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(03/26/07 4:00am)
We have a character in our house and his name is General Funk. \nIn the figurative sense, it’s Sly Stone meets Patton. That’s the funny sense.\nIn the literal sense, it’s the overwhelming musk that radiates through the upstairs hall after some late night Mexican food – a general funk. That’s the not-so-funny sense.\nWe’ve joked about this character quite often, and there is even an artist’s rendering of him on our wall. But it wasn’t until just this morning, shortly after the good general led his troops on a death march down the hall, that I got to thinking about why General Funk even exists (aside from too many gyros).\nIt’s boggling that anything can still be slightly taboo in the day and age of cable television, the Internet and Paris Hilton crotch shots. But for some reason there are still certain things that people refuse to talk about. Case in point: poop.\nNow poop is funny. Want proof?\nPoop. \nSee, you just smirked. Just a little bit, don’t pretend like you didn’t. Let’s move forward from there. We have a very funny concept that everybody can relate to. Everybody. \nSo why must we create characters like General Funk just to talk about something that happens every day?\nNow this is going to get kind of deep for a column about turds, but if you don’t agree you can just say I’m full of shit and move on – because I am. But I think this is just another example of our culture’s propensity for ignoring the awkward. Look how we handle sex education in this country. Look at the laundry list of vocabulary like “tally whacker” and “ding dong” that’s been invented to avoid saying penis.\nI guess I’ll never understand why we collectively hide behind ridiculous and sometimes even childish guises to avoid – what? Reality?\nThings would be a lot better if General Funk didn’t exist. Albeit, slightly less entertaining, but I still insist they would be better. My roommate could equate the odor to the smell of a dead monkey and that would be in no way strange to random passers by. \nWhy would this poop and penis filled world be a better place? Because at least we would be operating within the confines of what tangibly exists. The entire concept of hiding from something you are uncomfortable with seems incredibly dangerous. And then to augment that by building up falsities to remain disconnected from the discomfort? Where does all that end? Again, getting a bit deep for a crappy column, but that’s where racism comes from, where prejudgment comes from, where an intolerant community comes from. \nI say we embrace the awkwardness. It’s through uncomfortable situations that we learn our true parameters – where to really draw the line. \nSo you know what, forget the Funk. The general is being retired. From now on, my roommate’s poop smells. End of story. And I ain’t shittin’ you there.
(03/05/07 5:00am)
One time freshman year, after a night of festivities, I entered my dorm room, struggled to get my eyes adjusted and emptied my pockets on the end table. I leaned toward the bottom bunk only to have a very Goldilocks-esque moment of discovering somebody sleeping in my bed. Then I realized the bed was against a different wall and I was in the wrong room.\nEmbarrassed, and wondering where the hell I was, I quickly gathered my things and made like a bandit for the door. Lucky for me, I didn’t have to make like a real bandit and deal with the police, or even the inhabitants of the room, because nobody ever woke up. No harm, no foul. \nThis memory (that I am positive at least 10 percent of the campus can relate to) came flushing back when I read a New York Times article titled “Swiss Accidentally Invade Liechtenstein.” Apparently 170 Swiss soldiers made like drunken college freshmen last week and wandered across the border to Liechtenstein in the darkness of night, each packing an unloaded, but very real, assault rifle. \nHere’s what gets me about the whole ordeal: Nobody ever had to know. Not a single Liechtensteiner ever saw, heard or even sensed the presence of the dreaded Swiss Army – capable of invading, killing, pillaging, removing splinters, picking teeth and opening bottles of wine. Nonetheless, there is the story on the main page of the New York Times’ Web site. \nIt begs the question: If a tree falls in the woods and nobody hears it, does it belong in the New York Times?\nThere seems to be a growing presence of stories about (ultimately) nothing finding their way into the “news.” Sports take the cake in this category with their “So-and-so still not traded” headlines that might as well say, “Nothing has changed, but don’t forget that you learned nothing first, right here, on ESPN.”\nThe news is about action. It’s evidence that humanity exists, not that it doesn’t. For every story about somebody doing or not doing something that nobody knew or cared about in the first place, there is an accomplishment left undocumented. \nEvery day people die in Darfur. And every day other people save lives in Darfur. Now I’m not calling for daily Darfur digests, it’s just evidence that there are significant actions out there more worthy of the collective consciousness than nothingness.\nThis nothing-news only furthers the all-too-common conception that the media mislead people. We have a headline where the subject is a country and the verb is “invade,” but the story contains quotes that read “it’s not a problem” and “it’s not like they stormed over here with attack helicopters or something.”\nI understand the great Liechtenstein conquest of 2007 carries a certain comedic element, but so does a half-tanked teenager using the light of his cell phone to find his keys in a stranger’s room. And consider the parallel. Imagine the front-page Indiana Daily Student story: “Student breaks into room; only dignity reported missing.” Now that’s news!
