by The GM on November 5 at 2:00PM
Last night marked the first game of the second year into Tom Crean's rebuilding of Indiana University basketball. Even though the game was an exhibition against Grace, the Hoosiers showed plenty of firepower and enthusiasm. Two things that have been missing for quite some time.
Crean has done an amazing job of bringing the passion and pride back to Bloomington with his non-stop promotion of Indiana basketball. One man can't do it alone though, so in order to get the program back on track, he recruited talented players that are smart enough to understand what Indiana basketball has meant in the past. By instilling the fire into the players and selling them on building something that everyone can be proud of, the Hoosiers are looking to rebound from last year's poor record.
I haven't really had a reason to care about Indiana basketball since Bob Knight left town. Yes, Mike Davis took the Hoosiers to the championship game, but it just didn't feel exciting to me. The most exciting game (to me) was when the Hoosiers beat Duke in that tourney thriller. I didn't care about Bracey Wright when he came to town, I didn't care about Kelvin Sampson, and I didn't care about Eric Gordon. I really didn't care about all the JUCO kids coming in and I didn't care that they all transferred back out.
Plain and simple, Tom Crean was what the Hoosiers and their fans needed. He has coached NBA talent, he has the passion for the game that you didn't see Mike Davis or Kelvin Sampson display (heck even Bobby Knight didn't show much enthusiasm on the sidelines), and he has the work ethic to get his vision onto the court for everyone else to see.
Last night's game didn't matter much in the grand scheme of things, but the improvement was there. The pride was there. That was Indiana basketball.
Crean has done an amazing job of bringing the passion and pride back to Bloomington with his non-stop promotion of Indiana basketball. One man can't do it alone though, so in order to get the program back on track, he recruited talented players that are smart enough to understand what Indiana basketball has meant in the past. By instilling the fire into the players and selling them on building something that everyone can be proud of, the Hoosiers are looking to rebound from last year's poor record.
I haven't really had a reason to care about Indiana basketball since Bob Knight left town. Yes, Mike Davis took the Hoosiers to the championship game, but it just didn't feel exciting to me. The most exciting game (to me) was when the Hoosiers beat Duke in that tourney thriller. I didn't care about Bracey Wright when he came to town, I didn't care about Kelvin Sampson, and I didn't care about Eric Gordon. I really didn't care about all the JUCO kids coming in and I didn't care that they all transferred back out.
Plain and simple, Tom Crean was what the Hoosiers and their fans needed. He has coached NBA talent, he has the passion for the game that you didn't see Mike Davis or Kelvin Sampson display (heck even Bobby Knight didn't show much enthusiasm on the sidelines), and he has the work ethic to get his vision onto the court for everyone else to see.
Last night's game didn't matter much in the grand scheme of things, but the improvement was there. The pride was there. That was Indiana basketball.
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