TERRE HAUTE —
Its mainly used in the context of the Indianapolis 500 in Indiana, but in sports, you often hear about the concept of a “popular victor”. The person or two in a field of peers who is going to get a louder reception than some other victors because the fans have made an emotional connection with him or her.
When you looked around the Varsity Club at Hulman Center on Tuesday when Greg Lansing was introduced as Indiana State’s men’s basketball coach, you got a feeling for just how popular a victory this was among many in the ISU fanbase.
Chairs had to be added just before Lansing’s introductory press conference started to accommodate a turnout of well-wishers that was well into triple-figures.
My nearly all accounts, it was the largest turnout ISU has had since it started inviting the public to news conferences.
The depth of support Lansing has had among ISU fans has been built in his nine years and has rarely wavered. Lansing bridges an ISU gap from Sherman Dillard to Royce Waltman to Kevin McKenna, so as far as the fans are concerned, he’s put the time in.
It made his supporters — former ISU great and 2000 MVC Player of the Year Nate Green — gratified that he finally got his shot.
“No one person is above the program. [The turnout] says that people are still excited about the program. It also that he’s well liked and people are excited he’s behind the reins of the program,” Green said.
Lansing has waited patiently for his opportunity. He’s had opportunities to move on — he was a candidate for the head coach position at Western Illinois two years ago — and he could’ve jumped from ISU’s staff this spring.
But Lansing decided to stay. Part of it was pragmatic tea-leave reading … McKenna’s departure was a possibility when the Creighton job opened up in late April.
But a lot of it was loyalty. He put the time in. His wife Angie is a former ISU runner and is the Senior Women’s Administrator.
“Anybody who gets into coaching and who isn’t a great player or name, you have to work your way up. I think that’s what’s made me what I am. I was a Division II player and a coach’s kid. I was a volunteer assistant, a graduate assistant, a restricted earnings assistant,” Lansing said.
“I’ve been so lucky to have my dad, my college coach, coach [Royce] Waltman, coach [Steve] Alford and coach [Kevin] McKenna. They prepared me and I fully feel ready. It may have taken a little longer than I like, but this is when it was meant to happen,” Lansing added.
Because Lansing was so familiar to the fans, the press conference was more like a roast than an introduction. However, the one difference Lansing wanted to get across from previous seasons is to get the community engaged with the basketball program and vice versa.
McKenna participated in community events too, but because he had a quieter manner, it made it hard for some fans to want to embrace the program. Lansing has never been shy about being visible in the community. He is a fixture at other ISU athletics events as well as other local functions.
“You have to give the community ownership. Terre Haute and the whole Wabash Valley need to feel a part of this. We ask them for support, but to get it back, that’s on us,” Lansing said.
“We need to get out in the community all the time. Coaches says that stuff all the time, but we have to do it. If we’re asking the community to support us, we certainly have to support and do things for them. And we have to continue to put teams on the floor as we did last year and continue to improve on that,” he added.
Based on the amount of well-wishers on hand to give Lansing a popular send-off, it appears that the loyalty Lansing had to ISU is being repaid by the faith of ISU supporters.
Todd Golden is sports editor of the Tribune-Star. He can be reached at (812) 231-4272 or todd.golden@tribstar.com. Check out Golden’s blog at blogs.tribstar.com/downinthevalley/.
From the Press Box
From the Press Box: Lansing hire a popular victory for ISU fans
- From the Press Box
-
-
TODD GOLDEN: Don't give up on ISU baseball just yet
If you had to pick one word that would describe the 2013 Indiana State baseball season, it would have to be frustration.
-
FROM THE PRESSBOX: Content McKenna has enjoyed seeing ISU's progress
It all happened so fast in June 2010.
One minute, Kevin McKenna was head coach of the Indiana State men’s basketball program. Then — poof! — he was gone.
McKenna resigned from his head coaching position at ISU on June 13, 2010 to take an assistant coach position on Dana Altman’s then-burgeoning University of Oregon staff. -
MVC can't wait on Crieghton to move forward
Will they go or not? That’s been the question that the Missouri Valley Conference and Creighton have been faced with since rumors of the Bluejays’ potential exit went public in December.
-
FROM THE PRESSBOX: Can Sycamores reverse fortunes heading into MVC Tournament?
Mastery of a basketball season comes in many forms. Mostly, it comes in forms that involve avoidance of turnovers, anemic scoring and poor defense.
