Hoosiers 2 - Why We Love Kyle Taber

By Greg Bergman
Love of Sports Correspondent

Coming in the summer of 2009, “The Last of the Hoosiers: The Kyle Taber Story.”

Our story begins in the 2008-09 NCAA tournament. The Indiana Hoosiers basketball team heads into The Big Dance off a regular season filled with hope, but finishing in disarray.

Sitting at the end of the Indiana bench is our star, Kyle Taber, watching with his arms folded, slumped down in his chair as his team is ousted in the first round by Arkansas.

Flashback to January 23.

The Hoosiers come off a 65-43 beat down of Iowa to raise their record to 17-1. The joy of the win is short lived, though, as rumors circulate that their coach, Kelvin Sampson, is in trouble with the NCAA yet again after making illegal phone calls to recruits.

On February 22nd, Sampson resigns from his post, leaving assistant coach Dan Dakich to control a free falling team.

Jump to April 1st.

Former Marquette coach Tom Crean is hired into a confusing situation where all three seniors have left, freshman phenom Eric Gordon’s about to be a lottery pick in the NBA Draft and numerous players have either left the team or had been kicked off.

All that is left is our star, standing at 6-foot-7, 226 pounds. He played little to no minutes last season, with averages under 3.0 in both points and rebounds.

Taber grew up a few hours outside of Bloomington, Indiana, in the small town of Evansville. With dreams of becoming a Hoosier, he fought and scrounged his way to a scholarship in the fall of his redshirt senior year.

He’s now the lone wolf, unsure of what’s about to take place at his beloved university. He watches intently throughout the next few months as coach Crean brings in junior college transfers and numerous freshman recruits.

Kyle’s rollercoaster ride of emotions is filled with slow rising lifts, huge drops and numerous loops. He has no choice but to listen intently to his coach as he transforms from bench player to leader.

He knows the success Crean had at Marquette and how he turned an unknown Dwyane Wade into a lottery pick, from the defensive philosophy he brings of great ball pressure and challenging shots to his ever expansive offense.

When the season finally starts, the nausea he feels must be worse than the longest night of binge drinking he’s ever experienced.

The Hoosiers start the season slow, but eventually begin believing in the coaching of Crean. They run through the Big Ten with a winning record and make it back to the NCAA tournament. Although they’re beaten in the Sweet 16, the season’s a great success.

This time, Taber isn’t at the end of the bench. He’s on the floor as time expires. He’s upset with losing, but in the lockerroom there’s nothing but smiling faces from their amazing turnaround season.

As farfetched as the story sounds, it’s far from impossible. They’ll have no expectations, and no other team will be familiar with them. With the right coach, and fresh faces without any drama attached, the possibilities are endless.

In a world filled with recycled movies, why can’t we see another “Hoosiers?” Of course, there’s no morally absent Dennis Hopper, but who wouldn’t want to play the role of Kyle Taber?

The last of the Hoosiers, but the first of a new generation. We’re jumping on this Bandwagon for sure.