aren't very good and are only mentioned because of some IU tie (like Dakich, Alford, Stallings, etc.)
2. Big-name coaches who I don't think are clean enough (like Calipari, Pearl, etc.)
And then there's Rick Pitino. Pitino represents a real conundrum for me.
1. As far as I can tell, Pitino runs a clean program, and has run clean programs for years.
2. As much as he's considered an "East coast guy", he's spent most of the last 20 years coaching within a couple hour drive of Bloomington, Indiana. He knows the midwest.
3. I think he's a good coach.
4. From a distance, I like his relationship with his players. He doesn't try to be their friend, but they seem to like playing for him anyway.
5. I think Pitino would be really successful at Indiana. Really successful. Like Final Fours and National Titles.
And yet, I have a big problem with Pitino. I hate his style of play. That's it in a nutshell. I don't think his style is bad or it makes him a bad coach, I just think it's ugly to watch.
When Pitino went to Kentucky, Kentucky was not in good shape. They had a little talent, but nothing like what would come later. When a team doesn't have much talent and needs to beat more talented teams, conventional wisdom says that you want to slow the game down and decrease the number of possessions. The fewer the possessions, the less chance the more talented team has to pull away.
Pitino turned that on its ear. He decided that what he wanted to do was minimize the number of halfcourt possessions, both offensively and defensively. So he focused on reducing the opponent's halfcourt offensive possessions by playing full court, pressure, trapping defenses that generated turnovers and made the opponent score in transition (which seems like a bad thing, except it was outside their comfort zone). And he focused his team on scoring in transition, even when the numbers weren't in his favor, and particularly on shooting 3s in transition (which wasn't commonplace back then). And of course he played his whole bench in order to wear the other team down. He increased the importance of athleticism at the expense of "basketball smarts". This was a brilliant coaching move, and it also was a style that the players loved, so recruiting followed.
And I hated watching it.
As Kentucky's talent increased, the effectiveness of this technique increased even more... or did it? I would submit that it didn't. Kentucky had so much talent that they didn't need to rely on high-risk/high-return techniques to win. Early on, the techniques turned probable losses into wins, but at some point it stopped doing that. I think it starting turning probable wins into blowouts... and then UK would run into a team with great guards who could consistently break UK's fullcourt press and POW the core of UK's gameplan was useless. In other words, they reached a point where Kentucky's style was most effective when it was least needed, and least effective when it was most needed.
And I hated watching it.
Giving credit where credit is due, Pitino's reliance on fullcourt defense and 3 point shooting seems to have gone down over time and he's adjusted to today's game. The man's a good coach. If he was hired by Indiana, I'm sure I'd feel some excitement over the success I think he'd bring to the program. But I'd also feel some real disappointment at the prospect of watching Indiana play that style of ball. There's nothing evil about it. There's nothing stupid about it. I just don't enjoy it.
I'd be very conflicted.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
The Big Ten race is heating up!
Indiana (9-1) now has road wins over Ohio State, Illinois, Iowa, and Minnesota... against one loss at Wisconsin. Concerns about our soft schedule are now moot, in my opinion - we're a legitimate contender for the B10 crown with the wins to prove it.
The other contenders are Purdue (10-1), Wisconsin (9-2), and Michigan State (8-2).
Working backwards, I don't think Michigan State has much of a chance. Their remaining schedule is brutal. The still play on the road at Indiana, Purdue, Wisconsin, Ohio State, and Illinois. The fact that they've already lost road games at Iowa and Penn State suggests that they won't win enough of those games to win the B10 title. Pomeroy predicts them to finish 10-6.
Wisconsin still has road games against Indiana, Ohio State, Illinois, and Northwestern, plus the MSU game at home. Finishing with one more loss would require a remarkable run of basketball... two losses is probably more likely. Pomeroy predicts them to finish 14-4. They've got an outside shot at the title, and if they beat Indiana on the road then they become a frontrunner.
Purdue has road games against Indiana, Ohio State, Michigan, and Northwestern, plus a home game against MSU. Given that they just won at Wisconsin, all those games are winnable, but like Wisconsin I think 1 more loss would be extremely impressive and 2 losses is probable. But that still leaves them at 15-3 in the B10 (which is also what Pomeroy predicts).
