i know that dd is the coach and authority right now, but we ALL know that he is NOT the next head coach. i am really hesitant to endorse and INTERIM head coach making permanent decisions for a basketball program when they KNOW that when the loose the interim portion of the title they are going to lose the whole title.

with that said, it hasn't been so long since i was 20. i made some stupid mistakes. i did some dumb things (send me an email if you would like some entertaining details). i say all this to make the point that while i was in college, i never put my scholarships in jeopardy. i never skipped mandatory study sessions or meetings with profs. while i was young and stupid, i was smart enough to understand that when an authority figure told me to be somewhere and do something (for a grade or a starting position), i did it. i didn't challenge my club volleyball coach just because he was a club coach, i did what i was told to do.

to rehash: i don't like dd making permanent decisions that affect this club's future. i dislike even more giving these kids passes because the are "emotional kids."

seriously. if this is an april fools' joke, it's not a good one. it's too close to being believable.

...what...it's not an april 1 joke...CRAP!

Maybe the real reason they got booted was because they were smokin doobies IN A VAN, DOWN BY THE RIVER!!

watching how this is all playing out I feel like I've taken a butt load of acid and I'm hallucinating myself

My substitute teacher is getting a lot of play on xl950....sweet

lets look on the bright side...we should still have enough talent to win the cbi.

Lol where is this talent we have left to even make the CBI?

" the most effective tool a coach has is the bench, even for star players, donot be afraid to use it"..............John Wooden

I see this as a type of benching that is actually good for the players' development. Whether DD is interim or not is irrelevant.

This time of year coaches are trying to get their kids onto summer programs like DJ 's Pan Am games team or a B-10 team touring Europe. What coach now wants these kids on their team ?

Their only hope is to tell a story that they were reprimanded , paid their dues and will not do this again. If this happens then DD's move was brilliant

having the ability to and actually doing are 2 things. Can since he is coach..yes...should he considering where IU is at right now...no. DD has a bad history of kicking players off and getting them to transfer. He has basically bragged about it. Ppl complained in the last years of RMK about the # of transfers etc that was going on. DD is trying to start worse than that. DD would rather kick a kid off or force them to transfer instead of workign with them. He has only had not even had 2 months as their head coach. These guys are young men and need to be responsible but this is overboard. These havne't been coached that well period since they came. DD wanted to kick 4 players off right after teh tourney loss including these 2. Sounds like he was looking to make an excuse to kick them off.

DD is still the coach until a new one is named. If the kids can't respect him, then why should they be let back onto the team? They have let DD down, themselves down, the team down, as well as the fans. I have lost a lot of respect for those two players. I have a big problem if they are let back on to the team after a new coach is hired.
It seems like everyday I am becoming less of an IU fan. I really like Rick Barnes. Maybe I should be a Texas fan.

Being a teacher and dealing with kids these days, it seems like we need to stop making excuses for these kids. They are responsible young adults and can make decisions on their own. If they were given a warning, no matter who the coach is, then they made their decision. It is time they sleep in the bed they have made. 20 years ago, if this same situation happened, the kids were gone, no questions asked. Now days we give them chance after chance after chance. I want to watch kids play basketball for IU that want to be here, know that the team comes first, the coach is the boss know matter who it is. I don't want to watch kids who put themselves first before the team. I don't want to watch kids who don't show up for team meetings. I don't want to watch someone who has their priorities mixed up. Kelvin was not their dad. It is time to play basketball and get over the loss of their coach.

This just in....Just heard Dan Dakich has raised tuition at IU by 15% and renamed the court "Dan's Den"

Kelin, you have gotten crushed on here repeatedlyfor making moronic comments. I think that you have been LIVING IN A VAN DOWN BY THE RIVER!!!!!

You MIGHT (notice I said might) have been funny once or twice, but I'm going to suggest knocking it off. Hopefully you take the hint.

For the record, that was directed at mama, not you, Kelin.

Big A, I appreciate this blog, as it has been a good read for me out on the west coast. I will keep it stricly professional. Sorry that I'm a realist.

You don't need to "keep it strictly professional." At the same time, people are entitled to give their opinion without being ripped by others.

Have you noticed that -6 by your name???

It has been 40 years since I first graduated from IU. There was no Assembly Hall then and no Bobby Knight. Many of you donot remember Vernon Payne( Michigan CIty ) who took us from last to first in the B-10 . Yes guys I have seen worse days at IU.

