Hoosier Hysteria

February 22, 2008



ESPN's Erin Andrews & Coach Sampson




Hoosier Hysteria



As soon as the buzzer sounded at the Butler/ Cleveland State game, I was headed south to Bloomington, a 45 minute drive from Indianapolis to yet another college basketball Mecca, Assembly Hall on the Campus of Indiana University. The embattled Hoosiers were playing their first game since revelations that their coach, Kelvin Sampson had been accused of recruiting violations that could possibly lead to his suspension or firing.

IU's Eric Gordon



The Hoosier team meanwhile, was battling for the lead in the big ten conference and was playing tenth ranked Michigan State in a nationally televised (ESPN) Saturday night game. After eating dinner at one of the many Kirkwood Street establishments, I headed over to the game to see how the Hoosiers would react.

Dick Vitale

Assembly Hall

The scene inside of the arena was as frenetic an atmosphere as I have any experienced in years of attending basketball games. The fans were crazed and loud, though it was difficult to tell if they actually supported Coach Sampson or simply just the team. What wasn’t in question was the effort that IU put forth. After falling behind by 11 early in the game, the Hoosiers suddenly hit a switch and romped to an 80-61 victory in front of the crazed crowd. Freshman sensation Eric Gordon scored 28 points and IU improved to 21-4 overall and 10-2 a half game behind Purdue for the big ten lead.



Things don’t look good for Sampson in the long run, but at the moment, the Hoosiers seem capable of making a deep run in the tournament with Gordon and center D.J. White leading the way. It was a satisfying drive back to Indianapolis after a weekend seeing three stellar games.

Indianapolis

February 22, 2008

Hinkle Field House





Indianapolis



The winter blahs strike even Key West and unlike most people who seek sunnier climes to escape to, I like to seek out the frigid North for weekend getaways. Last weekend, I decided to head up to Indianapolis for a weekend of seeing friends and attending basketball. Kathy opted to remain in Key West, not being so inclined to have to don warm apparel.

Coach Hicks leads the Irish

John

Growing up in Indianapolis, I developed an intense love for two sports, auto racing and basketball. While Key West high offers me an occasional chance to see decent basketball, there is nothing like the energy and enthusiasm of Hoosier Hysteria.
I flew up on Friday morning and by mid afternoon I was sitting in the office of my former classmate and friend Ken Barlow at my alma mater, Cathedral High School. Ken has signed on as an assistant coach to the CHS varsity team that is coached by another teammate and fellow All-American Scott Hicks. Back when I was in school, they together led Cathedral to the Indiana State Finals and a national ranking as high as forth before taking their considerable talents to Notre Dame where they played for Digger Phelps. Now they are re-united again and the Cathedral Irish team has once again found glory, with a current 19-2 record and ranked fourth in the state. Among the team leaders is Ken’s son, Kelsey Barlow who as a junior, has already signed a letter of intent to play at Purdue University.



The Friday night game that I attended with my buddy, John Cornwell, was against the Ben Davis Giants and was another victory for the Irish. Though certainly not their best display of basketball, they managed to control things throughout and come away with a 67-55 victory. It was great fun to be back at Cathedral, to see old friends and former teachers who are still there. It’s also wonderful to see my friends coaching so successfully, though it’s not really all that surprising.



Mike Green

Saturday, I paid a quick morning visit to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to see the new construction on the new motorcycle track in the infield, before heading to the best brewery in Indianapolis for lunch, Brugge Brasserie. My friends Ted & Shannon Miller can’t seem to rest on their laurels as they have acquired the upstairs of their location and plan to expand their operations soon. In addition, the recently acquired brewery in Terre Haute is in operation and bottled Brugge beer will soon be available all over Hoosierland.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway





Saturday afternoon, I spent in the best college basketball arena in the country, the legendary Hinkle Field house on the campus of Butler University. The historic site was packed to the rafters due to the resurgent Butler Bulldogs, currently ranked 8th in the Nation. The game between Butler and Cleveland State was not the prettiest basketball ever witnessed, with Butler eking out a 51-46 victory to improve to 24-2. It was a joy to watch and to see the old field house full and rocking again. Butler has an excellent team led by AJ Graves and Mike Green, and while they may not be one of the ten best in the country, they are a ton of fun to watch and easy to root for. Hopefully they can make another run at the sweet sixteen next month in the NCAA tourney.