IU and Purdue: Finally this game means something

First appeared on February 18, 2015
in The Lebanon Reporter

I grew up hating Purdue. And we're not talking your run of the mill spinach tastes like you’re licking the soiled lid of a Styrofoam bait cooler you found on the floor of your grandfather’s barn kind of hate. This was an "I don’t want you asking her out son, her family roots for Purdue" kind of hate. It was a "We’re not stopping the car to help that stranded motorist because God is punishing him for having a Purdue window cling" kind of hate.

But, as with most things, boiled spinach aside, tastes and perspectives change. Today I find myself pulling for the Boilers when they're not playing Indiana; though I haven't found the courage to share this news with my father yet. I imagine his disappointment mirroring the time I told him I didn’t need to take the SAT because I’d decided to become a Rodeo Clown.

Thursday night all bets are off. Thursday night there will be no moonlighting as a Boiler fan. Thursday night Indiana and Purdue will renew their rivalry once again in Bloomington, only this time there will be more than just pride on the line.

For the first time in a long time this game will actually mean something. It will be more than just two mediocre teams fighting to keep their heads above water while dying a slow death in the middle of the Big Ten pack. There is more than just bragging rights or revenge on the line. In short, this is the most important game in the history of the rivalry (or at least since they met in the 1980 NCAA Sweet 16).

It could be said the outcome of Thursday night’s game will alter the course of one of these programs forever. It could also be said blue is the new black and “Indiana General Assembly” is a synonym for out of touch, but those are columns for another time.

There are clear implications riding on Thursday night’s game. For the last 10-15 years the state of Indiana has provided the basketball world with some mega-talent and far too often these players have opted to venture outside her borders to attend school. With both programs struggling for solid footing in the recruiting world, Thursday night could mark an opportunity for Purdue to make a powerful statement to potential recruits.

Both schools also have an opportunity to earn one of the top four seeds in the Big Ten Tournament. Considering expansion has added two new teams to the conference and another round to the tournament, the double-bye the top four seeds are granted is destined to become a much coveted advantage. Beyond this, neither team is a surefire lock for the NCAA Tourney. Thursday night would go a long way in keeping Purdue’s hopes alive, while it could also open another gash in Indiana’s ship, which last we checked was still busy taking on water.

It could be argued the fate of both head coaches hangs in the balance as well. Should Crean get swept by an in-state rival on his way to another season that ends without tournament play, things in Bloomington could get ugly fast. Conversely it would appear Painter is already coaching for his life and a loss Thursday night could force his team into a kind of full blown “win the Big Ten Tournament or else” desperation mode.

So don’t fool yourself, while you won’t see any jackets tossed into the stands or chairs spinning across the floor, this is a huge game. And while Indiana probably won’t offer half-price seats to anyone leading a jackass in a Purdue hat through the turnstiles, don’t fool yourself, this game means everything.

© 2015 Eric Walker Williams

Next year too far away for Crean and Painter

First appeared on November 25, 2014
in The Lebanon Reporter

Don’t look now but here comes basketball season. That familiar chill is in the air and suddenly moving to Florida to run the trailer park Uncle Rich left behind doesn’t look so bad. A few backed up toilets and a gator in a kiddie pool sound fairly glamorous when stacked up against shoveling snow in thirty mile an hour winds and subzero temperatures.

If football sends us out on a Friday night under a blazing fall sunset to breathe in the first chill of an emerging winter, basketball finds us huddling around a space heater and blowing into our hands while passing a bottle of something warm around. And for the first time in a great long while, it would seem fans of basketball at Indiana and Purdue find themselves passing the bottle around in the same place (all regards to both Nick’s and Harry’s).

So fans are left muddling through this contentious congregation in some dark room in the back as head coaches Matt Painter and Tom Crean are forced to leave the party early. Sharing the same elevator, an awkward moment finds Crean tugging at his belt nervously while Painter uncrosses his arms long enough to wipe a stream of sweat from his forehead. And as the doors slide shut, both are left to wonder if they’re bound for a higher level of success or coaching purgatory.

Once again we find Matt Painter struggling to construct a time machine capable of catapulting him out of the Baby Boiler era. Finding a fresh group of talent to regain solid footing in West Lafayette has become Painter’s white whale. For since Moore, Johnson and Hummel left town, Purdue has floundered through one untimely departure after another and a seemingly endless supply of Johnson’s.

But fear not Boiler fans, for the cupboard finally appears stocked with some promising, and conveniently interchangeable, pieces. These young players should fit nicely around a battled tested big man in Carmel Junior AJ Hammons, also known as the most intriguing (and at times frustrating) talent Purdue has seen in many moons.

For seven years Tom Crean has been living off the life insurance policy Kelvin Samson’s untimely death caused. Hoosier fans rallied around Crean in the beginning. They welcomed Cody Zeller with open arms and celebrated the evolution of Victor Oladipo. But somewhere along the way a really talented and deep team failed to escape the Sweet Sixteen. Fast forward and we find Crean’s program hit with one unexpectedly terrible black eye after another. Now he’s hoping a young and tremendously undersized team is enough to keep his red hot seat from turning white.

