Saying goodbye

There were a lot of lasts at Assembly Hall on Senior Night –\nthe last basket, the last shot, the last rebound, among others. But it was one senior’s first that had everybody talking. \nForward D.J. White’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of the first half, his first 3-pointer in his collegiate career, was the highlight in the Hoosiers’ 69-55 win over Minnesota in the final game of the season at Assembly Hall. \n“I knew it was good when it left my hand,” White said after the game. “It was lucky, but I knew it was going in. I could tell.” \nWith 1.6 seconds left in the half, fellow senior forward Lance Stemler threw the ball the length of the court and White caught it about 30 feet from the basket. White turned, and threw up the last-second shot. It banged off the back of the rim before catching the front of the net to give IU a 31-27 halftime lead. \nIU interim coach Dan Dakich said he, too, had no doubt about White’s 3-pointer. \n“That was by far the most difficult 3 we took in the half,” Dakich said. \nWhite finished the game, his last at Assembly Hall, on 7-of-12 shooting with 17 points and five rebounds.\nThough White’s 3-pointer energized the crowd, it did not propel his team to an easy victory. \nThe Gophers pecked away at IU’s slim lead and eventually stole it from the Hoosiers. Minnesota had a 47-46 lead with 8:26 left in the game. \nFrom that point on, the Hoosiers, especially freshman guard Eric Gordon, picked up the pace. \nGordon scored 12 of his team-high 20 points after \nMinnesota took the lead, and he started a 23-8 game-ending run.\n“I thought our players in the last eight minutes of the ballgame really committed to making sure (seniors) D.J., Lance, Mike (White) and Adam (Ahlfeld) got to that microphone with a happy ending,” Dakich said. \nThe four seniors addressed the crowd at the end of the game. \nIt was an emotional night for D.J. White, IU’s team captain. His four years haven’t been the easiest – \nhe’s gone through two coaching changes, an injury-plagued sophomore year and a stellar senior season. When he subbed out of the game for the last time at Assembly Hall, he sent four kisses to each side of Assembly Hall. As he walked toward the bench, he choked up. \n“A couple drops,” White said. \nHe almost transferred after former coach Mike Davis resigned, but decided to stay – something he said was the best move for him. He’s already being mentioned with some of IU’s recent great players, including Damon Bailey and Calbert Cheaney. Dakich called him the “legend of Indiana.”\nAnd before he addressed the crowd, the student section chanted his name. He was interrupted, mid-speech, by an “MVP” chant – in reference to his frontrunner status for Big Ten Player of the Year.\n“I’m going to miss it a lot,” White said.