Indiana basketball - act like you've been there before, because you have.

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Gopher Bandanna Guy

Gopher Bandanna Guy

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So I flip on the BTN late last night, and I'm treated to the back end of IU's senior night, where I catch Jordan Hulls tearing up and blathering on like a Oscar Winner who can't hear the walk-off music. This was sappy and bad enough in its own right, but then I realized this was part of a larger celebration than just the honoring of seniors.

Come to find out, despite losing to OSU that evening, Crean pushed ahead with a title celebration. Yes, they earned a shared title at minimum, but what has happened to IU's decorum and ambassadorship of championship basketball? This is a program with multiple National Championship banners hanging in the rafters, and 20+ Conference championships, not Northwestern.

Pat Forde's Yahoo article summarizes the evening well
 

"This is the epitome of bittersweet," coach Tom Crean said, when his press conference finally got underway at roughly 1:40 a.m. ET.
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Wow....are you kidding me?
 

Crean's post-game handshakes are noticeably quicker when he's on the losing end. He blew by Matta so fast last night it looked like Matta was caught off guard. I get the feeling Crean is a complete dink. Even Bo and Izzo, who have developed quite a rivalry over the years, handle their post-game handshakes with class.

Crean seems to like to pat himself on the back & remind everyone how terrible the program was when he took over (we know Tom, you don't have to tell us over & over).
 

SelectionSunday said:
Crean's post-game handshakes are noticeably quicker when he's on the losing end. He blew by Matta so fast last night it looked like Matta was caught off guard.

I just get the feeling Crean is a complete dink. Even Bo and Izzo, who have developed quite a rivalry over the years, handle their post-game handshakes with class.
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Obviously in a hurry to get to his post game presser.
 

In Minnesota it was getting to be around an hour and a half after the game ended and we were still waiting in the media room for Crean... all the Indiana media guys go, "don't worry, he'll be here - it just might be a loooong, looong time. This is normal."
 


Maybe a simple tossing of a chair would have been more symbolic. When you ask people not from Indiana about basketball regarding Hoosiers. Here is what generally brought up
1. Bob Knight
2. Bob Knight throwing a chair
3. Bob Knight punching a security guard in Puerto Rico
4. Bob Knight choking a player ( Neil Murrary )
5. "Hoosiers"
That's it. Other than Hooierites nobody gives A rats ass about how Indiana celebrates anything .
You shouldn't either.
 

ruppertflywheel said:
Maybe a simple tossing of a chair would have been more symbolic. When you ask people not from Indiana about basketball regarding Hoosiers. Here is what generally brought up
1. Bob Knight
2. Bob Knight throwing a chair
3. Bob Knight punching a security guard in Puerto Rico
4. Bob Knight choking a player ( Neil Murrary )
5. "Hoosiers"
That's it. Other than Hooierites nobody gives A rats ass about how Indiana celebrates anything .
You shouldn't either.
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Neil Reed, who died last year.
 

SelectionSunday said:
Crean's post-game handshakes are noticeably quicker when he's on the losing end. He blew by Matta so fast last night it looked like Matta was caught off guard. I get the feeling Crean is a complete dink. Even Bo and Izzo, who have developed quite a rivalry over the years, handle their post-game handshakes with class.

Crean seems to like to pat himself on the back & remind everyone how terrible the program was when he took over (we know Tom, you don't have to tell us over & over).
Click to expand...

No doubt the handshake last night was awkward at best. Crean barely touched Matta on that one.

He must not be "thinking of Matta all the time."

Go Gophers!!
 




Crean has done that same handshake (more of a slap) whether he wins or loses since day one at Indiana. You know, it's the same one that Jim Harbaugh (Crean's brother-in-law) pulled on Jim Schwartz after 49ers defeated the Lions...then a scrum ensued afterward.
 


I caught myself watching the senior ceremony on BTN after the game for a few minutes and could not help but think with his words of "honoring" the seniors that our man Crean was congratulating himself on what a great job he had done resurrecting the program. Give the players some credit, you idiot. He may be taking Bo's crown as my most despised coach in the B1G. For all the self congratulating he did, his team has been exposed the last couple of weeks. I do not like their chances at Michigan, possibly creating a four way tie for first. Will the banner say "Quad Champs" on it?

