Bottle the hurt

On a day when IU moved into sole possession of first place in the Big Ten, Hoosier Nation felt a bit melancholy. It had just witnessed IU’s first home loss since a guy in a blue shirt and red tie replaced a sulky figure in a sweater vest on the sidelines.\nSenior forward D.J. White sat speechless after a game where he had the looks, just not the accuracy, to hit the shots. The frustration and disappointment seemed to consume him. The words wouldn’t come.\n“We (were) on a winning streak here,” White said. “We hadn’t lost here in two years, but ... I don’t know. I got nothing.”\nIt’s a humbling feeling to be a celebrated basketball star, a team leader, a game changer and come up short in front of a home crowd. It’s beyond words.\nHow do you share a feeling you haven’t experienced in so long, a feeling you almost forgot, a feeling you want to forget? You don’t.\nAnd maybe it’s better that way. Maybe it’s better to keep that feeling inside, bottle it up and save it for the next game. Take the hurt out on the next opponent.\n“This could be a great learning experience for our team, and I think it will be,” IU coach Kelvin Sampson said after losing his first game in Assembly Hall. “We’ll bounce back.”\nIU’s 68-63 loss to Connecticut wasn’t as shocking or inspiring as longtime Huskies coach Jim Calhoun made it out to be. After all, UConn was the most talented team the Hoosiers have faced to date. Calhoun, his shirt sweat-soaked from hugging all his players, called it his greatest win since the 2004 national championship game. Part of that declaration is due to circumstance; part of it is due to the respect he holds for Indiana basketball. \nThe sudden suspension of guards Jerome Dyson and Doug Wiggins threw the Huskies for a loop Friday night – although UConn still had four capable scorers in their lineup and a defensive force in Hasheem Thabeet. But give the Huskies credit for adapting on the run – much like the Hoosiers did against Kentucky earlier this season – and refusing to give up after a slow start to the game.\n“The pride I feel with them and the hugs I gave to them are why athletic competition brings out the things in people that are very special,” Calhoun said of his players.\n“My respect for Indiana is building for all it represents. This is basketball heaven, and I love every bit of it.”\nTanzanian center Thabeet turned basketball heaven into basketball purgatory for IU’s offense. Thabeet altered drives to the basket and swatted a couple shots into the stands. The Hoosiers shot 37 percent from the floor and recorded a season-low 63 points. Few players in Division I basketball can affect the game the way Thabeet did on Saturday without the ball in their hands.\nWhite connected on the perimeter against Thabeet early in the game, but shot well below his season average as the contest dragged on. With White playing farther from the basket, the Huskies were able to control the defensive boards and the game. Which brings us back to the hurt.\n“Losses always hurt, but there’s nothing we can do now,” White said. “We’ll just try and learn from this game and get better.”\nIf you feel bad for White, just wait until you see what he does against his next opponent.