LamarCheeks

So, here's an odd story that has nothing to do with anything, but I thought I'd post here. My dog (she's a big IU fan -- pictured below) and I were on our usual daily walk at our favorite park when an unleashed dog ran up to us. He was friendly, and after exchanging a couple sniffs with my dog, kept following us as we made our way along the trail. Later on, I could see and barely hear (I had my iPod on) someone across the small lake calling him. He wouldn't go, and instead kept following me and my dog (I think he was attracted to her!). Anyway, he stuck by us and wouldn't go back to his owner. So I finally turned around and started back around the lake toward his owners. Luckily, he followed and pretty soon, ran up to his humans and got his leash back on. His name? Romeo!

Looking back to our last NCAA title, the late, great Darryl Thomas was a McD's All-American, but for some reason, Steve Alford was not. Hard to imagine -- he averaged nearly 38 points a game his senior season at New Castle. ... I have no idea what star ranking they had -- or if those even existed back then (would've been 1983). ... BTW, Freddie Banks was a McD's AA, too. Remember him? Just when it looked as if we had Vegas put away in the 1987 national semis, Freddie started hitting crazy 3's. Made us really sweat that one out. FWIW, here's a link to that team. Can you imagine Marshall or Austin Peay getting a burger boy today? Wow. https://basketball.realgm.com/highschool/mcdonalds/rosters/1983

I'm gonna guess No. 2 ... He wore No. 1 at New Albany (which is taken by Durham) and No. 22 during his AAU days (which is taken by Moore). ... So he can grab No. 2. And by doing so, what better way to pay homage to Josh Newkirk? LOL!

May 30 is the deadline. But hopefully we don't have to wait that long to find out what Juwan is doing. Last year, the deadline was May 24 and we learned on or around May 16 that RoJo was coming back.

IU basketball put out this tweet just a while ago. Hard to tell from a photo, but DeRon still looks in relatively decent shape to me -- at least it doesn't look as if he's put on a bunch of weight since his injury. I'm sure he's got a long, long way to go before he's healed and in basketball shape, but still ...

I'm gonna share a little advice from Aaron Rodgers for all those getting all huffy about what's being said on other fan boards or what people are writing about Romeo and/or IU or his dad: R-E-L-A-X. (And as a Bears fan for 40-plus years, it pains me to quote Aaron Rodgers). Go back and read what was said here about Darius Garland after he picked Vanderbilt. Or read all the mud slinging at Bryce Drew and Bill Self. It's all gonna be OK. Don't worry about what they're writing on other fan boards -- why even go there anyway?. What did you expect them to write? Just enjoy the moment. Let it go. We just got the No. 5 player overall in the country -- and No. 1 at his position. And just a few months ago, we weren't even on his radar. Kudos to Archie and his staff for a remarkable effort. I'm pretty damn excited about next season.

A video of the fellas doing some hot yoga -- 102 degrees. Not sure when it was shot, but Juwan is included ...

And that was after he committed, then de-committed. ... I was sure once he bailed, he wouldn't be back.

Considering what hopefully will happen tonight, here's a somewhat appropriate tribute to Archie, Romeo and IU hoops. It's a blast from the past (1982). Romeo Void's "Never Say Never." ... OK, the lyrics might not exactly make sense to this situation, but look at it this way: Months ago, hardly anybody thought Langford would end up at IU, but Archie said, "Never say never." ... And the band's title is more than fitting because Romeo not only fills a void on IU's roster, but hopefully going forward, will help us fill the void of the past few years of missing out on the state's top talent ...

I fully expect Romeo to deliver his decision thustly: "Roses are red. Violets are blue. "It ain't Kansas or Vandy. Baby, it's IU." or "Roses are red. Potatoes are starchy. "Don't wanna play for Bill or Bryce. It's all about Archie." or "Roses are red. Bozo's a clown. "Who wants Lawrence or Nashville? I'm goin' to B-Town." or "Roses are red. I ain't got no gripes. "My wardrobe of choice? Those sweet Candy Stripes." Drops mic.

And what did Dorothy keep saying? "There's no place like home. There's no place like home. There's no place like home." ... Which is exactly what Romeo will say Monday night when he decides to stay in the Hoosier State. ... I'm sure of it. I think. Sorta. Maybe.

With the uncertainty about Andrew Luck, I bet the Colts take Lagow with this pick!

