IU Is All In the Sloan Family
8/5/2019 11:26:00 AM | Capital
Brian Sloan has perspective. He had it as an Indiana basketball player, and has it now as a parent and a doctor.
Yes, his daughter Megan and son Grant are Hoosier athletes, although they didn't start out that way.
But they have attributes necessary for Cream 'n Crimson success, and a lot more.
For this Brian and his wife Leslie give thanks.
"We're very proud of Grant and Megan," Brian says. "We love watching them compete, watching their teammates compete. We always love to support them."
Support now comes closer to their Zionsville, Indiana, home.
Megan transferred from Louisville this past offseason to join the Indiana volleyball program. Grant became a Hoosier baseball pitcher after one year at Virginia. Both seem poised for strong seasons, but it goes well beyond that, Brian says.
"Most important is their happiness and excitement to compete, enjoy time with teammates and develop skills that will help them in the rest of their lives. Athletic careers will be short, and hopefully they'll have something to take away from it."
Brian says he and Leslie had nothing to do with their children coming to IU.
"We didn't have any influence on where they went. My wife and I encouraged them to go anywhere they thought it would be a good fit. On their own they drifted to IU."
That drift should enable mom and dad to watch their kids compete against the Big Ten's best in person.
"In today's day and age you can watch every game on TV," Brian says, "so we haven't missed any of them, but seeing them in person is much easier with them being (at IU)."
Megan arrives at Indiana with one year of eligibility left and at her volleyball peak.
The 6-1 outside hitter is coming off a breakthrough season at Louisville with 225 kills. That included a career-high 18 kills against North Carolina, 11 against Duke and 10 against Purdue and Florida.
Megan was a two-time all-state player for Indianapolis Cathedral High School that included the 2015 Class 4A state championship and a No. 1 national team ranking. She earned All-America honorable mention honors.
For the record, Brian and Leslie never played volleyball. They did, however, encourage their children (including another son, Ben) to participate in "as many things as possible."
For Megan, that included piano, softball, basketball and track as well as volleyball.
As far as discovering volleyball, Brian says it was "By a stroke of luck. It came by just encouraging her to try everything.
"Some of our friends had their daughters in volleyball. We told Megan, 'Why not try it?'
"She went to a local club and started to play. It was a great fit for her. Once she got into it, she really enjoyed the pace of the game. She liked the competitiveness of it, as well. She also liked the fact there wasn't a lot of physical contact. She didn't enjoy that much."
At IU Megan joins a program on the rise behind second-year coach Steve Aird. Optimism includes playing at Wilkinson Hall, the Hoosiers' new state-of-the-art facility.
"(Aird) and his staff and the commitment of the athletic department to volleyball is indicative of what direction they want this sport to head in," Brian says. "It's a testament to the athletic department, the athletic director (Fred Glass) and their staff. They've invested a lot of money and energy into volleyball. I think their coaching staff is committed and has the experience and talent to bring in girls who can play at the highest level in the country. I think we'll see some really good things out of IU volleyball in the near future."
As far as Wilkinson Hall, Brian says, "It's a beautiful place. There will be such a large trickle down from that facility, from the fans to the support and the energy it will bring to matches and recruits. It won't win any games for them. They'll have to do that on their own, but it will certainly (show) the commitment IU has placed on sport."
Then there's Grant, a 6-4 right-handed pitcher. In two seasons at IU he has a 2-3 record with a 4.41 earned run average. He has two seasons of eligibility remaining. He earned a business degree last spring and is now a graduate student.
Grant didn't play in his one year at Virginia -- and then sat out a year at Indiana as a transfer -- because of a significant injury that nearly ended his playing career. A blood clot in his arm was caused by the compression of muscles against the vein that goes from the arm to the heart.
"It was very serious," Brian says. "It was really scary. For a while his doctors didn't think he'd be able to pitch again. He didn't pitch for two years rehabbing and trying to get his arm and body into shape. It's hard for an athlete to sit out for essentially two years.
"To see him back on the mound is an amazing thing. It's testimony to a young, healthy, committed body and a young man with quite a bit of perseverance. It's truly an amazing thing."
The injury limits Grant to relief pitching.
"He doesn't have the longevity to have a high volume of pitches," Brian says.
That doesn't mean Grant can't bring the heat, which is a necessity at the college and pro levels.