Indiana only has 3 road games left against Michigan State, Northwestern, and Penn State, by far the easiest road schedule of the contenders. It's the home games that are brutal for Indiana - Wisconsin, Michigan State, and Purdue all in a row next up, then two more home games against Ohio State and Minnesota. If Indiana holds home court it's hard to picture them not at least sharing the B10 title, but that's a big if. In addition to the MSU road game, I think there's another loss lurking in there somewhere. 15-3 is the most likely finish.
So, best guess at this point is tying with Purdue for the B10 title at 15-3 with Wisconsin one game behind at 14-4.
Who is the best bet to win the title? I have to say Purdue. They have the best win in the conference (at Wisconsin) and their only loss was by 3 at Michigan State. But their edge over Indiana at this point is very slight.
The other contenders are Purdue (10-1), Wisconsin (9-2), and Michigan State (8-2).
Working backwards, I don't think Michigan State has much of a chance. Their remaining schedule is brutal. The still play on the road at Indiana, Purdue, Wisconsin, Ohio State, and Illinois. The fact that they've already lost road games at Iowa and Penn State suggests that they won't win enough of those games to win the B10 title. Pomeroy predicts them to finish 10-6.
Wisconsin still has road games against Indiana, Ohio State, Illinois, and Northwestern, plus the MSU game at home. Finishing with one more loss would require a remarkable run of basketball... two losses is probably more likely. Pomeroy predicts them to finish 14-4. They've got an outside shot at the title, and if they beat Indiana on the road then they become a frontrunner.
Purdue has road games against Indiana, Ohio State, Michigan, and Northwestern, plus a home game against MSU. Given that they just won at Wisconsin, all those games are winnable, but like Wisconsin I think 1 more loss would be extremely impressive and 2 losses is probable. But that still leaves them at 15-3 in the B10 (which is also what Pomeroy predicts).
Indiana only has 3 road games left against Michigan State, Northwestern, and Penn State, by far the easiest road schedule of the contenders. It's the home games that are brutal for Indiana - Wisconsin, Michigan State, and Purdue all in a row next up, then two more home games against Ohio State and Minnesota. If Indiana holds home court it's hard to picture them not at least sharing the B10 title, but that's a big if. In addition to the MSU road game, I think there's another loss lurking in there somewhere. 15-3 is the most likely finish.
So, best guess at this point is tying with Purdue for the B10 title at 15-3 with Wisconsin one game behind at 14-4.
Who is the best bet to win the title? I have to say Purdue. They have the best win in the conference (at Wisconsin) and their only loss was by 3 at Michigan State. But their edge over Indiana at this point is very slight.
Friday, February 08, 2008
I don't hate Kentucky
There was a time, a long time ago, when my intense dislike for Rick Pitino certainly bled over to the Kentucky program in general, but even then I always kinda liked the UK fans. They know their basketball and a fair number of them can manage to enjoy the rivalry with Indiana without letting it destroy their perspective.
I don't hate Purdue. Never have. I always liked Gene Keady. Not only was he a good coach, but he always struck me as being a good guy who was surprisingly funny in the right circumstances. I've made friends with a handful of Purdue fans over the years, though not in the same number as UK fans... Purdue fans tend to be pretty myopic about the rest of college basketball.
I used to hate Michigan. They were the one team in the B10 that I would root against in the NCAA tournament. I can't hate them anymore. They were just so pathetic during Tommy Amaker's tenure that they didn't inspire strong feelings, and I really enjoy John Beilein's style of play. I haven't met a Michigan basketball fan that I've liked yet, but that's probably just because there are so few of them. It's like trying to meet a scuba diver that you like in Wyoming.
I hate Illinois. I am absolutely amazed at the amount of whining Bruce Weber has publicly done about Eric Gordon... and about everything else. I have rarely seen a game where the refs helped a team as much as they helped Illinois last night, and Weber whined about not getting any breaks after the game. All coaches work the refs during the game and express mock outrage at calls and non-calls, but in Weber's case he seems to not be acting. Even before I knew who Gordon was, I had a hard time stomaching the Illinois games because watching Weber on the sidelines made me nauseous. I do think he's a good game coach, though, begrudgingly giving credit where credit is due.
I hate the Illinois players. This is a new thing - I actually really liked Illinois's team the year they made it to the championship game. They were unselfish, played hard, and were fun to watch... and seemed like classy kids. There's nothing classy about this year's squad. They embarrassed their program last night. Everyone knew there were going to play with a lot of emotion last night. Everyone knew that this was going to be a tough, physical game. That's college basketball. It's part of what makes it fun -- I don't think you ever see that kind of emotion in the NBA. But last night went beyond playing hard. I honestly believe that if Eric Gordon had gotten injured during the game from one of the many elbows thrown his way, the Illinois players would have been happy.