I think these might be Indiana guys doing the interview, so it's very IU-centric -- as it should be! LOL! At about 1:50 is when he starts talking about recruiting; the rest is about his AAU team, etc. Anyway, for what it's worth ...

I didn't get to watch any of the games (since I'm already paying an arm and a leg for cable, which includes BTN, I have no inclination to pay for BTN-plus), but from what I've read here, this sure sounds like a really, really disappointing series. Seems like we should've swept. ... I'd almost rather lose by 8-9 runs than blow games we should win.

Ask the Toiletmakers who gave them their worst loss at Mackey? And when, exactly, that happened?

RIP, Earle Bruce. During my sophomore year, we went to Columbus -- a place we hadn't won in years -- to play No. 9 Ohio State. Not only did we win, we beat the snot out of them, 31-10. At one point, we were pinned deep in our own territory and in the ultimate eff you, QB Dave Schnell (RIP) implored the OSU crowd to make more noise! Afterward, Earle called it the "darkest day in Ohio State football." ... After the season, Earle was fired, but his comments spawned the rallying cry for the next season's game in B-Town, "Darkest Day in Ohio State football, II." And it was. We gave them a whoopin' -- 41-7. And it wasn't that close. ... Unfortunately, we haven't beat them since. But those Anthony Thompson-Dave Schnell years were the best IU has ever had. Hope we can return to something like that, because it sure makes for a more interesting fall when you have a football team that actually can win seven or eight games a year.

I think it will help show that we're a player again for the state's top talent, and that going to IU is "cool" again -- if that makes sense. After Cody and Yogi, and later, Blackmon, the state's best players talent didn't seem to have any interest in B-Town. Crean suffered a huge disconnect, apparently, with the state's top high school coaches and players. ... To me, it would be a huge first step in showing that Archie's "inside-out" philosophy is going in the right direction.

D.J. White had quite a nose for the ball, too. He was an absolute beast his senior season.

I've seen at least three times where a Pacer had a clear path to the bucket and inexplicably, stopped and passed back out -- throwing the ball away. Once it was Vic. Geez, be selfish! Finish the drive!

Then that would be something to consider ... I know how high schools athletic departments can be with money ... My dad was an athletic director at a small Indiana high school for 25 years or so. He was tight-fisted to begin with, but I could see him having a conniption about such an expense. I remember him being upset because an opposing team won a volleyball match at his school. It was the opposing coach's 300th win -- or something like that -- so they wanted the game ball. "Geez, that's $30 right there," my dad exclaimed. LOL!

I really was hoping that if he indeed were picking B-Town, he'd make his announcement today. It's IU day after all. Could there have been a more perfect opportunity? Oh well, as long as he's wearing the candy stripes next season, I'm not that concerned with the date ...

My dumb question of the day: How much would it cost to add a shot clock? Maybe not much, I don't know. But in this day and age, I cannot imagine high school athletic departments -- especially at small schools -- are teeming with money.

So, in summary -- we're not supposed to criticize the people you like, but we can criticize those you don't. As for his sources, he probably needs to be more careful about reporting what they tell him. Hell, I could tell him Romeo will announce on April 30 that he's attending Wabash College. Then he could say "a source" told him those are Langford's plans. I'm not necessarily a fan of ESPN or Tim Kurkjian, but he said something once that made a lot of sense. After "a source" told him something that he reported and turned out to be wrong, he said his policy going forward was that if a source wanted anonymity, he would grant it. But if they were wrong, he would reveal them as the bearer of the misinformation.

Interesting about the grad transfers. ... It's true that some players who finish their degrees and have a year of eligibility remaining leave for greener pastures (Trey Porter, Ryan Taylor, etc.) or because they want to play in the NCAAs and figure their current team has no shot. But what about guys like Max Bielfelt, who were told by their coach (Beilien) that they won't have a scholarship for a fifth season? Or Matt Roth, who could've played somewhere a his fifth season had he wanted. Should a school be "punished" for taking them in when they were essentially booted from their old programs?

I still can't figure out what was going on at the presser after Glass fired Crean. It sure seemed like he was calling for Alford to come back to IU. There weren't that many fellows who filled all his check-plus-plus or double-check-plus (or whatever the hell it was) criteria, except for Alford. I wouldn't be surprised at all if he went into the search with Alford at the top of his list, then got a bunch of backlash from fans, alumni, etc., not interested in bringing him back for myriad reasons -- including his handling of the Pierre Pierce incident and the simple fact that he hasn't proven himself to be an elite coach.