OJ Mayo Should be Suspended for the Rest of the Year

(Bloomington, Ind.)  Have you seen the video of OJ Mayo knocking a referee to the floor?  I did just today and not just once or twice.  In fact, at this point, I can't even tell you how many times I've looked at it.  From the comments I've seen, though, viewers seem to overwhelmingly feel the referee "had it out" for Mayo and overdramatized the incident by flopping to the floor.  If you think that, too, you're dead wrong.  Here's why:

1.  Compare Mayo's stride as he walks towards the official with the steps he takes as he's leaving the court after being ejected.  While advancing on the ref, his stride is longer and quicker and, with his upper torso leaning forward, he is moving with more force and purpose than what he is as he exits the court.

2.  Notice the angle that Mayo is walking.  He is bearing straight down on the official as opposed to coming at a wider angle to head him off and intercept him.  He's clearly looking to make contact.

3.  Look closely at Mayo's last step with his right foot as he is about to make contact.  He swings it far out to the right in an effort to keep his bearing on making contact.

4.  By swinging his right foot out, Mayo turned or opened up his upper body so as to make full contact with his left shoulder, arm and left side of his chest with the referee.  Mayo appears to be 4-6 inches taller than the referee so his upper body is higher than that of the official.  As a result, the referee's movement post contact is both to the left and downward.

5.  Mayo makes contact with enough force that, after striking the official, he, himself, is thrown off balance.  In other words, he collides with the ref with such force that once the ref is no longer an impediment to his forward momentum, he lurches forward.  That shows he did not slow up.  He, in effect, ran through the ref.

6.  Now, focus on the referee.  He clearly is not anticipating what is coming because he's looking at the scorer's table and signaling with his hands.  The contact takes him by surprise.

7.  Look at the referee's last steps.  Just prior to contact, his right foot has pushed off the floor and his left foot is striking the floor, which means, of course, that he has transferred his body weight on the left side.  Thus, the referee's body is already inclined to move left as he is knocked off stride by the contact.  That is what sends the referee flying, not flopping.

8.  As the referee falls to the floor, he allows his body to go with the motion rather than trying to counter it.  That's the smart thing to do in a fall.  If you jump from a car, you want your body to go forward with the motion of the car, not backwards and against it.  If you jump from a wall, you hit the ground and roll in the direction your fall takes you.  It's the same principle.

9.  As the referee falls he extends his arms and hands forward, which lead some people to concude he took a "dive."  Wrong again.  Extending your upper extremities as you fall down is the correct thing to do to avoid landing hard on your body or ####ing your head. 

Now, that you've read this, go look at the clip again.  Pause it and rewind it at every critical juncture to see if you agree with what I see.

Here's what ticks me off.  Mayo hires an attorney and obtains a injunction prohibiting the enforcement of sanctions and then, through his attorney, negotiates a penalty of a three-game suspension.  I guess if your name is OJ and you go to USC you can get away with murder--literally and figuratively.

Big Night For Cem Dinc as Marshalltown Edges Iowa Lakes

(Bloomington, Ind.).  Former Hoosier Cem Dinc, who was told to "go rock JUCO" by  Indiana Coach Kelvin Sampson, is doing just that.  The 6-10, 250 pound center racked up his second double-double in only his third game back playing college ball as the Marshalltown Tigers eeked out an 82-77 road win over the Iowa Lakes Lakers Wednesday night.  Dinc poured in 25 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in the win.  He blocked two shots as well.

Dinc, facing double teams for the second game in a row and sometimes triple teams, scored at will.  Coach Bryn Brynjarrsson installed some new sets after the winter break to get the ball into the post and Dinc proved them worthwhile.  "It was an important win for our team," Dinc said, "it evened our league record and gave Coach his first conference win as head coach at Marshalltown.  We were really happy to get it for him."  Dinc wound up 11-15 from the field and 3-4 from the line.  He's now averaging 15.3 points and 11.3 rebounds per contest.

