My thoughts on this weekend.

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Daveinth

Daveinth

The Wade Level
Having just returned from St Louis I wanted to express how I felt about this weekend. First off to those who attended this weekend I want to say thanks I know I had about as good of a time as I can remember . The support was there for the team folks I have heard the loud chants out there and the crowd was really nice all weekend . I got a chance to talk to a bunch of great people some that are on this forum that I had never met before and some who got loud when I did who do not come on ( i can hardly talk ) as well as the others who I have already met .
Ladies and Gents we played hard this weekend and after all the complaing we like to do on this board these boys played their asses off for the pride of thier school and the fans of the team . I have nothing to be ashamed of after watching these boys play . Look we faced a team that was taller and more athletic . This was a game in which despite all the naysayers we showed that we had more heart and dedication than any of us gave credit . To the entire team I want to say thank you for leaving it out there on the floor tonight had we gotten the calls that WSU got and made a few more free throws and easy shots we would be dancing but we didnt so now its on to play in the NIT which is not an embarrassment I look forward to watching us show what a great group of guys these players are again . I enjoyed this season and cant wait for next year .
I would like to hear others thoughts that was in attendance hope you had as good og a time as I did


Note to the city of St Louis lower the damn price of beer you will sell more ..... well not in my case as I really didnt pay much attention and kept drinking anyway but I did have to hear it from the wife when she found out exactly how much I spent this weekend between gambling and drinking .
 

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I posted my thoughts on the game thread but wanted to add that I was pleasantly surprised at the overall attendance for the weekend. The Shocker crowd was unbelievable.
 
Obviously, Jake was a great leader this weekend. But, I'd also like to single out Justin Gant. He was a warrior this weekend. We've all given him some grief this year but the last four games he's played his heart out. Great job Justin!
 
It was a great weekend. Just got back from St. Louis a little while ago. Really enjoyed the experience and was proud of the effort from our guys.
 
Well I am now 8-1 at arch madness. Really thought that 9-0 was a real possibility.

I tweeted this and I really do mean it, I don't go to St. Louis to party, to take a vacation, to hang out with other fans, I go to St. Louis to watch the sycamores win a championship. And if I don't think the sycamores are going to win a championship are usually just don't go. That's not me being a bandwagon fan - that's me being a little superstitious and a lot hardheaded. I really just don't enjoy losing especially with your entire season on the line - it's painful to not have ISU Hoops in my life for months on end.

That all said I have many folks on here that I get to see and talk to and St. Louis and a lot of other great sycamore fans. We sat in the same seats for three straight days, add Illinois State fans behind us for all of our games, they were great! I usually don't have much positive interaction with fans from other teams but we had a good time with those 3 ISUR fans.

Having known JO for a while and having been a supporter of his it was special to me to see him leave the floor after the southern Illinois Victory and slapping hands of fans, he had passed me and he stopped and turned and looked up at me and pumped his this and we yelled one more - I won't forget that! He is a Terre Haute kid like me and he wants nothing more than to do this town and this University proud and I really just love that.

Same can really be said for Justin Gant. He was locked in all weekend. Thought he showed an unbelievable amount of guts - for all of the credit that Odum gets (deservedly so) for being tough Justin Gant showed just as much toughness as we've seen from Odum at any point in his career. Gant has taken a bit of a beating on the forums at certain times this year. If you just look at his overall body of work the kid had a good season. We probably lost 70 to 80% of the games he didn't play well in and so he took some heat and that is fair I guess. I just think because our lack of depth inside gant usually draws a tough assignment on both ends of the floor and you never seem him hang his head. I was just happy to see him rewarded for his efforts on the floor.

So those are my thoughts and I'm going to let it rest at that. Im spent! Been real St. Louis, can't say when I will be back again.
 
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By the time I got back to Kansas City last night, I wasn't really interested in re-hashing anything at that moment. I was stuck in the middle of what seemed like a giant Wichita State caravan across all of I-70, so pretty much every car I passed or that passed me was another reminder of how that game ended yesterday.

