Hunter Tickel: BLUE & WHITE VIEW: Magnificent March a prelude to Aesthetic April?

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Mar. 27—In the final pregame speech in the classic film “Hoosiers,” Norman Dale (played by Gene Hackman) delivers a somber and short-winded message ahead of his squad’s state championship game.

For the first time in that 1986 flick, the state of Indiana high school players weigh-in for the final pregame moments of the postseason.

“Let’s win this game for all the small schools that never had the chance to get here,” Merle Webb chimed in a statement laced with sincerity etched all over his demeanor.

Is the Indiana State men’s basketball squad akin to that 1954 Milan state championship team? Is there a Jimmy Chitwood (Bobby Plump) donning powder Blue?

If I’m boxed into one word, then ‘Yes’…and here’s why:

—2023-24 Sycamores framing — Let me start by weaving this.

The Sycamores (31-6) started the year with immense success and attractive hoops.

Fast forward to when the bell tolled during crunch time in March, this ISU contingent from the coaching staff down to the walk-ons have inked a legacy.

This month began with a 12-point win over Murray State to cut down the nylon inside of Hulman Center for just its third Missouri Valley Conference regular season crown.

In St. Louis at Arch Madness, ISU moved through Missouri State and Northern Iowa with relative ease to slide into the title game.

A mad dash spearheaded by junior Isaiah Swope brought ISU a second-half lead after trailing by 18. Then, Drake’s Tucker DeVries and coach Daren DeVries, who is now bound for West Virginia, put the finishing touches on back-to-back titles.

Swope’s-near Big Dance clinching heroics brings me to my next point.

—No Jimmy Chitwood — ISU doesn’t have bona fide superstars; they have several.

Sophomore Ryan Conwell leads this list because of his savviness and he’s multifaceted.

He’s followed by sophomore Robbie Avila, who is a nightmare matchup and will come at teams with everything in the kitchen sink in terms of offensive tools.

And Swope is the best space creator off the dribble and makes the toughest…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/hunter-tickel-blue-white-view-231600513.html

Author : The Tribune-Star, Terre Haute, Ind.

Publish date : 2024-03-27 23:16:00

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