"He's been up to 96 mph," Brian says. "It's funny how the sport has developed, arm talent developed at younger ages. It doesn't always translate into success on the mound if you can't actually pitch."
Grant can pitch.
In his first season at IU, Grant appeared in eight games and 9.1 innings. He had an earned run average of 2.89. In his first six appearances he didn't give up a run, and only allowed five hits. That included 2.1 innings of scoreless relief against Ohio State, and two innings of scoreless relief against Ball State.
Last season, Grant appeared in 23 games and went 2-3 with a 5.01 earned run average.
"He's under the care of some real professionals at IU," Brian says. "Coach (Jeff) Mercer and the pitching staff (led by pitching coach Justin Parker) are outstanding.
"Again, the athletic department's commitment to baseball is obvious. The talent they've brought in, the facilities, the travel commitment that they've given is indicative of how important baseball is to IU athletics."
Grant's Hoosier success isn't a surprise. At Zionsville High School he twice earned all-conference honors and played on sectional and regional winning teams. He focused mostly on baseball, although did have brief runs in basketball and football.
"He played basketball through middle school and played football his senior year," Brian says.
Baseball talent didn't come from the father, who grew up a Cubs fan.
"I played baseball through Little League, but I wasn't any good."
Good is relative. Athleticism runs deep in the Sloan family. Brian's father is Jerry Sloan, a former small college All-America at the University of Evansville who had an NBA Hall of Fame career playing for the Chicago Bulls from 1965 to '76. He had career averages of 14.0 points and 7.4 rebounds. He then became a successful NBA coach with Chicago Bulls and the Utah Jazz, winning 1,221 games.
Brian also was a standout basketball player. Before becoming a Hoosier, he was part of an undefeated Illinois state championship high school team at McLeansboro.
Brian doesn't spend his time reliving his basketball glory days. He's an emergency medicine physician at Indianapolis' Wishard Hospital accomplished enough to have invented a wound irrigation device. He's going through the patent process.
"As an emergency physician, lacerations are a big part of what we do," he says. "This is about managing that. It's still in the developmental phase."
Few saw a doctor in Brian's future, including Brian. He was a history and English major during his four IU years. After college he played basketball professionally overseas, then returned to become a sales rep for Pfizer Pharmaceuticals. It was then that he found his true passion.
"I fell in love with the medical profession," he says. "Being around doctors and watching what they do, I thought, I would like to get into this field. I quit my job and took all my premed classes. I hadn't even had a science class in college. Then I applied to medical school. It was a long, kind of tortuous but rewarding path for me."
That path had him graduate from IU School of Medicine in 1997, then from the IU Emergency Medicine residency program in 2000. He completed a fellowship in primary care sports medicine through the St. Joseph's Medical Center and Notre Dame before joining the faculty at Wishard Hospital.
His focus includes musculoskeletal medicine, exertional heat stroke and sports medicine.
As for his Cream 'n Crimson basketball heritage, he was part of IU's last national championship in 1987. He was a 6-8, 217-pound reserve on a squad led by Steve Alford, Daryl Thomas, Keith Smart, Dean Garrett and Ricky Calloway.
That year Brian played in 17 games and averaged 2.1 points. He played two more seasons, with his best year coming as a senior. He played in 34 games with seven starts while setting career highs for scoring (2.7 points) and rebounds (83 total). He helped the Hoosiers win the 1989 Big Ten championship.
People still ask Brian about that national title, but mostly they ask about what it was like to play for Bob Knight, who won three national championships and 11 Big Ten crowns during his 29-year run.
"They ask because he was so successful," Brian says.
Knight is moving to Bloomington and attended a Hoosier baseball game last spring. Many fans hope he'll return to Assembly Hall for a basketball game, something that hasn't happened since he coached his last game there in 2000.
"I think that would be a good thing," Brian says. "It would be healthy for the IU community to have him embrace the success he had. That would be a very good thing. People would be happy to see him. He'd get a real positive response. It would be a rewarding experience."
While Brian's basketball career is over, his athlete roots remain strong. He's run in three Indianapolis mini-marathons (that's 13.1 miles for those interested), plays tennis with his wife and works out multiple times a week.
"I stay active. I go to the gym every day and do the Stairmaster or the elliptical. I lift some weights. Nothing terribly strenuous, but enough to make me think I'm trying to stay in shape and fight back Father Time."
For now, Father Time takes a back seat to watching Megan and Grant add to an impressive family legacy.
