After the final game of the 08-09 campaign the entire IU roster was available to the media.
I talked with freshmen Nick Williams, Tom Pritchard and junior Devan Dumes - three of the more candid players on the roster about when they thought what this season really meant to them would truly sink in.
Dumes: "It could be a long time from now, it could be tomorrow I don't know," Dumes said before giving his outlook on the future. "I'm excited cause we've all grown together and we've all grown to love one another and we're all really excited the next time we get on the floor."
Here's Pritchard: "It's been pretty crazy but I mean from the first practice to the last practice and our last couple of games its been a huge stretch," Pritchard said. "Everyone has gotten better; we've really gelled as a team with a bunch of new guys. A lot of us haven't played together before, that was tough at the beginning of the season but now we all know each other and we know what our games are like and that's something that's really going to gel in the future."
Then Williams: "Tomorrow is gong to be an odd day because there's nothing to do," Williams said. "We're usually practicing every day. It's going to be kind of odd to not be with these guys all the time."
Nobody on the team was happy or relieved the season was over. There were many somber looking faces in the locker room. But at the same time Dumes, Williams and Pritchard all acknowledged how different next year will be. The Hoosiers will no longer be completely raw or lacking depth. IU will be armed with a highly ranked incoming class to join this years team that was thrown into the fire.
Enjoy your Spring Break Basketbloggers, Basketbloggettes.
