TERRE HAUTE —
“O beautiful, for spacious skies … for amber waves of grain.
“For purple mountain majesties … above the fruited plain …”
Those famous lyrics became less a declaration of America’s beauty than a commentary on the torturous journey Indiana State’s men’s basketball team unwillingly embarked on to get home from Hawaii.
The Sycamores saw nearly everything America has to offer in their return trip from the Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
Or at least, they flew over most of it.
The Sycamores literally went from sea-to-shining sea in a snow-distorted odyssey that took them from Polynesia to Philadelphia and several points in-between.
After it was over, it’s highly doubtful at the end of it that they felt God had shed his grace on thee.
HNL-PHX-PHL-ORD. Those aren’t airport abbreviations as much as code for how hellish things were for ISU as they tried to get back to snowy Indiana.
“It was a tough deal. There’s no question,” ISU coach Greg Lansing said.
It was already going to be a challenge to be fresh for today’s Missouri Valley Conference opener against Illinois State hot on the heels of a Hawaii trip. The travel nightmare the Sycamores suffered to get home added an unwelcome degree of difficulty to the proceedings.
“It was a long couple of days and a long couple of nights of travel. We were prepared [for delays], but it was a little worse than expected,” ISU guard Lucas Eitel said.
ISU’s plan leaving Hawaii was to catch a Tuesday night US Airways red-eye flight out of Honolulu, connect via Phoenix, Ariz., and return to Indianapolis on Wednesday morning.
Tuesday night’s snow storm that left Terre Haute mostly spared, but hit the rest of Indiana hard threw those plans completely out the window.
ISU got to Phoenix, but by then, ISU’s flight to Indianapolis had been canceled. ISU was then flown to US Airways eastern hub in Philadelphia with the hope that it could get on a flight to a still-open Indy airport.
No dice. After the long flight from Phoenix to the city of Brotherly Love, ISU landed to find out that the Indianapolis airport was closed. They had the choice to bus home to Terre Haute from Philadelphia — a 12-hour trip — or spend the night in Philly, fly to Chicago the next day, and bus to Terre Haute.
The Sycamores chose the latter and finally got back to Terre Haute around 2 p.m. on Thursday.
“At one point, we were traveling for 22 hours straight. It was a long ordeal and it was awful difficult on the guys. You play three games in four days and throw travel on top of that? Your body is messed up,” Lansing said.
Lansing consulted Butler coach Brad Stevens and Creighton coach Greg McDermott (who had a miserable travel experience when he was at Iowa State) for advice on how to handle the situation.
ISU did its best to minimize the hit from the travel woes. Practices on Friday and Saturday were light.
“We don’t want to use the travel as an excuse, but we went light the last couple of days. I think we all felt good [on Saturday] and we’ll be ready to play,” Eitel said.
The bad travel experience couldn’t come at a worse time. ISU will play three MVC games this week starting today against the cream of the conference.
Illinois State, today’s foe, was picked second in the preseason poll. Northern Iowa, Wednesday’s road opponent, was picked third. The week finishes with a trip to preseason favorite Creighton on Saturday.
The Redbirds (9-3) have a familiar cast of characters. Big man Jackie Carmichael is a four-year regular. Guard Tyler Brown has been a standout in the last two seasons. Jon Ekey provides veteran versatility. Bryant Allen, Johnny Hill and John Wilkins are all experienced.
The significant change for Illinois State is that Dan Muller is the head coach. Former coach Tim Jankovich left the Redbirds to become the head coach-in-waiting under Larry Brown at SMU.
Muller has changed Illinois State’s look from their days under Jankovich. The Redbirds mostly lived up to their billing with losses to Northwestern, Louisville (a three-point road loss) and unbeaten Wyoming.
“They ran a lot of sets [with Jankovich]. They ran the Iverson screen across the top a lot and they don’t run that anymore. More than anything, they run transition. They don’t get in the half-court very much. They run-it-and-gun-it quick. Our transition defense will be important,” Eitel said.
ISU (7-4) will have center Justin Gant in its arsenal as the sophomore suffered his own ordeal in addition to the Sycamores’ travel woes. Gant was elbowed in the mouth during the second half of ISU’s 57-55 victory over Miami.
Half of Gant’s upper front tooth was broken off and flew across the lane for ESPN’s slow-motion cameras to record for excruciating posterity. Gant left the game against the Hurricanes and had to endure the pain of his broken tooth on ISU’s long trek home.
On Friday, Gant had a root canal. He is no longer in pain and will have his tooth capped later this month. He won’t have to wear any protective gear other than a mouthpiece in today’s game.
It’s important for ISU’s fortunes that Gant builds on his strong performance in Hawaii. He had a double-double against Mississippi in the first game and was an aggressive presence in the paint against San Diego State and Miami prior to his injury.
“The coaching staff did a great job preparing us for the games and getting us ready for their tendencies. We stepped up to the challenge and showed we can play. We need to do more of the same thing starting tomorrow,” Gant said.
Sports
After long, delayed trek back from Hawaii, Sycamores to open MVC against Illinois State
ISU plays today in Hulman Center
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Tribune-Star/Jim Avelis Defense: West Vigo second baseman Lucas Fagg fields a ground ball for an out in the Vikings semi-final sectional baseball game with Edgewood.
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West Vigo advances to sectional championship with walk-off win in ninth
High school baseball sectional games between West Vigo and Edgewood have had a tendency to be unpredictable over the years, but the Vikings and Mustangs outdid themselves in that area Thursday evening — and Thursday night.
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Wichita State shuts out ISU to force elimination-game rematch
Indiana State starting pitcher Greg Kuhlman did his best.
