Heroes from the bench

Wow.\nAfter a yearlong wait, pure, unadulterated Indiana basketball showed itself at Conseco Fieldhouse Thursday. Along with the IU season, my column-writing career has survived to last another day.\nWith IU trailing 31-20 in the first half, I sat musing over what went wrong with the team this year and wondering what I would write to an audience of readers that have already skipped town. \nAnd then, as the Hoosiers crawled back to life with Bracey Wright sitting on the bench, it hit me. Much like Chazz Palminteri dropping his coffee cup in "The Usual Suspects" when he figures out who Keyser Soze is, everything just clicked in my head.\nBut apparently it had clicked in Mike Davis' head much sooner. The bench was exactly where Bracey belonged. All year, players have talked about how the team's fortunes would turn around once they bought into Davis' system. So why not bring in some players who did?\nThe problem with IU in the past two months has not been Wright's shooting slump. Teammates should be able to overcome this. The problem is that Bracey's poor shooting was all he paid any attention to. There could have been an open teammate or a better shot later in the possession, but his mindset was strictly, "I've gotta shoot my way out of this slump."\nHence: bad shots that never go in, a team that never wins and a spot on the bench.\nEnter the unlikely trio of Ryan Tapak, Mark Johnson and Mike Roberts. When this crew-cut crew took to the floor, they weren't bringing boatloads of pure skill and gaudy stats. Instead, they brought high energy and good chemistry. You almost expected Davis to be wearing a lab coat and safety goggles as he stirred up this strange concoction of a lineup.\nIU promptly started playing defense and taking good shots, going on an 11-0 run to tie the game. For the first time in ages, I cracked a smile while watching an IU game. This was fun to watch.\nApparently, the bout on the bench did something to stoke Wright's competitive fire. In the second half, his shots finally started going in. He hustled around the floor, tying up the ball when Ohio State appeared to have pulled down an easy rebound and calling a timeout to keep a possession alive as he was flying out of bounds.\nGeorge Leach also came off the bench in the second half to play some of his most inspired ball of the year.\nIs it too late for these revelations to make a difference? Maybe not. I think Tapak has certainly earned a spot in the starting lineup against Illinois. Turnovers have plagued IU's point guards all year. But IU didn't turn the ball over in the final 25 minutes against the Buckeyes. That should erase any doubt Tapak can handle the job.\nIf IU is able to replicate the performance they put together yesterday, they are capable of beating Illinois and will certainly be in a position to beat either Iowa or Michigan. As for Sunday … it's a lot to ask, but at this point, it's all that's left to do.\nGood Call: I usually find that a three-man announcing team leads to some pretty awkward calls. But I enjoyed ESPN's color commentary tandem of Tim McCormick and Steve Lavin. Not only do they know what they're talking about, but they are a lot easier on the ears than the wild, uncontrollable shouting of Dickey V or the "Grumpy old man who threatens to call the police when you cut through his yard walking home from school" routine of Billy Packer.