St. Louis —
The minute it became apparent Indiana State had punched its ticket to the NCAA Tournament with a 60-56 victory over Missouri State on Sunday, I reflected on all of the moments in the previous seven years of covering the Sycamores that led to this.
Admittedly, most of the game didn’t leave much of a chance to reflect. It left plenty of opportunity to get stressed out. On a scale of 1 to 10, the last four minutes of that game rated a 100 in tension.
For ISU coach Greg Lansing, his immediate thought once the win was secured was for his team.
“Really, all my thoughts were basically I wanted it so bad for these guys. They deserve it. Like I said, there’s never been a more deserving group of guys, and that they get to enjoy this means the world to me,” Lansing said.
Once I saw the Sycamores celebrating on the floor, I also knew there were others who should share in this moment as much as the Sycamores themselves did. There are a lot of Sycamores, past and present, to spare a thought for.
Spare a thought for former ISU head coach and current Oregon assistant coach Kevin McKenna. Since his departure last June, McKenna has sort of been a forgotten man, but he shouldn’t be. McKenna laid the groundwork and was obviously responsible for either recruiting or keeping every single Sycamore on the current roster.
McKenna also set the tone to redshirt incoming freshmen. ISU has depth and experienced youth because of that philosophical decision.
To me, McKenna’s greatest legacy to the ISU program was his decision to redshirt Jordan Printy, Koang Doluony, Jake Odum, R.J. Mahurin, Logan Eitel and Lucas Eitel.
Somewhere in Eugene, Ore., I hope McKenna enjoyed this as much as the Sycamores did in St. Louis.
Spare a thought for former ISU head coach Royce Waltman. The last ISU coach to take the Sycamores to the NCAA Tournament brought Greg Lansing to his staff in 2006. Waltman played a role in the recruitment of Aaron Carter and Printy, and is sort of the spiritual guide for Lansing as he’s gone through his first season.
Spare a thought for all of the former assistant coaches who played a role in Sunday’s victory. Matt Mardis, whose place Lansing took in 2006, recruited Carter. Stan Gouard and Dick Bender were also assistant coaches that either were on staff when current players were recruited or who coached them directly.
Spare a thought for Indiana State Director of Athletics Ron Prettyman. He hired McKenna and he hired Lansing. He could have gone another direction when McKenna left, but stayed the course. In the end, it turned out to be the right path.
Spare a thought for ISU athletic trainer Brad Yeargin and the rest of the ISU training staff. Yeargin’s been with the Sycamores for two years. ISU has had plenty of injuries to overcome, including several over the course of the MVC Tournament weekend, but in the end, all of the Sycamores were healthy and they contributed.
Spare a thought for retired Terre Haute South boys basketball coach Mike Saylor. Yes, Mike Saylor. When Odum originally agreed to come to ISU as a walk-on, Saylor — believing Odum deserved a Division I scholarship — helped keep the pressure on and pleaded with ISU that Odum was deserving of being more than just a walk-on.
Had Saylor not done that, and had ISU not acquiesced, it’s possible Odum might have played elsewhere when he began to attract more attention during his senior season with the Braves.
Spare a thought for former Iowa coach Todd Lickliter. Without his cooperation, it would have been much tougher for Jake Kelly to play for the Sycamores.
Spare a thought for all of those names you never know in the background who made this possible, from former team managers to graduate assistants to support staff. They share in this, too, and along those lines, it was great for me to see ISU Sports Information Director Ace Hunt get one of those MVC championship medals. He deserved it.
The list goes on and on, and I’m certain I’ve unintentionally left too many people out who also deserve mention.
The players and coaches celebrate, but there’s a lot of cooks who worked in the Sycamores’ MVC championship kitchen. I have no doubt that they feasted on pride during their Sunday celebration.
Todd Golden is sports
editor of the Tribune-Star. He can be reached at todd.golden@tribstar.com or at (812) 231-4272. Read his blog at blogs.tribstar.com/down
inthevalley.
From the Press Box
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Tribune-Star sports editor Todd Golden.
Discussion
Many Sycamores, past and present, to remember
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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.
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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. -
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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. -
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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. -
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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. -
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Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck made his much anticipated Lucas Oil Stadium debut Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings.
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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.
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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.
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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. -
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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.
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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.
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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.
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TODD GOLDEN: ISU eyes prize one game at a time
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TODD GOLDEN: Grass is green enough for Indiana State in Missouri Valley
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FROM THE PRESS BOX: Sycamores are Odum’s team now
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FROM THE PRESS BOX: ISU will face uphill climb in MVC in 2013
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