Oh, what might have been

I had envisioned the headlines we might have seen a year from now already. They were great, they were wonderful, they are probably not going to happen anymore. Well, after what the basketball team has proven this year, I guess they might, but I'd feel a lot better about it if one simple decision wasn't made. \nThe headline, for those of you that are wondering, read something like this: "Champions."\nFor those of you who read my columns regularly, or read the paper over the summer, you know a similar event happened this time last year. Former Hoosier Kirk Haston took off for the NBA and greener pastures, and I wrote a column asking him to stick around for one more year. I got ripped pretty well from different readers, saying he should be allowed to make his decision, and I shouldn't make him feel bad about what he wanted to do. \nI've learned from my mistakes, or matured, I don't know, but I'm not here to say Jeffries' decision is wrong. He has the right to do what he wants. Far be it from me to tell him to stick around and avoid the potential millions of dollars he's projected to make next year and years after -- assuming he is a first round draft pick and has a guaranteed contract. \nMy thoughts lead more to the possibilities of what next year could have brought for our basketball team if Jeffries was here. The team had only two seniors this year, and while Dane Fife's defensive prowess and Jarrad Odle's steady post presence were important, these were contributions that other players currently on the roster appeared able to fulfill. \nThis was a team that made it to the NCAA championship game. The experience this year could have been enough to send this team the extra step they were unable to take to win the title next year. It's a similar path Maryland took the past two years, and Michigan State a few years before that. \nWith Jeffries leaving though, this becomes a different team. Will they be good? Yes, I'm pretty sure of that one. Returning the court leadership and sweet shooting of Tom Coverdale and Kyle Hornsby, as well as the tenacity and feistiness of A.J. Moye and inside shot blocking ability of Jeff Newton, fans shouldn't expect a drop off in wins next year. Especially when you consider that the roster will be adding two more big men in Mike Roberts and Sean Kline and recruits such as Bracey Wright, who ripped up the McDonald's All-American game. \nSo the future is bright for these Hoosiers. The simple fact is, though, Jeffries could be the linchpin in a title run. The superstar who takes the pressure off the rest of the team, scores the big buckets, shuts down the opposing star, etc. Just listening to head coach Mike Davis all season talk about how Jeffries, even when he didn't have a big game, helps make life easier for the rest of the team, makes you realize the role he played this season. And you'd have to think he'd get better with another off season to work on his game and get stronger. \nBut alas, these thoughts are mere wonder now, a future that is not possible. Such is the pain of loving a college basketball team. The players are only around for a couple years, and then they move on.\nJared, thank you for these two years. I wish you the best. And the rest of the team, good luck next year in continuing to prove the rest of the country wrong. Maybe one day you will receive the respect deserving of a Big Ten champion and title game participant.\nThe Hoosier faithful witnessed an unbelievable run this year, hopefully we will see another one next year, even if it's sans a 6-foot-10 forward who hails from Bloomington, Indiana.