Kent

I want us to thug up with them punch the Bully in the mouth but thats just me lol

Kent favored by 9.

This game will also be a big test for our new coach.  He needs to get us focused but not too hyped. 

I confess I have no clue how to find the balance between "You guys better have your sh*t together or they will run us out of the gym" and ""Nothing to see here, it's just another game and let's focus on what WE do."

Win or lose, I am looking to see whether they just totally "little brother" us and smack us around or will it be a war of contenders who will be in the mix come late February.  Maybe this game is not fair to judge since it's at their place and they have the reigning MAC POY and the clear cut best team in the league.  But...if I'm Lewis my attitude would be screw that, they're not Kansas or Purdue and everyone expects them to beat us so the pressure is on them not us.  

Poise, execution and nuts are called for here.  

Norman Dale:  "Maybe They Were Right About Us!  Maybe We Don't Belong Up Here!"

Full disclosure, I am a diehard Hoosiers fan even though it's corny at times and mostly pure fiction from the actual game between Muncie Central & Milan.  In perhaps one of the most ridiculous Mr. Obvious statements of all time, after Coach Dale makes the above statement about how Hickory doesn't belong, one of the other players says "Coach, can I say something?  I think Jimmy can take the guy that's guarding him if we set him up".  Really?  You think our best player who is basically unstoppable and never misses might be able to take his guy and we should even set up plays for him?  Well, shit lets do that!  Coach Dale, what exactly are we doing if we're not feeding Jimmy Freaking Chitwood the ball on every damn play until his arm falls off?  I had a hard time with this part of the movie but I still love it.  If you grew up in Indiana and watched single-class basketball in the golden age of the 60's and 70's it's just hard not to like.  When everyone packed the gym every Friday night in every community in the state and the crowds were regularly over 5,000 people at the NCC schools it was unbelievably awesome.  That is why I so desperately want Ball State to succeed and for us to get even a little taste of that kind of atmosphere back inside Worthen.  It's not the Fieldhouse or the Wigwam or Chrysler or even the old University Gym but the last few games and crowds are a sight for sore eyes and ears.    

Thanks for the trip down memory lane. I saw many sold out games at the Wigwam 8900 capacity. I watched as Steve Alford missed two free throws which resulted in Anderson winning the game. So thrilled to watch my son play in the sectional there for Frankton against the Indians.

I had the honor of playing at the Wigwam in front of a sold out crowd my senior year against the Teague Brothers. No three point line back then, but both teams scored 100+ (in regulation). It was so much fun to play there!

Clearly Shooter was superior to Norman Dale as a bench coach.  True, Shooter's son Everett Flatch occasionally had to coax him out of a near-catatonic state in huddles, but once that happened, Shooter was a mastermind.  He had a library of sure-fire plays stored in his head...and they ALWAYS worked.  

BUT.  But what do we know is the key to success as a basketball coach?  RECRUITING.  Hickory's ceiling without Jimmy Chitwood is MAYBE regionals.  And who brought in Jimmy?  Norman Dale.  He had to cozy up to that ball-busting bitch Myra Fleener, but in the world of recruiting, you do what you have to do to be successful. 

Another thing...just because our program has sucked for 20+ years does not mean that we have to act like a bunch of downtrodden pussies.  Kent is not all that great and we can beat them.