Many on ITH indicate you are a lot younger and that is a good thing.Why ? Because you have many years as a loyal fan to witness great highs and lows. This period is of course a low but rest assured we will be back. No need to freak out or stop being a fan

Ok so did I miss something here.....is it OK for Dakich the "interim/substitute" coach to dismiss players from the team?????

Please someone convince me otherwise. I understand Armon and Jamarcus previous issues and have ZERO problems with them being disciplined but in this case the FACT is they have NO REASON to listen to a guy who WILL NOT be there. That is the nature of the beast that I DON'T agree with but ......people it is the HARDCORE truth. Dakich has the same amount of influence on these kids than we do....NONE.

Again how many of you treated the substitute teacher with as much respect as the actual teacher....???

Being a teacher I teach kids to treat everyone with respect and that you don't question authority. When a substitute teacher is in my classroom I EXPECT my kids to treat the sub they same way they treat me.

"I teach kids...that you don't question authority."

I'm glad you don't teach my kids. I think you mean respect, as you pointed out, but certainly one may (and should always) question authority. If we never questioned authority, we'd still be British.

But, questioning authority and outright definance are two entirely different things. The latter is seldom warranted, and probably not in this case. But why DD is trying to but heads with players who should be relieved from basketball responsibilities for a while is beyond me.

I teach first graders. Just in my 7 years teaching I have seen kids question me when I ask them to do something.
Besides, I wouldn't want to teach your kids anyway. lol
jk

What you missed is that Dakich is the boss until the new coach is hired. He is not like the substitute teacher you used to blow of a couple of years ago in high school.

If Dakich had not demanded discipline the basketball babies would have run everyone off the floor including any new coach.

Any new coach worth his salt will be pleased that Dakich has made the players decide whether they want to play for IU or be a petty joke.

Until further notice, Dakich IS the coach and his actions were completely appropriate.

I see you guys point and I think the timing is bad on this. I am torn because of the interim label, the dismissal, and to take such a hard stance at THIS time. I think this could have been handled another way such as a suspension or dismissal peninding the hiring of the new coach. To take this hard stance now is very very odd to me.....

"I understand Armon and Jamarcus previous issues and have ZERO problems with them being disciplined but in this case the FACT is they have NO REASON to listen to a guy who WILL NOT be there."

You just summed up the last 7 games of our season right there. Why should we listen to him, he is not going to be here. That is the best logic I have ever heard. Maybe they should listen to him because right now he IS the head coach of the team. Maybe listen to him because this university gave them the opportunity to play at IU.
Maybe listen to him because this was DJ's last chance at something in college and this team, except him, quit the day Sampson left.

"Dakich has the same amount of influence on these kids than we do....NONE. Again you just made your own argument right there." It is sad that the man that is currently the head coach has no influence over the kids who are getting a great opportunity to play basketball and a free education. Ungrateful, that is the only word to describe them. If Jamarcus Ellis and Armon Bassett think they are bigger than the program then by all means go play somewhere else. I would rather watch Adam Ahlfeld start, and us lose every game, then some kids that have no loyalty to name on the front of their jersey. Millions of kids would die to get the chance to throw on the candy stripes and play in Assembly Hall. But these two feel like they are owed something, newsflash, you got it! Its a free education at a great university, just show up and do what you are supposed to or go somewhere else.

Enough with the substitute teacher reference. The guy was named the interim head coach and the team went 3-4. Those players except for a few quit on him the day Sampson took the money and ran, and it cost our seniors a chance at a successful run into the tournament. I have no respect for Armon or "Tone."

Why are we giving these players and excuse not to listen to authority? Are we seriously going to baby these players?? It doesn't matter that he is not going to be the coach. BUT right now, HE IS THE COACH!! If they can't respect him, who is to say the will listen to the new coach?????

I'm on the fence with this issue. I think both the interim coach and players should have recognized what we as a prorma are going through. It's all about compromise, and I think both parties don't want to geive. Its nothing more than ego trip for me. I hate ego, because usually nothing productive happens when it gets in the way.

I wonder what Kent Harvey thinks of all of this...

I'm just waiting for Assembly Hall to burn down....That has to be next on the list, right?

I thought this was a bad April Fools' joke.

It's not.

