Off the Court vs. On the Court

I guess if your team can't make a case for themselves on the court, you must pander to the media off the court.

I found it odd 2 weeks ago that the media all of a sudden was singing IU and Coach Davis' praises. Amazingly, they all sounded the same, whether it be the local sportscasters, the play by play guys, or the ESPN talent... they all were quoting the exact same things. Brutal schedule, young team, Charlotte game was really a win, closing out the year strong, a 10-6 team in the B10 has never missed the tournament, etc.

Well a few days ago, ESPN mentioned the media campaign that IU had been doing over the last 2 weeks. It seems IU's Public Relations Department has been mailing promotional packets highlighting why Indiana should be included in the NCAA tournament. The bullets... Toughest schedule in the country, youth, Charlotte game should have been a win, finishing strong, 4th in the B10 at 10-6. See any similarities with what we have been hearing of late from the media? The media is lazy... of course they are going to repeat easy to read bullet points.

Beyond the fact that I think it is both sad and a total waste of money for a program that is hurting in the finance department, what could possibly be the motivation? IU's record alone was not going to get them in the Tourney. They needed to do some serious damage in the B10 Tourney to even get consideration. All this media blitz did was cost IU in postage and time... oh and now that it is public knowledge... it made them look pretty dumb. Is the administration so afraid of the alumni reaction to keeping Davis if he misses the NCAAs two years in a row, that they resort to this tactic to try to get IU in the dance? If they plan on keeping Davis after the five year failed experiment, they better be afraid of the alumni. Assembly Hall wasn't sold out this year, it won't even be close next year.

Note to Rick... going on ESPN and lobbying to the NCAA committee in regards to the Charlotte game was almost as sad as Davis' 26 mentions of his team being the 4th seed in the B10 Tourney as the reason they should get in after being shellacked by the 5th seed.