Why the heck BTN would put the whole ceremony on live is beyond me as well. How many other senior nights get more than a few seconds view or mention?
 

Jordan Hulls reminds me of "The Sidler" from the Merv Griffin episode of Seinfeld.

the-sidler.jpg dm_121125_Indiana_Ball_State.jpg
 




sweet 16 rings I don't even think the gophers would do that, they may hang a banner though, but we also don't have Indiana's tradition
 


Holy Man said:
Why the heck BTN would put the whole ceremony on live is beyond me as well. How many other senior nights get more than a few seconds view or mention?
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Yeah, I couldn't figure this out either. I realize IU basketball is bigger than life itself (at least relative to many other Big Ten programs), but most fans had even cleared out of the building. If they don't want to watch this Tom Cream self-congratulatory drivel with senior windowdressing, then why would anyone else?

They probably would have gotten more viewers running "The Big Ten's Greatest Games". I'd recommend the January 17th ,2010 Minnesota at IU game, so IU fans can relieve the dignity of a floor rush over an unranked team. Idiots.
 



Weird how much hate this got. They were celebrating their seniors and (I think) at least a share of the B10 title. Crean's a jerk, but we all knew that... Outside of him being how he has always been, what's the big deal? Their players and fans celebrated the senior's and overall team's success this year. Maybe I'm missing something?
 

Breakin' The Plane said:
Jordan Hulls reminds me of "The Sidler" from the Merv Griffin episode of Seinfeld.

<img src="http://www.forums.gopherhole.com/boards/attachment.php?attachmentid=1983"/> <img src="http://www.forums.gopherhole.com/boards/attachment.php?attachmentid=1984"/>
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Hahaha! Nice call! I do enjoy a good Seinfeld reference in any situation. :)
 


JDGopher said:
Weird how much hate this got. They were celebrating their seniors and (I think) at least a share of the B10 title. Crean's a jerk, but we all knew that... Outside of him being how he has always been, what's the big deal? Their players and fans celebrated the senior's and overall team's success this year. Maybe I'm missing something?
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I'm not hating on anything. I guess I just expected more from a program that is 'lordly' (as Pat Forde puts it). Yes, it's been a whole 11 years since their last conference title (oh, the horror). But they didn't win it outright (yet anyways), and the cut down the nets in a largely vacant arena (so don't play up the 'for the fans' aspect), and so there was just a weird vibe. I guess I should know better, given that this Crean-era has floor rushes on the drop of a hat now.

The BTN covering Senior Night was a bit much though. What makes IU's seniors any more special than any other Big Ten team (especially if they end up sharing the title with Seniors on another squad)? The whole thing just reeked of Tom Crean stroking his ego.
 



Gopher Bandanna Guy said:
I'm not hating on anything. I guess I just expected more from a program that is 'lordly' (as Pat Forde puts it). Yes, it's been a whole 11 years since their last conference title (oh, the horror). But they didn't win it outright (yet anyways), and the cut down the nets in a largely vacant arena (so don't play up the 'for the fans' aspect), and so there was just a weird vibe. I guess I should know better, given that this Crean-era has floor rushes on the drop of a hat now.

The BTN covering Senior Night was a bit much though. What makes IU's seniors any more special than any other Big Ten team (especially if they end up sharing the title with Seniors on another squad)? The whole thing just reeked of Tom Crean stroking his ego.
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I'm not saying it wasn't weird. That and the rings from last year's Sweet 16 are plenty weird. But I guess the amount of hate I saw in this thread seemed really over the top to me. Like, yeah, I don't care for Crean either. But in this exact scenario I'd be pretty happy to see my team's seniors get a special recognition considering the progress in just 4 years. Absolutely no denying that it wasn't super weird, particularly after a L, but considering it was their last home game this year, I guess I got over that pretty quick.
 

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