College basketball seasons are long and dynamic things. They’re not like college football seasons, which require drilled excellence from the outset and where a midseason loss can kill your chances at winning a truly screwed-up national championship. They’re not like NFL or NBA seasons, where each team is basically what they are starting in training camp. They’re not baseball seasons, either, where the playoffs are such a comparably small sample size that all a fan can hope for is a division title — the rest feels like a crapshoot.

Instead, college basketball teams, the ones that compete in March, have similar blueprints: They roll the balls out in October, look terrible in November and December, coalesce in January, fade slightly in February, and, if they’re really good, peak in March when the games matter most. This blueprint hits close to home; just look at Michigan State this year. Or North Carolina. Or any of the teams still playing basketball next weekend. Or any of the 20 or so teams that lost last weekend that deserved to win. That’s the blueprint you’re supposed to follow.

I wish we could look back at IU’s season, as this TMA intends to, and say they followed the blueprint. A loss to a good Arkansas team under those auspices would have been OK. But we can’t say that. Instead, they didn’t push to the finish, or peak in their late games. They quit. They just quit. And for some reason, I’m not even mad.

What can you be mad about? Not at the players. I’ve said this before, but it’s like mom (IU) and dad (Sampson) divorced in the middle of high school. College basketball players aren’t so removed from their teenage years. How did you think they’d respond? How would you have responded?

You can get angry at the administration for bungling the situation on about 100 different levels, but you can’t really get angry at them for firing Sampson in-season. Fans were calling for his head, and to save their own face and improve the prospects of a top-flight coach coming to IU in the next few weeks, they had to act quickly and decisively. Sampson had to be gone. You can’t blame them for trying to end a bad situation as soon as possible.

If you want to get angry, don’t blame the players, and don’t blame the administration. (At least not for this. Fall break — now that’s an issue to get mad about.) Blame Kelvin Sampson. He ruined everything, not only for himself, but the players he claimed to love, and for the university he devoted himself to. He had the balls to sit in the office of the winningest coach of all time — a coach with his own flaws, but with high standards, too — and merely pay lipservice to the notions many fans hold dear to their hearts. But he didn’t get it. It’s not just talk. It can’t be, not at IU. That Sampson didn’t understand the difference, that he was simultaneously so audacious and dumb as to assume his words were nothing more than a pacifier to his constituent public — well, that’s why he deserves scorn.

He made the season a sad footnote, made Dan Dakich an ineffective interim babysitter, made the players wonder where their father was. That’s where the anger belongs, if you believe it belongs anywhere: at Sampson’s feet.

Me? I’m not mad at all, like I said above. Anything positive that would happened after Sampson’s departure would have been a bonus. What’s the point in being all pissed off about a season that ended eight games ago? All you can do is gear up for the coaching search, throw your support into one corner or another, enjoy the rest of the tournament, and move on. Here’s trusting IU won’t make the same mistake twice. Here’s hoping they get the right guy. And here’s saying goodbye to everything that came before, where we — because this is sports, and not real life — can say without a drop of cynicism that a new day is dawning. And who could be mad about that?

– As for Arkansas, there’s not a whole lot to add. Eric Gordon (more on him below) didn’t suddenly start hitting shots again; IU didn’t suddenly start defending again; Dakich continued to force them to play man-to-man, a style at which they were never adept. It was the same sad story as every other post-Sampson game. IU gave up 86 points — 86! — on 66 possessions, and though their offense was OK, it’s very, very difficult to win when you allow 1.3 points per possession.

Positives? They’re hard to find. Maybe Lance Stemler hitting a couple of shots? Maybe, um … I don’t know. That was probably it, and even that felt kind of bitter. (Stemler waits until now to start shooting. Fantastic.)

– Friday’s loss meant saying goodbye to both Eric Gordon and D.J. White, and I’d assume that most fans have remarkably different opinions of the two players. We all know D.J. White’s story, and we all know that he was really the only player on the team fighting for anything down the stretch, or at least the only player having success doing so. White’s legacy will be one of loyalty and devotion and unfulfilled promises, but he will be canonized in Hoosier lore in very positive ways. In four years of tumult, he was a constant. He deserves credit — and every IU fan’s best wishes for a profitable pro career — for that.