But, with that being said, I couldn't be more Proud to be a Tree! I was so thoroughly impressed by the heart and determination the team showed all weekend that I have nothing negative to say. Sometimes shots don't fall, but I never questioned our desire to win. We played like champions all weekend long. I also was so very impressed with the ISU fans this year. Although we were significantly outnumbered we made our presence known.
 

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Don't have time to write much (work) but just wanted to say how proud I was of the team on Sunday. I've made some comments here that I th ink are valid about things, but the last few days and especially Sunday was a very nice day to be Sycamore -- even though we lost. Blown out in Wichita, but the last two vs Shockers (Terre Haute & St. Louis) were classic college basketball games. We played with heart and passion and it showed on national TV.
Very sad that 4th foul call on Jake -- it was not even one of those calls that was close or debatable. In the big scheme of things we might not have won, but without that call it sure makes the last few minutes very interesting. Of course if we don't miss a few easy shots and do make half dozen of those free throws we missed -- well then its also a different game at the end.
But great, great job by ISU Sunday -- now go take the NIT crown ! ! !
 
Great weekend. Good to see a lot of fans from the past as well as the newbies. Wife and I have going since the early 90's, always enjoy the weekend. Very proud of the team. Best statement I hear this weeken was made by a couple from Wichita when I ask if they were worried about losing their coach and the response was "oh no he and. His family love Wichita, they won't leave." My response was "give the fans at "Bulter a call and what they have to say." That was the end of the conversation?
 
rapala said:
Great weekend. Good to see a lot of fans from the past as well as the newbies. Wife and I have going since the early 90's, always enjoy the weekend. Very proud of the team. Best statement I hear this weeken was made by a couple from Wichita when I ask if they were worried about losing their coach and the response was "oh no he and. His family love Wichita, they won't leave." My response was "give the fans at "Bulter a call and what they have to say." That was the end of the conversation?
Click to expand...

That if funny stuff. Very true, but made me laugh.
 
Gant was a warrior. He tweeted last night that he didn't realize how badly his body felt until then. I have heard many times that he has had many more injuries than we ever heard about. If you didn't see his eye, he also tweeted a picture of that. There was some major bruising in it. Didn't bother him a bit.

Of all the good things, it also can't hurt that it turned the sour taste from the Brenton Scott ordeal into a sweet one again.
 
Was interesting to me that Gant got hit in the eye and no flagrant was called, but Brown gets a technical in the championship game for hitting a WSU player in the eye. Didn't see a replay, so maybe it was warranted, but seemed like a double standard. Of course Lansing didn't go nuts on the sideline like Marshall did.
 

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bigsportsfan said:
Gant was a warrior. He tweeted last night that he didn't realize how badly his body felt until then. I have heard many times that he has had many more injuries than we ever heard about. If you didn't see his eye, he also tweeted a picture of that. There was some major bruising in it. Didn't bother him a bit.

Of all the good things, it also can't hurt that it turned the sour taste from the Brenton Scott ordeal into a sweet one again.
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Agreed on all. I was extremely impressed with Justin Gant. He scored inside and outside and played all-out the entire weekend. He may not have the physique of a guy like Lufile, but you can't question his toughness or grit.
 
My buddy (IU alum/fan) and I made our first trip to Arch Madness this past weekend. Had a great time and plan to return next year. Quick story:
We checked in to the Hilton Friday afternoon...twenty people in the lobby. When we left our room for the game the elevator doors opened and there were a couple of hundred people staring at us in the lobby (fans, band, cheerleaders, etc.)...what a surprise!!! I hadn't noticed the team sendoff on the schedule. The team came down the elevator right after we did. What a cool experience.
 
I'd like to also give props to Justin Gant. I've had a lot to say about my respect for Jake Odum, but Justin Gant really proved something to me in St Louis. I watched all three Sycamore games and was really impressed with his toughness. I had not really noticed him being that tough previously, whether I just missed it while constantly watching Odum, or if he just showed more toughness than before, I don't know. Regardless, he was special.

Manny Arop is always a joy to watch as well.
 
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