Dinc was already on some big-time college coaches' radar screens after leaving Indiana.  His numbers thus far show he's more than a blip.  Although Dinc declines to name a favorite among the teams offering him a scholarship next season, he's recently gotten calls from Miami (Fla.) and Boston College from the ACC and Notre Dame from the Big East.  He also drawing intense interest from Iowa State Cyclone Coach Greg McDermott who is looking to add size and strength to his roster next year.  "We're good buddies," says Dinc, "and, who knows, I might wind up there, but I really want to make sure wherever I go it's a good fit for the team and me."

I can think of at least one other team off the top of my head that could use a strong, athletic kid with good grades, three years of college eligibility and a willingness to #### bodies on the boards.  Take a guess, I bet you do, too.

Bruce Almighty, the Prophet Sampson and the Verbally Committed One

(Bloomington, Ind.)  Bruce Almighty, the Sacred One from the Land Where No National Championship Banners Hang, hath condemned the Prophet Sampson.  The Verbally Committed One hath approach the Prophet to proclaimeth his desire to hoopeth in the Land Where Five National Championship Banners Hang.

The Prophet Sampson sayeth unto the Verbally Committed One, "Come, let me showeth thou the path to righteousness," but Bruce Almighty commands, “Recruiteth him not for I decree the Verbally Committed One shall never be tempted again!”

The Prophet Sampson ignoreth the Sacred One’s mandate.  He pursueth the Verbally Committed One from afar and sendeth the Apostle Jeff, who coacheth the Father of the Verbally Committed One, and the Apostle Ray to pay tribute.  The Apostles Jeff and Ray deliver unto the Verbally Committed One the Prophet Sampson’s invitation to visit the Land Where Five National Championship Banners Hang.  Honored, the Verbally Committed One accepteth.

The Verbally Committed One's visit to the Land Where Five National Championship Banners Hang goeth pretty damn good.  He breaketh bread with the Prophet Sampson, hangeth with DJ, Rat, Earl and Rod and hoopeth at Assembly Hall.  Word spreads near and afar that the Verbally Committed One shall become Gordon again and playeth in the Land Where Five National Championship Banners Hang.

Bruce Almighty is filled with a great and furious anger.  He scorneth the Prophet Sampson and declareth him a heretic.  He screameth at Gordon, “Thou shall be cast from my flock if thou continueth thy ####!  Why hath thou shamed me so?”

The Sacred One’s flock, incensed, gather to take up their enfeebled shepherd’s lament.  Scriveners from the Land Where No Championship Banners Hang dip quills in ink to crucify the Prophet Sampson for recruiting the Verbally Committed One.  A Painter voweth never to put his brush to canvas again so he can decry the affront and comfort Bruce Almighty.  Kneeling together, they weep silently.

Far to the North, in the Land Where Two National Championship Banners Hang, the Grand Izzo rises to the Alter and publicly denounceth the offense.  He proclaimeth unto  the Prophet Sampson, “Covet not the Verbally Committed One and stayeth the Hell away from my recruits while you’re at it!.”

From the South, a Tennessean Volunteers a Pearl of wisdom:  Recruiteth unto others as you would have them recruiteth unto you!”  On an Oklahoma prairie, a drunken Cowboy named Eddie swerveth across yet another yellow line, crasheth and mumbles incoherently.

The ill words spoken of the Prophet Sampson are heard loudly in the Land Where Five National Championship Banners Hang.  The Village ####, who long ago denounceth the Hoosiers, now mocketh the Prophet Sampson by declaring him ill fit to coacheth a fifth-grade girl’s basketball team.  A few misbegotten Hoosiers question their faith.  Shaken due to the chant of “Cheater!” from the nonbelievers, they heareth not the truth:  The Prophet Sampson doeth not one damn thing wrong in recruiting the Verbally Committed One.

The Prophet Sampson showeth the light to the Verbally Committed One and maketh him a Believer.  He annointeth him "Gordon."  The Faithful, of which there are many across the land, standeth firmly and proudly behind the Prophet Sampson as he leadeth the flock back from our journey to depths of darkness.  His way is our way for the Hoosiers to reemergeth and become the Land Where Six National Championship Banners Hang.