(02/20/07 5:00am)
The sun hasn’t even crested on a cool morning in 1956, but 16-year-old Ken is already hurling newspapers out of the passenger window of his $75 dollar Chrysler. When he gets to the Dixon house he shifts his ’38 into park and walks up to the house before stopping next to the car parked in the driveway. For some reason – he’s not sure why – he tries lifting the latch-handled door, and for some reason – he’s not sure why – he grabs the golf clubs out of the back seat and puts them in his trunk.\nThe sun breaks the horizon that morning to the crisp “whack” of iron striking plastic. Ken has neatly arranged all of Mr. Dixon’s golf balls in a row, and sends every last one into the dawning Indiana skyline. When the balls are gone and the fun has ended, Ken takes the clubs to the local pawn shop and exchanges them for more money than he’s made that entire week delivering newspapers. \nBut when the sun sets that day in 1956 Ken sits in silent reflection behind the bars of the Jeffersonville jail. He would be released two weeks later on the condition that he go back to Mr. Dixon and apologize for stealing the clubs. Ken would do just that and he would be well received by the gentleman who served as one of the town’s local lawyers. And when Ken said goodbye that lawyer would hand him 50 cents and tell him to go ahead and get a haircut. \nHe wouldn’t know it sitting in the barber chair that day, but the next time Ken Nunn would stand before Mr. Dixon he’d be getting the haircut before the visit – not after. \nIn 1962 Ken took his wife Leah to see the newly released movie “To Kill a Mockingbird,” starring Gregory Peck and a young Robert Duval. When they went to the drive-in they would normally bring their own popcorn and Coke, but on this night they splurged. The Princess Theater was packed, so Ken and Leah took a seat in the third row of the balcony and envied those who’d come early enough to sit down front. One hundred and twenty-nine minutes later, Ken stood up from his seat knowing what he wanted to do with his life.\n“The blacks had always been my friends growing up, they were my next door neighbors,” he said. “When I saw Peck defend a black man accused of rape, and the whites were really down on him for that, I just really related to that.”\nThe next day Ken went to the IU School of Law and asked for an application.\nIt took a handsome actor in a southern-style courtroom, slow ceiling fans spinning overhead, but Ken had finally found what he’d been searching for since rejoining school at age 17. The first two years of Ken’s undergraduate study had been spent pursuing accounting but without any real passion or desire. Ken considered much of his schooling to that point frivolous, so when he finally set his sights on a law degree he felt something education had never granted him before – excitement.\n“I had to take him seriously,” Leah said. “We went to Lexington and applied there, and he was going to apply to others. He said, ‘We’ll go any place we have to go until I get in.’ I knew that wherever they took him I was going to go.”\nKen, Leah, and their two kids struggled through those law school years under the mantra, “If you didn’t have to do it, you didn’t do it.” In other words, the pantry was rarely stocked with chips or cookies. But Ken eventually graduated among the bottom few students in his class, but he’ll be the first person to say, “Not one person comes and asks what was your class ranking. All they are interested in is what can I do for them now?”\nThe working world welcomed Ken a lot like Law School did – he had made it there, albeit barely, but he’d have to earn his success. The first Nunn Law Office was a two room loft with a view of south Walnut Street in downtown Bloomington. One room featured a card table with a folding chair for the secretary and another for clients to wait in. Ken’s office had the other two folding chairs and a law dictionary – that’s it. The only thing that could pass as a decoration was a lonely piece of string – barely a few inches long – that hung from the ceiling along one of the walls in Ken’s office.\nThis whole story starts in a separate set of rooms in a separate part of Indiana. They comprised Ken’s first home, and one room had a stove that kept the house warm and the other had a bed where little Kenny could dream about bigger things. \nAt nine years old, Ken sat at home one day when a knock came on the door. His mother peeped out the window and saw a Jeffersonville Sherriff. Ken can vividly remember this story today.\nHe remembers his mother saying, “Kenny you do this. Tell them I’m not here.” \nSo he reached up to the door-knob, turned it, and greeted the large man in uniform. \n“Young man is your mother here,” the officer asked.\n“No.”\nMother’s conscience got the best of her and she stepped into the doorway to speak to the sheriff. The officer walked away a few minutes later and the Nunn family was left with court papers that gave them a week to get out of the house.\nA few days later they had found a new home, and Ken’s mother explained that he had to take a new route home from school because they didn’t live at the old house anymore. But sure enough, that afternoon Ken ended up right back at the old house and he walked around it astonished by the emptiness. He stepped inside and walked up to his bedroom door and whispered the last words he would say in that house.\n“You’ve been a good door and I’ll miss you.”\nWith that, Ken kissed the door goodbye and found his way to his new home – something he would soon grow accustomed to.\nUp until age 17 Ken’s childhood was marred by fights, failures, and flirts with a life of delinquency. Jeffersonville High School was lucky to see him three times in a week, and by the time Ken finished the only class he attended regularly – driver’s ed – he dropped out.\n“My mother let me write my own excuses so that was easy,” he said. “I didn’t have to leave the house and fake going to school; I would just say I wasn’t feeling good and sleep until noon.”\nBut a year later an accident landed Ken at a new school with a new outlook on life. As an older kid with a car, his friends asked him for a ride to school one day. Ken asked, “What school?” And they said, “High School.” Ken agreed and he entered the doors of Clarksville High School the next day. \nIt was here that Ken would help an honor student named Leah dissect a frog in biology class, and she would help him write his notebook in return. It was here that the principle would warn Leah’s parents about the new boy she was hanging around with: he would either bring her down or she would make him a better person. It was here that Ken would only miss three days of school in three years.\n“Had I stayed in Jeffersonville and not met my wife, I probably would have been a high school drop out,” Ken said.\nShortly before graduating Ken and Leah were stopped at a traffic light when the truck behind them collapsed the back bumper of Ken’s Chrysler. The next day they waited for the insurance man to leave church where they met in the parking lot. Ken said he didn’t have any insurance, but the accident was the other guy’s fault and hopefully something could be done. Fresh after visiting with the Lord, the insurance man looked the car up and down, and then looked Ken up and down before saying, “Sorry, we’re not going to pay you.”\nKen was slowly developing a theory of justice.\n“You look at the old westerns and old cowboy shows, and the bad guy was invariably a lawyer,” Ken said. “He’s the guy that is always trying to steal the ranch because there is oil underneath it. So the poor, little lady keeps having cattle stolen from her, and she can’t make the payments. So the lawyer keeps saying ‘I’ll buy it from you’ – conniving, no good. That was my perception of lawyers for many, many years.” \nYears later, back in one of the four folding chairs, Ken sat with a yellow notepad in his lap as a poor, little lady took a seat across from him. She needed help in her divorce case, something Ken had never handled before but he was in no place to be turning down clients.\n“I have no idea why she stayed,” he said. “She shouldn’t have.” \nThis would be the theme for a while with Ken. A client would enter his office, having just been turned down by 11 other lawyers in town, and Ken would take the case. Why? “I didn’t have anything else to do.” \nBut before long Ken would have some Gregory Peck moments of his own. Take, for instance, the black IU student on trial for stealing billfolds from dorm rooms.\nThe prosecution had two sets of witnesses and that was all they needed. There was the student that claimed to have seen the defendant in his room scrounging through pants pockets, and the police officers who arrested the defendant. In front of an all white jury in 1969, it was an open-and-shut case.