And I really hate the Illinois fans. I don't think IU fans are universally wonderful, smart, gracious people who shrug off disappointment and don't hold grudges. If the Eric Gordon situation had been reversed, I am sure I would have been embarrassed by the behavior of a few Indiana fans. But I am morally certain that we would not have degraded ourselves as a group like Illinois has. We'd have decided that if Gordon wanted to go to Illinois more than Indiana then it was his loss (arrogant self-justification, admittedly, but that's what would have happened). When Gordon came to Bloomington, he would have caught grief, but more in the "Hey, this is a great excuse to party" kind of way. The Illinois fanbase needs to look in the mirror... they are hurting their program.
To make a long story short, last night's double overtime victory over Illinois and the officiating crew was as satisfying a victory as I've experienced from watching Indiana for years. They pulled out a win on the road in extremely difficult circumstances against a team that is far better than its record suggests. Frankly, I'm amazed Indiana won.
And happy. Very, very happy.
A sad, classless scene from Champaign
Illini fans angry at Hoosier's Gordon cross line
Illini seethe hatred at Eric Gordon (and family), but IU wins anyway
I don't hate Purdue. Never have. I always liked Gene Keady. Not only was he a good coach, but he always struck me as being a good guy who was surprisingly funny in the right circumstances. I've made friends with a handful of Purdue fans over the years, though not in the same number as UK fans... Purdue fans tend to be pretty myopic about the rest of college basketball.
I used to hate Michigan. They were the one team in the B10 that I would root against in the NCAA tournament. I can't hate them anymore. They were just so pathetic during Tommy Amaker's tenure that they didn't inspire strong feelings, and I really enjoy John Beilein's style of play. I haven't met a Michigan basketball fan that I've liked yet, but that's probably just because there are so few of them. It's like trying to meet a scuba diver that you like in Wyoming.
I hate Illinois. I am absolutely amazed at the amount of whining Bruce Weber has publicly done about Eric Gordon... and about everything else. I have rarely seen a game where the refs helped a team as much as they helped Illinois last night, and Weber whined about not getting any breaks after the game. All coaches work the refs during the game and express mock outrage at calls and non-calls, but in Weber's case he seems to not be acting. Even before I knew who Gordon was, I had a hard time stomaching the Illinois games because watching Weber on the sidelines made me nauseous. I do think he's a good game coach, though, begrudgingly giving credit where credit is due.
I hate the Illinois players. This is a new thing - I actually really liked Illinois's team the year they made it to the championship game. They were unselfish, played hard, and were fun to watch... and seemed like classy kids. There's nothing classy about this year's squad. They embarrassed their program last night. Everyone knew there were going to play with a lot of emotion last night. Everyone knew that this was going to be a tough, physical game. That's college basketball. It's part of what makes it fun -- I don't think you ever see that kind of emotion in the NBA. But last night went beyond playing hard. I honestly believe that if Eric Gordon had gotten injured during the game from one of the many elbows thrown his way, the Illinois players would have been happy.
And I really hate the Illinois fans. I don't think IU fans are universally wonderful, smart, gracious people who shrug off disappointment and don't hold grudges. If the Eric Gordon situation had been reversed, I am sure I would have been embarrassed by the behavior of a few Indiana fans. But I am morally certain that we would not have degraded ourselves as a group like Illinois has. We'd have decided that if Gordon wanted to go to Illinois more than Indiana then it was his loss (arrogant self-justification, admittedly, but that's what would have happened). When Gordon came to Bloomington, he would have caught grief, but more in the "Hey, this is a great excuse to party" kind of way. The Illinois fanbase needs to look in the mirror... they are hurting their program.
To make a long story short, last night's double overtime victory over Illinois and the officiating crew was as satisfying a victory as I've experienced from watching Indiana for years. They pulled out a win on the road in extremely difficult circumstances against a team that is far better than its record suggests. Frankly, I'm amazed Indiana won.
And happy. Very, very happy.
A sad, classless scene from Champaign
Illini fans angry at Hoosier's Gordon cross line
Illini seethe hatred at Eric Gordon (and family), but IU wins anyway
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Bob Knight "Interview" with Jay Bilas
Jay obviously didn't need to do much prompting.
