What Tom Crean Needs to Say Tonight...

Here we are, Hoosier Nation.  This has been, in the truest sense, a season on the brink.  We lost our best player, ten straight games, but not our dignity.  Tonight, we face arguably the best team in the Big Ten.  There was a day not long ago that the Purdue Boilermakers were perennially petrified of the candy striped sweatpants.  Today, however, they're probably most concerned with what lies ahead, a number one seed in the NCAA tournament and the challenge of defeating the best in college basketball without Robbie Hummel. 

I hate to be the bearer of bad news to the Boiler faithful, but they should have some fear tonight.  Our record may not reflect it, but we are the most dangerous team in the Big Ten right now.  We're not the best, not by a long shot.  We're not consistent, but we are talented, and we're very passionately driven.  Lately, we've lacked our luster.  We've struggled over the past few weeks, culminating in the worst home loss in school history, but there was one thing that we did that night that will resonate tonight and for the next three years.

We got pissed off.

We were tired of laying down as more experienced teams reminded us that our most veteran player is a Junior who is in his first year with the program.  We were tired of being shafted by the officials at home and on the road alike.  We were tired of being the pug fighting the pit bull.  Tonight, we send a message to the entire nation.  Tonight, we show them the same thing that we showed them on that fateful night in February when a miracle three was all that stood between us and "Spoiler up!"

Unlike February, however, the Boilers are without the guy who gave them 21 points and 7 rebounds.  Granted, we're playing at Mackey Arena which will be hell for the young guys.  I pray that Jordan Hulls made a couple trips there as an IU fan in the past, because he has to be on tonight and he can't be caught off guard.  I hope Verdell Jones is ready to drive and that Christian Watford is ready to defend, but most importantly, I hope that Tom Pritchard shows up tonight.  

Pritchard has had an alright college career for a guy who would probably be a solid backup anywhere else in the Big Ten.  I've seen glimmers of hope throughout this year, but they've been so few and far between that I don't exactly know how much faith to put in the big man.  My biggest fear about the Hoosiers' post presence has come true.  We've got two breeds of big men on this team.  In this corner, we have the skilled Pritchard who gets physically dominated by every opponent he faces, and in this corner, we have our physically dominant big men who look so terrified when the ball comes to them, they end up turning it over every time.  

We've been bullied all year, and we've taken solace in the fact that they won't be able to bully us in two, maybe even one year.  We've suffered blowouts and close losses, but throughout it all, we've almost always competed.  To compete with these teams after what this program has gone through is downright unbelievable.  What's more remarkable, however, is the fact that we've ran with teams that we shouldn't have run with for 35 minutes.  Those last five minutes will come with experience, but running with Kentucky, Maryland, and Purdue doesn't happen for 35 minutes when you're starting three freshmen, a sophomore, and a junior in his first year with the program.  We are a remarkable team, but no one will recognize that when we're losing ten straight games to teams that we can and should beat.  Tonight is our last real chance to shock the nation before our run next year.  This year, our only prayer to dance is a miracle in the Big Ten Tournament.  Next year, two, three years from now, this won't be a concern by the time we hit March, but tonight is our March Madness.  Tonight is our chance to dance back into the hearts of the fair-weather fans who left us.  If you win tonight, the fans wouldn't care if you lost 20 straight.  If you can beat nationally-ranked Purdue at home, (and you can), you will regain the faith of B-Town and Hoosier fan nationwide.

The only question that remains is not a matter of skill... We've proven that we have it.

It's not a matter of experience... We've proven that we need it.  

It's not a matter of passion... We've proven there's no more we could have.

No, when the buzzer sounds tonight, only one question will remain.

Will the Indiana Hoosiers be national title contenders in this class's time in Bloomington?

Hoosiers, this is your question to answer... 

Everyone has an opinion here.  The hopeful think that we'll be dancing next year with title dreams by my junior year.  Others think the rebuilding will take at least 5-10 years.  Like it or not, however, there's no projections that are more likely than any other.  With the leaps and bounds this team has made, coupled with its unpredictability, no one knows what will happen tonight let alone three years from now.  So this question isn't addressed to the fans, it's addressed to you, in the candy striped sweatpants. 

Hey, Christian Watford, can you raise Banner Number Six in the next three years?

Jordan Hulls?

Maurice Creek?

Bobby Capobianco?

This is not rhetorical.  I expect an answer, but I expect that answer in the form of a win tonight, because if this team at its worst can win in Mackey, there's nothing we can't do in three years.

On that note, let's win this one tonight for all those fans who have been craving a banner since 1987.