\nBut Ken started destructing the symbolic wall that stands between any defense lawyer and a verdict of not guilty. He first impeached the two police officers as one claimed to have seen the defendant take roughly 25 steps out from the door, throw the billfold into the bushes, and then have the handcuffs slapped around his wrists. The other officer testified that they had met him at the dormitory door. As for the eyewitness, that required a little more craft.\n“Have you ever been in trouble with the police,” Ken remembers asking the witness.\n“None at all.”\nKen had done some digging and gathered verbal confirmation that the witness had received a littering ticket in New Jersey. But he grabbed a small stack of papers just for effect.\n“You just said you didn’t have anything at all, but what about your event in New Jersey,” Ken recollects.\n“Oh, oh well yes. I got that, but it was just littering.”\nKen went back to his desk, grabbed another small stack of insignificant papers and asked, “Is that all sir? Is there something else you want to tell the jury now?”\n“Well… yea… There was that incident in Mexico.”\nCredibility gone. Case won. Ken received several letters from lawyers around the state after that verdict came back “not guilty,” all of them congratulating the new guy in town. \nKen sits behind a wooden table and reaches for the pitcher of water to pour himself a glass in hopes of quenching his bone-dry throat. His rattling hand clanks ice cube after ice cube against the side of the pitcher and into the bottom of his glass. He doesn’t want to take a sip because his hands are shaking too hard. That’s because his chair, his table, and his glass of water are all resting inside the Indiana Supreme Court and Mr. Dixon just filed into the room wearing a black robe. He’s known as Judge Dixon now.\nEach man remembers the other, and each man knows that the other remembers. But when the final gavel pounds, Ken has won the case and he is actually glad that he stands before Mr. Dixon again.\n“In some ways I am proud that our paths crossed,” he says. “And the way they did because maybe he felt like I did learn my lesson. Maybe he felt like I wanted to change my ways, which I did.”\nNowadays Ken can sit in a leather chair that doesn’t fold flat with plush carpet under his feet and a giant office over his head, and tell you that he’s never felt rich. Not because he doesn’t acknowledge his success, but because he hasn’t forgotten his past. You can sit in front of him and say that your car is about to be repossessed, and he can shoot right back, “Well, I can relate … I’ve had my car repossessed too.” \nAnd you better believe that he can tell the story.
(02/19/07 5:00am)
That’s the unintentional message of a commercial for a local car dealership. The commercial depicts the owner of said dealership in a chef’s hat and apron, standing behind a large pot cooking up great savings and record-low annual percentage rates. But as the culinary car salesman toils in the finance-free kitchen, it was obvious that while planning this commercial somebody posed the question, “What should we call the pot that’s holding all these low rates?”\n“Why the ‘deal pot,’ of course,” someone replied. And the staff shouted “Hoo-ra” and began shooting. The final product is a typical, low-budget car commercial with the unfortunate-for-them, hilarious-for-us message that tells the entire community to deal pot. \nNow if it were up to me, my column would end right there, because I feel like this world-class oversight speaks for itself. But considering it’s my job to hash out some grand conclusion from an unintentionally comical commercial, I’ll hash away (that’s what the ad wanted in the first place).\nThe problem here is simple. It’s a matter of disconnect. Commercials are supposed to reflect society. They are supposed to speak to our most basic desires: to look good, feel good, to eat fatty food and buy fast and loud things. You know, the American way.\nThat seems to make sense. What doesn’t make sense is that the people sitting around a table trying to figure out the best means for speaking to those desires don’t have those desires. By the nature of their position, those desires have already been fulfilled. In a town like Bloomington, we’re asking a rich, middle-aged business man or woman to target a commercial to poor, possibly drunk or stoned college students watching crappy TV when they should be at class. The results of such an equation: Deal pot. \nIt’s always boggled my mind how bad commercials can exist. I just fail to believe that in the year 2007 we still have a desperate shortage of creative people. Even look to the recent Super Bowl (not sure if you heard about it, but apparently some team around here won it?). Doritos issued a challenge to chip lovers everywhere to develop their own commercials. The “winners” of this experiment were a guy stuck in traffic and a very creepy grocery store clerk making sexual connotations with all the spicy chip names. The loser of this experiment was the collective creative consciousness of the entire country. \nIn the spirit of this observation (oh and what a grand observation it is: commercials suck), I’ll make one bold prediction for the future. YouTube, meet commercials. Commercials, meet YouTube. There is already proof that some nobody from central Nebraska can tickle the collective funny bone of our nation, and make no money at all. While somebody making six figures thinks people snapping checks into existence will help Ken Nunn’s reputation as an injury lawyer. \nIn the future, the nobody from Nebraska will see his idea come to fruition on late-night Comedy Central while six-figure Steve looks for a new job. Possibly dealing pot.
(02/05/07 2:30pm)
A horse is a horse / Of course, of course,\nAnd no one can talk to a horse, of course / That is, of course, unless the horse\nIs the famous Barbaro!\nGo right to the source and ask the horse / You cameras and anchors and newsmen, of course.\nWho needs a story when a horse is the source?\nGo talk to Barbaro!
(01/22/07 2:22pm)
Iam predicting a comeback. This will be a doozy.\nNot M.J., not Whitney and especially not Britney -- even for a Flashdance remake.\nI'm looking deep in the crystal ball for this one, but I see it clear as coffee. Jorts baby! And lots of 'em.\n"How could you make such a boldfaced claim?" you ask. \nWell, boldface is my middle name, partner. I look around this campus on any given day and I see bounties of jeans. Everywhere there are jeans. On men, women, even little kids are wearing them. \nBut you know what else I see? Green. That's right, green grass, green plants, somebody even told me there is a green castle just a ways north. And what does all that green mean? Global mother-truckin' warming folks. \nOh, I said it. Global warming ranter number too-damn-many. I know the ol' global warming issue is the "in" apocalyptic prediction and there will be some animal-based, zombie virus coming from God knows where in a week or two, but what I don't understand is everybody out there saying this is a bad thing. So what about the polar bears? They eat two things: innocent baby seals and people. So what about the citrus farmers in California that lost their crops to freakish climate changes? Nobody gives two pennies about vitamin C anymore. It's B12 for me baby. \n2006 was the warmest year in the U.S. since 1895 and we only saw snow once in Bloomington. Even on that day, I saw a guy on campus wearing shorts. We're not exactly roughing it. And imagine the possibilities. B-town will have vacationers frequenting the sunny shores of Lake Monroe. Sol Spa will install a glass roof and charge college students $10 an hour to lay in a lawn chair. \nWe need to come to grips with the fact that we are the chosen generation. All of the benefits, none of the drawbacks. Reap not what you sow. We get a lifetime of sunny summer skies, our children handle all that scientific gobbledygook about greenhouse gases. Besides, children are so impressionable, we can just make a little bargain with them.\n"Alright little buddy, listen and listen good, cuz I'm gonna cut you a deal. You and your friends start thinking about how to block out the sun and utilize another energy source to keep the Earth alive, and in the meantime ... WATER PARKS!"\nThrow in some of those plastic-molded buckets that make sand castles and we're in business. Our generation soaks up the glory years, and let the little guys worry about "melting ice caps" and "another ice age." \nUntil then, something's going to have to happen to all these jeans. Nobody's going to want his or her shins covered when it's sunny and 65 degrees in December, but salvation is only a scissor snip away. From there it's just frayed denim and daiquiris all year long.\nSo take heed: The jort season approaches. A time when skating is done on wheels and snow only comes in a cone. I'll take cherry, please.
