Is the “Hoosier State” the king of hoops, especially when it comes to so-called “mid-majors”?
{A similar version of this article is set to appear in the November issue of an Indianapolis magazine.} Growing up in Southern California as a basketball fan, it was clear to me that the state of Indiana was the king of basketball. Like watching movies about football in Texas or baseball in New York City, basketball films like “Hoosiers” in 1986 pretty much confirmed that any discussion of classic basketball and its history went through the Hoosier State.
But as I grew and went through college and graduate school, enjoying small conference, “mid major” college basketball amidst my studies and other activities, I often wondered if there was any truth to the legend of Indiana’s basketball prowess at the collegiate level. Sure I knew that giants of the game like Bob Knight and Gene Keady presided over their immensely successful basketball programs at Indiana and Purdue programs for decades, tying up the conscience and interest of the Hoosier state in shades of crimson, black and gold, but what about the rest of the state? Indiana is not a particularly large state in land area nor population, so how could they be so dominant? Did every young boy or girl have a wooden backboard with a metal rim placed over their barn doors? Or was it all a Hollywood, media-driven fairy tale?
I moved to the city of Indianapolis at the onset of this past summer, and with a writing career as my goal, this was a worthwhile quest to embark upon.
One team just north of the city center, played its games in an arena so historic and venerable that “Hoosiers'” climax was shot there, and the school had made its way into the national graces a few times with stellar postseason play, most recently in 2003 when they catapulted themselves into the sweet 16. However, few aside from those personally involved as die-hard fans or players, are likely to vividly remember when IUPUI (Indiana-Purdue Indianapolis) stepped into their dance slippers back in 2002 about as rapidly as they stepped out of that NCAA Tournament. The Jaguars have not returned since and most outside of the area would look at you incredulously if you asked them to elaborate upon the basketball history at the school mockingly deemed “ooey pooey.”
Like Butler and IUPUI, schools known correctly or incorrectly as “mid majors” have been toying with the superiority complexes of the IUs and Purdues of the nation more frequently each year. Pundits, especially local ones, generally feel that the Hoosier State just happens to have more quality mid majors programs than any state, including California and others much larger.
Former Butler Bulldog standout and current assistant coach, Matthew Graves, sees the high level of play in Indiana when he explains, “We live in a state where basketball is king and most of our talented kids seem to stay in state giving us a distinct advantage over other states…Butler and Valparaiso making the Sweet 16, helps solidify our case as a state that has excellent basketball.”
When upstart George Mason University (Fairfax, VA) upset top tier and former championship programs like Michigan State, North Carolina and Connecticut on their way to Indy and the final four last season, more and more “experts” began taking notice. Personally, my heart beamed with pride.
My fiancée’s graduate school, Indiana State, also joined the upstart party last December, whipping Bloomington’s finest in Terre Haute. All this established, this article topic was necessary to explore. Somewhere (Former Valparaiso hero) Bryce Drew is smiling, I hope.
While Bryce may smile at the thought of a piece publicizing his alma mater and other smaller hoops programs in the state, other mid-major Division One schools we will review have not had as much to grin about in March’s past. While Butler, IUPUI and Valpo have either seen postseason play in the past half-decade, Evansville, Ball State and even Indiana State may have seen better days.
ISU is still be allotted a grace period from their 2001 tourney appearance and win over Oklahoma (and of course, Larry Bird’s 1979 gives them a near lifetime exemption from criticism), but Ball State has seen little national success since their Maui Invitational run in 2001 when they beat powerhouses, Kansas and UCLA back to back days. The Cardinals of Muncie have long since lost their status as favorite Cinderella of our state.
Evansville’s 2006-2007 preview even confesses, “In their three years as starters at the University of Evansville, Matt Webster, Bradley Strickland and Kyle Anslinger have combined for 2,300 points, 1,000 rebounds, 300 assists and 100 blocked shots. One set of numbers they’ve yet to achieve is a winning record.”
In the 2006-2007 season, George Mason-like expectations – or, for local flavor, 2002 Butler type hopes – may not be in the cards for any Hoosier hopefuls, but as each November comes and the gyms open to a fresh 30-35 game slate, each team can feel as quixotic as if they were playing in Assembly Hall in Bloomington.
And for ISU, that will soon be reality as the Sycamores, fresh off their aforementioned 2005 upset of Big Red, go into the House that The General once built, on November 17. Highway 46 bragging rights will be on the baseline as IU likely remembers last season, and does not wish to see their all-time record vs. ISU fall to 16-6. New coach Kelvin Sampson also likely does not desire the alumni’s seminal wrath with an opening night home loss to their in-state rivals to the northwest
“I think that the mid majors arrived years ago,” Indiana State Assistant Coach, Stanley Gouard mentioned then touted one of the premiere mid major conference, his own Missouri Valley.