But what about Eric Gordon? What legacy does he leave?

I think it’s safe to say, as the year closes, that Gordon is still vastly overrated in a variety of ways … but not as overrated as the last few games would make him seem. It’d be easy to jump on without remembering that Gordon is a freshman, and that freshmen are prone to injury, wear and tear, streaky shooting, and turnovers. We saw all of that in Gordon. We also saw some remarkable potential that he can fill, potential that might yet make him a slightly bigger version of Ben Gordon. The shame is that we won’t get to see what Gordon might have done with a year under his belt, what his progress as a sophomore might have been, if he could have competed for national awards commensurate to his obvious ability.

His legacy is mixed. It’s a shame — though an entirely justifiable one — that it’s also so short.

– As for the rest of these players, I’ll be the first to say I’m glad Jamarcus Ellis is going to come back, and I’m glad he seems to be saying the right things in regard to dealing with a new coach. Next year is Ellis’ shot — as a Juco guy, he only gets two — and he’d do well to make use of it. Same goes for DeAndre Thomas. Thomas needs to continue to shed pounds and to work on his vertical jump and strength in the post. He could be a valid contributor next year.

Armon Bassett was perhaps this season’s most pleasant individual surprise. He unveiled a truly consistent outside jumper, showed lots of defensive progress, and developed as a “true” point guard. Here’s hoping the new coach does enough to win him over before Bassett is swooned by a big program in need of a dead-eye shooter.

Lance Stemler was Lance Stemler. Lance was always asked to do things he had never done before in his life, so I will always appreciate his willingness to do so to find a spot at a higher level. If only he had been the shooter we were all promised; turns out, he was a volume guy, and there was no reason to give Stemler volume, like, ever.

Jordan Crawford was also a pleasant surprise this season. Crawford is a much more typical freshman than Gordon or Derrick Rose or any of the other super-frosh heading to college these days, but a few years ago, when the rest of those players would have gone pro, Crawford’s game would have been even more highly touted. All told, he’s a good shooter, a creative offensive player, a decent, if turnover-prone, passer, and a really bad defender. In other words, he’s a freshman. It’d be great to see him blossom over four years, but you couldn’t blame Crawford if he found somewhere else that recruited him a year ago. He has a bright future ahead.

Farewell, Mike White. We hardly knew ye.

Kyle Taber found a home this year. So long as he never, ever shoots the ball outside four feet — something Taber understands well, which is refreshing — I’ll be glad to have him back.

Eli Holman says he’ll be back. Please, Eli — harness that athleticism. Please.

And everyone else: It was a season. It was OK at points. Bad at a lot of others. But like I said above, a new day is dawning. Let’s try to have some fun with it.

Editor’s Note: You can read more of PostmanE’s take on college basketball at the Dagger on Yahoo! Sports.

• Loss puts stamp on roller coaster season (Indiana Daily Student)
• Hoosiers’ season of drama ends with a whimper (Indianapolis Star)
• IU’s season is over; now the work begins (Indianapolis Star)
• Put a fork in these Hoosiers — They’re done (Hoosiers Insider)
• Call it a season: Hoosiers KO’d (Ft. Wayne Journal Gazette)
• Gordon stays mum on future (Ft. Wayne Journal Gazette)
• Another one and done (Evansville Courier and Press)
• Weems, Arkansas oust Indiana 86-72 (Associated Press)
• IU’s woes might be just beginning (CBS Sportsline)
• Indiana’s decade of disaster rolls on (Sporting News)
• Gordon should go pro (Bedford Times-Mail)
• Red-hot Weems leads Hogs past Indiana (NW Arkansas Times)
• Weems’ career night leads Hogs (Arkansas Morning News)
• Weems scores 31 as Arkansas extends NCAA stay (Arkansas Sports 360)

Site news: Registration now required to post comments. Click here for details.

