Plenty to cheer about

I must have climbed 50 stairs Tuesday evening during the ascension to my seat in the east balcony of Assembly Hall -- and it was worth every step.\nI may never again witness what I did in the Hoosiers 79-51 bashing of the Iowa Hawkeyes. With under five seconds left on the IU shot clock, 6-foot-9 junior forward Jeff Newton found himself with his back to the basket 23 feet away, being hounded by two defenders. Instinctively, he spun and heaved the ball that had it not rattled in, would have shattered the glass backboard.\nA sell-out crowd at Assembly Hall saw the soft spoken Atlanta native become this season's only 100 percent three-point shooter.\nIt was that kind of a night. From my seat, the game went a little like this:\nFan 1: "Take Donald Perry out, he's terrible." \nResponse: Perry makes a cross over dribble, pulls up and drills a 17 footer in his first shot of the game.\nFan 2: "I think Kyle Hornsby might be feeling it."\nResponse: Hornsby scores a game-high 15 points including 5 of 6 the three-point land.\nFan 3: "Don't ever let Dane Fife shoot the ball; he's worthless."\nResponse: Fife catches the ball in the corner, buries a three, draws a foul and completes a four-point play.\nA.J. Moye sent the Hoosiers to the locker room with a Crouching Tiger-like, airborne, rebound/layup before the buzzer. All five of the Hoosier starters scored in double figures for the game, while Iowa had two players with a team-high eight. In the second half, a sense of urgency struck Hoosier fans when IU's lead was cut -- to 14 points. \nYou know IU plays well when senior Jarred Odle drops in a double-double -- and that's not minutes and shot attempts.\nRecker deserved reaction\nWith good reason, the IU crowd was exceptionally wired. Their opponent, coached by former IU standout Steve Alford, was forecasted early in the season to be in the Hoosiers' current position, making a run at the Big Ten championship. Added to that was ESPN and Dick Vitale's traveling circus broadcasting the game nationally.\nBut it was the return of Luke Recker that for the first time this year provoked students to shouting, in unison, an expletive prior to a players last name. Students wore shirts with "LUKE WHO?" spelled out and each time the Hawkeye guard touched the ball, boos echoed from the rafters.\nThe former IU golden boy deserved all he received and fans deserved everything he gave them in return -- 3-10 shooting and eight points in 25 minutes. Recker absolutely has the right to take his skills out of Bloomington to a rival school. But upon his return, IU supporters have an equal right to voice their resentment of a guard they spent two years heralding. \nThe hostile crowd mocked him after every missed shot and taunted him when he sat calmly on the bench. Moye received applause when he unintentionally stepped on Recker's leg, causing him to come up limping.\nIU might want guard Tom Coverdale to try out for the football team this summer, his hit on Recker in the first half caused a louder response any tackle made this past season at Memorial Stadium.