Show must go on for Creek-less Hoosiers

Tom Crean knew what he was getting into when he signed on as IU’s latest men’s basketball coach.

He knew it would be an uphill battle to restore the glory of IU basketball, filled with many losses in the first couple seasons and many tough days out on the recruiting trail.

Some argued that a 10-win season a year ago might have netted Crean some Coach of the Year consideration. After all, he dealt himself a ridiculously tough hand, and, realistically, a 10-win season would have been a major accomplishment.

With the first of 18 Big Ten games tipping off for the Hoosiers at noon today, Crean will embark on what might be his most difficult task yet as a college basketball coach – rallying this IU team to compete through the entire conference slate without their best scorer.  

The NCAA let IU off pretty easy a year ago in the wake of the Kelvin Sampson scandal, and though Crean and his coaches were hurt a bit recruiting-wise, the worst days seemed to have been over.

Prior to the season, when freshmen Maurice Creek and Bawa Muniru were both cleared to compete, it marked the first time since the 2007-08 season at Marquette that Crean had a full roster – albeit extremely young and inexperienced.

The Hoosiers are now just 6-6 and have had some bad losses, but the progress being made both by individuals and the entire team appeared to have put IU right on track.

And though the show must go on without the injured Creek, getting this team to compete at the same level as the Hoosiers of four days ago might be quite difficult.

Who knows how the team might have fared this season had Creek not been declared eligible at all, but the fact that the freshman guard had been a staple in the team’s practices and games for months will be tough to overcome.

Gone is the team’s most prolific shooter, and gone is yet another guard – they now have just four active scholarship players left in the backcourt.

IU has the talent to play without Creek, the question is how they will respond to it for the first time when they hit the court today.
 
Let’s face it, the Hoosiers should have beaten Michigan at home a year ago. Devan Dumes led the team with 17 points last January versus the Wolverines, while then-freshmen Verdell Jones and Tom Pritchard combined for 22 points and 16 rebounds.  

Even without Creek, this team is better than last year’s 6-25 squad. Yet to come out victorious, Crean needs those same types of efforts to go along with solid play from newcomers such as Jeremiah Rivers and freshmen Christian Watford, Derek Elston and Jordan Hulls.

Michigan is not a top-15 team, as projected at the beginning of the season, but they do have arguably the best duo in the Big Ten – junior Manny Harris and senior DeShawn Sims.

Depending on the lineup Crean runs with, IU could have a fairly decent size advantage on Michigan. They will also have the home crowd behind them and, though Creek won’t physically be on the court, his absence could give the Hoosiers plenty of motivation.

IU can’t afford a lackluster start and certainly needs a complete 40-minute effort – one that would have won them the game a year ago.  

It wouldn’t be surprising if the maize and blue were to deal the cream and crimson a knockout punch fairly early. But don’t count out the Hoosiers, who are very capable of winning this one as well.

Cohen’s Prediction:

It won’t be easy for the Hoosiers to move forward through Big Ten play without their leading scorer, but this is just one game and anything can happen. I don’t know what it is, but something gives me the idea that the Hoosiers will shine in this New Year’s Eve battle.

So, what the heck? –  IU 71, Michigan 69