What we have here is a story of two programs. Two programs, once proud and accustomed to high levels of success. Two programs suddenly stuck in a perpetual state of mediocrity. Two programs who find themselves relegated to middle of the pack horses in an ever widening race. Two programs struggling to strike a balance between lofty fan expectations and the realities of college basketball as we know it today.

Still, it’s no secret these fan bases are growing restless. Both coaches have reached the point where next year is too far away. Crean’s advantage is a set of talented wings who can make plays and score, but Hammons size gives the Boilers the best chance to win in the Big Ten. And be wary of that guy, the one saying there’s no way either coach will be fired; for this is likely the same person who’d tell you the best way to get that gator out of the kiddie pool is to dive in after it.

© 2014 Eric Walker Williams

Irish building quiet dynasty

First appeared on January 13th, 2010
in The Lebanon Reporter
It is college sports (or perhaps politics) at its finest, knowing the Alabama state legislature will take up the issue of a Congressional resolution celebrating the Crimson Tide’s national championship. So as the grass roots movement to nominate Head Football Coach Nick Saban Czar of the BCS, Governor of Alabama or perhaps Pope, rages through the Yellowhammer State with all the fury of an Cat 5 Hurricane there are some coaches dominating their sport with much less ballyhoo and fanfare.
For 23 years Muffet McGraw has done nothing but show up and punch the time clock. Demanding the most of herself as well as her staff and players has led to 14 straight NCAA tournament appearances. Her resume includes 584 total wins as well as a National Championship (2001). McGraw’s teams have won 74% of their games and her players are graduating at a clip of 100%. Just who is she you may ask? For those not in the know, she is the head coach of the Notre Dame Lady Irish and her team is currently undefeated and ranked 3rd in the national polls.
You don’t need me telling you that winning 74% of her games far exceeds anything the football program has put together over the last 20 years but I don’t see the day the bean counters at NBC come knocking on McGraw’s door with a TV contract in hand. But such is life, and college sports of course.
Understandable or not, with the firing of Charlie Weis and undefeated runs by both the Colts and Purdue, the perfect start to this season by the Lady Irish has gone largely overlooked in the Hoosier state. This being said, while the Irish have been dominant on most nights, every great run isn’t without its own close calls. Four of Notre Dame’s wins this season have been by 5 points or less including a 68-67 squeaker over Michigan State early in the year.
In getting out to such a fast start Notre Dame has leaned hard on three key players; Freshman Skylar Diggins and Seniors Lindsay Schrader and Ashley Barlow. Diggins is a hometown hero who helped South Bend Washington win a State title. She also garnered national fame by being named the 2009 Gatorade Female Athlete of the Year. The perfect compliment for an outstanding freshman of course would be some seasoned veterans to play alongside. This is exactly what McGraw has in Schrader and the Pike grad Barlow. Not only are they experienced, both seniors are also 1,000 point scorers.
Now before we uncork the champagne and declare the Lady Irish season a complete success, bear in mind they do have a date with number 1 Connecticut on Saturday, in Storrs. You remember UCONN right? Head coach Gino Auriemma? The John Wooden of girls’ basketball? The man with so many rings the grand opening of his jewelry store would include an overstock sale?
If McGraw’s teams are anything like her however, they won’t be fazed by Auriemma’s six rings or UCONN’s recent run of total dominance. And by total dominance here we are specifically referring to the fact that they have won 54 straight games.
Despite her fountain of success however McGraw’s teams are accustomed to toiling in the shadow of a once proud tradition of grid-iron-greatness. Something tells me McGraw will once again be forced to play second fiddle to another football team when her girls face UCONN Saturday night as that is when the Colts play Baltimore. But hey, I guess it’s moments like this that prompted Al Gore to invent the DVR now isn’t it?

