Great expectations not met for star-studded ’04 class

RALEIGH, N.C. – Nothing in life is a sure thing.\nThe phrase certainly applies to the IU men’s basketball team’s recruiting class of 2004, the most highly-touted class of former coach Mike Davis. The class was headlined by high school All-American D.J. White, who was complimented with a trio of in-state, top-100 recruits in James Hardy, A.J. Ratliff and Robert Vaden. Lucas Steijn, a foreign prospect from the Netherlands, and walk-ons Kyle Taber and Adam Ahlfeld rounded out the ’04 class, which many fans hoped would lead the Hoosiers to a Final Four and maybe even a sixth banner in Assembly Hall.\n“Not long ago with Coach Davis, we had a good recruiting class,” Ahlfeld said. “We had guys like D.J., A.J., James Hardy. I think it just shows nothing in life is guaranteed.”\nThe class with so much promise started losing its sparkle after the first season. Players began to leave the team, eventually leaving just three of the seven players in North Carolina with the Hoosiers for this year’s NCAA Tournament.\n“If you look at that class and who is left, there is only D.J., Kyle and I,” Ahlfeld said. “For one reason or another, the other guys aren’t here.”\nSteijn transferred to John A. Logan junior college after the 2004-2005 season. Next, Hardy quit the basketball team in 2005 to concentrate on football, a sport where he has a professional future. Vaden followed Davis to University of Alabama-Birmingham after the coach resigned following the 2005-2006 season.\nAnother recruit bit the dust this season, when Ratliff left the team on Feb. 12 for “personal issues,” leaving just White, Taber and Ahlfeld as the lone three members of the 2004 recruiting class remaining on the IU roster.\nThe three players also experienced turnover at the coaching position over the years, with three different men – Davis, Kelvin Sampson and interim head coach Dan Dakich – leading the team over a four-year span. \nTaber, who will return next season because he redshirted his freshman season, will possibly be playing for his fourth head coach next season at IU.\nAhlfeld said he never could have expected the ups and downs he, Taber and White went through the last four years.\n“Not at all,” he said. “The past 30 years, prior to me coming to Indiana, we’ve only had two coaches, Coach Knight and Coach Davis.”\nNow, as the University prepares to name the next coach for the program, Ahlfeld said the coach should appreciate the history of IU basketball.\n“I think a coach that has ties to the state and understands the tradition not only of Indiana University basketball, but the state as a whole,” Ahlfeld said. “Ultimately a coach that has a history of winning.”\nThough there has been plenty of turmoil the past four years, Ahlfeld said it was an honor to be a part of the Hoosier program.\n“A lot of memories are coming to my mind,” Ahlfeld said. “It’s an honor to wear the jersey. Not a lot of people get that honor – I’ve just been really fortunate. There have been ups and downs, but everyone has those. Looking back at it, I will have a lot of great memories, a lot of great guys I got to know and the joy of wearing Indiana on my jersey.”