(10/09/06 3:25am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- There is a fine line between frustration and panic, but that's exactly where the Colts stood at halftime, trailing the Tennessee Titans 10-0. Peyton Manning described the team as being disappointed with its offensive goose egg in the first half, but they proved they weren't frazzled by scoring two touchdowns and only allowing a field goal in the second half to win 14-13.\nThe win brings Indianapolis to 5-0 as they enter a bye week. Though the past three games have all been nail-biters for the Colts, the end results are no different than this time last year -- no losses.\n"Anytime you are 5-0 and you're not playing your best football, that is a good thing," Manning said. "The key is to just improve. Otherwise, it could bite you in the butt."\nOne aspect of the team's game that is already showing signs of improvement is the running game, as Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai combined for 146 yards on 33 carries. Sixty-one of those yards came on the Colts' first possession of the second half which resulted in a 13-yard connection between Manning and Marvin Harrison.\nAn area still in need of improvement, however, is the rush defense. It allowed nearly seven yards per carry for a Titan total of 214. Tennessee marched 88 yards on their first possession without throwing a single pass and culminated the drive with a 19-yard scamper by rookie quarterback Vince Young.\n"You have to do some things to defend Young which opens up the inside run," Dungy said. "But some of it was just over-running things, playing a little too anxious, not tackling well and fundamental things."\nThe defense rectified itself after that first lapse by forcing Young to throw the ball where he was only 10-21 for 63 yards and an interception. Ultimately, the air was kind to the Colts on offense as well with Manning completing 65 percent of his passes and notching two touchdowns. The success came despite an obvious effort by the Titans to overload their pass coverage and force Manning to hand the ball off.\n"We're seeing lots and lots of double coverage," Manning said. "I think I can count on my right hand how many single coverage, man-to-man looks I saw in that game."\nThe Colts were 18-point favorites heading into Sunday's game, but after the final whistle blew, they hadn't even scored 18 points. Manning said he didn't know who the odds makers were, or what their background was in sports, but they built up a lot of expectations that slowly deflated during Sunday's squeaker. A lot of Colts fans may have lost money Sunday, but they didn't lose the game, and as almost every player said in the postgame locker room, winning is what it's all about.\n"The only thing that matters at the end of the day is wins and losses," defensive tackle Montae Reagor said. "And we have five wins and no losses.
(09/14/06 4:00am)
This is me. Relatively normal by most accords, I suppose, but on this night I am learning that normal is in the eye of the beholder, and that every scene has its characters. Some wear pastel colored polos, while others choose grungy concert T-shirts. A character in one scene might recite poetry between drags of a cigarette, while another may thrash, bang and fight in their own.\nBut on this night, my scene is the Axis of Evil. It's a gathering of punks, goths and any other mislabeled misfit desperate for the type of night every college aged person yearns for. A night where they can be themselves.\nFor the purpose of this story, the following contextual and symbolic rules apply:\nThis is the scene. Slightly slanted to the eye, but overall understandable.\nThese are the characters. Bold in appearance, but again, perfectly relatable.\nAnd this is the story. Just another Monday night at Jake's Nightclub with some of the most abnormally normal people in Bloomington.
(09/14/06 3:48am)
This is me. Relatively normal by most accords, I suppose, but on this night I am learning that normal is in the eye of the beholder, and that every scene has its characters. Some wear pastel colored polos, while others choose grungy concert T-shirts. A character in one scene might recite poetry between drags of a cigarette, while another may thrash, bang and fight in their own.\nBut on this night, my scene is the Axis of Evil. It's a gathering of punks, goths and any other mislabeled misfit desperate for the type of night every college aged person yearns for. A night where they can be themselves.\nFor the purpose of this story, the following contextual and symbolic rules apply:\nThis is the scene. Slightly slanted to the eye, but overall understandable.\nThese are the characters. Bold in appearance, but again, perfectly relatable.\nAnd this is the story. Just another Monday night at Jake's Nightclub with some of the most abnormally normal people in Bloomington.
