Smith: Hoosier nation deserves more than this
By TYLER SMITH (@TylerSmith_ISL)
ISL Editor
It’s year number four in the Archie Miller era, and the seasons have really started to blend together. Night in and night out, it feels like we are watching the same exact game, over, and over. The majority of Hoosier fans aren’t even expecting the “glory days” type of results from this team. But I can assure you: they’re expecting a whole lot more than this.
After Tuesday night’s brutal-to-watch game with Illinois, the Hoosiers fell to a 9-8 overall record. They’ve been close in just about every game, and have taken a lot of top teams down to the wire. And yes, the conference is extremely tough. This team could easily be 12-5 or better, could easily be ranked, and could be comfortably in the Big Dance discussion.
But they’re not.
Somehow, as the talent has piled up on this roster, so have the moral victories. Archie Miller inherited a weak roster, but there are plenty of other programs that dealt with similar situations and they’re succeeding faster. Many fans will say this roster doesn’t have enough shooters or capable guards. While there’s some truth to that, I don’t think this system helps them. To me, the talent on this roster is top-25 material in the nation. How do you have a player-of-the-year candidate, yet struggle to win on a nightly basis?
Indiana fans just want their team to be good every year. It would be great if they could return to greatness, but if they could just be a consistent force in the conference, a ranked team, and maybe try and beat Purdue once in a while, it would be much more acceptable. Making the NCAA Tournament should never be a goal for this program… It should be a given.
Here’s where things get tricky. Do you give up on Archie Miller after four years? Does that decision change if Trayce Jackson-Davis returns for his junior season? Do you give Archie one more year? Do you only make a change if you have a great coach lined up? I know I’ve said this before- but if TJD returns for next year, this team would be absolutely stacked. Add in Parker Stewart, continue to develop Franklin, Thompson, and Lander.. and add a few solid recruits- nobody could screw that up…. or could they?
I wanted the Archie Miller hire. It made total sense at the time. Miller was highly sought after for several years from many other programs. He took Dayton to the Elite 8 and was a perennial tournament participant. If he could have that success at Dayton, I figured the resources and prominence of Indiana would only be better for him. And yes, moving on from Tom Crean was the right choice at the time. How soon people forget: Three of Crean’s last four years were average or bad, and the following year was going to be bad as well. But, there’s a good chance that Archie-ball just wasn’t meant for the Big Ten. I think this team could make noise in March Madness- even this year (if they squeak in). But I’m not sure this style will ever be good enough in this conference, or good enough for this fan base.
I don’t know what the answer is. Maybe next year at this time, things come together and the future becomes brighter. But something needs to change, and soon. Hoosier nation doesn’t need dominance, but they need something to be proud of- and this isn’t it.
