Three Reasons Why I'm A Happy Hoosier

Gordon Commits to Hoosiers: Prize recruit breaks promise with Illinois, stays home
From SI.com:

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) -- Eric Gordon let his wardrobe and father do the talking Friday night. It was enough to whip an already excitable Hoosiers crowd into a frenzy.

As he walked across the Assembly Hall court dressed in a cream-and-crimson warmup suit, fans chanted his name, sought autographs and snapped photos after news spread that the state's top recruit was staying close to home.

Gordon backed out of his 11-month commitment to the Fighting Illini, giving Kelvin Sampson his first major victory of the season hours before the Hoosiers held their first official practice.

Eric Gordon is the number two-ranked recruit on Scouts.com and the number one guard. He was also the number one recruit coming out of Indiana. It was essential that IU land some in-state talent, a skill which eluded former coach Mike Davis. And one Davis left, Gordon felt Sampson and IU was the better match and allowed him to finally fulfill his dream.

Personally, I'll wait until November 8 when Gordon finally signs his name on the dotted line, but his verbal commitment to IU has fans dreaming of another national championship. I'm certainly dreaming of better things to come.

Indiana Shocks #15 Iowa
From ESPN.com:

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) -- Indiana waited nearly two decades to party like this. So why worry about another 20 seconds?

Players stormed the field and fireworks went off before the Hoosiers' biggest upset in almost 20 years was official, but there was nothing premature about Saturday's stunning 31-28 upset over No. 15 Iowa.

As officials spotted the ball for the final time, the scoreboard clock was at 22 seconds and with the Hawkeyes out of timeouts, all that remained was a celebration of the Hoosiers' biggest win since beating No. 9 Ohio State 31-10 on Oct. 10, 1987.

I got a chance to watch this game on ESPN2. I couldn't believe how into the game I was. Not since the bowl-bound days of the late 80's when I attended IU have I been this excited about a sport that traditionally has registered nothing more than intramural status in the minds of students. Now, with Coach Terry Hoeppner leading the way and a redshirt freshman running the show, the Hoosiers could be looking at it's first bowl game in more than a decade. The only hiccup could be the fact they lost to a Division I-AA opponent this season. But maybe, just maybe, IU will be the answer to a trivia question instead of having to wait yet another year for a bowl berth.

The Basketball Season Officially Started Saturday, October 14, 2006

From the Indiana Daily Student:

"I'm anxious to start practice tomorrow," Sampson said Friday night before he and his team took the floor. "When your season ends the previous year, you are at such a loss because you don't have a game to get ready for...I'm anxious to get started. (I'm) really excited about this team. I'm pleased with the way they've attacked preseason conditioning. These kids have worked hard, and they are going to work a whole lot harder starting tomorrow."

This is usually a great time of the year. However, with a new chapter of Hoosier basketball starting this year, I have mucho excitement and optimism heading into this season. But it's not all because of what I will get to see as a fan while watching the game. It's because of this:

But Sampson's not interested in the sounds of thousands of screaming fans inside his stadium. Not yet, anyway.

He's too excited about other sounds. Those of whistle blows, basketball dribbles and his players huffing and puffing in the quiet comfort of an Assembly Hall practice.

The Hoosiers are getting back to basics and playing hard-nosed basketball after six years of prima donna pampering. I would love to watch these practices now that Touch Every Line is the new team motto. And that's just for practice!

I must say that the state of Hoosier Nation is pretty good after such an eventful weekend.