Back in 1998, nearly 24-years ago, I started to write a book about IU basketball. I was on my way back from the Maui Invitational after a 76-63 Hoosier loss in the finals to Syracuse. It was revenge for the Orange who fell in heartbreaking fashion to the Hoosiers back in the 1987 NCAA Championship on the last second shot by Keith Smart. The Maui Championship was little compensation for that setback, but would finally get their overall crown in 2003 with Jim Boeheim still at the helm. Mike Davis had taken over as the Hoosier head coach after Bob Knight was fired in 2000, so Maui was the last matchup between these two coaching legends.
In the Maui game, Syracuse got to the sixty-point mark first, my personal measure for what it takes to beat IU. Over the next two years, I began to research this theory through several trips to the IU Sports Information offices in Bloomington. What I found is that Sixty is truly a magical number when it comes to analyzing IU victories. If they get there first, they usually win – it’s as simple as that!
After a visit from a friend these past few days, I’m suddenly revitalized in my efforts to finish this book. With this former IU basketball player’s help, I now feel that I can gain the credibility to get the “Magic of 60” published.
Leave a Reply