Remember when – Honoring IU’s 1992 Final Four team
12/6/2017 5:45:00 PM | Men's Basketball
By Pete DiPrimio, IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Indiana -- Calbert Cheaney still looks like he could burn you from three-point range, or blow by you for a layup. He's a lean and mostly not mean -- unless you try to guard him -- representative of all that is good with Indiana basketball.
When Cheaney ruled the college basketball world, along with teammates such as Alan Henderson, Eric Anderson, Matt Nover and more, Cream 'n Crimson good captivated America.
Their 1992 Final Four run -- which featured press conference intrigue as only coach Bob Knight could deliver -- was recognized during a pre-game and then halftime 25-year reunion ceremony Monday night as the current Hoosiers battled Iowa.
Cheaney was star All-America star then and, during a halftime speech, a star again.
"On behalf of all of us," he said to the Assembly Hall crowd, "we'd like to say thank you to (athletic director Fred Glass) and (deputy director of athletics) Scott Dolson, for recognizing us. More importantly, we want to thank you fans.
"Let's go get this victory tonight!"
The Hoosiers did.
Cheaney was a force of basketball nature during his IU days. He was under the radar coming out of Evansville Harrison High School as part of a heralded recruiting class, but quickly became the star. His 2,613 career points are a Big Ten record. Given the leave-early-for-the-NBA nature of college basketball now, it might never be broken.
Cheaney spent more than a decade in the NBA, spent time on former coach Tom Crean's staff at IU, then spent a couple of years as an assistant coach at St. Louis under former Hoosier Jim Crews. He's been out of coaching for a couple of years to spend time with family, but has a growing urge to return to coaching, most likely in the NBA.
On Monday night, the focus was on the glory of old IU and a team that went 27-7, finished second in the Big Ten, then caught fire in the postseason to advance to the Final Four in Minneapolis.
Cheaney was one of five double-figure scorers on that team. Cheaney led with a 17.6-point average followed by Greg Graham (12.8), Damon Bailey (12.4), Henderson (11.6) and Anderson (10.9).
'They were all great in their own way," Cheaney said of his teammates. "When you have a lot of great players who can do a lot of things, it makes your job easier."
What were the keys to IU's success that season beyond great players and coaches?
In essence, chemistry and competition.
"There were no egos on that team," Cheaney said. "Everybody got along great. Everybody knew his job.
"We had spirited practices. We got into one another, but we all knew we were there for one purpose -- to win championships."
Added Henderson, who has the school career record for rebounds (1,091) while ranking seventh in career scoring (1,979): "Nobody complained about getting shots. Nobody worried about points. Everything we did was about trying to get a win. That made it fun. That's when you have the best success."
Cheaney, Henderson, Nover and Anderson attended Monday night's reunion along with Todd Lindeman, Todd Leary and Brian Evans. So was former assistant coach Ron Felling.
Evans, who would go on to earn All-America honors, redshirted that season. He became one of six 1,000-point scorers from that era.
"I remember when Brian was redshirting and going against him in practice," Anderson said. "I was like, 'I don't know why this guy isn't playing?'
"From top to bottom, it was a strong team."
IU thrived in 1992 because Knight demanded it. Lindeman, a reserve center on that team, saw that first hand.
"This team was prepared from Day 1," he said. "That was Coach's mentality. He was going to give 110 percent. He didn't let up from the first day of practice."
IU opened that season with an 87-72 loss to UCLA. No one forgot. The Hoosiers reached the Final Four by beating the Bruins in an Elite Eight rematch, 106-79.
"We got blown out by UCLA," Nover said, "and we learned a lot from that. We kept getting better.
"By the time we played them again, we were hitting on all cylinders."
The Hoosiers came down to the regular season finale at Purdue with a chance to win the Big Ten and earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. It had beaten the Boilers 106-65 at Assembly Hall in late January, had a 10-point lead late, but lost 61-59 at Mackey Arena.
As a result, the Hoosiers finished second in the Big Ten to Ohio State and were a No. 2 NCAA tourney seed.
An angry Knight canceled the annual team banquet, among other things, and used NCAA tourney press conferences as hilarious parodies on his perceived taskmaster reputation. He joked about water torture and whipping players and some kind of bizarre mind game called "cerebral reversal."
Meanwhile, the Hoosiers got hot. They beat Eastern Illinois, LSU (with center Shaquille O'Neal), Florida State and UCLA by double figures.
"We had a lot of great leadership to look at as far as how to be an Indiana player," Nover said. "It wasn't easy to play for Coach Knight. It wasn't roses every day.
"The players before us showed us what we needed to get done. We shared that with the players coming in. You were either on board, or it wasn't going to work."
It very much worked.
Then came the Final Four semifinal matchup with Duke. Indiana took an early double-digit lead and were in control until fouls started mounting. Multiple Hoosiers fouled out and Duke won 81-78.
IU came back the next season and reached the Elite Eight before losing to Kansas, a game it might have won if Henderson had played. He had torn his ACL in February.
"This group and that era," former award-winning Herald-Times sports editor Bob Hammel said, "is the best at Indiana that doesn't have a championship banner, and they should have.
"For three straight years they were always in the top 5 (in the national polls), always knocking on the door. They were the best team in the country. It's a real crime they don't."
