Bloomington, Ind. - They called it Hoosier Hysteria, although there was little short of hysterical. And it was not Midnight Madness, unless you count the IU basketball team the line of scrimmage to run past midnight Friday evening and Saturday in.
What it was, though, was a ritual of purification. It was as if IU basketball has a long, hot shower and off, that the foam had collected over the past two years.
It was the first time in years, too many years, the worshiping at the altar of Hoosier tires felt like a noble and worthy cause.
Tom Crean, which has done everything but ride a white horse in the last six months, called it a chance for "closure.''And to a certain extent, he is correct. Only one more shoe drops, and hope is that the NCAA already has taken its proper measure of IE with earlier sanctions, IE does not even mention sanctions.
Still, they feel like a chance to breathe deeply. The stench was gone. Indiana basketball is a new start, even though nobody is sure that No. 33 is just yet.
Indiana-osiers Who?
Besides the terrible tragedy that the lives of 29 University of Evansville players, coaches and staff in 1977, no basketball coach has been given the kind of top-down reconstruction job, Crean faces here in Bloomington.
The only case in the nearby Baylor, where former Valparaiso assistant Scott Drew was in a terrible mess. Still, Drew has a handful of players returning from the previous roster.
And Crean?
He has Kyle Taber as the only returning scholarship player.
His entire crew, then newcomers or transfers.
And except for Tijan Jobe, the likeable 7-footer from the Gambia, which is still working on basic basketball skills, they have almost no size.
And very little name recognition. Not yet. Earlier in the day, it was suggested that Crean that he break with tradition for one day and put the players' names on their jerseys.
"No way,''Crean said, laughing." Then program sales go.''
At least during a pregame autograph session, guys wore name tags so that fans would not consistently be forced to their program.
"People still order their cheat sheets to check who was who,''said guard Verdell Jones, a freshman from Champaign, Ill." But now that many of them have seen us play, they will get to know each other.''
It does not take Dick Vitale to understand that this team is not very good. It has no height. He has no experience. There are some talents - in a brief attack line, Jones and Devan Dumes (a Decatur Central and Vincennes University product) quickly stood out - but it figures to fight powerful in the Big Ten. Winning 10 or more games will be a conclusion.
It is not the Hoosiers' record but that can be made up. It is their style of play. It is their selflessness. It is their work ethic. The IE team should not win the Big Ten - or win all games in the Big Ten, for that matter - to the hearts of the fans who claim to know basketball.
The supporters of IU basketball can be a compelling chapter in the history of the school basketball program, and that is through ads in massive numbers and by supporting this largely overmatched team regardless of the circumstance.
Because you, like a fan, have your program back. And it's not everything you want to have? Good kids who go to class and wear the jersey with pride?
As the team was going through his Layup lines Friday evening, former Hoosier Dr. Steve Green stood in a corner of the auditorium, sharing stories with other former legendary Atlanta Hawks coach Mike Woodson.
Both were somewhat estranged from the program since Bob Knight firing in 2000, but both were here together with several other Hoosier sizes from different eras - that was a very nice touch. Perhaps one day, even knights are in this soil as well.
"This feels right to me,''said Green." I admit I'm a Knight loyalist and I did not always agree with the way things were done here, but I like what coach is doing, and he is the perfect person for this situation.''
Woodson said: "This type of program hit rock bottom this past year, so the only way you can top. But we have a very nice man in Tom. His team will always scrap and play hard. The fans need only yet to be patient. It's going to take some time. I know. I did it in Atlanta (with the Hawks).''
The future was on display at Assembly Hall, with an estimated 40-50 recruits scattered in the stands. This was not only an ever-to-know, that night, but a key recruiting night. This night will help close the agreement on the 2009 commitments, and it is to impress the younger up-and-comers to watch on ESPNU and the Big Ten Network.
Mission accomplished.
Crean wanted the atmosphere to show that, although he is not averse to some stunts for the future Hysterias. A year in Marquette, he came in a karate outfit and drove a four-wheeler around the court, nearly killing himself in the process.
"Someday I might Rappel from the ceiling,''he said." But I do not know the building is still good enough.''
Finally, a fan could walk into the auditorium and watch some basketball, and not at home feel the overwhelming need for a shower.
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