The mechanics of X-and-O success in basketball are obvious, but what’s often overlooked in building a successful campaign is managing the rhythm of the season, which is the hardest thing of all. -
FROM THE PRESS BOX: Accountability isn't Lansing's alone in ISU's recent struggles
Taking ownership has always been one of Indiana State men’s basketball coach Greg Lansing’s strengths.
When ISU has lost games in his three seasons at the helm that it was expected to win, Lansing has always been willing to fall on the sword and take blame for it. -
TODD GOLDEN: Indiana State has far more occasions to rise to
Rejoice, Indiana State basketball fans. The Sycamores’ 68-55 victory at No. 15 Wichita State on Tuesday is worthy of celebration.
-
TODD GOLDEN: Big plays in last 10 minutes story of the season for Indiana State
You’d think I’d have learned by now.
It’s 20 games into Indiana State’s men’s basketball season and I still expect the Sycamores’ offense operate like a well-oiled machine from the opening tip. -
Sycamores blossom on Hawaii trip
Quick quiz … what’s the state flower of Hawaii?
Don’t worry. I can’t just rattle state flowers off the top of my head. I had to look it up too, even though I’ve seen them all over the place in Honolulu.
I didn’t even know that Indiana’s state flower is the peony, which replaced the apparently unloved zinnia in the 1950s.
Hawaii’s flower, and they’re ubiquitous in Waikiki tourist shops and in actual flora on Oahu, is the yellow hibiscus.
The yellow hibiscus is big, bold and bright. I’ve never seen one blossom, but I imagine it has to be a beautiful sight.
What I have seen blossom — and it’s the only reason flowers would be brought up in my column — is the Indiana State basketball team at the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic. -
TODD GOLDEN: ISU needs to have its realignment head on a swivel
Have you ever driven past a cow pasture during a severe thunderstorm? If it’s really bad, the cows will congregate in a herd to protect themselves from the tumult.
-
TODD GOLDEN: ISU AD Prettyman keeps it close to the vest
Do you want to know who’s on the short list to become Indiana State's next football coach?
-
TODD GOLDEN: Trent Miles leaves Sycamores with giant legacy
To glean perspective on Trent Miles’ time as Indiana State’s football coach, I went back into the Tribune-Star’s archives to remind myself of what the football program was like when Miles arrived to rebuild it.
-
FROM THE PRESS BOX: Scoreboard watching and the threat matrix for ISU
Indiana State football coach Trent Miles reaffirmed his belief Tuesday that a victory over Youngstown State on Saturday will propel the Sycamores into the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs for the first time since 1984.
-
FROM THE PRESS BOX: Twists and turns, but Luck passes eye test
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck made his much anticipated Lucas Oil Stadium debut Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings.
-
FROM THE PRESS BOX: Looking back and forward at ISU athletics
It started in State College, Pa., and ended in Eugene, Ore. Few Indiana State athletic seasons have spanned the nation in as many sports as 2011-12 did for the Sycamores’ athletic teams. And from coast-to-coast there was glory and heartbreak alike.
-
FROM THE PRESS BOX: ISU progresses under Prettyman
He didn’t say a word, but it was as clear as Indiana State Director of Athletics Ron Prettyman sat in the PK Park dugout and watched the Sycamores take batting practice prior to their NCAA Regional at Oregon last Thursday, he beamed with pride.
-
TODD GOLDEN: MVC pitching helped prepare Sycamores for regional
Nick Petree, Pierce Johnson, Ty Blach.
These aren’t just elite-level starting pitchers Indiana State’s baseball team faced this season. They comprise three of the last five pitchers the Sycamores faced period. -
FROM THE PRESS BOX: ISU baseball has pluses, minuses for tourney bid
Last Thursday, when Indiana State’s baseball jumped around in a celebratory dogpile after clinching the Missouri Valley Conference regular season championship at Bob Warn Field, no one thought that a little over a week later, the dreaded NCAA Tournament bubble would fly over Terre Haute. -
FROM THE PRESS BOX: Subtle switch has fostered MVC baseball parity
When Indiana State was crowned as the regular season baseball champion of the Missouri Valley Conference last Thursday, it marked the fifth different regular season champion the league has had since 2005.
-
FROM THE PRESS BOX: ISU has done enough to be in NCAAs
When you get older, you’re supposed to get wiser. I don’t know if I qualify, but I’m trying.
-
FROM THE PRESS BOX: TH’s Murans back in the Derby … this time with favorite
When Terre Haute native Paul Murans experienced his first Triple Crown horse racing run as part-owner of Mucho Macho Man in 2011, the experience was — to borrow a phrase from one-time Marquette coach Al McGuire — seashells and balloons.