“Looking at the history of mid-major wins, especially with Indiana State beating Oklahoma a few years ago in the NCAA tourney, our league can compete with the so called High Majors because it is the best league where seniors play. Kids at the mid-major don’t opt for the NBA after two years of college. We have a long way to go
in order to get the respect that mid majors deserve but we are on the right track. Look at the Missouri Valley conference. We had 4 teams in the NCAA tourney & 2 in the NIT. Two teams in the sweet 16. That says a lot about our league and mid major programs. George Mason did a great job of getting respect for the Mid Major programs.”
But while the question of “can mid majors compete” has been emphatically answered “yes,” nationally, does the state that is “king of hoops” have the best mid-major programs, and is it the best game in town?
Well, that depends upon who you ask, but most are optimistic and few deny the talent in collegiate hoops in the Hoosier State.
“In recent years, Indiana has sent fewer schools to the NCAA Tournament than we did in the ’90s. But with this state’s great tradition in the game of basketball, I see that changing in the next few years,” notes Evansville Purple Aces head coach, Steve Merfield.
The legendary Homer Drew, head coach at Valparaiso echoes these views succinctly.
“Indiana in my opinion is the best: good schools, good academics, good
basketball.”
While clearly a viewing experience at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis or Hulman Center in Terre Haute will be a more fan-friendly, easier on the wallet and eardrums night than with the crazy collegians in Bloomington or West Lafayette, do you still get a similar quality of play?
Year after years, fans and stats say a resounding “yes,” and George Mason’s miracle run this year would seemingly put the cap on the debate; yet when Dick Vitale’s preview comes out or the lights go on for ESPN’s college gamenight, you’ll hear Wildcats, Hoosiers and Illini long before Bulldogs, Sycamores and Purple Aces.
Is that heresy? Not totally.
“I feel like Mid-Majors have always been a significant part of college basketball. There will always be a discrepancy in the level of play (with most teams) because of exposure and financial limitations,” says Butler’s Graves explains. “However, at a mid-major level, the opportunity to develop more of a team concept and the ability to retain players throughout their four years allows us to compete and win at the highest level.”
Most commentators do often commend the “team effort” displayed by the veteran, cohesive mid majors, especially come March. They are truly the poster boys for “why we should all stay four years in college.”
Evansville’s Merfield explains that, “There’s more parity in college basketball for a few reasons. One is the reduction in scholarships from 15 to 13 that took place several years ago. Schools can’t stockpile quite as much. Secondly, many of the top college players are turning pro before they are done with their eligibility, so that creates more turnover and fewer upperclassmen in some of the elite programs. And maybe most importantly, more schools are investing in their basketball programs and attracting outstanding head coaches, assistant coaches, and players.”
Is there a thesis or a conclusion to be reached? Homer Drew thinks so:
“Anyone can win on given day, especially if it is a neutral site. Neutral site is the key!”
This is decidedly true, as although upwards of 95% of the “mid major vs. big boy” matchups are, for financial and other reasons, at the big guy’s gym, mid majors win roughly 15-20%. And, based upon past experiences, IU losing in Terre Haute last year equals IU not visiting ISU for a long time.
I learned this as I spent my college and post-college years gawking over the Big West conference and my alma maters, UC Riverside and Cal State Northridge. UCR became a Division One team the year after I graduated, and thanks a lot for waiting so long, guys. I suppose my work in the athletic department cajoling students to pass the referendum to finance the move to D-1 meant nothing.
Northridge has only been division once since 1991. When CSUN or another Big West or mid major team beat a Pac-10 school, as many, like CSUN, did at UCLA between 2000 and 2003, the Bruins no longer schedule them. It’s simply not worth it when there is a chance to lose.
For now, one question that the scoreboard and stats have answered is that my former home state of California and my new home state here in Indiana likely do have the most powerful “mid major” schools.
IUPUI Sports Information Director, Edgar Holdaway concurs with the Hoosier State’s prowess when he notes that, “I think you could make a strong case for a lot of states having the best collection of mid-major b-ball schools, Indiana being among them. Obviously, here having IUPUI, Butler, Ball State, Valparaiso and Indiana State is an immediately strong contingent.”
As the season rolls along, I’ll be sampling the local mid major flavor just as I did in California. Living in “The Hoosier State” and penning this piece should at least implore me to, as they say, “put my money where my mouth (or pen) is.”