Column: The journey is just beginning

I-N-D-I-A-N-A.

The letters appeared next to a “4” on a large projection screen Sunday in the Henke Hall of Champions, located in Memorial Stadium’s North End Zone.

One IU basketball family took in the Selection Sunday announcement with differing perspectives.

The head coach was already familiar with the experience. IU Coach Tom Crean had led Marquette to five NCAA Tournament appearances. There, it had become commonplace to get to the Big Dance – perhaps for Crean it was an expected honor that he had grown numb to.

“When you're there, like we were at Marquette the last three years, you kind of almost take it for granted and I didn't want to miss that,” he said.

But this year was different.

This season, Crean was taking a squad projected by many to hit their glass ceiling at the National Invitational Tournament (NIT), to not just the Bubble of an NCAA Tournament berth, but making it a certainty.

He was helping give a group of young men their first chance to head to the Big Dance, the chance to fulfill a dream.

“Every one of them, no matter what age they started watching, they remember [the selection show] and now they will always have this to remember,” Crean said.

For now and the rest of their lives, these Hoosiers will always have that moment. The instant they heard their school’s name announced, a reaction that was filmed and broadcast nationally, is a memory nobody will ever be able to take away from them.

“I just said 'Thank you God,'” freshman guard Remy Abell said. “I'm lucky to be part of this team. It shows that hard works pays off. We've worked so hard to get to this point, and it feels great."

But making the Tournament is not enough.

Yes, this is a great accomplishment and, as I emphasized, one to remember forever. However, forever is a long ways away. For the present, these student-athletes know they have a game to win and a tournament to conquer.

This is not the end of the journey. Rather, it could be the beginning of one.
I’ve seen this IU team play at its best. I know what it’s capable of and I know it can do better than just making the Big Dance.

If the Hoosiers lose in the first round it will be a disappointment. It’ll cap an incredible ride with an underwhelming finish. I have come to expect more from the Hoosiers and know they can advance past the first round, advancing past the second round and … well, let’s just keep it there for now.

Sunday night’s viewing party was a cause for celebration. Monday morning will be a return to working towards a mission.

“"It's a great feeling, it's one we'll probably reflect upon a lot more when the season's over,” Crean said. “But right now it's still very much a work mode."