The Man!

Victor Oladipo is the Player of the Year bruh not Cody Zeller!

Aristotle once said, “We are what we repeatedly do; excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” Zig Ziglar was right on point when he said, “People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing-that’s why we recommend it daily.”  The ancient Japanese poet, Basho, shut the building down with, “Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the men of old; seek what they sought.”

Well it definitely looks like the Indiana Hoosiers are seeking what the boyz that came before them sought. Championships! Finally my alma mater, “Our Indiana,” is rolling again! They’re ranked #1 in the country and relevant in the college basketball world. The Hoosiers showed up in East Lansing on Tuesday night and knocked off the #4 Spartans at the crib 72-68 for the first time since 1991 bruh!

They’ve lost 17 straight on the road to these duns. Now it’s a new day and the Hoosiers are finally relevant again going into the NCAA Tournament. I know boyz are constantly talking about the greatness of Cody Zeller and his athleticism as a big man etc. I keep hearing  about him being the best player in the country and winning all of the national awards when it’s all said and done.

However, in order to be the best player in the country you gotta at least be the best player on your team playboy. Victor Oladipo is running circles around Cody Zeller at this point! It ain’t even close!!! This kid is the best player in college basketball bar none!  Without Oladipo the Hoosiers would be a middle of the road Big Ten team at best. Don't get it twisted, Indiana's got out of town shooters but Oladipo is the glue on offensive and his defensive prowess makes the engine run! That ain’t hate that’s real talk!  When they need big plays it’s the shooting guard that comes up big not Cody Zeller. Sure, they both put up 19 points against Michigan State but the 5 steals by Vic was huge in a road game like this. When are these folks, especially in the state of Indiana, gonna give Vic his props. Zeller’s good but he ain’t the man!

Let’s keep it real or all the way 100, whichever comes 1st! Zeller is a very athletic big man with unbelievable skills but in my opinion isn't the go to man when it counts. In big games such as the Georgetown and Butler joints there was an Amber alert out on him. How do you call him a player of the year candidate when you have 4 touches in a big game when boyz need you? I’m just sayin’! Don’t give me they didn’t give him the rock because he’s 7 feet tall bruh! Every time the ball comes off of the rim he’s got first dibs on it! Offensive rebounds alone will put the ball in his hands 10-12 times. That’s a give me because he's a 7 footer!

 So from this day forth and forever more don’t talk to me about Cody Zeller unless you’re telling me that he’s Victor Oladipo’s running mate or something like that. Vic is the leader on that team and the Hoosiers will go as far as HE will take them. In the last 2 minutes of the ball game Oladipo did what a Player of the Year is supposed to do. Take Over of the joint!

I’m just happy that I can finally show up to the sports bar on opening day of March Madness rockin’ my Hoosiers sweat shirt. Y’all know for years the boyz from B-Town weren’t even in the tournament and cats with no history at all were showing up talking trash and all Hoosier fans could go was watch, eat and be quiet!

When I was on the yard in the late ‘80’s ole dull Bobby Knight was at the helm as much as I couldn't stand him but he had them clicking on all cylinders and at least we could talk trash with the recent  ’87 title still fresh on boyz mind. I couldn't stand him because we got no show time run and gun like Georgetown or UNLV at the time and if a boy even dunked he got pulled and cursed out. There was no entertainment factor at all. It was like watching the movie Hoosiers but we didn't take very many "L's." So boyz put up with ole Bobby but I was happy when he finally got fired I won't lie!

I lived right across the street from Assembly Hall while I was in school and never once went to a game. I refused to watch 1930's basketball in the 1980's even if it was working! That's real talk! I wanted to see boyz runnin', gunnin' and dunkin' and Bobby wasn't selling that! Mike Davis was in waaaay over his head after being thrown into the fire after they fired Knight just a few weeks before the season began in '01.

The good ole boys down in southern Indiana just didn't want Kelvin Sampson so an intern just happened to find excessive text messages. Text messages bruh? The intern knows the NCAA rules well enough to find something on their own? The same excessive text messages that every coach in America makes? Those messages? Then an anonymous donor comes up with a half a million dollars to help pay out of his contract. I'm just glad Tom Crean is playing basketball that's finally fun to watch in Bloomington!

It hasn’t made an ounce of sense that we've had 5 national championship banners hanging in Assembly Hall and couldn't even get into the freaking tournament. With the exception of the 2002 Final Four and National title game appearance against Maryland. Tournament appearances have been scarce and when we would make the joint we’d get bounced before boyz had even filled out their brackets good but not this year playa! I’ll be in the joint looking like Santa Claus I’ll have on so much red and white. Oh excuse me, “Crimson and Cream!” Go Hoosiers!

Holla At Ya Boy!
Jay Graves
Get @ me on Twitter:@jaygravesreport