Tradition. Passion. Five NCAA Division I titles.
This is the pride of Indiana University men’s basketball.
To understand what makes the Hoosier basketball program what it is today, you must look at the history of the team and the legends the once donned the crimson and cream.
“It’s not fair to say that Indiana’s program has a greater tradition than say, a North Carolina or a UCLA,” said long-time sports writer for the Bloomington Herald-Times, Bob Hammel. “But it is up there with that group of programs.”
Indiana basketball is built on tradition, as are all great programs in NCAA basketball. Tradition circles every aspect of the team, even to the uniforms. The Hoosiers have wore their famous colors since 1901, when the school first fielded a squad in the Big Ten conference, known then as the Big Nine. The style of these uniforms have never changed, the simplistic design only shifting in length and material with the times.
Time moves on in sports, as it does in life, but moments can solidify time, make traditions so concrete that they can never be erased. The Indiana basketball program has secured their place in history, succeeding again and again. The Hoosiers have won five NCAA championships in men’s basketball, the first two under coach Branch McCracken and the later three under Bob Knight. The five championships tie North Carolina for the third-most titles in NCAA Division I history. The program has added to their impressive history by adding 20 Big Ten Conference titles to their stat sheet. Eight trips to the Final Four ranks seventh on the all-time list, and their 35 appearances in the NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament gives them the fifth-most in the NCAA. In those 35 appearances, Indiana boasted a 60-29 record, seventh best all-time.
The most impressive title for Indiana came in 1976. The Hoosiers strung together an undefeated season with a perfect 32-0 record and a national championship.
“The greatest moment in Indiana basketball, to me, obviously was the ’76 perfect season,” said Hammel.
The home of the Hoosiers is also a tradition in itself. Assembly Hall, which opened its doors in 1971, replaced the older Gladstein Fieldhouse. The court inside the hall is named after McCracken, the coach who led the Hoosiers to their championships in 1940 and 1953.
Those who have graced the hardwood of Assembly Hall who should be credited with the legendary status associated with Indiana.
The greatest coach in Indiana history, and quite arguably one of the greatest collegiate basketball coaches of all-time, was Bob Knight. Knight, known to some as “The General,” presided over the Hoosiers from 1971-2000.
“Coach Knight taught me how important hard work and dedication is,” said Damon Bailey, Indiana’s 1994 All-American player. “He emphasized the fact that you wouldn’t just be able to have a lot of success; you had to work hard for it.”
Knight brought a military style of coaching from his prior position as the head coach of Army. He often yelled and harassed his players, creating a love/hate relationship. Always a hot topic for the media, Knight’s sometimes questionable coaching techniques led him to constantly be under the microscope of the press.
The players under Knight include some of the greatest talents to ever wear “Indiana” across their chests.
Kent Benson, nicknamed “Big Red,” was a 6 feet 11 inches tall forward that led the Hoosiers in the 1976 perfect season, playing exceptionally well in the championship game. After his career at IU, Benson was the first overall pick in the 1977 NBA draft.
Another Hoosier of the 1976 team under Knight was Scott May. May was named NCAA Men’s Basketball National Player of the Year in 1976, and won a gold a medal as a member of the United States’ basketball team in the 1976 Summer Olympics. May was selected as the second overall pick in the 1976 NBA draft.
Yet another star on the 1976 team was Quinn Buckner, a four-year starter and three-year captain at Indiana. As a senior in 1976 he co-captained the club to the 32-0 record, and was selected as the seventh overall pick in the NBA draft.
The next player, among many mentionable names, is Isaiah Thomas. In 1981, Thomas led the Hoosiers to the NCAA Championship and earned the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player Award. After accomplishing this, Thomas made himself eligible in the NBA draft, being selected as the second overall pick.
Moving forward, we come to Steve Alford, Indiana’s Mr. Basketball. Alford became the university’s all-time leading scorer with 2,438 points, a record later eclipsed by Calbert Cheaney. Alford was the first player to be named the team’s MVP four times. He was a first team All-American, and was named Big Ten MVP during his senior year of college. In 1984 he led Indiana in the NCAA tourney upset of Michael Jordan and North Carolina, and then past the favored Syracuse Orange to secure the national title once more.
Bailey, a four-year starter, finished sixth on Indiana’s all-time scoring list with 1,741 points. He also garnered a third-team All-American award, first-team All-Big Ten award, and he led IU to a Final Four appearance in 1992.
In more recent years, players like Jared Jeffries have emerged. Jeffries played for two years before choosing to forgo his junior and senior years in favor of entering the NBA draft in 2002, selected as the eleventh overall pick. While in college, he was a part of the team that advanced to the NCAA title game before losing to the Maryland Terrapins. He was named Big Ten MVP and All-American.
D.J. White is another recent Hoosier named All-American. During his freshman season with the Indiana Hoosiers, White led all freshmen in the Big Ten Conference in scoring. He was named by Rivals.com as a Freshman All-American. He was also selected as the Big Ten Freshman of the Year. In 2008 he was named Big Ten Player of the Year and to the First Team All-Big Ten. White was then selected as the twenty-ninth overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft.
Arguably the best player of this decade for the Hoosiers so far is Eric Gordon. Gordon played one season of college basketball at Indiana and was considered one of the top collegiate players in the nation that year. Gordon finished his freshman season at IU leading the Big Ten in scoring and tied for 19th in the nation at 21.5 points per game. He was named an All-American and was selected as the 7th overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft.
Looking to the future of Indiana basketball, we watch coach Tom Crean, and the weight he carries on his shoulders.
“I think he’s done a great job,” said Bailey about Crean’s progression with the program so far. “It obviously is something that isn’t going to be turned around over night. It was basically torn down over night, but it will take awhile to rebuild.”
“The kids are working hard, and he has great recruiting classes coming in. He definitely has the program moving in the right direction.”
To understand how most Hoosiers feel about their state’s game and their team, one only needed to watch Crean’s press conference in 2008. When asked why he chose to accept the job coaching the Hoosiers, Crean replied, “It’s Indiana…It’s Indiana.”
