My partner in crime Matt Dollinger is to IU basketball what April O'Neil was to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - He will always be on the scene no matter what.
Dollinger and photo/multi-media IDS guru James Brosher will be venturing out to Maui, paying for it all by themselves to provide coverage to the masses. I'm a bit jealous, but again, I wasn't willing to front the money to go. So while Dollinger and Brosher will keep you up to date in Maui, i'm going to go ahead and give you some things to look out for when watching the Hoosiers play in a land far, far away...
IU Vs. The 'really' big boys. The Hoosiers record is 2-0, but I think it isn't too bold to suggest they won't come back from Maui undefeated. While both games so far have been against Division I teams, in Maui IU is going to see some teams from every 'power' conference. The ACC, Big East, Big 12, SEC and Pac-10 will all be represented. Add the BIg Ten to that and every year since 1991 the National Champion has come from one of these conferences.
Crean considered IUPUI a high quality opponent, but this is the first time the Hoosiers will face teams with the resources and talent of what they'll see in the BIg Ten. If anything, the teams in Maui may be more talented.
* IU will see a dominant big man...and right away. Notre Dame will unleash reigning Big East player of the year Luke Harangody on the Hoosiers in the first round. The 6-8 Northwest Indiana native doesn't look like he's missed a step from last season either. In the Irish's first game he scored 30 points and pulled down 14 rebounds. IU's lack of size is well chronicled, this will be the first time we'll see them face not only bigger teams, but teams with truly elite college bigs.
* IU will have no time to recover. The young Hoosiers will need to play games on back-to-back-to-back days. Crean said the team has been fatigued already, and this should do them no favors. It will be interesting to see if that energy the team said is vital to their success can be maintained for consecutive games in a row. Along this line, the depth of this roster will be challenged. Foul trouble, injuries, fatigue, all could come up at some point in this tournament.
* IU is not playing in Bloomington. These won't be true road games for the Hoosiers. In fact, Crean said IU has sold the second highest amount of ticket packages to Maui so far. Only North Carolina is expected to have more fans.
That being said, this is the first time these guys aren't playing at home. I know Normal Dale taught us all basketball courts are the same, but this will completely change the routine for the Hoosiers. They don't know the locker rooms. They don't know the sidelines. The temperature in the gym is expected to be much hotter than what it is in Assembly Hall. They're playing in a different time zone and not sleeping in their own beds. Everything is going to be different for this team, and they'll need to adapt.
* IU will be on ESPN. With all due respect to the Big Ten Network, (I think i'm in the minority of people who actually enjoys their work.) ESPN is different. The Hoosiers will take the court and see the ESPN crew, camera's, etc. They will be showcasing themselves to a much bigger audience against much stiffer competition. It will be interesting to see how Crean and the coaching staff keeps the team in check, and if players on the team continue to stay within themselves and not try to do too much.
So while Dollinger and Brosher will be eye witnesses in Hawaii, those are the things yours truly will be paying attention to back in the continental U.S. For all you basketbloggers and basketbloggets, is there anything that I missed that your looking foward to seeing? What are some things that are making you nervous? Is anyone going to make the trip to Maui and see for yourselves?