—Ed Anderson

The Illinois Game:  What the Heck Happened?

(Bloomington, Ind.).  The Hoosiers looked flat against Illinois.  Flat as a punctured tire.  And no lug wrench, jack or spare to get it going, which means, of course, no movement and a lot of standing around. 

I understand the theory about slowing the game down when you're playing on the road in a hostile environment and, oh, there was no shortage of hostility in Champaign.  Even Bruce Weber, who still has his panties bunched up over losing out on Eric Gordon, displayed hostility.  Did you see the perfunctory handshakes with Kelvin Sampson before and after the game?  The only way he could have created more distance between Sampson and himself would have been to extend a stick with a glove at the end.

The Hoosiers' guard and wing play lost this game.  Sampson had them walk the ball up court to slow the pace of the game, which is a good strategy when you want to keep it tight and deflate the crowd, but once you cross the ten-second line, you can't be tentative.  You have to create something and that means having some motion in the offense--some cuts, some screens and some curls.  I didn't see much of that.

The guards and wings are the ones who have to get the offense moving.  If that doesn't happen, you wind up doing what Indiana did last night.--running the shot clock down to desperation time and throwing up something that vaguely resembles a shot.  Of course, doing that only feeds the crowd.  With the shot clock at 10...9...8...and only then you start working for a shot, the crowd is hooting and hollering and the defense reacts to by racheting up the intensity and pressuring the ball.  Bad things happen in that hurried situation--a poor shot, a turnover, a charge. 

As always, the Hoosiers looked to DJ for points.  Against Illinois, though, he was smothered and pushed out of position.  I lost count of how many times DJ got the ball behind the three-point line and, on the few other occasions the Hoosiers threw it to him inside the arc he was still 10-12 feet from the basket.  That's okay once in awhile, but that can't be the Hoosiers' offense.  DJ has to set up lower in the block.  He has to work to establish position and then maintain it if he's going to make any sort of power move to the rim.  Pruitt had his way on defense and DJ lacks the ball handling skills to get to the rim from 10-12 feet.

All in all, the Hoosiers had little inside presence against Illinois.  Lance Stemler is a hard-nosed, gritty kid, but definitely not a player who can outmuscle the typical power forward.  Mike White, on the other hand, is a ####er.  He got the ball in the paint a few times off feeds or the rare offensive rebound, but then failed to finish.    If you wind up with the ball at pointblank range, you've got to do one of two things--make the basket or draw the foul.  He did neither.

Free throws or, more accurately, the lack of them hurt Indiana.  When your outside shots aren't dropping, you have to get in the paint.  The guards have to penetrate or someone on the weak side has to flash into the paint for a pass.  You can't be content to keep throwing the ball up there hoping something eventually drops.

Indiana played well enough on defense to win this game, although the Hoosiers committed way too many fouls (20) and got outscored at the line by nine points, i.e., one more than the margin of victory.  They also allowed the Illini more second chance points than they got.  Still, holding the opposition to 51 points on 40.5% from the field, including 23.9% from the three-point line, puts a team in good position to win.

 I've got a theory on why the Hoosiers played flat against Illinois.  One word--Connecticut.  Scheduling that game in the midst of Big 10 season was tantamount to conceding the Illinois game.  After beating Iowa on Tuesday, the Hoosiers, had they not played the Huskies, would have had six days to prepare for Illinois.  Six days.  You can dissect a team down to the managers in six days.  Instead, Indiana spent the rest of the week getting ready for UConn, left on Friday for Connecticut, played a tough, physical Husky squad in an emotion filled game on Saturday afternoon, got back to Bloomington on Saturday night, had just one day of practice at Assembly Hall on Sunday and then took a three-hour bus ride to Champaign on Monday.  Anyone see any sense--besides dollars and cents--in that?  I sure don't.

--Ed Anderson 1/24/7

Our Laughter Gets Louder as the Hoosiers' Fortunes Soar

(Bloomington, Ind).  I’m just here for entertainment—yours and mine.  If I can get you to laugh and you can do the same for me, then we're one-third of the way to what Jim Valvano, his body succumbing to cancer, called a "full day."  Jimmy V said a full day should be one in which you laugh, cry and think.

