1987 title team reunites at Assembly Hall

One by one, they stood at midcourt and passed the 1987 National Championship trophy down the line.

Twelve of the 15 players from the 1987 IU National Title team were honored Sunday afternoon in front of 16,821 fans at Assembly Hall.

Returning to Bloomington to celebrate the 25-year anniversary of IU’s fifth National Championship, the former players spoke with the current Hoosier squad prior to watching Indiana’s 84-50 victory against Stetson.

“They speak for themselves,” sophomore Victor Oladipo said. “That’s a phenomenal group right there. Their accomplishments and successes is where we want to be at. We had to show them that we could play Indiana basketball.”

Prior to Sunday’s game, the video montage during team introductions included numerous highlights from the 1987 team, and the crowd roared when Keith Smart’s game-winning jumper in the championship game was shown.

Smart’s playing career has long passed, and he is currently an assistant coach for the Sacramento Kings. But Smart said he was ready to put the sneakers back on after listening to IU Coach Tom Crean talk with past players.

“We had a chance to watch some of the practice this morning, and coach Crean talked to our ’87 team, and he fired us up,” Smart said. “I think we all wanted to play today rather than the team today.”

Former IU coach Bob Knight was not in attendance Sunday, but assistant coaches Ron Felling and Royce Waltman joined the team at midcourt.

The last man announced at halftime was Indiana native Steve Alford. A late arrival to this weekend’s festivities, Alford coached New Mexico to a victory Saturday evening before hopping on a plane to Bloomington on Sunday morning.

Alford was the 1987 Big Ten MVP, and his tenure at IU was highlighted by two of the team’s highest achievements.

“In my four years, to win a gold medal for our country (1984 Olympics) and then to win a National Championship, be a part of two teams like that in my four-year career, that’s a blessing,” Alford said. “I really appreciate Coach (Bob) Knight and Indiana University for giving me that opportunity, ’cause without Coach and without this University, I wouldn’t have had those opportunities.”

The 1987 team was 30-4 that season, which culminated in IU’s 74-73 victory against Syracuse in the national title game.

Senior guard Daniel Moore of Carmel, Ind., said it was an honor to meet the players his family has always talked about.

“Just their presence was special,” Moore said. “I obviously wasn’t alive to watch them, but those are household names in my family. Even the 10th and 11th guy are household names in my family.”

Due to NBA lockout rules, Smart was not allowed to speak directly to the team, but he said one day he hopes to watch his former team play on the stage where he made “The Shot.”

“They know we’re supporting them 100 percent because we said we want to be like those other guys, and we want to be able to go to a Final Four or championship game and be in the stands and have our IU clothing that fits us now,” Smart said.

“We see other teams and other players that played at those schools are at the games and at Final Fours, and we want to be there. We want to be part of that, as well.”