All of this just downright disgusts me...and to think one of the main reasons I came here was because of the basketball program. Most of the items that Kelin Blab put in his "worst of IU basketball" poll have happened in my three years so far here at IU.

And to think the "encore" of this ****show has yet to take place with the NCAA this summer...

I love it when Anthony Grant is mentioned for every other job in the country except IU...nice.....

Mike Montgomory clap clap clap clap clap............

Peegs seems like they put him in the top 3 though I can't read the article. His pic is front page there.

He's calling Miller, Grant and Brownell the top 3.

I heard a report down here (from Raleigh, from a huge ACC homer) that Indiana was in talks with Miller about working out the buy out in his contract. I don't know if I should believe it or not, since this same moron reported Calipari was going to be NC State's next head coach.

Thanks for the update. Surprised Brownell is in there sort of...

Bet people will think Grant is the second coming of Davis. Little experience, good pedigree (Davis under Knight, Grant under Donovan), and great recruiter whose base is in the south. Hopefully he coaches better haha...

I hope we get Miller or Grant of those 3 though I'm not sure that those are really the top 3.

I agree with you that they will do that at first. But if I were IU's PR man ( god knows if they can do anything right at this point),
I would ask donovan for a little pub in support of this hiring decision.

I double agree, there is a difference in Mike Davis and A.Grant. At this point Indiana needs some good press. THis entire thing could shift with our current players including EJ and our recruits and including ebanks etc if we had a good hire....SOON. This bad press cannot look good to recruits for this year and next.

If its true I'm driving ro richmond and buying him a beer. You know a good prep course of Indiana basketball. (-:

Should we get him some Upland, so that he knows what he might be headed for? Richmond is, strangely enough, a pretty decent beer town.

We need a deadline now because we night not have any players left by them time a new HC is hired. New Poll: Counting recruits how many will be on the IU basketball team when a new coach is hired: A. 5, B. 3, C. 4, D. 7 (counting our 5 new walk-ons)

Hey guys. You know that neighbor on your block that you pass by and point at and the whole neighborhood talks about. They never have guests and alot of weird stuff goes on. You hardly ever see them out. Well....that's us.

http://www.sportsline.com/collegebasketball/sto...

The head of trustees says that Thursday is not a deadline.

You know I wonder what Matt Roth, Derek Elston, and Tom Pritchard are thinking right now????

man this really sucks....

Or "hey, playing time!"

Next year, your 2008-09 Indiana Hoosiers!
Crawford
Roth
McGee
Taber
Holman

Yikes.

Crawford will be gone as will probably McGee

What makes you say that?

Does anyone else have that "not so fresh feeling?" Kinda like you just got KICKED IN THE BALLS???? WTF???

Maybe we could get Nick Nolte to play the role of head coach?
Maybe we could get a broke-ass Shaq to come play the role of DJ White?
Maybe we could get Matt Nover to come play the role of Lance Stemler? (never mind, Nover could shoot!)
Maybe we could get Penny Hardaway to play the role of Eric Gordon?
Maybe we could get the guy who played Happy...I forget his name, but he played Lt. Col. Mathew Andrew Markinson on "A Few Good Men"...and he could play the part of Greenspan.....

We'd have a one hell of a HORROR FLICK! SOMEBODY STOP THIS $H!T NOW!!! PLEASE! I'M BEGGING!!!!

Who is going to play Bobby Hurley?

If you've seen A FEW GOOD MEN, you know that Lt. Col. Markinson offed himself with a nickle-plated pistol....

ahhh mediocrity. that's effectively where we're at now. by the end of tomorrow, we should be at futility. i can't blame dakich here. if i were him and i wanted to be treated like the official head coach of the hoosiers, i probably would have done the same thing after my players decided to miss 2 important team meetings in a row. the problem in all of this is that dakich probably won't be the head coach and so this situation just adds to the sh*t show that is iu basketball right now ... ncaa violation, defecting players, high expectations, etc ... none of this looks too hot to coaches who are going to be approached about the position. and ultimately, this search could go longer than expected with dakich actually taking the help. or something along those undesirable lines.

Well, at least no coach is going to turn away from IU because of High expectations. When he inherits the team is he has a winning season , he will be praised for ending the bloodletting.

Matt Roth, Derek Elston, and Tom Pritchard are thinking, "wow, looks like I will be the star and get some great playing time."

We need to get this drain over and start the healing. It is getting a little ridiculous.

sorry: "... with dakich actually taking the helm."