The Hoosiers (25-8) started the season 17-1, but went just 3-4 in their final seven games including three straight losses.

D.J. White scored 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds in his final game for Indiana and Armon Bassett added 21 points and seven assists. The duo, however, got little help from their teammates.

Eric Gordon continued his late season slide with just eight points on 3 of 15 shooting. The freshman hit just 2 of 6 free throws, committed four turnovers and was visibly frustrated throughout.

“Eric has struggled a little bit with his shot and they did a good job staying square with him,” Indiana interim coach Dan Dakich said. “He’s a kid who put Indiana back relevant. He had a great year.”

Indiana led 19-18 with 10:14 remaining in the first half, but the Razorbacks (23-11) closed the first half on a 19-11 run and led 37-30 at intermission.

The Hoosiers rallied in the second half and pulled to within two at 49-47 on a Lance Stemler three-pointer with 12:31 remaining. Arkansas responded with a 12-3 run and Indiana never got closer than six the rest of the way.

“We missed a few shots and let them get a few loose balls,” Stemler said. “It just seemed like we were so close and just couldn’t get over the hump.”

Sonny Weems scored a career-high 31 points for Arkansas, which shot 54 percent from the field and hit 26 of 33 free throws.

The NCAA Tournament win was the first for the school since 1999 when they defeated Siena. Darian Townes added 17 points and 12 rebounds for the winners.

The loss was the first in the NCAA first round since 2001 for IU and dropped Dan Dakich to 3-4 as the interim head coach.

Related:

• Box score

(Photo credit: Associated Press)

Date: Friday, March 21, 2008 | 9:40 EST

Arena: RBC Center (19, 722) – Raleigh, North Carolina

Line: Indiana by 2

All-time Series: Indiana leads 1-0

TV: CBS (Jim Nantz and Billy Packer)

Radio: IU Radio Network (Don Fischer, Todd Leary and Joe Smith)

Probable Starters:

• Arkansas (22-11): Gary Ervin, Patrick Beverly, Sonny Weems, Vincent Hunter, Darian Townes
• Indiana (25-7): Armon Bassett, Eric Gordon, Jamarcus Ellis, Lance Stemler, D.J. White

Game Notes (Adobe Reader required to view):

• Arkansas
• Indiana

Gameday Reading:

• Now or never for the Hoosiers (Indiana Daily Student)
• Who is Arkansas? (Indiana Daily Student)
• Hoosiers begin NCAA Tournament facing questions (Indiana Daily Student)
• Gordon’s IU legacy? It’s mixed (Indianapolis Star)
• Something to focus on amid IU’s instability (New York Times)
• Hoosiers begin anew (Chicago Sun Times)
• IU ready to begin rewrite of season (Ft. Wayne Journal Gazette)
• Hoosiers ready to erase memory of loss (Ft. Wayne Journal Gazette)
• Tapes show tall order for IU (Ft. Wayne News Sentinel)
• Hoosiers hang on to title dream (Evansville Courier Press)
• Stemler unbowed by adversity (St. Louis Post Dispatch)
• Q & A with Hawg Blog (The Hoosier Report)
• Gordon leads the Hoosiers, but may leave (Chicago Tribune)
• Indiana shows it can play in transition (Newsday)
• Indiana looks to salvage season (Associated Press)
• Weems’ injured knee healed enough (Northwest Arkansas Times)

As always, your predictions and analysis are welcome in the game thread.

Site news: Registration now required to post comments. Click here for details.

I don’t think it takes any sort of expert in the field of season definition to tell us the overriding adjective to describe IU’s 2007-2008 season. If Big A were to put up a poll over on the right sidebar there, I have a feeling “disappointing” would win going away. This has been a disappointing season. We know this.

