On frustration.
Countless college basketball teams across the country go through bad seasons each and every year. This is especially true of those who lost an all-time talent finding their way without that anchor. It’s normal, all part of the process with programs. Most programs.
Indiana men’s basketball is not most programs.
This isn’t about history, the banners on the wall and a winning tradition. Some point of pride that Indiana shouldn’t be losing to the kinds of teams its lost to. That’s a different conversation entirely.
But it is about what that past success begats: resources. The Hoosiers have access to the kinds of things coaches and administrators around the country would go out of their way for.
That’s NIL funding, overall platform, facilities, donor base, fan support and the kind of talent all of that attracts. Indiana, no matter how far back the glory days look in the the rearview mirror, will always be a job and program that matters on a national scale.
NIL in particular boosts the job profile. There’s less basketball schools than football schools and Indiana is one of them. Basketball reigns supreme at this university and in this state (though, worth noting, Indiana is taking steps into the 21st century around memorial stadium).
Indiana’s NIL resources are among the best nationally, per Trilly Donovan. That matters in recruitments and keeping current players on the roster. And if they’re like that now, imagine what a consistent winner would do for that investment.
Which is why this year has been so incredibly frustrating for the fanbase.
A season like this happening just five years ago is slightly more acceptable because there was no NIL and no open transfer portal. Things took longer to build and there was more overall leeway for a coaching tenure and incentive to hold off and provide the necessary time.
Indiana probably shouldn’t be on the outside looking in when March rolls around these days. It has access to more resources than 90% or more of the field of 68. They’re a boon for teams and necessary to build a national title caliber group, but they have to be used well.
Right now Indiana is driving a corvette with a lawnmower’s engine. Looks great sitting in the garage until you have to take it out on the road.
The current roster was built with help from those resources. There are very, very good basketball players on this team. They just don’t play well together and there’s nobody capable of getting the ball where it needs to go night in and night out. The guy the staff is asking to do that is playing out of position and doing his best. He shouldn’t have to do so because Indiana has the resources to have someone else do that.
If you’re curious about the increased frustration this year, that’s pretty much what it amounts to. The fanbase knows its program and wants a winner. All the pieces are there to have one on a yearly basis.
It just isn’t.