-
TODD GOLDEN: IHSAA debate interrupts more pressing issues
State Senator Mike Delph has sowed a 15-year-old wind and put the emotional class basketball debate back on the public’s mind.
-
TODD GOLDEN: ISU eyes prize one game at a time
Most baseball fans know that the baseball season — even a college baseball season — is a marathon, not a sprint.
-
TODD GOLDEN: Grass is green enough for Indiana State in Missouri Valley
Take a look around the Missouri Valley Conference landscape and it would be easy to assume that a significant portion of the league membership is searching for perceived greener pastures.
-
FROM THE PRESS BOX: Sycamores are Odum’s team now
Soooo … who wants to talk about the 2012 Indiana State men’s basketball season?
-
FROM THE PRESS BOX: ISU will face uphill climb in MVC in 2013
The Missouri Valley Conference Tournament semifinals are always scintillating. No more so than Saturday when Illinois State upset 15th-ranked Wichita State 65-64 and when No. 25 Creighton took care of business with a 99-71 victory over Evansville.
Arch Madness indeed. -
FROM THE PRESS BOX: Effort, heart, concentration are fleeting for ISU
Every time Indiana State’s men’s basketball wins a game, you think to yourself, OK, now is when these Sycamores live up to their potential.
-
FROM THE PRESS BOX: Peyton’s place belongs to Eli
The good people of Indianapolis justifiably puffed out their chests throughout Super Bowl week as the city received deserved rave reviews for the job it did as hosts of Super Bowl XLVI.
-
TODD GOLDEN: Teammates, colleagues express their loyalty to Weatherford
Sometimes you worry whether someone is stopping to smell the roses when they smell rosiest.
-
FROM THE PRESS BOX: Does melted ice reveal Belichick's heart of gold?
If you’re into Youtube — and who isn’t these days? — there’s a vintage television profile of then-Cleveland Browns coach Bill Belichick posted on the popular site.
-
TODD GOLDEN: Indiana State men caught between expectation, reality
The Missouri Valley Conference is hush-hush on how it puts together its matchups for the annual conference schedule.
- More From the Press Box Headlines
-
TODD GOLDEN: Don't give up on ISU baseball just yet
Raw: Massive Funnel Clouds in Oklahoma
Raw: Widespread Destruction in Moore, Okla.
Raw: Aerials Show Path of Oklahoma Destruction
Raw: Rescue Workers Search Oklahoma School
Active Search for Utah Missing Mom Ends
Raw: Tearful Reunion After Okla. Tornado
Raw: Japan's WWII Atrocities Under Fire in Seoul
Obama Pledges Urgent Aid for Tornado Victims
Raw: Tornado on the Ground in Oklahoma
AP Photograher: 'It Was a Miracle' They Got Out
Raw: Aussie Zoo Shows Off White Rhino Calf
Voters Could Elect LA's First Female Mayor
Huge Tornado Kills Dozens Near Oklahoma City
Raw: Aftermath of Massive Tornado in Oklahoma
Raw: Crews Search for Survivors of Okla. Tornado
Raw: Rescuers Pull Tornado Survivors to Safety
OKC Hospital Describes Treating Tornado Wounded
Moore, Okla. City of Reunions, Tears After Storm
Tim Cook Defends Apple's Tax Accounting
Oklahoma Gov: 'Hearts Are Broken' After Tornado
VIRAL: Baby makes epic soccer goal
Olivia Munn Flaunts Her Bikini Bod
Britney Spears Under Fire Once Again For Being A Bad Mom
The Hangover Baby All Grown Up
Arias Tells Jury What She'd Do if She Gets Life
The all-new Xbox One
RAW: Massive tornado strikes Oklahoma
Nidal Hasan paid $278K while awaiting trial
VIDEO: Teacher reunites mother and son after tornado levels elementary school in Oklahoma City
Okla. tornado survivor finds dog buried alive under rubble
Jennifer Lawrence Gets Naked and Painted Blue as X-Men's Mystique
Pickler's Dance Moves Cause A Stir
Obama to tornado survivors: The country stands beside you
Reporter Cries Over Devastation
Sneak Peek: 'Modern Family' Says Good Bye
Trailer: 'The Last Stand' Available on Blu-ray Disc, DVD, Digital Download
IWitness Look at Moore, OK Tornado
RAW: Moore, OK tornado touches down near school
Robert Pattinson Moves Out
RAW: Russian dash cam catches car 20 feet in the air
