Where's Jimmy Chitwood?

The diameter of the inside of a basketball rim measures 18 inches. The diameter of a basketball is 9.39 inches. \nHow do these guys miss? \nWhile placing two basketballs in a rim at once proves an impossible task, the Hoosiers are making the feat of sinking one ball seem impossible.\nAfter the team's first five games, the Hoosiers find themselves with a losing record -- something IU fans are still having trouble getting used to -- and the eighth lowest shooting percentage in the NCAA, behind perennial powers Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Prairie View and California Polytechnic State University. \nThis year's Hoosiers are shooting 34.8 percent -- dangerously close to the lowest clip in IU modern history at 33.5 percent, courtesy of the 1954-55 Hoosiers. \nWhat happened to the ideal of pure Hoosier shooters playing on their dirt driveways shooting at the side of a barn? Where's our Jimmy Chitwood? \nWide open three-pointers clank off the rim, attempts at free throws hopelessly miss and lay-up contests during halftime provide more excitement than those who don the cream and crimson. \nIt doesn't seem to matter what type of defense the opposing team plays, the Hoosiers can't seem to adjust.\nIU struggled with Notre Dame's zone defense Wednesday night, dropping the team's third straight contest, and second in a row at home. There are two keys to breaking a zone: (1) drive to the hoop, let the zone collapse down on him and kick the ball out to a shooter and (2) move the basketball.\nOf course when the shooters aren't making their shots, the best offensive sets and ball movement in the world won't help. Bracey Wright said the Hoosiers only had one play to combat the zone. One play? Grab a clipboard and a marker and draw another.\nSome Hoosier players seem to be angling for a top play nominee on "SportsCenter," performing fancy moves only to miss the subsequent lay-up. Note to the Hoosiers: You are not Michael Jordan. If you have a breakaway, go to the rim hard. If you get fouled, you get fouled. Sink your free throws and forget about the highlight. Of course, back to the sinking of the free throws, nothing with this team is guaranteed.\nIU heads to Louisville this weekend for the annual border war with Kentucky. If you thought the Hoosier offense had troubles against North Carolina and Notre Dame, just wait until the Wildcat full court press gets its hold on the shaky IU backcourt. It might be safe to say Marshall Strickland has regressed since his arrival in Bloomington, leaving a giant void at the point guard position. I never thought I'd be saying this, but thank goodness Donald Perry is eligible to play again. Strickland has lost confidence in his shot and his hesitant nature hurts the Hoosiers in their offense. No one debates Strickland's natural ability, but what the Hoosiers need is a court leader from the point position and Strickland struggles with simple post entry passes. Not to say that Perry is the answer, but at least a glimmer of hope.\nAnd when your offense sputters to the point where you're flirting with a 50-year record of futility, a glimmer is all it takes.