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SALISBURY — Terry Hutchens was sitting on press row at legendary Assembly Hall as Christian Watford rose for a 3-point try as the final second ticked off the clock.
As the ball was in the air, Hutchens — nor anyone else — realized what that shot would mean to Indiana basketball.
It went in, giving Tom Crean’s Hoosiers a 73-72 victory over top-ranked Kentucky. It produced a court-storming frenzy, and in the back of Hutchens’ mind, an idea for a book.
“It was crazy,” Hutchens recalled of the postgame celebration. “In 15 years, I’ve seen a lot of big shots. I’ve seen them storm courts before. This was different.”
Hutchens, who writes for the Indianapolis Star, said this wasn’t just a big game. This was a program returning to the big time.
“It got people believing, ‘We’re back,’ ” Hutchens said.
The nationally-televised win, with Dick Vitale screaming in the background, was followed by a victory against Ohio State on New Year’s Eve and another against Michigan the first week of January.
“You felt it really was true,” Hutchens acknowledged.
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Hutchens absorbed the fans’ passion so much he decided to write a book: “Rising From The Ashes, The Return of Indiana Basketball,” which will be out in October.
Not surprisingly, the first three chapters are about Watford’s shot and what it meant to the program.
North Carolina hoops fans will be interested in another chapter on the day freshman Cody Zeller, Tyler’s brother, signed. He skipped on a chance to play with family in Chapel Hill.
“That was such a big day,” Hutchens said. “(Zeller) was the kind of kid that was slipping away. As soon as Cody signed, seven or eight big-name kids in Indiana decided they wanted to play in future years because Cody’s there.”
Considering Crean was thrown into an immediate rebuilding process when he arrived in Bloomington, were Hoosier fans surprised they even got Zeller?
“You know,” mused Hutchens, “it was almost a surprise Indiana didn’t get the first two Zellers.”
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That’s the winning attitude of fans in a state that considers itself college basketball’s elite. The same attitude is felt in North Carolina and Kentucky. All three are widely considered hotbeds of the sport.
“North Carolina can definitely make that claim,” said Hutchens, in town as Indiana’s Sportswriter of the Year. “I think there are a handful of states that are in very elite company. I’m not sure how you would rank them.
“I’m from California but I moved to Indiana and really experienced it over the years. Places like Indiana, North Carolina and Kentucky — it’s just different from other places in the country. They take it personally.”
And while sportswriters here have North Carolina-Duke, Hutchens has Kentucky-Indiana.
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Well, not anymore.
Amazingly, Indiana and Kentucky couldn’t come to an agreement for future games. It’s hard to believe. Kentucky didn’t want to play, specifically at Assembly Hall. Indiana came up with a compromise: a four-year deal with two years at a neutral site, the third year at Rupp Arena and the fourth at Assembly Hall. Kentucky still said no, it didn’t want to enter into any four-year contracts.
“It’s disappointing,” Hutchens said. “The fans are the losers, no doubt. People couldn’t understand why you couldn’t get these people in a room and come up with something that worked.”
Puzzling, for sure.
“My own take on it is, it’s a coach-led thing more than anything else” Hutchens said, referring to Kentucky’s John Calipari. “As long as Calipari’s at Kentucky, it will be that way. When he leaves, Indiana and Kentucky will figure out a way to play again.”
Until then, the unbridled passion we saw back in December at Assembly Hall can’t be recaptured — unless, of course, you buy Hutchens’ book. You’ll probably want to read those first three chapters over and over.
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Contact Ronnie Gallagher at 704-797-4287 or rgallagher@salisburypost.com.
Source: www.salisburypost.com
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