A Professional Retort

A Professional Retort

Dear Master Held and Master York:

I appreciate your recent letter pointing out why us “older IU fans” need to move on and stop dwelling on the past. (For the record, I’m 28 years old). Thank you for pointing out that “at least now we have a young team full of potential that plays their heart out every night.” In fact, I didn’t realize that is what one should look for in a college basketball team. And thank you for providing us a glimpse into your young exuberance and your blind optimism for Indiana basketball. Unfortunately, I think you’re missing our point: we would LOVE to have that same passion as you; however, we just can’t muster up the zeal and enthusiasm for Indiana basketball that was once there. The question, then, is why can’t we? Why can’t we muster up your same excitement?

Is it the fact that we are now satisfied with losing to North Carolina by only seven points? Is it the fact that we really aren’t that upset or surprised when we lose to the likes of Northwestern or Ohio State or Minnesota? Is it the fact that IU’s basketball team finished dead last in the Big Ten in GPA in 2004? Is it the fact
that we’ve become Cub-fan-esque with our incessant “wait-‘til-next-year” mantra? Is it the fact that we consistently bank on the fact that we will be better next year “because we have a great recruiting class?” Yes. It is for all of these reasons, and for so many more.

Sure, us old-timers know every year can’t be like 1992. And to be honest, we
don’t want it to be like 1992. We would rather have every year like 1987 (if you read this and have no idea what 1987 represents for Indiana basketball, please find the nearest person over the age of 25 and they will
tell you). However, we are realistic and know not every
year can be like 1987 or 1992.

All we are asking for is that aura to return to Indiana
basketball. Whether it is winning a Big Ten Championship,
beating Northwestern, having a likable team leader (Bracey
Wright has recently been nominated along with Barry
Bonds, Jeremy Shockey and Latrell Sprewell as the most
unlikable athletes in the country), or having a coach who
blames himself or his team instead of using the “I consider
Charlotte a win” and “we’re the 4th seed” crutch over and
over, we want a program we feel we can pull for. A
program that compels you to schedule your Saturday
around an IU basketball game. A program that, when it
loses, leaves a feeling of disgust. A program that has you
analyzing a coach’s decision in a close game, regardless of who that coach is. And as we learned from the flood of e-mails, the feeling you got when Martha-the-Cleaning-Lady sang IU’s fight song down the hallway. Gentlemen…that feeling just isn’t there anymore.

Why not? Is this all Mike Davis’ fault? Although he may play a role, that’s far too easy an answer. As you acknowledge, Bob Knight’s last few years are forgettable at best, and clearly something needed to be done. However, you suggest that “parody in college basketball” should be a reason for accepting mediocrity. I disagree. As Exhibit A, I offer Duke University. Duke, in the old days (just like IU), recruited the top classes and produced on a yearly basis. However, unlike IU, Coach K has continued to adapt to the changing style of play, and more importantly, the changing style of the college basketball player. Whether it is 1987, 1992, or 2005 (where parody reigns), Duke continues to be the embodiment of college basketball—on and off the court. IU has failed to keep pace and that, I believe, is the root of the frustration.

“But Willie C…Mike Davis got us to the NCAA Championship in 2002, right?” I offer Exhibit B, the University of Florida. The mighty Gators. You give Davis credit for getting them to the NCAA finals and use that as proof that Indiana basketball is still a top-notch college program. (By the way, you also state that you,
as the younger generation, “beat Duke, which is something [we]
can’t say.” Actually, we beat them in the Sweet 16 on our way to
the 1987 championship, so I guess that is something we can say,
but I digress). Florida reached the NCAA finals two years
earlier than IU and continues to be competitive every year.
Since the 1999-2000 season, Florida has a 143-and-50
record (74.1% winning percentage), compared to IU’s
116-and-75 (60.1%). Is Florida a college basketball
powerhouse and what IU should strive to be? I say no.
IU used to be at a higher level, and should want to be at
an even higher level still.

And that is my point. It’s not the wins and championships that makes IU basketball the IU basketball we long for (although wins and championships wouldn’t hurt). No, what we long for is that passion we held for the program not that long ago. A time when we would be pissed if the game wasn’t on television. A time when we would be pissed if Senior Day wasn’t shown on WTTV 4 following the last home game (Sadly, it no longer is, damn it. Was there a better 45 minutes than Bob Knight giving a short speech to the crowd as his team stood at one end, then leaving the court before each senior spoke to the sold out crowd?). Now? I really don’t care. Am I looking forward to next year’s Senior Day when Sean Kline speaks to the crowd that booed him this year? Is Sean Kline even looking forward to it? I doubt it. The point? This simply isn’t the way it’s supposed to be. It’s not the addition of Mike Davis that is causing the problem. And you know what? It’s not the loss of Bob Knight, either. It’s that feeling that is impossible to articulate. Unfortunately, maybe that feeling has been gone long enough that only us “Uncle Rico’s” can appreciate it.

But to be honest...that’s your loss, not ours.

Thanks for writing in to Flipside, boys. Enjoy the NIT.

—Willie C
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[click here to see another, less professional, more Flipsidian retort]

The days of Calbert are over.

Maybe IU will one day have a better six-year football record than the Gators.

A Professional Retort

March 9. 2005