Message to the 2014-2015 Indiana Men's Team

[Creanfan 291]

I know you are young. I get it. I know as being part of the Hoosiers Basketball Team you are popular with the whole campus.

I also know that just a couple years ago, some men just the age you are now, took on the rebuilding of Hoosier basketball. They lost a lot of games, they worked their tails off and still lost. But don't think for one minute that the Hoosier Nation wasn't proud of them. They CHOSE to wear the candy stripes with dignity and fortitude even if it meant losing.

Their time came to them. The work, the sacrifice and the "team" coming first. I don't think there was anybody who is a Hoosier fan that didn't burst with pride on a December night when the "down and out" Hoosiers beat the ##1 Kentucky team in Assembly Hall. That team was ranked #1 several times the next season. Yes, they fell short of a title but the Hoosier Nation was still proud to call them "OUR TEAM Those young men are gone but they left a legacy to you. You are HOOSIER NATION. Don't tear down everything those men rebuilt. It is with PRIDE that you are chosen to wear the candy stripes. Skill is nothing without character to go with it.

[IU Hoosier41 14,465]

Nailed it.  Great post!

[Naturalhoosier 15,353]

Well said.

My message would be "Get your sh** together or I'll put a boot up your ass". But thats the Red Foreman in me. ;)

[Walking Boot of Doom 18,170]

@DocLibby: Boy oh boy! What a day for IU basketball. Good or bad, I'm still a fan! We'll get it together one way or another #iubb

@theindigorock: @DocLibby Please do the mom jedi evil eye mind trick on these young men asap. It did wonders for me at that age. maybe a mom group effort

@DocLibby: @theindigorock I was there this past weekend doing exactly that.

[CampHoosier 3,697]

To the guys who have worked hard and are ready to start the season: we are behind you 100%

[Terrie 37]

I have seen crisis come and go with the IU basketball program.  My husband was much more upset over Knight getting fired than I was.  I was disappointed in him in that he didn’t follow his own advice “If rape is inevitable sit back and enjoy it.”  He reacted rather than play it cool, therefor causing his own demise.  But I will say that for the most part the players respected Knight; they wanted his approval.

Along came Mike Davis, whom so many hated, but I didn’t.  My son was a camper in those days, so I saw a lot of positive with Mike and those young men respected Davis just like they did Knight and they wanted his approval.

During the Sampson years, the ridicule that happened on the Peegs board about some of the players was so bad that I got out of basketball for a while.  I still cannot read that board as I feel a lot of the posters are just vile. 

Then came sanctions and Crean and loosing and more loosing and then hope sprang eternal.  Good kids coming to Indiana excited to play basketball; excited to be part of something big; excited to wear the candy stripes.  There was a relationship with Crean and Hulls, Zoeller and Oladipo and IU basketball was good again. 

And then Hanner got into trouble – ok, it was the first in a long time, and yes he should have had another game out, but technically, he would have missed the cancelled Iowa game, so that is 3.

And then Yogi and Stan pulled their stunt at little five; still not looking for the sky to fall; shoot, one of my employees got her big ticket then too and she survived.  Granted, she isn’t a big name on campus, but she’s a kid who got caught, paid her fines and went to alcohol class as I thought Yogi and Stan did also.  I did find out today that they appealed and didn’t have to go to class; sure hope they still paid the fines.

Then Saturday happened; and the sky was getting closer, but in my mind it was jackassing turned bad and it would all be ok.  The report came out that Devin did jump in front of the car, so that kind of confirmed my thought.  And there was hope for the team and the season.

And then last night came.  Are you freaking kidding me – Stan and Troy suspended!  Multiple drug screenings failed.  Are you kidding me?  Then I’m getting totally hacked.  These kids have some major entitlement issues and absolutely no respect for Coach Crean or Indiana University.  They could care less about his approval.  They are thumbing their nose at us all. 

And worse than all of that, I talked to a Purdue fan friend of me today who I expected to ridicule and harass us die hard Hoosier fans, but he didn’t.  He shook his head in disbelief and just said he was very disappointed.  Didn’t these kids understand the privilege of wearing the candy striped pants?

Well boys, if a Purdue fan understands it, why the hell can’t you!

[Ken1950 28]

Well said!