Indiana showed off the basketball teams over the weekend with the annual Hoosier Hysteria celebration. This year there were plenty of fireworks — like Victor Oladipo singing U Got It Bad and the involvement of Bill Raftery, Gus Johnson, DJ Steve Porter, Eric Gordon and DJ White.
The festivities seem to be a big hit, most notably with the students and recruits. But some IU faithful didn’t like the big show, including a former player.
AJ Guyton played at Indiana from 1996-2000 and was named Big Ten Co-MVP and first team All-American during his senior campaign. He averaged 19.7 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game during that year. Following the season, he was drafted 32nd in the 2000 NBA Draft by the Chicago Bulls.
He has become very active on social media, both twitter and facebook. “Crean has weathered the Sampson storm, but now it’s time for results,” Guyton tweeted Tuesday. I like what he posts because it’s all is based on his experiences and faith in the program. He also understands how passionate the Hoosier fan base is.
After watching the Big Ten Network’s Hoop Hysteria special, Guyton took to his facebook page to share his opinion about Hoosier Hysteria and also hear the perspective of fans who attended.
Hoosiers fans, I want to confess. I watched a little bit of Hoosier hysteria and a little disappointment crept over me. Indiana is known for many things like championships, conference championships, big ten MVPS,. all americans, NBA players, best fan base in the conference etc…but one thing we were known for is winning consistently. Now, i don’t want to seem like a “party pooper” or a guy who doesn’t like people to enjoy themselves, but in my opinion if there is one team in the Big Ten who does not deserve any type of celebration right now its the Hoosiers. We have been terrible the last few years but yet we managed to build a multi million dollar facility and our fan base has not wanted one bit, which is amazing. The reason Coach Knight and I had very little problems during my 4 years is because we carried the same goals, although exhibited much differently, we carried the same competitive spirit, loyalty and love for the game and worked hard to represent our school respectfully. Which means competing and playing hard to win. In my opinion, the Indiana fan deserves to see a very serious workman like attitude from our team, to ensure a business like approach for this upcoming season. Players who have vastly improved their games and showing leadership to the newcomers.
Personally i was disappointed to see the antics …Connecticut, Kentucky, Butler deserve to celebrate an upcoming season. Nothing positive happened for Indiana until the recruitment of Cody Zeller. Why are we so damn happy? I am embarrassed to get beat 20-30 points every night on national TV. We would be locked in the gym until we produced winners. Our first practice would be a practice to show the fans our intent. This is coming from a former Hoosier who still regrets not bringing any championships to Assembly Hall and would do anything to go back and try again with an even more focused attitude. All this talk is annoying to me. I posted on twitter earlier today, all this partying and talking is getting old, im like Coach Knight, im into results. I am always optimistic about getting better, but people have been saying this for 3 years and we have not gotten any better. When does this optimistic attitude become stupidity. I once heard the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again hoping for a different result!
After receiving over 50 comments, he understands the hype for the new season but like many, he wants to see results.
So the consensus is Hoosier Hysteria was “a lil over the top”, but it was a great event for the fans. the fans deserve it, so i am definitely cool with it! I am surprised about how patient the fans are with Coach Crean and most of you seem to have complete faith in what he is “building” and are willing to be patient. I definitely can respect that. In the end, i am tired of not being competitive and i want it to change now! i don’t care who is coaching, it’s time to become releveant again! This will not be the last time you hear from me! Go IU!
I like hearing a former player speak out for the program because many of them have not been involved in so long. Guyton is one of many former players that needs to go back to Bloomington, engage with the fans and see first hand was Crean and staff are building. He meant a lot to the program in his four years and will be a Hoosier for life.
Last season, he was an assistant coach at Illinois Central College and now he is the head coach of the Midwest Flames, located in Peoria.
Amen A.J. CTC is the most overpaid coach in the country.He’s a great recruiter but a poor game preparer and game coach. Unfortunately, he’s in a league with really good coaches. I also do not believe that he overlooked a recruiting date that every Division 1 coach knew existed.
Bottom line, marrying a harbaugh doesn’t make him a good coach. I also wish that his twitter privileges would be revoked. I love Hoosier basketball, but we need a coach that produces.
Ummmm … great perspective.
This coming from a guy that never got past the 2nd round of the NCAA tournament on good teams.
A.J., we never had anything to celebrate when you were there except for under achieving teams…
You know as well as we all do that events like Hoosier Hysteria are necessary to attract recruits. If you care about IU and want them to start winning, try being supportive and going back to Bloomington every once in a while and interacting with the fans. Until then, you have no credibility….
[…] Saturday night, and he came away with a sour (grapes) taste in his mouth. In particular, Guyton posted to his Facebook account a virtual rant about how sad the current program is and how all of the Hoosiers’ loyal fans […]
A.J. may not have got past the 2nd round, but he played the game the right way! How about we celebrate that?! He is a class act and I can’t wait to watch him work his way up the coaching ranks!!!
A.J. was correct with this statement! IU basketball is now back! Tom Crean is showing results! Criticism should never come A.J.’S way! He was one of the toughest and most aggresive players to ever put on an INDIANA uniform, PERIOD!!!!!!