Jimmy V was a great guy.  Some of you younger folks might not have too good of a recollection of him, if one at all, but he was a tremendously funny New Yorker who wore his emotions on his sleeve.  He was also a great basketball coach.  Competing against his bigger brothers on Tobacco Road, his teams held their own in the ACC and, of course, his 1983 Wolfpack squad won a national championship.

What's my point?  Life's short, you guys.  It really looks like a blur when you look back.  So, lighten up and have some fun and always give as good as you get.  And, while that's all I'm trying to do here, there's more to follow, but it gets a little tricky so stick with me.

My feet first hit ground at Bloomington Hospital the day my father was awarded a degree in education from Indiana University so I'm nothing if not a Hoosier.  My dad, in a feat not often seen, earned his degree with a wife, two kids, another (me) on the way and two part-time jobs.  He was 6'5" and, at that time, probably weighed about 180-190 pounds.  He lettered in 4 sports (basketball, baseball, football and track) in high school and, before coming to IU, served in the Air Force during the Korean War.

When my dad first got to IU, the family sans me lived in one of the old Quonset huts that lined the field along 17th Street.  The huts were government surplus and IU acquired them to handle the expected influx of veterans following World War II.  While living there and taking the requisite recreational courses at the old Fieldhouse, which many of you are more accustomed to calling Wildermuth or the HPER, Branch McCracken spotted him and asked if he wanted to try out for the team.  Of course he did!  But he couldn't.  There just weren’t enough hours in the day for him to fit basketball (or much of anything else) into his life at that point.

So, here's where I'm going.  There's just one degree of separation between Branch McCracken and me and only two to Everett Dean.  I know, I know, a lot of you can make the same claim or, even better, one-up it.  And that’s’ great, isn’t it?  Does it floor you as much as it does me to have such close ties to two of the principal architects who laid the foundation for Indiana's basketball legacy?  So, lets have some fun and enjoy our elite basketball heritage while we can.

I hope my idea of fun and your idea of fun stem from the same chemcial synapses.  I also hope you share my view of giving as good as you get.  You know why?  It's time for both and you know what’s fun for me right now?  I’m having fun laughing at Illinois, Michigan State and everybody else who laughed at us these past several years.  If you’re like me, you heard a lot of laughter from a lot of places.  It’s our turn now and I want us to laugh as loud at them as they laughed at us.

I'm particularly laughing at the way the Illini are shooting arrows at Chief Big Geko.  Their intra-tribal warfare tickles me because they laughed heartily when the Hoosiers had their own intra-family squabble.  One of the more amusing things is the disjointed thinking borne from “Illini agony” as they slide down the Big 10 totem pole towards the gophers and other critters at the bottom.

Take, for instance, this bit of insightfulness, grammatically uncorrected here, about Illinois from CWorld27, who said, "this team is very similar to 03-04 illini who went through huge growing pains before winning the big ten and going to the elite 8. Not saying they are going to do that, we don't have the same talent, but I expect them to be very tough by the end of the year."

Huh?  Talk about talking out of your headdress!  Where are you going with that thought, CWorld?  Drawing a parallel between this year's Illini team and the team that won the Big Ten title and made it to the Elite Eight in ’04 by characterizing them as "very similar" only to then turn around and warn everyone not to expect the same accomplishments because the talent level is different leaves only two things those teams have in common:  Building a gaudy pre-conference record by dragging teams with directional names (East this, West that) to Champaign and beating the snot out of them and then losing in the Big 10.  That's where the similarities end because that’s all the Illini have done this year.

That’s not all.  After navigating through this phalanx of fallacy, CWorld brings us full circle to his ultimate conclusion that the Illini will be "very tough" by year's end.  Given that twisting, turning reasoning, CWorld, even if you can laugh through all the tears you’ll be shedding this season over the Illini, I think even Jimmy V would say you’re still only two-thirds of the way towards a full day.

--Ed Anderson 1/10/7