(05/12/06 3:20pm)
Four riders, 200 laps and at least 10 exchanges of the bicycle -- seems simple enough.\nThe surface of the Little 500 can appear almost elementary with 33 cyclists riding around in circles. But ask the right questions of the right people and it's easy to discover that the difference between first and fifth place can come down to exchanging on this lap or the next one, gunning it now or in two more seconds.\n"I don't think (fans) understand the whole mental, physical and emotional effort that's going on in that pit," said Kappa Alpha Theta coach Tom Schwoegler, whose been coaching Little 500 teams for 39 years. "You can go to any team here and they'll say, 'We appreciate our fans, but we wish they'd show up and appreciate the hard work we've done, and not get drunk and be idiots.'"\nSo what are the right questions? Here are a few that uncover some misconceptions:
(04/14/06 7:31pm)
IU formally announced the hiring of two assistant men's basketball coaches Thursday, quelling some of the flames that lingered from the hiring of new coach Kelvin Sampson.\nRay McCallum follows Sampson from Oklahoma while Jeff Meyer comes to IU after spending two seasons as an assistant at Missouri. Each man brings a resume that can ease some of the doubt raised over Sampson's hire. They are both Indiana natives, they have both taken in-state teams to the NCAA Tournament and they both bring favorable graduation rates to IU. \nSampson said in a statement that the most important quality the two men bring to IU is an understanding of the state and school.\nSampson added that he wanted a staff that could relate to young players -- something that's tested McCallum and Meyer immediately. Aside from having to earn the trust of the current roster, both coaches have been mending fences with recruits Armon Bassett and Xavier Keeling, who asked out of their letters of intent with IU.\nBassett said he's known Meyer since ninth grade when Meyer was coaching at Butler University. He described both men as experienced, hard-working and very knowledgeable about IU basketball. Bassett said he will be visiting IU Friday night to meet the entire coaching staff and that he plans to have a decision made by Monday.\n"It's been a long, long year for me," Bassett said. "But now I'm just waiting to talk to coach Sampson."\nMeyer served as an assistant coach for three seasons, where he helped the Bulldogs win back-to-back Horizon League titles in 2002 and 2003. His team reached the Sweet 16 in 2003 where it ironically lost to Sampson's Oklahoma team. \nMeyer hails from Reynolds, Ind., and started his coaching career as an assistant at Purdue.\n"My wife Karen and I are so excited to be back home again in Indiana where the tradition of the great game of basketball reigns supreme," Meyer said.\nMcCallum hasn't worked in Indiana for more than six years, but his in-state history is actually richer than Meyer's. He grew up in Muncie, where he led Muncie Central High School to a pair of state championships. From there, McCallum went to Ball State, where he became the Mid-American Conference's all-time leading scorer and was the first Cardinal athlete to have his jersey retired. \nMcCallum went on to hold several coaching positions, including a nine-year stint at Wisconsin, and eventually became the first Ball State head coach to post seven consecutive winning seasons.\n"It feels great to be back in Indiana, and what a blessing it is to be around my family and friends," McCallum said. "It was a great experience when I was in the southwest part of the country, but it is an even better feeling to be back among family, friends and where basketball reigns"
(04/10/06 5:18am)
The Mike Davis dominoes continue to fall more than a month after he announced his resignation.\nThis weekend Mike Davis Jr. told the Birmingham News that sophomore forward Robert Vaden would follow the Davis family down to Alabama, where Mike Davis will coach University of Alabama-Birmingham next season. \nFellow sophomore forward D.J. White still appears to be in limbo. New IU coach Kelvin Sampson told ESPN's Jim Rome that he's waiting on White's decision, but the sophomore has been attending team workouts in the meantime.\n"Mike (Davis) did such a great job with the players here and they have such a fierce loyalty to him that it was a little difficult for me at first getting the kids to understand that there's different ways to do it and here's my way," \nSampson said on Rome's April 6 radio show.\nThe fallout isn't limited to current names on the IU roster though. IU had two recruits sign letters of intent this winter, both of whom are now questionable to join the team next fall. Forward Xavier Keeling of Huntsville, Ala., said his mother requested release papers from the University, but he plans to meet with Sampson in the next couple weeks to fully make up his mind.\n"I want to give (IU) a chance, and meet coach Sampson," Keeling said. "I should make my decision by the end of this month."\nKeeling said he established a good relationship with Davis before his departure, but he's already ruled out following IU's former coach to UAB. He said his options outside of IU are attending prep school or playing for the University of Cincinnati.\n"I really wanted to play for coach Davis," Keeling said. "But I don't want to stay in Alabama."\nThe other recruit currently penciled on IU's list is Terre Haute-native Armon Bassett. The 6-foot-1 point guard played for Hargrave Military Academy this season in Virginia after playing for Terre Haute South Vigo High School.\nSouth head coach Mike Saylor said he keeps in touch with Bassett, and that his former player is scheduled to meet with Sampson sometime this week. Saylor said something should develop after that meeting.\nA phone call to Bassett was not returned by press time.\nOne player, however, is rumored to be entering IU's revolving door rather than exiting it. Junior college standout Mike White visited Bloomington this weekend, according to recruiting Web site www.peegs.com. \nHailing from Lee College in Baytown, Texas, Mike White stands 6-foot-6, weighs 245 pounds and is ranked among the top 10 junior college players in the nation, according to www.jucojunction.com. He was also named co-MVP of the Region XIV Athletic Conference All-Region Team this season.\nWhile at Oklahoma, Sampson recruited a number of junior college players, and said during his March 29 press conference that there was nothing wrong with landing the occasional two-year player.\n"When North Carolina won the national championship last year, they had a lot of two-year players," Sampson said. "You get them at the front end or back end. It just depends on how you want to look at it"
(03/30/06 6:07pm)
There's a thin barrier between rumor and reality.\nAnd as IU's coaching search stretched on and on, that barrier seemed to stretch thinner and thinner. That is until Wednesday, when rumor and reality were finally separated -- once and for all.\n"The reality is that I didn't read a single article that was accurate in terms of projections of what was happening," IU President Adam Herbert said. "I was amazed that people were saying X or Y candidate was being interviewed when we never talked to them."\nThe names started pouring in as soon as former IU coach Mike Davis announced his resignation. \nFrom the north came buzz of Marquette's Tom Crean, while Florida coach Billy Donovan's name floated up from the south. West Virginia coach John Beilein represented the east coast, and Gonzaga's Mark Few the west. The NBA fueled the fires with Atlanta Hawks coach Mike Woodson and Warriors coach Mike Montgomery, and analysts even entered the ring in the form of ESPN's Rick Majerus. The IU alumni pool leaked Steve Alford, Randy Wittman, Keith Smart and Dane Fife into the rumor mill.\nNot one report cited a named source from within IU, but that didn't stop fans from taking them to heart.\n"That was the reality," Herbert said. "I don't make value judgements about it, but I think that it said something about some members of the press that they would speak authoritatively about something that never happened."\nIU Director of Athletics Rick Greenspan wouldn't divulge exactly how many candidates existed for the job, saying there were "more than two, and less than 20." And though he said the rumors didn't effect his personal approach to the search, he said they added two unfortunate elements to the process -- distrust and paranoia.\n"I have, I guess, old fashioned thoughts that an athletic director and a president, or an athletic director and a trustee president, sit with a coach," he said. "There are so many people that, I think, get in the middle of this. And either they have minimal knowledge or they have bad knowledge, and that creates a distrust with those people that you are legitimately talking to and legitimately have interest in, because they don't know if they can trust you or not."\nWhen asked if rumors inserted distrust into this particular search, Greenspan responded "absolutely."\n"The lack of candor, the lack of honesty, the lack of fair and equal representation of those people, in terms of the coaches, I think is hideous," he said. "And I hope it stops."\nIn reality, Greenspan and the search committee did contact several former players, a slew of former and current NCAA coaches and even a handful of NBA colleagues. But Herbert said those conversations revolved around what reputations, styles and abilities would fit for IU.\nEventually, as the search whittled down, IU Trustees Stephen Ferguson and Jeffrey Cohen joined Greenspan and Herbert in the lone, formal interview of the entire process. \nSix hours later, at 2 a.m. Wednesday, IU's four representatives struck an agreement with Kelvin Sampson -- a name hardly rumored at all. Reality had finally set in.\n"It's one of the first times that I've seen his eyes kind of light up," said Kellen Sampson, Kelvin's son. "This is the mecca of college basketball"
(03/30/06 5:11am)
IDS reporter Brian Janosch interviewed players, coaches, students and others Wednesday. Some of the following quotes were used in stories in today's newspaper, while others were left out.