A quarter of a century later, the crime was forgotten, the great memories alive and well.
BLOOMINGTON, Indiana -- Calbert Cheaney still looks like he could burn you from three-point range, or blow by you for a layup. He's a lean and mostly not mean -- unless you try to guard him -- representative of all that is good with Indiana basketball.
When Cheaney ruled the college basketball world, along with teammates such as Alan Henderson, Eric Anderson, Matt Nover and more, Cream 'n Crimson good captivated America.
Their 1992 Final Four run -- which featured press conference intrigue as only coach Bob Knight could deliver -- was recognized during a pre-game and then halftime 25-year reunion ceremony Monday night as the current Hoosiers battled Iowa.
Cheaney was star All-America star then and, during a halftime speech, a star again.
"On behalf of all of us," he said to the Assembly Hall crowd, "we'd like to say thank you to (athletic director Fred Glass) and (deputy director of athletics) Scott Dolson, for recognizing us. More importantly, we want to thank you fans.
"Let's go get this victory tonight!"
The Hoosiers did.
Cheaney was a force of basketball nature during his IU days. He was under the radar coming out of Evansville Harrison High School as part of a heralded recruiting class, but quickly became the star. His 2,613 career points are a Big Ten record. Given the leave-early-for-the-NBA nature of college basketball now, it might never be broken.
Cheaney spent more than a decade in the NBA, spent time on former coach Tom Crean's staff at IU, then spent a couple of years as an assistant coach at St. Louis under former Hoosier Jim Crews. He's been out of coaching for a couple of years to spend time with family, but has a growing urge to return to coaching, most likely in the NBA.
On Monday night, the focus was on the glory of old IU and a team that went 27-7, finished second in the Big Ten, then caught fire in the postseason to advance to the Final Four in Minneapolis.
Cheaney was one of five double-figure scorers on that team. Cheaney led with a 17.6-point average followed by Greg Graham (12.8), Damon Bailey (12.4), Henderson (11.6) and Anderson (10.9).
'They were all great in their own way," Cheaney said of his teammates. "When you have a lot of great players who can do a lot of things, it makes your job easier."
What were the keys to IU's success that season beyond great players and coaches?
In essence, chemistry and competition.
"There were no egos on that team," Cheaney said. "Everybody got along great. Everybody knew his job.
"We had spirited practices. We got into one another, but we all knew we were there for one purpose -- to win championships."
Added Henderson, who has the school career record for rebounds (1,091) while ranking seventh in career scoring (1,979): "Nobody complained about getting shots. Nobody worried about points. Everything we did was about trying to get a win. That made it fun. That's when you have the best success."
Cheaney, Henderson, Nover and Anderson attended Monday night's reunion along with Todd Lindeman, Todd Leary and Brian Evans. So was former assistant coach Ron Felling.
Evans, who would go on to earn All-America honors, redshirted that season. He became one of six 1,000-point scorers from that era.
"I remember when Brian was redshirting and going against him in practice," Anderson said. "I was like, 'I don't know why this guy isn't playing?'
"From top to bottom, it was a strong team."
IU thrived in 1992 because Knight demanded it. Lindeman, a reserve center on that team, saw that first hand.
"This team was prepared from Day 1," he said. "That was Coach's mentality. He was going to give 110 percent. He didn't let up from the first day of practice."
IU opened that season with an 87-72 loss to UCLA. No one forgot. The Hoosiers reached the Final Four by beating the Bruins in an Elite Eight rematch, 106-79.
"We got blown out by UCLA," Nover said, "and we learned a lot from that. We kept getting better.
"By the time we played them again, we were hitting on all cylinders."
The Hoosiers came down to the regular season finale at Purdue with a chance to win the Big Ten and earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. It had beaten the Boilers 106-65 at Assembly Hall in late January, had a 10-point lead late, but lost 61-59 at Mackey Arena.
As a result, the Hoosiers finished second in the Big Ten to Ohio State and were a No. 2 NCAA tourney seed.
An angry Knight canceled the annual team banquet, among other things, and used NCAA tourney press conferences as hilarious parodies on his perceived taskmaster reputation. He joked about water torture and whipping players and some kind of bizarre mind game called "cerebral reversal."
Meanwhile, the Hoosiers got hot. They beat Eastern Illinois, LSU (with center Shaquille O'Neal), Florida State and UCLA by double figures.
"We had a lot of great leadership to look at as far as how to be an Indiana player," Nover said. "It wasn't easy to play for Coach Knight. It wasn't roses every day.
"The players before us showed us what we needed to get done. We shared that with the players coming in. You were either on board, or it wasn't going to work."
It very much worked.
Then came the Final Four semifinal matchup with Duke. Indiana took an early double-digit lead and were in control until fouls started mounting. Multiple Hoosiers fouled out and Duke won 81-78.
IU came back the next season and reached the Elite Eight before losing to Kansas, a game it might have won if Henderson had played. He had torn his ACL in February.
"This group and that era," former award-winning Herald-Times sports editor Bob Hammel said, "is the best at Indiana that doesn't have a championship banner, and they should have.
"For three straight years they were always in the top 5 (in the national polls), always knocking on the door. They were the best team in the country. It's a real crime they don't."
A quarter of a century later, the crime was forgotten, the great memories alive and well.
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