But this is not a post to lament the troubles of Kelvin Sampson, Eric Gordon’s recent struggles or Dan Dakich’s inability to get this team to play anywhere near the level Sampson had them at before he took his final bow. Oh no, this is a post to rally us all in one nation under Indiana hoops. So in an effort to convince myself we can actually win tonight — on the whole I’m not an overly positive person when it comes to this stuff so this is really a stretch — here are some quick, not-thought out-at-all positives. Because let’s be positively positive tonight, OK?

Eric Gordon. Yes, I know what you might be saying right now: “How can I possibly be relying on advancing to the second round of the tournament by way of Eric Gordon? The turnover machine? The guy that hasn’t hit a three since like, January?”

Let’s spin it this way, kids: isn’t he due for a big game? A game in which he’s raining threes from half court? In which he’s drawing defenses to him when driving — driving under control, might I add — to the hoop, handing off easy dishes to the rest of the squad. I’d say he’s been due for a few game to show us what he’s really made of. So why not tonight? (Just picture it in your mind for a second. Doesn’t it feel good?)

We have shooters. Armon Bassett, Eric Gordon, Jordan Crawford. If these three are raining from the outside early and often, we know that bodes well for tournament success. Sure, it’s been a while since we’ve seemed white hot from the outside, but again, we’re due right?

The emergence of Big D. Sure, DeAndre Thomas might be ridiculously foul prone, but if he plays with the same wherewithal he displayed in the Minnesota game and we get solid play out of Kyle Taber, we might be able to neutralize the Razorback’s size up front.

D.J. White. No expansion necessary here. And who isn’t pumped for Hansbrough-D.J. matchup?

Commenter Jamie says they looked relaxed at practice. Hey, I’ll take it.

So, there we have it. Feeling better about tonight out there? We must be right? Right? Sigh. I don’t know if this did the trick. Your additional positive reinforcement to make me feel better about the game, as always, are welcomed in the comments.

Indiana, we’re all for you.

Establish D.J. White: With IU’s recent struggles from the perimeter, it’s essential to establish White in order to free up some open looks for Armon Bassett, Eric Gordon and Jordan Crawford. Bassett and Gordon are shooting a combined 18.3 percent from three-point range on their last 53 attempts. As Terry Hutchens pointed out in today’s Indianapolis Star, White took just three shots in the first 12 minutes against Minnesota and in the Penn State game, he took just two shots in the first ten minutes. That’s not acceptable for a player shooting over 60 percent from the field.

Big game for Gordon: It’s been a while since the freshman had a solid shooting night. In fact, the last time he shot better than 50 percent from the field was on February 16 against Michigan State. In other words, he’s more than overdue for a hot shooting night. Gordon knows this is likely his only chance to make a run in the NCAA Tournament. It’ll be important to get him a couple of open looks early to establish his confidence. If the Hoosiers can get him going, the combination of White and Gordon is as good as any in the country.

Hold them below 75: Arkansas likes to play at a faster tempo than the Hoosiers have experienced in the Big Ten. When the Razorbacks score 75 points or more, they’re 15-0. It is important to note that Indiana is a higher scoring team than Arkansas. Indiana is averaging 75.1 points per game and Arkansas is scoring 73.6 ppg.

Production from the four spot: Paging Lance Stemler, Kyle Taber and DeAndre Thomas. Thomas played well in the Big Ten Tournament against Minnesota, but he committed five fouls (all in the second half) and left the game with 7:43 remaining. Stemler’s offense has been non-existent for most of the season. And Taber has been solid in spot duty. In other words, there’s not a clear cut option. IU doesn’t need any of the three to score much, but they do need someone to help White fend off Arkansas in the paint. The Razorbacks have four players 6-10 or taller.

Play for Indiana, not Kelvin Sampson: Anyone who’s watched this team since Sampson left the sidelines knows that something has been missing. Sometimes, it just looks like this group is going through the motions. But if we’re to believe White’s comments at Thursday’s press conference, the Hoosiers are approaching this opportunity as a new beginning. With that said, it’s time to forget the past and move forward. This team is talented enough to make some noise, but they’ll need to be on the same page as their coach if they hope to do damage.

Site news: Registration now required to post comments. Click here for details.