And, as usual, Coach Knight was unable to bring himself to say the word "Indiana". At one point, he had no choice, but said "in the midwest" instead.
Some Bob Knight articles
A Coach Who Frequently Lost It Seemingly Had Nothing Left by John Feinstein (great article, terrible title)
General's Last Stand by Dan Wetzel
Ex-IU Players React to News by Michael Marot
Bob Knight's Gifts as Abundant as his Faults by Eric Crawford
My take? Simple, really. I think Knight's astonishing coaching talent and integrity in running his programs doesn't excuse the fact that he was a pluperfect jerk. And I think the fact that he was a pluperfect jerk doesn't invalidate his astonishing coaching talent and integrity in running his program. Both facts are equally true and valid, neither eclipses the other, and the two can't be separated. The same character traits that made him a great coach also made him a jerk. If someone could have waved a magic wand and softened Knight's edges 35 years ago, I'm convinced he would have been a lesser coach because of it.
I'm glad Bob Knight was Indiana's coach during my formative years, and I have never enjoyed IU basketball more or followed it with more passion than when he was the coach of my team... but in retrospect it was almost a relief when he left. The sideshow that enveloped him had become a distraction from following the team.
I just wish his successor had not brought his own sideshow with him as well.
Good luck, Coach Knight. Enjoy your fishing, you've earned it.
General's Last Stand by Dan Wetzel
Ex-IU Players React to News by Michael Marot
Bob Knight's Gifts as Abundant as his Faults by Eric Crawford
My take? Simple, really. I think Knight's astonishing coaching talent and integrity in running his programs doesn't excuse the fact that he was a pluperfect jerk. And I think the fact that he was a pluperfect jerk doesn't invalidate his astonishing coaching talent and integrity in running his program. Both facts are equally true and valid, neither eclipses the other, and the two can't be separated. The same character traits that made him a great coach also made him a jerk. If someone could have waved a magic wand and softened Knight's edges 35 years ago, I'm convinced he would have been a lesser coach because of it.
I'm glad Bob Knight was Indiana's coach during my formative years, and I have never enjoyed IU basketball more or followed it with more passion than when he was the coach of my team... but in retrospect it was almost a relief when he left. The sideshow that enveloped him had become a distraction from following the team.
I just wish his successor had not brought his own sideshow with him as well.
Good luck, Coach Knight. Enjoy your fishing, you've earned it.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Pictures from our trip to NYC
Here's the whole web album - Click here
Here's a few pictures to whet the appetite.
View from hotel room:
Central Park:
Me on big rock in Central Park:
Ice skaters in Central Park:
FAO Schwartz:
One of the Grace buildings:
Grand Central:
Rockefeller Center:
Bad picture inside St. Patrick's Cathedral:
Intersection of Chinatown and Little Italy:
Here's a few pictures to whet the appetite.
View from hotel room:
Central Park:
Me on big rock in Central Park:
Ice skaters in Central Park:
FAO Schwartz:
One of the Grace buildings:
Grand Central:
Rockefeller Center:
Bad picture inside St. Patrick's Cathedral:
Intersection of Chinatown and Little Italy:
Chocolate custard crepe layer cake
It tastes better than it looks, and it'll look better next time (when I have a crepe pan the right size):
Christmas and Lala on the Kitten Condo
Here's a picture of Christmas and Lala relaxing on top of the kitten condo:
Sunday, January 27, 2008
According to Sagarin's computer...
... Indiana has played 2 games against teams ranked in the top 40, and 17 games against teams ranked below 40. Indiana has won all those games against lower-than-40 teams.
Against the Top 40 teams, Indiana has lost by 15 to #14 Xavier on a neutral court and lost by 5 at home to #28 UConn.
Doesn't bode well for our road game against #9 Wisconsin.
Against the Top 40 teams, Indiana has lost by 15 to #14 Xavier on a neutral court and lost by 5 at home to #28 UConn.
Doesn't bode well for our road game against #9 Wisconsin.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Some thoughts on seventeen-and-one
I'm used to Indiana being ranked higher in the computer rankings than they are in the AP... or even higher than seems reasonable... because we've played such a difficult schedule that our SOS is in the single digits and yet we have several losses. In other words, we've played really good teams - and lost to them. This season is a complete role reversal. I can't remember the last time Indiana had a schedule this poor at this point in the season.
