Senior Night is players' final chance to bid farewell

Senior Night speeches hold a special place in Hoosier fans’ hearts, just like candy-striped pants, five championship banners and Assembly Hall popcorn.  

It’s been an IU tradition since 1973, when Bobby Knight ushered his senior class back onto the floor to deliver farewell speeches following the final home game.

Since then, the custom has flourished, spreading to other schools and providing a platform for players to thank everyone who has helped them along the way.

Over the years, the speeches have varied as much as the players, but a majority of them end with tears. A.J. Moye couldn’t stop crying during his speech as the fans loudly chanted his name one last time. Damon Bailey broke down as he told the heroic story of his sister, Courtney, surviving her battle against cancer.

Regardless of format, the senior speeches have cemented themselves in IU history.
Jarred Odle, a scrappy, seldom-used forward who graduated from IU in 2002, summed it up best.

“I put four years in for you guys. You can give me 20 minutes.”

When Knight began the tradition in 1973, his players had no idea they’d be addressing the spectators packed inside Assembly Hall.

It was the same year “The General” also won his first Big Ten Championship, and the coach went out of his way to thank his predecessor, Lou Watson, who had recruited four years ago the heralded freshman class that would ultimately help the Hoosiers claim the title.

That freshman class was led by Steve Downing, who was named the conference’s most valuable player his senior year. Along with Downing, Watson recruited John
Ritter, Frank Wilson, Jerry Memering and George McGinnis, who turned pro after his sophomore season.

The basketball program fell on hard times in the 1960s, but Knight and the star-studded senior class helped the Hoosiers execute a quick turnaround.

That night in ’73, the seniors helped IU beat Purdue 77-72, assuring a Big Ten co-championship. Hours after the game, IU emerged as the lone regular season champion.

Chuck Crabb, who has been the school’s public address announcer for more than 30 years, was a senior at IU that season and recalls Knight handling Senior Day in 1973 just like he handled it every year after.

“Coach (Knight) usually set the mood for stuff, then he’d walk away and never be a part of it again,” he said, “then would turn it over to the players.”

In 1994, Knight did a little more than just introductions.

“When my time on earth is done, and my activities here are past,” Knight famously said, “I want them to bury me upside down so my critics can kiss my ass.”

Needless to say, Knight’s words elicited no tears, only laughter.

***

Since the year Downing and company. delivered the inaugural farewells, Crabb has been courtside for every senior speech.

While most players are accustomed to playing in front of a large crowd at that point in their careers, very few are prepared to speak in front of one.

“If you’re not used to having a microphone and a large crowd in front of you, it can be the most intimidating thing you ever see,” Crabb said.

Some keep their speeches short, like Mike White did last season. Others go a little longer, like former IU guard Todd Leary.

After that day, Leary became known in some IU circles for his public speaking gig as much as he was for his sweet shooting.

As Crabb recalled, Leary set “what must be the intergalactic world record for longest single extemporaneous speech.”

One of the most memorable parts of Leary’s speech was his rebuttal to Knight, who had spoken moments before. Knight told the story of Leary’s recruitment.

“I remember the night I recruited Todd,” Knight said. “I called him at 8 o’clock one night and said, ‘I’m going to call you back at 9 o’clock. You tell me then whether you want to come to Indiana or not.’ That was the extent of recruiting Todd Leary. You can see I bought him for nothing then, and I wouldn’t sell him for gold today.”

But Leary didn’t recall the story quite that way.

“He called back at 8:15,” the guard said of Knight.

Outside of Leary’s and a few others, few speeches stand out in Crabb’s mind, but those that do bring a smile to his face.

In 1993, IU guard Chris Reynolds, now a senior associate athletic director for the Hoosiers, was playing his fourth and final year for IU. Most knew Reynolds for his defense and hustle, but his teammates knew him for something else.

They joked that Reynolds couldn’t dunk a basketball. So when Senior Night rolled around, “The guys got him up and two of them lifted him into the air so he could finally dunk a basketball,” Crabb said.

***

During the Mike Davis era, the Hoosiers had two walk-ons – Mark Johnson and Ryan Tapak – who Crabb and many fans struggled to tell apart.

The only distinguishing trait was Johnson’s tattoo on his upper left arm.

On Senior Day, Johnson came to the scorers’ table to report he was going into the game.

A dead ball happens. The horn sounds. And Crabb introduces No. 34 ... Ryan Tapak.

Later that night, during the speeches, Johnson took the microphone and said, “I’ve been interchangeable all four years with Ryan Tapak. Everybody got us confused. And even today, Chuck Crabb announced me going into my final game in this building and still couldn’t get it right.”

Luckily for Crabb, Johnson’s call-out drew a huge laugh.

***

Crabb isn’t sure what IU’s lone senior Kyle Taber will say tonight.

In his five years, Taber has remained a quiet, and pleasant presence around Assembly
Hall, rarely saying more than ‘hello’ in the hallways.

“He’s an extremely quiet person. ... Tomorrow night, being his final home game as a senior, he may still not say a whole lot,” Crabb said.

But fans will likely stick around Assembly Hall after the Michigan State game to see what No. 44 chooses to say.

“The fans worship and idolize them, and this is a time when I think people have maybe seen the players being more human, seeing the emotion, seeing the tears, and there have been tears,” Crabb said. “They see some laughs, some nervous laughs, because you’re on the big stage at that point.”