One this is for sure, Brian says.
"They have a lot of toughness."
Yes, his daughter Megan and son Grant are Hoosier athletes, although they didn't start out that way.
But they have attributes necessary for Cream 'n Crimson success, and a lot more.
For this Brian and his wife Leslie give thanks.
"We're very proud of Grant and Megan," Brian says. "We love watching them compete, watching their teammates compete. We always love to support them."
Support now comes closer to their Zionsville, Indiana, home.
Megan transferred from Louisville this past offseason to join the Indiana volleyball program. Grant became a Hoosier baseball pitcher after one year at Virginia. Both seem poised for strong seasons, but it goes well beyond that, Brian says.
"Most important is their happiness and excitement to compete, enjoy time with teammates and develop skills that will help them in the rest of their lives. Athletic careers will be short, and hopefully they'll have something to take away from it."
Brian says he and Leslie had nothing to do with their children coming to IU.
"We didn't have any influence on where they went. My wife and I encouraged them to go anywhere they thought it would be a good fit. On their own they drifted to IU."
That drift should enable mom and dad to watch their kids compete against the Big Ten's best in person.
"In today's day and age you can watch every game on TV," Brian says, "so we haven't missed any of them, but seeing them in person is much easier with them being (at IU)."
Megan arrives at Indiana with one year of eligibility left and at her volleyball peak.
The 6-1 outside hitter is coming off a breakthrough season at Louisville with 225 kills. That included a career-high 18 kills against North Carolina, 11 against Duke and 10 against Purdue and Florida.
Megan was a two-time all-state player for Indianapolis Cathedral High School that included the 2015 Class 4A state championship and a No. 1 national team ranking. She earned All-America honorable mention honors.
For the record, Brian and Leslie never played volleyball. They did, however, encourage their children (including another son, Ben) to participate in "as many things as possible."
For Megan, that included piano, softball, basketball and track as well as volleyball.
As far as discovering volleyball, Brian says it was "By a stroke of luck. It came by just encouraging her to try everything.
"Some of our friends had their daughters in volleyball. We told Megan, 'Why not try it?'
"She went to a local club and started to play. It was a great fit for her. Once she got into it, she really enjoyed the pace of the game. She liked the competitiveness of it, as well. She also liked the fact there wasn't a lot of physical contact. She didn't enjoy that much."
At IU Megan joins a program on the rise behind second-year coach Steve Aird. Optimism includes playing at Wilkinson Hall, the Hoosiers' new state-of-the-art facility.
"(Aird) and his staff and the commitment of the athletic department to volleyball is indicative of what direction they want this sport to head in," Brian says. "It's a testament to the athletic department, the athletic director (Fred Glass) and their staff. They've invested a lot of money and energy into volleyball. I think their coaching staff is committed and has the experience and talent to bring in girls who can play at the highest level in the country. I think we'll see some really good things out of IU volleyball in the near future."
As far as Wilkinson Hall, Brian says, "It's a beautiful place. There will be such a large trickle down from that facility, from the fans to the support and the energy it will bring to matches and recruits. It won't win any games for them. They'll have to do that on their own, but it will certainly (show) the commitment IU has placed on sport."
Then there's Grant, a 6-4 right-handed pitcher. In two seasons at IU he has a 2-3 record with a 4.41 earned run average. He has two seasons of eligibility remaining. He earned a business degree last spring and is now a graduate student.
Grant didn't play in his one year at Virginia -- and then sat out a year at Indiana as a transfer -- because of a significant injury that nearly ended his playing career. A blood clot in his arm was caused by the compression of muscles against the vein that goes from the arm to the heart.
"It was very serious," Brian says. "It was really scary. For a while his doctors didn't think he'd be able to pitch again. He didn't pitch for two years rehabbing and trying to get his arm and body into shape. It's hard for an athlete to sit out for essentially two years.
"To see him back on the mound is an amazing thing. It's testimony to a young, healthy, committed body and a young man with quite a bit of perseverance. It's truly an amazing thing."
The injury limits Grant to relief pitching.
"He doesn't have the longevity to have a high volume of pitches," Brian says.
That doesn't mean Grant can't bring the heat, which is a necessity at the college and pro levels.
"He's been up to 96 mph," Brian says. "It's funny how the sport has developed, arm talent developed at younger ages. It doesn't always translate into success on the mound if you can't actually pitch."