(03/29/06 1:59pm)
Freshman Ben Allen's laptop became the center of attention at the men's basketball study table Tuesday afternoon, as several members of the team crowded together to read an ESPN.com article saying Oklahoma's Kelvin Sampson would be their next coach.\nAfter a week and a half of rampant media speculation, the team finally knew who would replace Mike Davis. And the name caught them a bit off guard.\n"I think everyone was kind of surprised because nobody was expecting (Sampson)," sophomore guard Adam Ahlfeld said. "The style his teams play with seems to be pretty intensely focused on defense, and I think he can recruit pretty well. So as the surprise wore off, I felt satisfied." \nThe players had not been a part of the selection process, so they knew about as much as the average IU student. But junior guard Earl Calloway said he didn't mind being left out of the loop.\n"I've just been waiting for the University to make a decision," Calloway said. "They handled the business. I mean, I don't think we're signing any contracts."\nHaving been left in the dark, junior guard Errek Suhr said he was a bit confused when the reports broke, but eventually his mood began to brighten. \n"We're lucky to have such a high-profile coach coming in here," Suhr said. "I'm real excited to get the season underway already."\nThe IU scouting Web site www.peegs.com tallied well more than a thousand posts on its message board Tuesday with hundreds of fans expressing their opinions on the hire. Many tried to predict if Sampson will be able to resurrect IU's program. Ahlfeld said that process starts with winning.\n"If it was Sampson, or anyone, the bottom line is to win basketball games," he said. "That's what any fan wants -- especially Indiana fans. It's not what they want, it's what they demand. And I think that's reasonable given our history."\nThe speedy point guard said he was pleased to hear that Sampson tends to stress an up-tempo style, and Calloway added that Sampson's passion for the game has always been evident -- even on television. Ahlfeld added that Sampson's coaching style should fit nicely in the Big Ten.\n"His very intense defense fits the mold of the Big Ten, which is very physical," Ahlfeld said. "He should be a perfect fit for this conference."\nEven though the speculation has ceased and a press conference should finalize the future of IU basketball, the adjustment isn't over for the team.\n"One door is closing, but another is opening," Ahlfeld said. "Things aren't just going to go back to the way they were ... There is closure in that we have a new coach, but there is still a lot of transition going on. Things haven't really stopped"
(03/21/06 5:27am)
SALT LAKE CITY -- It's time to say goodbye.\nWords can't fully express what ended Saturday. A season that began with limitless dreams quickly dissolved into a coaching fallout. But when the fires tamed, the Hoosiers that originally ignited optimism rose again. A five-game losing streak beget a five-game winning streak that beget IU's first tournament berth in three years.\nBut the run finally ended with a 90-80 loss to No.3-seeded Gonzaga Saturday night. And all that was left for a coach and his players were emotions. \nThe moment seemed larger than words.\n"I can't explain it," IU coach Mike Davis said of his feelings after the game. "We've been through a lot together. I am just proud of them."\nIn a fashion fitting for the entire season, the Hoosiers fought till the bitter end. They held the nation's leading scorer to 14 points. They set a new IU tournament record for 3-pointers. Their point guard even came one rebound shy of a triple-double.\nBut also in a fashion fitting for the entire season -- things were just not meant to be.\n"I'm not really disappointed," Davis said. "I'm really sad for my players -- I really am. We fought hard. If you don't come out and play hard, that's disappointment to me. But I thought we fought hard."\nFor 23 minutes, the game appeared promising. It took Gonzaga forward Adam Morrison 15 minutes just to notch his first\nfield goal, and the Hoosiers were having relative success on offense. Senior Marco Killingsworth was shooting better than 50 percent, and junior Earl Calloway was blazing the trail -- leading IU in points and rebounds.\nBut in the fourth minute of the second half, everything changed. IU hadn't led since the 13:19 mark in the first period, but a three from sophomore Robert Vaden not only started his 20-point night, but brought IU within one point of Gonzaga, 37-38. Shortly thereafter the Bulldogs' Sean Mallon netted two of his 15 points, and Morrison began jawing with IU junior Rod Wilmont. Both men received technical fouls, but more importantly, the emotional Morrison got the spark he needed to double his output the rest of the way.\nOn the next Bulldog possession, the referees whistled Killingsworth for a foul on Gonzaga's J.P. Batista. Killingsworth responded by slapping the ball and shouting, earning himself an additional technical foul -- bringing his total to four.\nKillingsworth didn't return to the game for another eight minutes when Gonzaga's lead had swelled comfortably to nine points.\n"With Marco out, you don't really have a lot of options," Vaden said.\nOne option the Hoosiers were left with -- shoot threes. And shoot them they did. After Killingsworth's technical, IU launched 19 threes and made 10 of them including seven of the last 10. All-together the Hoosiers netted 16 3-pointers, good for tops in tournament play and second most all-time in Hoosier history.\nBut all the while Gonzaga's three big men (Batista, Mallon and Morrison) kept pounding away inside to combine for 49 points and 28 rebounds.\n"They are a really physical team," senior guard Marshall Strickland said. "A lot more physical than a lot of people give them credit for."\nIn a game of 170 combined points, stats ruled the evening. But lost in the disparity of free throws (32-2) and points in the paint (46-20), was perhaps the best statistical evening of IU's season.\nCalloway managed to go 6-for-12 from the field for 13 points, dish out 10 assists -- all in the second half -- and grab nine rebounds despite standing 6-foot-3, 160 pounds. With one more board, the junior college transfer would have become the first Hoosier to record a triple-double in more than 30 years.\nBut there's no statistical solace in a loss. When the final buzzer sounded, the numbers that mattered most were 90 and 80. And now that the season has ended, there are four seniors set to move on, two sophomores whose futures remain in question and one coaching vacancy yet to be filled.\nAs for IU's now-former coach, he has larger priorities than basketball now.\n"I have a family to take care of," Davis said. "That's the most important thing to me."\nAs for the rest of the players, staff and fans -- it's time to say goodbye.
