The future always seems to be preordained in sports.
Preseason rankings seem to come to fruition. The best players win the most valuable awards. “The cream rises to the top,” is a cliché one would use in this type of column. And, yes, I know I just referenced a common platitude while saying it, but I believe the meta factor wins out.
What I’m trying to say is it’s rare to be surprised, which brings us to last year’s Hoosiers. Under perennial coaching hot-seat candidate and Dwight Schrute-glasses aficionado Tom Crean, the Hoosiers upset the balance in the Big Ten by winning the regular season outright.
Looking at the polls, predictions and presumptions, the conference was Maryland and Michigan State’s to lose. The Terrapins and Spartans did fine rounding out the top three, but it was IU that took pole position before the conference tournament tipped off.
A slow start in Maui and a blowout loss to Duke early in the season further diminished expectations for last year’s Hoosiers, but a seven-game winning streak to start the Big Ten schedule set the tone for the team’s spectacular year.
Now expectations are rightfully higher. Reigning Big Ten Coach of the Year Tom Crean—an odd phrase for you to read and for me to write—may be trying to taper the squad’s prospects with his talk of youth and inexperience, but as we’ve seen so far against the top tier talent, IU has the makings of a team that could go far in March.
There are at least three NBA talents. Junior guard James Blackmon Jr. and second-year big men OG Anunoby and Thomas Bryant should be able to go toe-to-toe with the best in college basketball.
Now with a record of 10-2 with wins over Kansas and North Carolina, IU has reached the zenith of their season, the Big Ten schedule. Nebraska is IU's first opponent, and after Countdown Classic challenger Louisville, the Hoosiers face 17 more Big Ten foes.
Even with the lapse against Fort Wayne and tough loss in Indianapolis to Butler, the Hoosiers now find themselves in a place they weren’t early last season, as a team that could and should win the Big Ten.
The main problem with this burden of anticipation is finding the leader to be the calm amidst the upcoming storm. Last season was the year of the upperclassmen with seniors Yogi Ferrell, Nick Zeisloft, Max Bielfeldt and junior Troy Williams at the helm.
Now there's more grey area surrounding which player will step up to rally the troops when IU's down double-digits at halftime and which Hoosier will be the man to calm his teammates down during a nail-biter on the road in an earsplitting atmosphere.
That will be the key to thriving during this year’s conference schedule. There’s only so much Crean can do and at some point it will come down to the young men on the court if the Hoosiers want to repeat atop the best conference in basketball.
Starting with Nebraska, Bryant, Anunoby, Blackmon and maybe juniors Robert Johnson and Josh Newkirk will all have their respective shots to be the vocal leader for this team.
As a preseason contender, opponents will want to matchup well against Indiana. Progress has been made since last season, and IU has gone from a team that has the potential to be number one to a team that has to be dethroned.
gigottfr@indiana.edu
@gott31