Side comment - I'm not complaining about the schedule. We didn't have control over many of the teams we played and we don't have any control over how good our opponents are in a given season. Who would have thought that we'd play in the ACC-B10 Challenge plus play Kentucky and neither of those games would be against a high quality opponent? We've almost always had games against Western Carolina or Coppin State type teams... it's just that this season we had nothing to balance that out. And obviously we've started the B10 with a very favorable schedule too.
Anyway, the point is that this is new territory for Indiana fans. I'm used to arguing why Indiana is the best 8-loss team in the country. I'm used to arguing why Indiana deserves an NCAA bid in spite of our 18-11 record because those other bubble teams didn't play anyone good.
And now I'm looking at our 17-1 schedule and thinking, "The only upset we've been involved in is the game where WE were upset by Xavier. The other seventeen games are a combination of expected victories and closer-games-than-we-thought victories." It's hard to pull off an upset when you're as good as Indiana is, because those opportunities will be rare, but that's the problem - we're trying to judge ourselves against the other top teams in the country, but we haven't played any of them. According to Pomeroy, the best team we've played is #13 Xavier and we lost by 15. The next best team is #36 Minnesota - a five point win on the road. Minnesota is also our best win according to Sagarin, who has them at #46. Think about that for a second. Our best win this season is against Minnesota... an NCAA bubble team that's really happy about being a bubble team.
It's very easy to picture this team being exactly as good as it is today and performing exactly as well as it has this season and being 13-5 against a really tough schedule. We might've already played at Wisconsin and MSU. Kentucky could have been a Top 5 team. We could've been paired against UNC instead of Georgia Tech in the Challenge. And this same team probably wouldn't be ranked in the Top 25.
17-1 isn't completely meaningless. It tells me that this team is good enough to win even when they have an off night, and that is important. We've got multiple weapons and don't need to be firing on all cylinders to beat someone. Remember thinking in years past that Indiana could beat anyone in the country IF everything went just right? We don't need everything to go just right this season. And that's good, because as everyone expected with this team of newcomers, our performance has been variable throughout the season... but with a clear upward trend. I am so happy with DJ and for DJ right now. He's always seemed like a great kid to me, but it's no secret that I have been less enamored with his play than many other IU fans. Well, I'm officially no longer in that camp - he's completely exceeded my expectations this season. This team is still developing and that will continue until the last game, but so far they've won the games they're supposed to win, and that's gotta count for something.
But all that is over now. Forget the gaudy 17-1 record. In spite of their struggles, UConn is the second best team we've played this season. We'll be a clear underdog at Wisconsin. And then after a home game with Northwestern, it's at Illinois, at Ohio State, and home against Wisconsin, MSU, and Purdue. Dang. Now things get fun. We're not going to win all those games. But it's going to be exciting. I can't wait.
Side comment - I'm not complaining about the schedule. We didn't have control over many of the teams we played and we don't have any control over how good our opponents are in a given season. Who would have thought that we'd play in the ACC-B10 Challenge plus play Kentucky and neither of those games would be against a high quality opponent? We've almost always had games against Western Carolina or Coppin State type teams... it's just that this season we had nothing to balance that out. And obviously we've started the B10 with a very favorable schedule too.
Anyway, the point is that this is new territory for Indiana fans. I'm used to arguing why Indiana is the best 8-loss team in the country. I'm used to arguing why Indiana deserves an NCAA bid in spite of our 18-11 record because those other bubble teams didn't play anyone good.
And now I'm looking at our 17-1 schedule and thinking, "The only upset we've been involved in is the game where WE were upset by Xavier. The other seventeen games are a combination of expected victories and closer-games-than-we-thought victories." It's hard to pull off an upset when you're as good as Indiana is, because those opportunities will be rare, but that's the problem - we're trying to judge ourselves against the other top teams in the country, but we haven't played any of them. According to Pomeroy, the best team we've played is #13 Xavier and we lost by 15. The next best team is #36 Minnesota - a five point win on the road. Minnesota is also our best win according to Sagarin, who has them at #46. Think about that for a second. Our best win this season is against Minnesota... an NCAA bubble team that's really happy about being a bubble team.
It's very easy to picture this team being exactly as good as it is today and performing exactly as well as it has this season and being 13-5 against a really tough schedule. We might've already played at Wisconsin and MSU. Kentucky could have been a Top 5 team. We could've been paired against UNC instead of Georgia Tech in the Challenge. And this same team probably wouldn't be ranked in the Top 25.