(03/19/06 10:14am)
SALT LAKE CITY -- It's time to say goodbye.\nWords can't begin to express what ended Saturday. A season that began with limitless dreams quickly dissolved into a coaching fallout. But when the fires tamed, the Hoosiers that originally garnered enthusiasm rose again. A five game losing streak beget a five game winning streak that beget IU's first tournament berth in three years.\nBut the run finally ended with a 90-80 loss to three seeded Gonzaga Saturday night. And all that was left from a coach and his players were emotions. The moment seemed larger than words.\n"I can't explain it," IU coach Mike Davis said of his feelings after the game. "We've been through a lot together. I am just proud of them."\nIn a fashion fitting for the entire season, the Hoosiers fought till the bitter end. They held the nation's leading scorer to 14 points. They set a new IU tournament record for 3-pointers. Their point guard even came one rebound shy of a triple-double.\nBut also in a fashion fitting for the entire season -- things were just not meant to be.\n"I'm not really disappointed," Davis said. "I'm really sad for my players -- I really am. We fought hard. If you don't come out and play hard, that's disappointment to me. But I thought we fought hard."\nFor 23 minutes, the game appeared promising. It took Gonzaga forward Adam Morrison 15 minutes just to notch his first field goal, and the Hoosiers were having relative success on offense. Senior Marco Killingsworth was shooting better than 50 percent, and junior Earl Calloway was blazing the trail -- leading IU in points and rebounds.\nBut in the fourth minute of the second half, everything changed. IU hadn't led since the 13:19 mark in the first period, but a three from sophomore Robert Vaden not only started his 20-point night, but brought IU within one point of Gonzaga, 37-38. Shortly thereafter the Bulldogs' Sean Mallon netted two of his 15 points, and Morrison began jawing with IU junior Rod Wilmont. Both men received technical fouls, but more importantly, the emotional Morrison got the spark he needed to lead his team the rest of the way.\nOn the next Bulldog possession, the referees whistled senior Marco Killingsworth for a foul on Gonzaga's J.P. Batista. Killingsworth responded by slapping the ball and shouting, earning himself an additional technical foul - bringing his total to four.\nKillingsworth didn't return to the game for another eight minutes when Gonzaga's lead had swelled comfortably to nine points.\n"With Marco out you don't really have a lot of options," Vaden said.\nOne option the Hoosiers were left with -- shoot threes. And shoot them they did. After Killingsworth's technical, IU launched 19 threes and made 10 of them including seven of the last 10. All together the Hoosiers netted 16 3-pointers, good for tops in tournament play and second most all time in Hoosier history.\nBut all the while Gonzaga's three big men (Batista, Mallon and Morrison) kept pounding away inside to combine for 49 points and 28 rebounds.\n"They are a really physical team," senior guard Marshall Strickland said. "A lot more physical than a lot of people give them credit for."\nIn a game of 170 combined points, stats ruled the evening. But lost in the disparity of free throws (32-2) and points in the paint (46-20), was perhaps the best statistical evening of IU's season.\nCalloway managed to go 6-12 from the field for 13 points, dish out 10 assists -- all in the second half -- and grab 9 rebounds despite standing 6-foot-3, 160 pounds. With one more board the junior college transfer would have become the first Hoosier to record a triple-double in more than 30 years.\nBut there's no statistical solace in a loss. When the final buzzer sounded, the numbers that mattered most were 90 and 80. And now that the season has ended, there are four seniors set to move on, two sophomores whose futures remain in question and one coaching vacancy yet to be filled.\nAs for IU's now-former coach, he has larger priorities than basketball now.\n"I have a family to take care of," Davis said. "That's the most important thing to me."\nAs for the rest of the players, staff and fans -- it's time to say goodbye.