Grant can pitch.
In his first season at IU, Grant appeared in eight games and 9.1 innings. He had an earned run average of 2.89. In his first six appearances he didn't give up a run, and only allowed five hits. That included 2.1 innings of scoreless relief against Ohio State, and two innings of scoreless relief against Ball State.
Last season, Grant appeared in 23 games and went 2-3 with a 5.01 earned run average.
"He's under the care of some real professionals at IU," Brian says. "Coach (Jeff) Mercer and the pitching staff (led by pitching coach Justin Parker) are outstanding.
"Again, the athletic department's commitment to baseball is obvious. The talent they've brought in, the facilities, the travel commitment that they've given is indicative of how important baseball is to IU athletics."
Grant's Hoosier success isn't a surprise. At Zionsville High School he twice earned all-conference honors and played on sectional and regional winning teams. He focused mostly on baseball, although did have brief runs in basketball and football.
"He played basketball through middle school and played football his senior year," Brian says.
Baseball talent didn't come from the father, who grew up a Cubs fan.
"I played baseball through Little League, but I wasn't any good."
Good is relative. Athleticism runs deep in the Sloan family. Brian's father is Jerry Sloan, a former small college All-America at the University of Evansville who had an NBA Hall of Fame career playing for the Chicago Bulls from 1965 to '76. He had career averages of 14.0 points and 7.4 rebounds. He then became a successful NBA coach with Chicago Bulls and the Utah Jazz, winning 1,221 games.
Brian also was a standout basketball player. Before becoming a Hoosier, he was part of an undefeated Illinois state championship high school team at McLeansboro.
Brian doesn't spend his time reliving his basketball glory days. He's an emergency medicine physician at Indianapolis' Wishard Hospital accomplished enough to have invented a wound irrigation device. He's going through the patent process.
"As an emergency physician, lacerations are a big part of what we do," he says. "This is about managing that. It's still in the developmental phase."
Few saw a doctor in Brian's future, including Brian. He was a history and English major during his four IU years. After college he played basketball professionally overseas, then returned to become a sales rep for Pfizer Pharmaceuticals. It was then that he found his true passion.
"I fell in love with the medical profession," he says. "Being around doctors and watching what they do, I thought, I would like to get into this field. I quit my job and took all my premed classes. I hadn't even had a science class in college. Then I applied to medical school. It was a long, kind of tortuous but rewarding path for me."
That path had him graduate from IU School of Medicine in 1997, then from the IU Emergency Medicine residency program in 2000. He completed a fellowship in primary care sports medicine through the St. Joseph's Medical Center and Notre Dame before joining the faculty at Wishard Hospital.
His focus includes musculoskeletal medicine, exertional heat stroke and sports medicine.
As for his Cream 'n Crimson basketball heritage, he was part of IU's last national championship in 1987. He was a 6-8, 217-pound reserve on a squad led by Steve Alford, Daryl Thomas, Keith Smart, Dean Garrett and Ricky Calloway.
That year Brian played in 17 games and averaged 2.1 points. He played two more seasons, with his best year coming as a senior. He played in 34 games with seven starts while setting career highs for scoring (2.7 points) and rebounds (83 total). He helped the Hoosiers win the 1989 Big Ten championship.
People still ask Brian about that national title, but mostly they ask about what it was like to play for Bob Knight, who won three national championships and 11 Big Ten crowns during his 29-year run.
"They ask because he was so successful," Brian says.
Knight is moving to Bloomington and attended a Hoosier baseball game last spring. Many fans hope he'll return to Assembly Hall for a basketball game, something that hasn't happened since he coached his last game there in 2000.
"I think that would be a good thing," Brian says. "It would be healthy for the IU community to have him embrace the success he had. That would be a very good thing. People would be happy to see him. He'd get a real positive response. It would be a rewarding experience."
While Brian's basketball career is over, his athlete roots remain strong. He's run in three Indianapolis mini-marathons (that's 13.1 miles for those interested), plays tennis with his wife and works out multiple times a week.
"I stay active. I go to the gym every day and do the Stairmaster or the elliptical. I lift some weights. Nothing terribly strenuous, but enough to make me think I'm trying to stay in shape and fight back Father Time."
For now, Father Time takes a back seat to watching Megan and Grant add to an impressive family legacy.
One this is for sure, Brian says.
"They have a lot of toughness."
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