There’s no question this is the best time of the year. Nice weather is on its way, Spring Break and of course March Madness. But this year again, isn’t quite the same. For the 2nd straight year, Indiana is not in the NCAA tournament. Because of that, my interest isn’t quite the same and it is tough watching teams advance and Indiana continue to struggle.
My life has always revolved around sports. I was either playing a game myself, at my sister’s game, or watching one. With the exception of the Colts, sports have been very challenging to watch this decade. The Pacers are on their way to yet another losing season. Indiana basketball hasn’t landed back on its feet yet. And the football team is struggling just to find wins. So watching teams like Murray State, Baylor, and Xavier have winning programs is rough.
Indiana has its 5 National Championships. But all of them occurred before I was born. I was able to witness the 2002 Championship game that ended in a loss to Maryland. But I still haven’t experienced true greatness like my dad and others were able to witness.
I think Tom Crean certainly is the right guy for the job. He is driven and has the passion that this job desires. However it all begins on the recruiting trail. This Hoosier program must continue to add to its win total to attract the top talent. Why in the hell would a top 10 or top 50 recruit for that matter want to come to Indiana to have a sub-.500 season? I cannot make a reasonable argument for a top talent to choose Indiana over a possible Final Four team. But IU is on its way. Patience is necessary because it is going to take time.
Next year- one has to hope that they will win about half of their games. 2 years- play a couple of games in the NIT. Realistically I see 3 years from now the time Indiana returns to NCAA March Madness. That will also be the time Coach Crean will have had 4 full recruiting classes thru his program and allowed the players to get use to his system.
The tradition and history are intact. The facilities are now the best in the country. And the social life is unquestioned. It is going to take time and recruits to restore this program to greatness. Until then, March Madness doesn’t quite have that spark for me.