(03/18/06 5:30am)
Throw out the stats. Forget the ball skills.\nThe real issue at hand leading up to Saturday's Gonzaga-IU game is quite simple. It comes down to one question.\nWho's got the better 'stache?\nGonzaga's Adam Morrison has drawn attention all season for his fuzzy, caterpillar-like facial hair, but one Hoosier in particular feels a little under appreciated.\n"It depends on what style you like," junior Earl Calloway said. "But mine's sexier -- a little thicker."\nThe junior college transfer has stayed true to his soup strainer all season long. And even when Calloway was at his coolest Thursday -- scoring 18 and recording six steals -- his upper lip remained warm all the while.\n"I'm going to have to stick with my teammate," sophomore Robert Vaden said. "He keeps it lined up. Morrison's is kind of bushy."\nMorrison has received criticism all season long for his pre-pubescent looking patch of black hair filling the space beneath his nose. But at Friday's press conference, one reporter noticed the mustache filling in nicely.\n"I think I'm becoming a man in that area I guess," Morrison said. "This is all I can muster up."\nBut sophomore A.J. Ratliff may have found the real barometer for mustache measurement. And by his guidelines, Calloway claims the supreme 'stache.\n"It's the Pringles," Ratliff said. "He's like the Pringles man. Adam Morrison has just got the skinny Larry Bird one, but he has the big, thick Pringles can"
(03/18/06 5:15am)
SALT LAKE CITY -- Only three other teams in the country can relate to the predicament facing IU.\nMaryland, Memphis and Virginia are the only teams in the nation that know what it is like to play Duke's J.J. Redick and Gonzaga's Adam Morrison. After Saturday night, the Hoosiers will be able to relate.\nAnd perhaps the only thing scarier than playing both players is the tendency for one to upscale the other. Morrison played Maryland and Virginia first, and scored 25 and 27 points. Redick then dropped 27 and 35 in his two meetings with Maryland, and 40 against Virginia. But Memphis played Redick first and held him to just 15 points. Morrison then showed up Redick by scoring 34 against the Tigers.\nThat doesn't bode well for the Hoosiers who allowed 29 points to Redick in November.\n"I think we allowed (Redick) to get too many open looks," junior Rod Wilmont said. "We never made him work to get the ball, but I know tomorrow we're going to make Morrison work to get the ball."\nThe 6-foot-8 junior from Spokane exploded onto the national scene this year, averaging a nation-high 28.6 points per game. After watching tape of the lanky 21 year old, several Hoosiers said his danger comes in his versatility.\nMorrison's long arms allow him to post up and shoot hooks or jumpers over his defender, but he can drain the long ball just as easily, shooting 44 percent from range.\n"He's definitely the player of the year," IU coach Mike Davis said. "He's the best player."\nLearning their lesson from Redick, the Hoosiers understand that it's more important to defend a player of that caliber when he doesn't have the ball as opposed to when he does.\n"You have to keep him from getting it, because once he gets it, you're at his mercy," sophomore A.J. Ratliff said. "He has numerous amounts of moves, from ball screens to driving to the hole."\nRatliff, standing just 6-foot-2, will most likely draw a fair amount of time trying to guard Morrison. IU's guard talked to his friend Justin Cage of Xavier about guarding the player of the year candidate, and the main thing he learned was to keep his mouth shut.\n"Near halftime (Morrison) only had 10 points, so Justin started telling him 'Yeah, you're on lock'," Ratliff said. "But then (Morrison) went off for 35 points, so I don't think you want to talk trash."\nThough Ratliff spoke as if he would be seeing at least some time on Morrison, Davis wouldn't divulge exactly who would draw the assignment.\n"I was thinking about putting (my 7 year-old son) Antoine on him, but I couldn't get his eligibility before tomorrow's game," Davis joked. "No, we may put Errek Suhr on him."\nHaving been a defensive specialist in his playing days, Davis also went on to explain why he would have been able to contain Morrison.\n"They didn't call fouls in my day, so I would have won the battle," Davis said. "I would have fouled him every time."\nBut regardless of who guards Morrison, or how they approach the assignment, many of the Hoosiers understand that a player that talented will score his points. They key for Saturday may be simply limiting the rest of the Bulldogs.\n"In 32 games nobody has figured out, yet, how to stop him," Davis said. "So I don't think we can do it in two days. But I'm hoping that we can just contain everybody else"
(03/17/06 8:32pm)
SALT LAKE CITY -- Twice in the second half a loose ball ended up in the hands of sophomore Robert Vaden.\nTwice Vaden took that ball and drained an open look from three.\nAnd only twice in that half did the Hoosiers hold a lead over No. 11 seed San Diego State. Fortunately for IU, the second of those two similar occurrences came with only 3.3 seconds left. \nThe No. 6 seeded Hoosiers were able to steal victory away from the Aztecs Thursday night, 87-83, thanks in large part to two freakishly similar plays that resulted in IU's only two 3-pointers, and only two leads of the second half. \nWith almost eight minutes remaining, the Hoosiers had just ripped off seven straight points to climb within two of San Diego State. After a pair of free throws by junior Rod Wilmont, Vaden challenged the Aztec inbound and Mohamed Abukar threw an arrant pass to IU junior Earl Calloway. Calloway quickly swung a pass to Vaden, who netted a three to give the Hoosiers their first lead of the half.\nBut the Aztecs quickly fought back and climbed ahead until the game's final seconds. That's where, again, an arrant pass popped into the air only to land back into the hands of Vaden. The sophomore coolly stopped, paused for half a second, and then drained the shot that saved the Hoosiers' season.\n"I almost peed my pants there," junior guard Errek Suhr said. "It was great. This is what it's all about -- it was awesome."\nVaden went from a question mark before the game, to an exclamation point after it. Playing on a bum ankle, Vaden had to wear two different sized shoes just to fit his massive brace. The Indianapolis native then proceeded to play a team-high 36 minutes and sink five 3-pointers to pace the Hoosiers with 18 points. \n"I felt like I was going to play a couple days ago," Vaden said. "This is one of the biggest games of my life, one of the biggest times of my life, and I wanted to be on the court." \nThough Vaden may have been the game's hero, Calloway certainly could qualify as the trusty sidekick. Calloway also scored 18, only missed one shot, assisted three buckets and tallied an IU season-high six steals. \nAnd whenever IU needed a basket most, Calloway answered. In the first half he capped a 9-2 run with an up-and-under scoop shot, followed by a crossover and finish that left his defender staggering on his heels. And in the second half, around the five-minute mark, Calloway scored on a drive, assisted the next bucket, scored again and finished the stretch with another drive and score -- this time getting fouled and sinking the free throw to tie the game at 76.\n"Earl Calloway was fantastic," IU coach Mike Davis said. "He looked faster than he's ever looked."\nAll but one of Calloway's eight field goals came from within the paint, so it served fitting that the Hoosiers netted a total of 51 (Calloway's jersey number) points from the post. The other key component to that statistic was senior Marco Killingsworth who shot just 3-7 for six points in the first half, but then went 5-6 for 12 points in the second. IU's 51 points in the paint nearly doubled the Aztec's 28, while the Hoosiers' 23 points off turnovers more than doubled San Diego State's 10.\n"It's fun coaching this team now, it really is," Davis said. "I'm proud of these guys because of their attitude."\nNow among the field of 32, the Hoosiers next face No. 3 seed Gonzaga who similarly had to fight off No. 14 Xavier to win, 79-75. The Bulldogs bring with them the nation's leading scorer in junior Adam Morrison -- a player defensive coach Donnie Marsh will surely see plenty of before Saturday.\n"I think I'm going to be seeing that guy in my sleep tonight," he said.