I’m thinking back to 2008, as my friends and I made plans to travel to the Maui Classic to watch our Hoosiers win.  The year before Indiana had made it into the second round of the NCAA Tournament, losing a tight game to UCLA, who went on to the Final Four.  Things looks promising for the first time since the Bob Knight era, so we were anticipating a great season,  and a great time in Hawaii.  However, soon after we booked the trip,  on February 22, 2008, in the midst of  Big Ten action, Coach Kelvin Sampson accepted a contract buyout and resigned from his position, following allegations by the NCAA.  Rick Greenspan also resigned as Athletic Director, and former player, Dan Dakich, became the interim coach.  Despite all the turmoil,  I.U. finished 25-8 for the season, 14-4 for 3rd place in the Big Ten, and 20th in the final Coaches Poll, but lost to Arkansas in the first round of the NCAA basketball tournament.  We were still optimistic.

During the off-season, Armon Bassett and Jamarcus Ellis were dismissed from the team, and Eric Gordon complained of teammate drug use. Tom Crean from Marquette was hired as head coach, and from that point out it was “the last one out please turn out the lights.”  D.J. White left as a Senior, but other notables also exited to other opportunities, including Jordan Crawford, and DeAndre Thomas.  Eric Gordon went pro, so a complete re-building of the program was necessary.  We would be traveling to Maui with the distinct possibility that my friends and I might be needed to play.  None of us had played since grade school.

The 2008-09 season started with a couple of cup-cake victories before the Maui Classic.  The team managed to salvage a narrow two-point victory against host Chaminade, after losing badly to Notre Dame and St. Joseph’s.  Freshman, Tom Pritchard was the sole hope for the future.  The good news was that we didn’t have to sit in that hot dark gym to watch beyond halftime of the 38-point blowout by the Fighting Irish, and could enjoy the beach and sunshine.  That season couldn’t have finished soon enough, going 6-25 overall and 1-17 in the Big Ten.

The NCAA imposed a three-year probation on Indiana, and Sampson moved on to the Milwaukee Bucks.  Eric Gordon, now a current NBA star, was the focus of Sampson’s recruiting violations.  Gordon had previously committed to Illinois, but decided to go to Indiana.  I remember attending the Hoosier and Illini game in Champaign, IL just two weeks before the Sampson dismissal.  Indiana won a two overtime thriller on an impressive night by Gordon.  I was embarrassed for the Illinois crowd and Eric’s family in their treatment of EG and his coach, with unrepeatable racial slurs and taunting.  I didn’t think they would leave Assembly Hall alive that night, especially after a couple of Gordon daggers to seal the victory.  I’ve never seen an angrier crowd at any sporting event.

We didn’t leave Maui angry, just tanned, but as the years went on I began to realize the frustrating impact of the firing and coaching change.  Crean had his moments, but Knight’s success will forever be the standard at Indiana.  As we enter another season, Archie Miller will now take the reins under A.D. Fred Glass.  Both are great additions to the University, and together they bring new hope.  However, the Indiana Basketball reputation has dropped in perception, and top recruits have flocked elsewhere.  As I watch today’s ESPN coverage of the shoe scandal, I’m intrigued for two reasons.  First, I wonder if the scandal will extend beyond Adidas, and include local, industry-leader, Nike and even UnderArmour?  Secondly, I wonder how much of a recruiting advantage that Adidas branded schools like Louisville, Auburn, Arkansas, Oklahoma State, and U.S.C. had in recent recruiting wars.  It could very well be that many other schools enjoyed the benefits of shoe company incentives.  Hopefully, Indiana is not involved in these kind of practices, since it too signed a 53.6 Million dollar deal with Adidas!  Plus, too close for comfort, is the fact that Archie Miller’s brother Sean is the head coach of Arizona, their program also under investigation by the F.B.I.  Indiana University could not afford another set-back in our basketball program, although it would be just like Tom Crean to leave us with the shoe scandal hanging over our heads.

As the PK80 college basketball tournament event comes to Portland, I hope that Nike is not using similar tactics to lure schools and players to their brand.  Today’s firing of Rick Pitino at Louisville, the highest paid coach in college basketball, is probably just the beginning.  Maybe they need to look down the road at Kentucky and their contract with Nike.  However, that’s just a personal suspicion, fueled by years of frustration with John Calipari, who even Bob Knight never trusted.  He felt the same way about Pitino, and now we know why.   Perhaps, it was the heated competition between Louisville and Kentucky that caused Pitino to break the rules.  What about his son at Minnesota?  These are questions that I have, all out of bitterness about thriving programs at Kentucky, Louisville, and even Minnesota.  Maybe success in basketball truly is all about the shoes.  I never felt that I could run faster or jump higher in my PF Flyers, but financial success on the basketball court today is all about the combination of an NBA and shoe contract.