It has been an eventful several days for IU Athletics with virtually every current athletic program prevailing in big matchups over the last several days. We cover the improbable and historic comeback win for IUFB at Michigan St. before turning our attention to the most exciting start to a basketball season in many years. Ward is on a family vacation which opened the door for the first ever replacement “Guest Host” to break down the IUBB wins against Xavier and Miami University (of Ohio) and the overall state of IU Basketball 4 games in to the season. Such an important and prestigious position could only be filled by one man. A former Big Ten Player of the Year. One of the all-time greats and a man who never has to search for an opinion…BRIAN EVANS fills in for Ward and we get his unique and surprisingly upbeat analysis of IU Basketball.
Ward is back for the guest not today’s episode and he is one of the most polarizing players of the last many years at Indiana University. His talent was undeniable as he single-handedly won several games for IU Basketball when the odds were stacked against him. And, he had some head-scratching plays that drove many to the brink.
But behind the box scores, 3-pointers, turnovers and tattoos, there is the story of a young man who grew upon in New York, in love with the game of basketball. It started in parks with his brothers and with legends of the NYC basketball scene. It turned into playing varsity basketball in 7th and 8th grade and ultimately to a commitment to Tom Crean and Indiana University.
What started as a dream scenario with huge top-5 wins quickly turned into a nightmare with injuries turning into losses, turning into more losses and ultimately to a coach being fired. This young man’s story takes a turn when a new coach, Archie Miller, is brought in to run the program—and run it in a very different way. With no pre-existing relationship and faced with the prospect of sitting out a year or sticking it out at IU, this enigmatic player decided to stick it out. Building a relationship with the new coach was not an easy task nor was trying to play in a new and much more rigid system.
Losses continued to pile up, personal tragedy hit, fans directed their frustration and ire at him personally. Stress continued to mount and led to some very dark times that fans barely caught a glimpse of. But this young man persevered, sought help, and by the time his Senior year was wrapping up, IU Basketball was on the verge of returning to the NCAA Tournament. And then, the global Covid pandemic hit. It robbed him and so many like him of their senior year, their graduation and for a young man dedicated to getting Indiana back to the tournament, that dream too, died.
Our guest continued his basketball career internationally where he faced even more personal battles, this time with a health crisis but he has continued to persevere. He is healthy, he is playing basketball professionally and he is talking to us about it all. Our guest is DEVONTE GREEN!
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