I'm woozy and my head aches. What the hell? Maybe Tom Crean wouldn't be so bad after all.

I'm thinking maybe I should reenroll at IU. I still have four year of elgibility and I can show off my sweet J. I'm like a poor mans kevin Mchale.

Well this surely will increase our appeal to other coaches.

Story has been updated, players hope to return

where did you read that?

The Hoosier Scoop has been updated, just click the link on inside the hall's home page, and go to the Hoosier Scoop Homepage

Thanks buddy

Yeah I saw that too. Woo hoo...way to endear yourselves to Indiana fans guys. Classy. Go IU....

How much of a joke do we look like right now?

I do not care who are coach is, because, whoever it is going to be, we will suck. We will not get any recruits with the new coach (because it is not a big named coach), the ones we have can't do anything at the D1 level without the help of other strong players. Losing White, Gordon, possibly Bassett, Ellis, leaves us with shit. This is going to take five years to recover from. Can a program make more of a change (negative) in the last 2 months than IU?

Ok....maybe this will be a poll at some point .....the lowest point in Indiana basketball history????

1. IU NIT game vs. Vandy
2. Mike Davis No Show
3. Bob Knight leaving
4. KS firing.eeerrrr I mean resignation
5. IU after the KS firing

Very tough call here.....

What happened to the first rd boooounce from Cleve State ? Scott May broken arm ?

Lets show the boys how to handle pressure and not freak out

I however have peed my pants

Any Scott may reference was before my time......

When will the good news come???

Dakich lost this friggen team the day Sampson resigned, when he elected not to suspend any of the players for missing that practice for no good reason.

That being said, Bassett and Ellis are showing a lot of immaturity for not honoring a pre-arranged team meeting.

I know it sucks that your coach had to resign, and I know it sucks that you got blasted in the first round to Arkansas. But you are getting a free ride to play basketball, the least you could do is live up to your end of the bargain and show up to the meetings.

Wow. And I've been a Pacers fan my whole life. It is amazing that I continue to even like sports. Let's see if it can get any worse!

what the hell is going on? How can things continually keep getting worse and worse, this is absolutely ridiculous!

H-Ville I hate to scare you, when I thought it couldn't get worse, it did today......and here is reality.....it WILL get worse....

Greeny....I would like to announce the new coach at Indiana University (Mike Montgomory, Lon Kruger, Dan Dakich)

Ok after getting past my pistedom at this entire situation...I really think Dak should not be kicking people off the team.....it makes "my 1 year olds" type of sense. What if Dak said you know what EJ you are gone to we don' t wan't you at IU cause you missed a class???

Then new coach comes and has to deal with that.....

This is ridicoulous and I want a NEW search committe to find an AD. It is obvious that Greeny has DONE nothing right to manage this situtation nor has he imposed his standards on this program and the athletes......

The basketball program is the PRIMARY money maker for the athletic program Greeny and you are about to lose it like KS pissed his away. Get those kids in a room...tell them they are still on scholarship and you might want to mention....that IU does NOT have to sign off on a "TRANSFER" so they might want to make the meetings or walk on at Montana Tech.

As far as Dak something stinks here......are you trying to scare off applicants???? What are you doing??? I read somewhere at Bowling Green kids left and got kicked off left and right. Dak it is NOT your place to start dismissing players....disciplining them yes but dismissing them NO.

Recommend to Greeny that the athletic program hold there scholly's and if they want to leave.....enjoy JUCO, NAIA, or D-3 fellas......and kiss 17K each night good buy and say hello to a gym the size of Hickory High from Hoosiers!

Despite EJ's woes this season.....his PARENTS should be commended and thanked for the type of son they raised. A DAMN good kid and I will support him no matter what decision he makes......

The kids couldn't help they were never actually "coached" nobody progressed on this team under Sampson. Then they get their coach fired and A stranger comes in as the new temporary boss. And a new boss that is known for being an extreme hardass. Greenspawn wen tout of his way to say how clean Mac was. So why didn't he name him Interim HC then if he was so clean. If your mom has been married 3 times and a new step dad comes in and tries to order you around are you gonna listen? I don't think so. Technically he had the right to kick them off. Common sense says he shouldn't. I've lost alot of respect for him and couldn't care less if he gets dumped at the steps

Brian K I agree 100%....Dak is on a power trip just like they said he was at Bowling Green

Kelin, as usual, you are rambling incoherantly. They missed a pre-arranged meeting. So they were issued a warning: once more and you are gone. They missed ANOTHER MEETING!!!! So they were kicked off the team. If your BOSS set's up a meeting with you, and you just don't show up, you are lucky to keep the job! They were given a 2nd chance and screwed that up also. Both players were also suspended during the year. What do you want the guy to do? Use your brain brah!