Purdue Suffocatingly Stellar in Win

First appeared on January 5th, 2009
in The Lebanon Reporter

With everything that happened over the weekend, Mike Leach’s firing, Ohio State winning the Rose Bowl, Tim Tebow playing his last college game (in which we saw the glass slipper finally fall off Cinderella’s hairy Bearcat foot) and our beloved Colts performing another stirring rendition of “Lay Down Sally”, Purdue’s performance in Mackey Arena Saturday against West Virginia was understandably lost in the shuffle.
While both teams rode in to West Lafayette with undefeated records, by the midway point of the second half one had to wonder if the Mountaineers wouldn’t be heading back to the Blue Ridge Mountains via stretcher. With 1993-94’s 14-0 start squarely in their sights, it would appear the Big Dog’s leash is about out of rope as a new generation of Boilermaker basketball is busy chasing history.
Simply put, Purdue did what Purdue does, they defended West Virginia 94 feet for 40 minutes. And they don’t merely guard you, they harass you. They hound you. They are in your shorts the minute you break the team huddle. They are tough. They are physical. They are well coached and they are relentless. And just when you think you have turned a corner and beaten your man to the basket for an easy score, like a high-dollar Vegas magic act, somebody ALWAYS appears from the weak side to deflect the shot or take a charge.
When ESPN Jay Bilas said Purdue was simply “outtoughing” West Virginia Saturday, it became clear he was so inspired by what he saw that he turned to using words nobody ever uses to describe it.
Handing the ball to officials and cheering for their teammates from the sidelines may give the appearance that Purdue is a clean cut and proper bunch, but they’re not the type of Boy Scouts who would help an old lady cross the street. They’d rather take a charge from a speeding bus to be certain she gets herself and her groceries home in one piece.
To borrow a page out of the Jay Bilas playbook, the Boilers were “suffocatingly” stellar in their win on Saturday. Not only were they outstanding defensively, the key to their performance against West Virginia was the fact that the Boilers shot the ball very well too. Coming in to Saturday’s game Purdue was shooting 45% as a team from the field, this included 31% from three point range. Saturday the Boilers fired 50% from the field including a blistering 60% from behind the arc in the second half.
Unappealing but effective, Purdue’s style is a lot like Picasso’s painting. The first impression is that both are relatively ugly, but true art aficionados and fans who understand basketball appreciate each for their individual beauty.
With this year’s Final Four just a few miles down the road in Indianapolis, Purdue may be able to save some money on Expedia by booking their hotel rooms now. For, even with speedy point guard Lewis Jackson out for the season following foot surgery, the Boilers showed Saturday they still have everything they need to make a run to Indianapolis.
For the most part on Saturday West Virginia appeared as if they didn’t have any business being on the floor with Purdue. But before we go feeling sorry for head coach Bob Huggins let’s understand, barring another key injury, Purdue has enough talent and tenacity to make their way to Indianapolis come March. And that should be enough to keep Boiler fans everywhere dancing; even the Big Dog himself.

What does Football on Hardwood, Al Gore, old Chevy Impala's and the Cold War have in common?

First appeared on December 1st, 2009
in The Lebanon Reporter

Well it’s that time of the year again; the proverbial “Most wonderful time of the year”. For Big Ten fans however, the ACC/Big Ten challenge has not been a wonderful time for anything. For far too long, or since its inception whichever you please, the Challenge has ended with the Big Ten finding itself in a familiar spot; safely strapped to the ACC’s whipping post.
There is a saying in Slavic cultures about whipping posts which goes “Nothin’ seems to change, bad times stay the same”, or maybe that was the Allman Brothers, either way for 11 years the numbers don’t lie. The ACC has been dominant winning all 10 challenges with an overall advantage of 62-35.
In years past one got the feeling the Big Ten had about as much chance of winning the Challenge as that of an Aztec prisoner escaping a ritual sacrifice. And for those of you who didn’t major in World History, that chance would be zero. The only thing more amazing than the ACC’s dominance in the Challenge is the fact that ESPN continues to pay for the rights to broadcast it.
The Big Ten’s inability to win the Challenge has been a harbinger of their performance on the national stage as well. For the last 20 years, rare has been the number one seed or Final Four. In fact since 1989 the Big Ten has notched only 2 National Champions while the ACC has seen 7 teams cut the nets down.
But this year is different. This year there is something in the air. Al Gore would tell you it is too much hair spray or the exhaust of a ’78 Chevrolet Impala, but I believe it to be the winds of change. This year the Big Ten seems to once again resemble the power basketball conference it once was.
To be clear, this is the year the Big Ten will finally win the challenge for the first time. Write it down, fold it up and send it in, there is no way the Big Ten loses for an eleventh time (at least not this year).
Currently the Big Ten boasts 5 ranked teams with 2 in the Top 10. Conversely the ACC has 3 ranked with only 1 being a Top 10 squad. While a few of the match ups may appear to be one-sided (see Maryland vs. Indiana), Sparty (the only Big Ten team with a winning record in the Challenge) facing UNC on the road and Illinois going to Clemson’s Littlejohn Coliseum are just two games that should prove extremely interesting.
Purdue’s “football on the hardwood” should be enough to manhandle Wake Forest while both Penn State and Northwestern have opportunities to open some eyes with tough road wins.
In a week where we should be discussing which undefeated college football team will wind up where, the BCS has once again reminded us that hers is a system born of that rare combination of indecision and incompetence. With this in mind, the Big Ten/ACC challenge moves to the forefront of our attention. So roll the balls out and let’s go.
For three days Purdue fans root for IU and Buckeyes cheer for the Maize and Gold. For three days the Big Ten is the United States and the ACC is the Soviet Union during the height of the Cold War. It’s corn-fed beef and combines versus shellfish and sailboats, the black and blue bang’em up style of the Big Ten versus the wide open play of the ACC. On second thought, maybe this is the most wonderful time of the year.