17-1 isn't completely meaningless. It tells me that this team is good enough to win even when they have an off night, and that is important. We've got multiple weapons and don't need to be firing on all cylinders to beat someone. Remember thinking in years past that Indiana could beat anyone in the country IF everything went just right? We don't need everything to go just right this season. And that's good, because as everyone expected with this team of newcomers, our performance has been variable throughout the season... but with a clear upward trend. I am so happy with DJ and for DJ right now. He's always seemed like a great kid to me, but it's no secret that I have been less enamored with his play than many other IU fans. Well, I'm officially no longer in that camp - he's completely exceeded my expectations this season. This team is still developing and that will continue until the last game, but so far they've won the games they're supposed to win, and that's gotta count for something.
But all that is over now. Forget the gaudy 17-1 record. In spite of their struggles, UConn is the second best team we've played this season. We'll be a clear underdog at Wisconsin. And then after a home game with Northwestern, it's at Illinois, at Ohio State, and home against Wisconsin, MSU, and Purdue. Dang. Now things get fun. We're not going to win all those games. But it's going to be exciting. I can't wait.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
My first chance to DVR the Hoosiers
I love watching games from the comfort of my home on my DVR. I get to fast forward through commercials and halftime, I am allowed to turn off the announcers, and I get to watch the interesting possessions three or four times before continuing... and all in High Definition! Mmmmm....
So, now that I've seen the Hoosiers against a real opponent, DVR-style, here are some thoughts.
1. This team is loaded with potential... and to date it is largely unrealized potential. This is not too surprising. While I think it's guaranteed that this team will get significantly better over the course of the season, it's still far from certain that they'll realize their potential.
2. Mike White got elbowed in the face and they called a foul on him.
3. Speaking of potential, I think IU started the season with a ranking that matched their potential -- about #8 in the country. That's what I think this team can be. It clearly is not what this team is today.
4. DJ White jumped up to catch a pass and was undercut by a GT player as he was coming down, causing him to bobble the pass out of bounds, and they gave the ball to GT.
5. This is why playing cupcakes at the beginning of the season is a waste of time. Indiana needed to start the season against a couple decent teams to find out what they needed to work on. Beating Longwood gave the Hoosiers no good information about their strengths and weaknesses. Schedule Longwood right before the conference games start, if at all.
6. Gordon is really good, and dang, he's just going to get better.
7. There's been a couple years when I thought the B10 was better than the ACC even though they lost the B10-ACC Challenge... this isn't one of those years.
8. People who complain about officiating annoy the crap out of me.
9. This was a good win, but it wasn't the kind of game that causes visions of Final Fours to dance in your head.
10. Go Wisconsin!
So, now that I've seen the Hoosiers against a real opponent, DVR-style, here are some thoughts.
1. This team is loaded with potential... and to date it is largely unrealized potential. This is not too surprising. While I think it's guaranteed that this team will get significantly better over the course of the season, it's still far from certain that they'll realize their potential.
2. Mike White got elbowed in the face and they called a foul on him.
3. Speaking of potential, I think IU started the season with a ranking that matched their potential -- about #8 in the country. That's what I think this team can be. It clearly is not what this team is today.
4. DJ White jumped up to catch a pass and was undercut by a GT player as he was coming down, causing him to bobble the pass out of bounds, and they gave the ball to GT.
5. This is why playing cupcakes at the beginning of the season is a waste of time. Indiana needed to start the season against a couple decent teams to find out what they needed to work on. Beating Longwood gave the Hoosiers no good information about their strengths and weaknesses. Schedule Longwood right before the conference games start, if at all.
6. Gordon is really good, and dang, he's just going to get better.
7. There's been a couple years when I thought the B10 was better than the ACC even though they lost the B10-ACC Challenge... this isn't one of those years.
8. People who complain about officiating annoy the crap out of me.
9. This was a good win, but it wasn't the kind of game that causes visions of Final Fours to dance in your head.
10. Go Wisconsin!
Saturday, November 17, 2007
How I spent my Friday night
First, I'm now so old that I've been looking forward to Friday night so that I could sleep. I've been incredibly busy with work, and I needed a good night's sleep, so that was my big Friday night plan - take a sleeping pill and then sleep all the way through till morning. Yup, I'm quite the party animal.
