LamarCheeks

I heard that interview and recall him saying this. It was one of the strangest things I've ever heard a coach say. To this day, I still don't understand what he meant. Was he serious about hiring a PR firm, or was he just spitballing? ... Did he want advertisements and posters saying "Come on out to the games, but be warned: We're not gonna be very good." or "From Big Ten champs to middle of the pack: Meet your 2013-14 Hoosiers." ... You should never want to lower expectations! ... And as you said, the loss of talent was on him. I can't imagine that Vic or Cody leaving were big surprises. And if they were, that's on him, too -- for not being very aware of what's going on in his own program. ... To me, him saying something like that was exactly the reason a change was needed. The lowest bar we should set is to make the NCAAs every year. There are 68 teams, and if we're not in that field 90 percent of the time, there's a problem.

I thought it was about the right time. I started getting worried after we had the best team in the country and got waxed by a totally inferior Syracuse team in the NCAAs -- and all because Crean was terrified of, and had no idea how to attack, that 2-3 zone. Anybody with some decent coaching chops could've taken that team at least to the the Final Four. And then "The Movement" was a total failure and after that, the state's top talent wouldn't even consider us. Still, I was willing to ride it out a little -- especially after we won the B1G regular-season title in 2016. But going from No. 3 in the country to a first-round NIT exit was kinda the last straw -- at least to me. It was proof positive that it was time for a change. We had gone as high as we were gonna go under Crean. And besides, he was making way, way too much money for the kind of performances we were seeing. For as much money as he was making, the NCAAs should've been a given every year -- with an excellent chance to make the Sweet 16 and a decent chance to make the Final Four. One argument I would make for an earlier exit was that we missed out on Brad Stevens. At any point when he's at Butler, I think if we fire Crean and offer him the job, he takes it. And not to sound arrogant, but I think if he were here, he wouldn't leave for the NBA. As far as the move coming too early, I can't see any argument backing that. If we truly wanted Archie, I can almost guarantee you that if we didn't hire him when we did, Ohio State would have.

I wonder: If Calipari actually ever gets caught by the NCAA, would they go ahead and remove him a second time?

Am I the only one who's really interested to the Tyson-Douglas 30-for-30 tonight? For some reason, I remember exactly where I was when I found out the great and mighty Tyson lost. I was in school, just about to leave Nick's after a few cold ones. I think SportsCenter was on in the background, and I asked the barkeep -- sorta tongue in cheek -- who won the Tyson fight. He said: "Not Tyson." I said: "Yeah, right." He said: "No, I'm serious." I said: "C'mon?" He said: "No. The other guy kicked his @$$." I said: "Seriously?" He said: "No joke." These days, as I've learned more about it and look back on it, it's almost kinda disappointing Buster didn't do more. The guy was really talented. But his heart wasn't in it, and he was, for a lack of a better word, lazy. I think if he trained for Holyfield the way he did for Tyson, he'd have kicked Holyfield's @$$, too. But he essentially collected his millions and rode off into the sunset. In a way, I guess you can't blame him. But still, all that potential ... just kinda wasted.

Hoosiers 70 Bulldogs 65 We haven't hit 70 since beating UC Davis. We've got to break out at some point, right? I think this is the time. (BTW, I base this on no factual evidence. It's just a gut feeling -- and If you've seen my gut lately, you'd believe it).

The article says he was in Carmel. A northern Indy suburb. 10-4 -- I must've missed that part ... I know Carmel. When I was in junior high, my high school lost to Carmel for the fooball state title. Plus, I have relatives in Noblesville. ... For some reason, I was thinking Eric had returned to Chicago and was living up there.

The story quoted the Hamilton County coroner, so I assume he was living in Indiana -- just north of Indy? ... After reading a handful of pieces on him, unless I missed it, I never could quite gather where he had been living.

I have relatives that went to Butler and relatives that went to Purdue, and I find the Toiletmaker relatives to be far, far, far more obnoxious than my Butler family members. (Although part of that could be that my Butler relatives are not huge sports fans). Either way, am really hoping we get a commitment from Keion this weekend. Would be awesome. I love dogs -- especially mine. Even though she's originally from North Carolina, she's a huge Hoosiers fan.

I thought this thread was about Keion Brooks Jr.?

I thought this thread was about Keion Brooks Jr.?

Was stunned to see this. Eric played at IU when I was there. Very versatile big man. Could go inside and had a nice touch from the perimeter. Seemed like a pretty good guy, too. So sad -- 48 is way too damn young.

Whew! Nice W.

But they don't, do they? .... That's why you have to be smarter!

Why do you even give the ref a chance to call a foul on a 3-pointer. Do not touch the guy!

When their shooters are open, they don't miss!

Man, Romeo tried to force something that clearly wasn't there. Luckily, he got fouled.

Bummer. Beating- a team three times a season is no easy task, so I thought this might be a tough one. Oh well, gonna put my IU stocking hat on (they call it a toboggan in these parts), take the dog for a walk and enjoy the chilly air and Christmas lights.

I'm finding the band playing during play very annoying. Don't know if it's ours or not, but I wish they'd cut it out.

IU 70 Stripper U. 66

Purdue kid got all ball -- and a little wrist and hand -- on Maryland's final 3-point attempt.

What a horrible final possession by NW. ... I was rooting for OT ... Didn't want the game to end.

Boy, I guess our game was just an undercard to Northwestern-Michigan. ... What a wing-dinger that is!

Hey, look at who's in first place! Or should I say hoo, hoo, hoo, Hoosiers in first place!

PSU looked like us on that final play!