Does anyone remember what Dakich said after the Arkansas loss? That basically IU needs to clean house, and start over. That started tonight.

Tell me something...did you honestly LIKE this team? If you did, there are serious questions about your basketball IQ

If the substitute teacher tells a student you are going to fail my test tomorrow knowing they won't be there tomorrow you think the kid REALLY studies hard for the subs test????? Brah!

Dakich has NO right to kick kids off the team and again YOU would be singing a different tune if you took out the names bassett and Ellis and replaced them with Eric Gordon.

No one remembers what Dak said after the Arkansas loss because no one cares what Dak says including the players because he is the substitute teacher until an ACTUAL, CERTIFIED, TEACHER shows up with GOOD credentials....(hence 20 players leaving at Bowling Green)

And YES I did like this team, not the coaching style, offense, transition game or defense. IU had Final 4 talent from Day 1, but the mess KS, Greeny, and the admin put them through pissed it away. .....Now as far as my basketball IQ can you really question that using an animal house logo????

it is ok to disagree just bring it when you do.....

maybe i would agree with your point if these kids had been squeaky clean before, but they haven't. let's face it, jamarcus has been a problem ever since he stepped foot on campus. he had problems in high school as which partly attributed to his juco sabbatical.

as for armon, i think he is a good kid. but, even he made some poor decisions this year which also resulted in a suspension.

it's not like this is strike one for armon and jamarcus. i think dakich is totally justified in taking this action. even if he is the "subsitute teacher", he still was head of basketball operations...so i think he has the authority to make this call.

Kelin, whatever!

Dakich had every right to kick those players off the team. Basic parenting skills can be applied here: when you warn a child to not do something or they'll be punished, and they do it... you'd better follow through on your warning! He warned them. They disobeyed. They're off the team! If they want to ruin their promising basketball futures (i.e. Ratliff), then let them be responsible for their actions. Teach them that there are consequences for every decision. I'm so tired of these punk players coming in thinking that they should be catered to and that everyone should bow down to them. They need to learn to respect authority, and apparently these two guys didn't, so who needs them! Let's get some good kids in there that have a good head on their shoulders that are not asking, "What's in it for me?" or "What does this school have to offer for me?" That's not a team attitude, nor a responsible adult attitude, which is what we're supposed to be teaching these kids! And I applaud Dakich for having the balls to do what he should have done, knowing that he was going to be viciously criticized by enablers like you, Kelin. Give me a break!

And yes, EJ's parents can certainly be commended on how well they've raised that fine young man! Now THAT'S a kid with a good head on his shoulders! If I remember correctly, he showed up to that practice that the other "team leaders" decided to "strike." And even though I really wish he'd stay another year to hone his talent, as he was obviously lacking some skills (as all freshmen do), there's no doubt in my mind that he'll go far! Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Gordon!!! I wish we could find more level-headed responsible kids like your son, and stop catering to a bunch of punk kids that can't keep their noses clean!

I'd like to share this Bowling Green blog with my fellow insiders. http://blogcritics.org/archives/2008/02/24/2323...

ruuuuuunnnnn daaaannnn ruuuuunnnnnn!!! **spoken in my best Jen-ny voice!

RUN and HIDE PLEEEEEEEASE!!!

Dakich will not BE the coach but Dakich IS the coach. He has the responsibility to keep the team disciplined and ready to play for IU whether they like it or not.

No matter what his status he runs the team. The players do not run the team. if they don't want to listen to the coach they need to go home. IU doesn't need any player enough to give control of the team to them.

Okay this is getting down right sadistic. I think we are starting to enjoy cutting our own throats!

This is a sh*t show. Get Greenspan out, get DD out, and lets hire a coach. We arent getting any of the final four guys so we should be aggressive and have a coach in place or close to it by the weekend. We need to keep our players and salvage any recruiting we can.

and they told me to dig deeper, and then I cried. I might just have to start a revolution and become dictator to clean this shit up.