It’s been a long season for Tom Crean. Maybe that explains the raspy voice that no amount of Starbucks tea can remedy. I mean, really, it’s hurting me just listening to him. Raspiness aside, here’s the audio from his appearance this afternoon on the Dan Patrick Show:
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Before you watch this lovely piece of footage I edited for your viewing pleasure, I’d like to say a little something about Bloomington South sophomore Darwin Davis Jr. At first glance, he doesn’t scream ‘high major prospect.’ Calling him 5-9 might be a bit generous. But for what this kid lacks in stature, he makes up with how he understands the game of basketball. Jordan Hulls isn’t the only reason is South is undefeated, ranked No. 1 in state and recognized as one of the top ten teams nationally. Davis Jr. is a big piece of the puzzle for JR Holmes. He may not end up a Hoosier, but he’s going to be a steal for the school that lands him. Enjoy:
Our always-interesting friends at the Palestra passed along this footage of a joyous crowd after last night’s win, promptly followed by Tom Crean’s decision to tackle IU band director Dave Woodley. Dave, Tom’s right. You are a lightweight. NOW GET UP AND START CONDUCTING!
The Indiana Hoosiers have not been an easy team to root for this season. In their 11-game losing streak and Big Ten winlessness, they’ve struggled to inspire much of anything in the way of interest, or intrigue, or emotion, really. (With the exception of the Michigan game, that is. That sucked.)
By far the most satisfying part of the season has been watching Tom Crean, watching him both on and off the court. Watching him handle his business, watch him coach every game like IU has a Final Four shot, watch him prod players along without showing even the slightest hint of frustration, watch him work a Chicago crowd into a veritable frenzy. All the while, his former team, Marquette, has been running roughshod over the best conference in college basketball; they might get a No. 1 NCAA Tourney seed. Until last night, it was a question as to whether or not IU would win a single game the rest of the season.
Ah, but win they did. Ryan predicted it (he downplays his predictive abilities, but the man has a gift), as did Devan Dumes and Tijan Jobe (whose new nickname should be “prophet.”) It felt like it was time, didn’t it? An awful Iowa team playing Indiana at home. Indiana seeming to, in its last few games, pull things together a bit more. Last night was the night.
It’s not about us, really, but I’m curious: After the game, how did you feel? Excited? Relieved? Anything? I’ll be honest and say that I wasn’t overjoyed or thrilled or cathartically relieved like I assumed. I thought I would be jumping up and down, or something. Instead, I was just kind of pleased — glad to know the Hoosiers won’t go the entire season without a Big Ten win, that Crean’s and his players’ hard work was rewarded, at least for one night. Not overjoyed. Just happy. That’s good enough.
Of course, though the result was the same, there was plenty about the game that had 2008-09 Hoosiers written all over it. Let’s take a look:
The 11-game losing streak is over.
In a game that looked eerily similar to earlier contests the Hoosiers haven’t been able to close out down the stretch, Tom Crean’s club reversed the trend and fended off Iowa 68-60 in front of 14,247 fans in Assembly Hall. The win was the first since December 10 for the Hoosiers.
“It was a great win for us,” Indiana coach Tom Crean said. “As I said to the players late in the game and I said in the locker room, this will be the toughest win that they ever get. And it wasn’t just because it was game night, it was because we haven’t won in a while and I’m really proud of them.”
Indiana (6-15, 1-8 Big Ten) led by 13 at halftime and enjoyed a 20-point lead with 11:58 remaining. The Hoosiers, however, saw the gap close to 63-60 with 44 seconds remaining on a Jeff Peterson layup.
Crean then called for a timeout and Iowa fouled Verdell Jones, who hit 1 of 2 free throws to make it 64-60. IU forced turnovers on Iowa’s final two possessions on steals by Devan Dumes and Nick Williams. A layup by Malik Story and a pair of free throws by Dumes sealed the victory.
THE GOOD:
– Jeremiah Rivers’ plaid shirt.
– Devan Dumes. He was 8-of-9 for the night, including 5-of-5 from 3-point land. He scored 27 points. You can’t ask for a better night than that.
- Kyle Taber looking crafty around the rim on two consecutive possession in the second half with around five minutes to go. I repeat: Kyle Taber looking crafty around the rim on two consecutive possessions with about five minutes to go.
– Only 11 turnovers this evening.
– Closing out a game. Finally. That has been perhaps the most infuriating aspect of this season to date. It wasn’t pretty, but those final two steals helped, as Chubs would say, “ease the tension.”
– WE WON!!!!
THE BAD AND UGLY:
– Free Throws. Horrible. Again. Tom. Pritchard. Dis. A. Ppeared. But. I. Don’t. Care. We. Won. YES.
