The Thin Red Lineup

Sporting News, The, Jan 11, 1999 by Terry Hutchens

They're unheralded, unimposing and undersized, and did we mention they're coached by Mr. Congeniality? Indiana is back among the big boys of the Big Ten and just might make some noise where it matters most--the NCAA Tournament.

The starting lineup is far from imposing. Only one player over 6-8, only one McDonald's All-American and a group of players that should leave their shirts on at the beach.

The undersized frontcourt is average at best. The team doesn't rely on a full-court press, and the primary offensive staple continues to be the motion offense.

The coach is controversial, to put it mildly, and his detractors have formed a lengthy line to voice their opinions. They say he no longer can recruit the blue-chip player, and he refuses to change with the times.

But the coach doesn't seem to care, nor do his players.

Instead, the Indiana Hoosiers just continue to do one thing consistently well--win.

Go figure.

After only two losses in 15 nonconference games, Indiana climbed as high as No. 7 in THE Sporting News' poll. Through Sunday and two conference games, Indiana's record was 14-3, and the team was on its way. The impressive record wasn't achieved against a cupcake schedule. In fact, in the final RPI Index for 1998-a gauge that measures strength of schedule and how a team does against that schedule-Indiana was No. 1 in the nation.

So what gives?

Nonconference victories are one thing, but how can a team that is often inferior in size and talent manage to compete on a game-to-game basis in the grueling Big Ten, ranked by the RPI and Sagarin power ranking as the best conference in the land?

Moreover, does this current Indiana team have what it takes to bury a recent past of disappointing finishes and early NCAA Tournament exits? The players say "Yes." Critics say, "Let's wait and see what happens."

Getting to the NCAA Tournament has never been a problem for the Hoosiers. Indiana has made it to the Big Dance 13 consecutive years. But last year was the first time since '94 the Hoosiers had advanced beyond the first round.

That was a start, but the current Hoosiers are not interested in moral victories-not with five NCAA championship banners dancing over their heads. "I didn't come to Indiana to lose in the first round of the tournament," junior guard Michael Lewis says. "I came here to win Big Ten rifles and be a part of the best teams in the country. Hopefully this year we'll get back on that track."

It will start in the Big Ten, where it has been a while since IU has gotten as much as a sniff of a title. The last conference crown was in 1993, the longest drought by a Knight-coached team in 28 years at Indiana.

Since then, the Hoosiers have finished third three limes and tied for fifth the past two seasons. There are plenty of theories why Indiana has struggled in the tournament in recent years. Some blame the grueling Big Ten schedule. Others say the Hoosiers simply don't have the talent. College basketball analyst Clark Kellogg says he believes it has to do with IU's NCAA seedings. The Hoosiers haven't been seeded better than fifth since 1994.

"That always leads to dangerous games against tough competition," Kellogg told the Louisville Courier-Journal. "They need to get better players, and there's enough out there."

The better players appear to once again be migrating Indiana's way, as Knight's fall recruiting class attests. Included in the four-man group on the way next season were two players who were ranked by some recruiting publications as top 100 players, and two others who are playing this season at prep school in New Hampshire. One, Tom Coverdale, was Indiana's Mr. Basketball in 1998.

This year's freshman class, which makes up more than one-third of the roster, already is paying dividends. So what makes this Indiana team tick? How has this team managed to get off to such a good start?

Perimeter shooting and IU's trademark, in-your-face defense are the team's biggest strengths. Through Saturday, opponents were averaging 62.3 points and a mere 39 percent shooting from the field. The Hoosiers also led the Big Ten in turnover margin, assist-to-turnover ratio and steals. But they were giving up the ball a lot, too. Indiana was averaging nearly as many steals (10.25) as turnovers (14.1).

But the real reason for Indiana's success cuts much deeper. With this group, it's all about heart, desire and a never-give-up attitude, qualities that have been on holiday in Bloomington for several seasons.

"We're not flashy," says sophomore forward Luke Recker, the lone McDonald's All-American in the starting lineup. "We just get it done. We have a lot of players striving for the same goal."

Freshman Dane Fife, who chose Indiana despite the fact his father and brother played at Michigan, says the team is extremely close. "We're just all on the same page. What we don't have in talent, we make up for in desire."

That desire and a refusal to quit have turned more than one loss into a win this season.

Against Indiana State in mid-November, IU trailed by 19 at the half to the upstart Sycamores. The Hoosiers came back to win by six.