Hoosiers Winning With Players Mostly From Indiana

N.Y. Daily News

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/college/weiss-hoosiers-hometown-hoopsters-article-1.1196363

Few things in college sports go together better than Indiana and basketball—at least that’s the way it used to be.

The Hoosiers were once the gold standard in the Big Ten and the country, but despite the sustained success of Bob Knight and his last stand, Mike Davis’ 2002 unexpected trip to the Final Four and Kelvin Sampson’s ability to lure high profile recruits, Indiana basketball recently has meant little beyond the campus town of Bloomington.

The Hoosiers have been forced to fight for relevance in their own state with favorite sons Brad Stevens of Butler and Matt Painter of Purdue, who have modeled their programs after Indiana’s.

But when the Hoosiers were voted No. 1 in both the AP and coaches’ polls this fall for the first time since 1979 and only the third time in school history, it gave passionate Indiana fans a chance to say the Crimson and Cream has returned to its rightful place on the top of the mountain. Sophomore center Cody Zeller is the early favorite for National player of the year, receiving 64 of 65 votes from the media who selected a preseason five-man, All-American team for the Associated Press. Indiana basketball tickets are again one of the hottest items in the state.

They say absence makes the heart grow fonder and there is nothing like the thirst for success among the Indiana faithful. When Tom Crean held the school’s annual of Hoosier Hysteria Oct. 20, passionate fans, who lined up to get into Assembly Hall on a Saturday morning, filled the arena to capacity two hours before the 7 p.m. event began. Crean apologized to those who were turned away.

Those who were there got to see an emotional video tribute linking the current team to the great teams in the history of Indiana basketball.

“It’s pretty crazy to think about how far we’ve come, ” senior guard Jordan Hulls, who grew up near campus and was a 2009 Mr. Basketball at Bloomington West, said paid at the Big Ten media day here. “It speaks volumes of how coach Crean and his staff have really instilled their lives into getting Indiana basketball back to where people are used to seeing it. Being part of the losing seasons and then now, last year, having a pretty good year and then expectations. It’s pretty cool to be part of that.”

The Hoosiers have come back from the dark ages and Crean is doing it with mostly in-state kids, firmly in the Indiana tradition.

Crean spent the last four years making a determined ascent to the summit, reconstructing the program from scratch after Indiana self-imposed a three-year probation in February of 2008 following an NCAA investigation into a phone call scandal that tarnished the pristine image of the program and resulted in the resignation of Sampson and restrictions on off-campus recruiting.

Hoosiers Winning With Players Mostly From Indiana

N.Y. Daily News

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/college/weiss-hoosiers-hometown-hoopsters-article-1.1196363

Few things in college sports go together better than Indiana and basketball—at least that’s the way it used to be. The Hoosiers were once the gold standard in the Big Ten and the country, but despite the sustained success of Bob Knight and his last stand, Mike Davis’ 2002 unexpected trip to the Final Four and Kelvin Sampson’s ability to lure high profile recruits, Indiana basketball recently has meant little beyond the campus town of Bloomington. The Hoosiers have been forced to fight for relevance in their own state with favorite sons Brad Stevens of Butler and Matt Painter of Purdue, who have modeled their programs after Indiana’s. But when the Hoosiers were voted No. 1 in both the AP and coaches’ polls this fall for the first time since 1979 and only the third time in school history, it gave passionate Indiana fans a chance to say the Crimson and Cream has returned to its rightful place on the top of the mountain. Sophomore center Cody Zeller is the early favorite for National player of the year, receiving 64 of 65 votes from the media who selected a preseason five-man, All-American team for the Associated Press. Indiana basketball tickets are again one of the hottest items in the state. They say absence makes the heart grow fonder and there is nothing like the thirst for success among the Indiana faithful. When Tom Crean held the school’s annual of Hoosier Hysteria Oct. 20, passionate fans, who lined up to get into Assembly Hall on a Saturday morning, filled the arena to capacity two hours before the 7 p.m. event began. Crean apologized to those who were turned away. Those who were there got to see an emotional video tribute linking the current team to the great teams in the history of Indiana basketball. “It’s pretty crazy to think about how far we’ve come, ” senior guard Jordan Hulls, who grew up near campus and was a 2009 Mr. Basketball at Bloomington West, said paid at the Big Ten media day here. “It speaks volumes of how coach Crean and his staff have really instilled their lives into getting Indiana basketball back to where people are used to seeing it. Being part of the losing seasons and then now, last year, having a pretty good year and then expectations. It’s pretty cool to be part of that.” The Hoosiers have come back from the dark ages and Crean is doing it with mostly in-state kids, firmly in the Indiana tradition. Crean spent the last four years making a determined ascent to the summit, reconstructing the program from scratch after Indiana self-imposed a three-year probation in February of 2008 following an NCAA investigation into a phone call scandal that tarnished the pristine image of the program and resulted in the resignation of Sampson and restrictions on off-campus recruiting.