Basketball to many is a religion, and its Mecca is Indiana. Being born a Hoosier there was one sport I was required to play by my dad and one team I was required to root for- IU. Being that I was my father’s only child I was guided towards a life of sports. He took me to every basketball game in our town and at a young age encouraged me to play. It wasn’t until middle school (and a strong growth spurt) that I really fell in love with the sport and realized what being a Hoosier fan was all about.
I had always been a fan of Indiana, (mainly because of my dad, grandpa, and uncles) and always thought that it was just as much my school as anyone else’s. My dad always had at least three Hoosier sweatshirts on rotation, a Hoosiers hat on his head, and poster of the current season’s roster and schedule hanging on the fridge. I knew more about the Hoosiers than most of the boys in my class, and would avidly defend the Hoosiers at all costs, even if I knew I was wrong.
When it came time to start looking at universities and colleges I knew that there was one school I would be required to apply to. Both parents STRONGLY encouraged Indiana University and when they bring up the fact that I wanted to go to IUPUI (still affiliated with IU) they call that my “rebellious period”. And when I got my early admittance letter I threw the IUPUI application away because I knew there was no need to apply anywhere else. Yes, in hindsight it may not have been the best idea but when you see Eric Gordon and DJ White your sophomore year court side, you don’t really think about any other school. And my intense love affair with IU basketball had officially moved from a small crush, to an all out obsession.
Choosing IU was one of the greatest, and easiest decision I’ve ever made. Even if when I committed to Indiana and was accepted into the school my senior year, we were averaging 6 wins and 25 loses a season. I knew that we were destined for a come back. And come back we did. With the help of Tom Crean as head coach and his staff, as well as his top recruit Cody Zeller and the other members of the Hoosiers team. We are now a team with the number one preseason ranking by various organizations and one of the favorites by many to go all the way. Hoosiers can feel the excitement and are already preparing for banner 6.
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