On August 15th, 2010, Ron Patterson, an athletic 6-foot-3 junior from Broad Ripple High School, committed to IU as the second member of 2012 men's basketball recruiting class. It was the moment "The Movement" began.
Two years later, "The Movement"--the term coined by Patterson to represent IU basketball's return to elite-national status through signing good recruits and winning national championships--is moving on without Patterson.
On August 15th, 2012--exactly two years after the day of his commitment--it was reported that Patterson did not meet Indiana University admissions requirements and would be denied admission into IU.
The decision to deny admission was made by a subcommittee of the Faculty Athletics Committee after Patterson struggled through the summer faculty sponsorship system (a system made to help potential student-athletes raise their academic performance).
The immediate impact of the decision effectively makes Patterson the odd-man-out of the scholarship bind that IU coach Tom Crean and his staff would have faced entering the season as 14 players were signed to only 13 scholarships.
Through his long-time AAU coach Chris Hawkins, Patterson said he was "devastated and hurt".
"It's just shocking," Hawkins said. "I mean, you know, there's not too many words you can use, as far as how the family feels, as far as how he feels."
It's hard not to feel bad for a guy in Patterson's situation as his dream of playing for the Hoosiers in Assembly Hall has come to a dramatic halt, but after this season is all said and done, Patterson's exit could end up being viewed as addition by subtraction for IU.
While Patterson's potential scoring ability will be missed, realistically, how much game time would he actually have seen?
At 6-3, Patterson would have been slotted in to be a two-guard (maybe even a three) with ball-handling and shooting ability. IU already would have had 6-foot-4 Remy Abell, 6-foot-5 Victor Oladipo and 6-foot-7 Will Sheehey in front of Patterson on the depth chart based on overall experience and ability at both the two and three positions.
It also would be hard to find Patterson minutes as a point guard with the combination of senior Jordan Hulls and freshman Yogi Ferrell expected to control the offense for the majority of games.
Obviously, the potential that IU would have had Patterson for more than one season, which would have allowed him to grow under guys like Oladipo, Sheehey and Abell, cannot be overlooked, but the reality of Hoosier basketball entering the 2012-2013 season is that "The Movement" really began last season. The future is now, and IU needs to focus on winning this season and not what might happen down the line.
With the scholarship situation figured out, Crean and his staff don't have to worry about rounding out the roster anymore and can return to coaching. More importantly, some of the players that may have been on the cutting block can finally breathe easier knowing that they won't be the odd-man-out.
From here, it is full steam ahead to the beginning of a new season--one that is filled with expectations, excitement and anticipation because of the success of last year's team.
While it may be with some sadness that Hoosier fans learned the man who started "The Movement" was denied into the school exactly two years after the day he committed to play for IU, down the road August 15th 2012 might be looked at as the day when "The Movement" ended and the road to the National Championship began.
