Elbows in the wrong place

Rhetorical question: Does any man ever truly deserve to take a shot to the “lower midsection”?

It’s been on the minds of IU basketball fans since last Saturday, when junior guard Devan Dumes’ running motion brought great discomfort to Michigan State big man Goran Suton.

Of course, the greater story is that the move – intentional or not – was book-ended by two other free-flying elbows that happened to be attached to IU’s leading scorer.

The third and final elbow earned Dumes a flagrant foul and an ejection after he appeared to intentionally aim for Tom Herzog at the end of a tussle for a rebound.

Since then, Dumes has been suspended indefinitely for his actions by IU coach Tom Crean, and has taken responsibility for his actions and apologized.

General wisdom says Dumes was in the wrong, and he was – there are just things men do not do to fellow men except in times of extreme peril to life or limb.

“It was a mistake on my behalf,” Dumes said Monday, adding that he has sought counsel from several mentors and friends, including his brother. “I take my responsibility.”

Now, I don’t condone what Dumes did (see above edict about what men do not do to other men.)

But if there was a list of things this basketball team lacks, attitude might feature highly among them. There’s no place in basketball for dirty play, but every once in a while, everybody has to be willing to fight back.

Bill Russell, the old Celtic great, used to get pounded inside without much retaliation. He wouldn’t fight back, and he rarely complained, which of course only accelerated the problem.

Finally, legendary coach Red Auerbach told his star big man to throw an elbow, but Russell refused, not wanting the reputation for playing dirty. Auerbach told Russell to throw one elbow, just one, during a nationally televised game – still a big deal for the NBA then – and Russell would never have to do it again.

Legend says it worked.

Right now, there are too many teams out there that think they can do whatever they want with these wide-eyed Hoosiers, and for the most part, they’re right.

But at some point, players on this team are going to have to assert themselves – show that they aren’t willing to back down when opponents really get in their faces.

This isn’t to say IU has a crop of weak-willed players interested only in backing down.
 But basketball is an incredibly physical game, and players will always try to establish even the slightest edge through subtle but forceful physicality.

Dumes’ actions are condemnable, but the willingness to take an opponent’s physical play right back to him is an attitude this team ought to adopt universally.

Devan, you had your heart in the right place, just not your elbows.

Osterman's prediction: Minnesota 78 – IU 53