New year brings new goals for 2004

Somebody forgot to send Mike Davis the memo that football season is over. IU is now allowed to lose by less than 30 points on a regular basis.\nAs I headed home for winter break, I was confident that the team was on the brink of turning the corner. Ryan Tapak had come out of nowhere to become a big contributor and Donald Perry was looking good, to name a few reasons for my optimism.\nMy first stop on the way home was the RCA Dome to watch IU take on Kentucky. Any optimism was soon shattered. I left as soon as Kentucky went up by 30. The Hoosiers scored a miserable 41 points in that "effort." \nUntil Marshall Strickland hit a free throw at the end of garbage time, the only guys scoring for IU were Bracey Wright, Sean Kline and Mike Roberts. And Roberts' only score was the first bucket of the game.\nI spent $32 on my ticket, $10 on parking and $7 on a "Colts Dog" and a Coke, so even I outscored them.\nBut that game had to be an anomaly, just like the Wake Forest and Vandy games, right? Things had to get better. IU beat Morehead State and North Texas to enter the new year 6-4.\nBut then the Hoosiers scored only 50 on the Assembly Hall floor (their lowest home scoring effort since 1985) against Temple. The only team to score fewer points on the Owls this year is Drexel.\nThe Big Ten opener at Wisconsin, which resulted in a 34-point loss, was an even worse debacle. So what's this team to do? Well, it's a new year, so I figured some resolutions were in order. Normally, people make resolutions for themselves, but I have decided to take the personal liberty of making them for others.\nMike Davis: Shall resolve to beat Kentucky. Because we all remember the unfortunate fate that befell John Cooper when he could never beat Michigan on the gridiron. (If you don't remember, then obviously you weren't watching the ESPN-Plus Halftime Show this fall).\nBracey Wright: Shall resolve to shoot 100 percent from the field. It's not realistic, but then again, do you really think you are going to lose those 10 pounds you said you would? At this point, it looks like IU will need Bracey to become the most accurate shooter in history in order to stay afloat. \nGeorge Leach: Shall resolve to get well soon. The Big Ten hasn't been this pathetic since the University of Chicago was in the conference. So Leach's return means that IU can still compete for a spot in the postseason.\nSean Kline: Shall resolve to get more than one rebound in a game, like he did against Wisconsin. Every big man should resolve to get more rebounds. This team's leading rebounders are A.J. Moye and Wright. These guys are guards! Somebody box out!\nMarshall Strickland: Shall resolve to score more. Wright is still the only IU player averaging double digits per game. Strickland is averaging 8.9 per game, and this team desperately needs him to pick it up.\nMike Roberts: When Mike Davis asks him to enter a game, he shall resolve to ask "Coach, are you sure you want to do that?"\nA.J. Moye: Shall resolve to continue playing hard and telling the truth. After the Temple game, Moye was quoted in The Indianapolis Star as saying "Right now, man, we're stealing from these fans and people that are supporting the program and paying good money to come see this. . . We put crap out there on the floor." Amen.\nNCAA: Shall resolve to widen the circumference of the rim to three feet so IU can make shots. Come to think of it, that wouldn't be a bad idea for the NBA, either.