Unfortunately, Tyler was having one of his bad going-to-sleep nights where not only did he not want to go to sleep, but he was constantly messing around and keeping us awake as well. Given Tyler's normal eagerness to please, this is a strange aspect of his personality -- sometimes he would rather have us so angry at him that we don't trust ourselves to speak than to just relax and go to sleep. Or just relax and stay awake quietly. I don't get it. Last night he was probably revved up because Morgan was at our house having a sleepover with Carson, and he was having a hard time switching his engine back to idle.
So anyway, now it's 12:30 A.M. I'm still awake, Tyler's still awake, Karen's still awake, we're all exhausted... and then Carson strolls into our room, crawls up onto our bed, pauses for a moment on all fours in between Karen and I, and then vomits all over the sheets, pillows, and blanket. So Karen jumps up and cleans up Carson and I jump up and clean up the bed, we remake the bed, get a bucket, Carson continues to throw up periodically, and eventually I go downstairs to sleep on the couch with the animals.
Hooray. It's the weekend.
Unfortunately, Tyler was having one of his bad going-to-sleep nights where not only did he not want to go to sleep, but he was constantly messing around and keeping us awake as well. Given Tyler's normal eagerness to please, this is a strange aspect of his personality -- sometimes he would rather have us so angry at him that we don't trust ourselves to speak than to just relax and go to sleep. Or just relax and stay awake quietly. I don't get it. Last night he was probably revved up because Morgan was at our house having a sleepover with Carson, and he was having a hard time switching his engine back to idle.
So anyway, now it's 12:30 A.M. I'm still awake, Tyler's still awake, Karen's still awake, we're all exhausted... and then Carson strolls into our room, crawls up onto our bed, pauses for a moment on all fours in between Karen and I, and then vomits all over the sheets, pillows, and blanket. So Karen jumps up and cleans up Carson and I jump up and clean up the bed, we remake the bed, get a bucket, Carson continues to throw up periodically, and eventually I go downstairs to sleep on the couch with the animals.
Hooray. It's the weekend.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Decisions, decisions
We've had Time-Warner cable for years. We're happy with it. We use it for Roadrunner as well. They recently ran a new, bigger line from the street to our house (the size they use for apartment buildings) because we use so much bandwidth. No charge.
Time-Warner doesn't have the Big Ten Network.
Indiana has 17 games on the Big Ten Network this basketball season. In HD. I can't watch any of them. We have two games on CBS regional that I usually can't watch. I can't watch the ESPNU games.
That leaves 9 games that I know I can get (ESPN, ESPN2, and CBS National).
Nine.
This appears to be the best IU team in years. A Top 10 team. And I might miss nearly 3 out of 4 games. That's not okay.
DirectTV has the Big Ten Network.
Decisions, decisions...
Time-Warner doesn't have the Big Ten Network.
Indiana has 17 games on the Big Ten Network this basketball season. In HD. I can't watch any of them. We have two games on CBS regional that I usually can't watch. I can't watch the ESPNU games.
That leaves 9 games that I know I can get (ESPN, ESPN2, and CBS National).
Nine.
This appears to be the best IU team in years. A Top 10 team. And I might miss nearly 3 out of 4 games. That's not okay.
DirectTV has the Big Ten Network.
Decisions, decisions...
Sunday, October 07, 2007
Italy 2
I'm trying to post several pictures plus a message. I somehow lost the first message and can only post four pictures. Give me a call. Uncle Roger is sick and I want to give you a report. Ove, Mommu
Monday, October 01, 2007
London
I went to London for a couple days at the end of last week for a customer visit. My first time in London, but unfortunately the quick turnaround didn't leave much time for sightseeing. Here's a couple of my favorites pictures that I snapped:
Monday, August 20, 2007
On High School Musical 2
So here's my question about High School Musical 2.
Should I be really happy that the kids (especially Carson) are really into a wholesome movie about nice, polite teenagers who like sports and singing and dancing and earning money for college -- and the big villain of the movie is a self-absorbed teenage diva who hasn't yet learned the value of friendship?
Or should I be really annoyed that the movie was on 37 times times over the weekend and now all the songs are now stuck in my head, maybe forever?
It's a dilemma.
Should I be really happy that the kids (especially Carson) are really into a wholesome movie about nice, polite teenagers who like sports and singing and dancing and earning money for college -- and the big villain of the movie is a self-absorbed teenage diva who hasn't yet learned the value of friendship?
Or should I be really annoyed that the movie was on 37 times times over the weekend and now all the songs are now stuck in my head, maybe forever?
It's a dilemma.
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