Actually, he did far better than he ever has previously in an ISU uniform, but while Kuhlman’s gutty pitching effort spoke volumes, ISU’s bats remained ominously silent. -
BOYS TRACK REGIONAL: North gets three winners, South two at Evansville
Terre Haute North had three winners, Terre Haute South two, and the Patriots and Braves finished second and third respectively at the Evansville Regional for boys track on Thursday at Evansville Central.
Hurdlers Cam Stewart and Cole Seward and discus thrower Lee Davis were the winners for North, enabling the Patriots to finish with 60 points to 59 for the Braves. -
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South Vermillion pitches team to sectional title, wins for her dad
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RAMBLIN' RECK: Sunday promises to be big day in Indy
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Terre Haute North burst through that crack in the bottom of the second inning Wednesday evening at Terre Haute South, scoring seven two-out runs and going on to a surprisingly easy 12-2 victory over the host Braves. -
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West Vigo advances to sectional championship with walk-off win in ninth
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METRO ROUNDUP: Rose-Hulman's Evans honored as Great Lakes' top athlete
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Terry enjoys strong year with Wildcats, and still enjoying suiting up to play
South Vermillion’s Tim Terry is the longest tenured coach in Wabash Valley high school baseball as his Wildcats are set to begin sectional play Thursday against Owen Valley.
But on the Yankees, a 35-and-over team in the Terre Haute Men’s Senior Baseball League, Terry is “just a youngster” if you ask Larry Roesch, his 68-year-old teammate on the Volkers Group Yankees. -
Softball sectionals up for grabs
All three Vigo County high schools and Northview appear to have a realistic chance of winning sectional championships in softball this week.
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Indiana State baseball series canceled
Heavy rain from Thursday through Saturday has forced Indiana State and Tennessee Martin to cancel their three-game weekend baseball series in northwest Tennessee.
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METRO ROUNDUP: Rose-Hulman baseball to play DePauw on Thursday after Tuesday's rain
The Rose-Hulman baseball team has rescheduled its non-conference game with DePauw to Thursday night.
The start time remains 7 p.m. for the single nine-inning game that was originally scheduled for today. Tuesday’s scheduled Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference game at Anderson was moved to Sunday because of rain.
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METRO ROUNDUP: Rose-Hulman's Evans honored as Great Lakes' top athlete
- High School
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West Vigo advances to sectional championship with walk-off win in ninth
High school baseball sectional games between West Vigo and Edgewood have had a tendency to be unpredictable over the years, but the Vikings and Mustangs outdid themselves in that area Thursday evening — and Thursday night.
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- College
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Wichita State shuts out ISU to force elimination-game rematch
Indiana State starting pitcher Greg Kuhlman did his best.
Actually, he did far better than he ever has previously in an ISU uniform, but while Kuhlman’s gutty pitching effort spoke volumes, ISU’s bats remained ominously silent. -
Indiana State baseball now one win from MVC Championship
Indiana State’s Wednesday morning wish list probably read something like this: a dominant complete game effort from starting pitcher Devin Moore, near-immaculate defense to support him, and a steady diet of clutch situational hitting from lineup spots one to nine.
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Terre Haute's Mascari running 10,000 meters for chance to get to Hayward Field
Indiana State freshman and Terre Haute North graduate John Mascari is among the enormous group of Sycamores competing this weekend at the NCAA East Preliminary. The top 48 NCAA track and field competitors in each event on this half of the United States are narrowed down to 12 who will compete at the NCAA meet at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.
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Manaea's shoulder causing him latest pain
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ISU's Negele answers call in big way in wake of Manaea injury
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Wichita State shuts out ISU to force elimination-game rematch
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RAMBLIN' RECK: Sunday promises to be big day in Indy
Sunday promises to be a super day in Indianapolis.
It’s the 97th running of the Indianapolis 500 followed by Indiana vs. Miami in the third game of the National Basketball Association playoffs. - TRACKSIDE: Local drivers, owners looking to have strong night at Tony Hulman Classic
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RAMBLIN' RECK: Sunday promises to be big day in Indy
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Luck having fun with his first OTAs
A year ago, quarterback Andrew Luck was unable to attend the Indianapolis Colts’ organized team activity practices due to school commitments at Stanford.
Luck, though, went on to have a stellar year for the Colts despite the lack of summer work with the team. Still, in a sense, he is a rookie during this year’s OTA workouts.
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Luck having fun with his first OTAs
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Consultation: Rex manager Brian Dorsett talks with his pitcher and players during a time-out Sunday, July 15, at Sycamore Field. (Tribune-Star file/Bob Poynter)
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2012 an up, down season for Rex
The Terre Haute Rex went through plenty of trials and tribulations during the summer of 2012.
The team got off to a sluggish start to settle for third place during the first half of the Prospect League race, but manager Brian Dorsett rallied the troops to a second-half title. - Metro Roundup: Dorsett, Rex players honored in Prospect League postseason awards
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2012 an up, down season for Rex
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Luck having fun with his first OTAs
A year ago, quarterback Andrew Luck was unable to attend the Indianapolis Colts’ organized team activity practices due to school commitments at Stanford.
Luck, though, went on to have a stellar year for the Colts despite the lack of summer work with the team. Still, in a sense, he is a rookie during this year’s OTA workouts.
“These are my first OTAs. I missed these last year, so I think it’s great. It’s great to get on the field with the defense and trouble-shoot some stuff. Obviously, some of us ran some of this stuff [offense] at Stanford [under new offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton]. But to get out there with the defense and trouble-shoot some stuff is good,” Luck said Wednesday as the team wrapped up its first week of on-field voluntary practice sessions. - Colts' coordinators enjoying getting rookies acclimated
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Luck having fun with his first OTAs
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Looking for Indy breakthrough, Kanaan enjoying role as team mentor
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