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Romeo's Tune

By Chris Colcord

Fort Wayne Reader

2018-04-19

Even though the surprising Indiana Pacers are playing a highly contentious basketball series against the Cleveland Cavaliers and LeBron James in the 2018 playoffs, the biggest basketball story in the state this Spring has absolutely nothing to do with the NBA. It has nothing to do with Purdue's remarkable 2018 season, either, when the senior-laden team was seemingly in position to challenge for an NCAA title until a disastrous injury to their 7-foot center, Isaac Haas, derailed the team's chances. The biggest story isn't the undefeated championship season that 4A Warren Central just completed in March, either, though that championship gave the school a rare girls/boys championship double, something that hasn't happened in Indiana since 2007.

No, the biggest story in 2018 is something that hasn't happened yet, but will on April 30th, when New Albany star Romeo Langford will announce what college he will be attending for the 2018-2019 basketball season. Langford, who is the No.1 uncommitted high school star in the nation, has pared down his choices to Kansas, Vanderbilt, and Indiana. Langford was initially recruited by former Indiana coach Tom Crean and his staff, and new coach Archie Miller has continued the pursuit, hoping to land one of the biggest stars in state history.

To say that the potential of landing Langford at IU has led to a frenzy among state basketball fans is a wild understatement. Langford is the most coveted basketball recruit for IU since Eric Gordon, and probably in the Top 5 of all-time Indiana basketball recruits. If he decides to choose Indiana — and there have been hundreds of basketball columns and hours of sports talk radio devoted to this very subject — he will immediately change the fortunes of the basketball program. Coach Archie Miller, when he was hired last year, said that one of his main focuses at IU would be in keeping the home-grown talent in state, on campus, at IU. Getting Langford would be a huge accomplishment for his young tenure, and IU would become an instant Top 20 team in 2018-2019.

Even though IU hasn't won a championship in 30 years (and they've made only two Final Fours since then,) IU basketball is still the biggest sport in the state. Peyton Manning's Colts teams briefly challenged IU's hold for a few years, but in Indiana, college basketball still rules and IU is still the king. This may rankle Purdue fans, for the Boilermakers have been the more successful program over the past decade, but there's no mistaking IU's continued popularity, though it's safe to say that the program still hasn't escaped the shadow and legacy of previous coach Bob Knight.

Your interest in the April 30th Romeo Langford decision is probably dependent on how big an IU fan you are, or more pointedly, on how much stomach you have for the "Bachelor-ification" of the college recruitment process. This is the way things are: major high school sports stars are treated like celebrities, and they are guaranteed press conferences for their college decisions, many of which are carried live on ESPN or on local affiliates. The athlete and his "team" will hold court during the press conference until the recruit makes his pronouncement, to an explosion of flash bulbs and questions from reporters. If you're fine with a 17-or-18 year old being treated with this much gravity and importance, by all means, feel free to attend: the Romeo Langord decision is open to the public, after all. (And of course, Indiana sports prognosticators have argued whether the open-to-the-public thing is "good" or "bad" for IU's chances.)

Look, if I was a high-school senior and everybody made that big a fuss over me, of course I would luxuriate in the limelight. I'd grab every microphone, answer every question, accept every compliment. You can't fault a kid for behaving like a kid, after all, and I'm not going to fault Romeo Langford, who, by all accounts, is a stand-up guy. (And yes, the fact that I know even that makes me pathetic.) But at that April 30th New Albany press conference, I guarantee there are going to be hundreds of forty-five and fifty year old men in attendance. Not newspaper writers, not sports anchors, not University officials. Just dudes. Fans. Waiting to hear what a kid has decided about college. During work hours. Wearing IU gear. Ready to cheer if he says IU, ready to boo if he doesn't. It seems ludicrous, but again: this is going to happen.

Usually I'm highly tolerant of the oddball, fetishistic little passions that people have; whether you're into anime, video gaming, collecting beanie babies, racing mice, hey: who am I to judge? If it makes you happy, that's great. It shows you have a little passion in your life, and I'm all for that, it's much preferable than being around dead-end people who refuse to get excited about anything in this world. But man: the mania surrounding this announcement still seems radiantly bizarre to me. It reminds me (hauntingly) of that scene in the movie Friday Night Lights where the high-school football players are staring, wide-eyed, at the insane preoccupation that the town's citizens have for the team: it's obvious that the town cares more about the team than the team does. The players have no idea what to make of this; they look confused, like they're waiting for the real adults to suddenly show up, the ones with maturity and a sense of blessed perspective.

For the record, I went to IU and I'm a fan of the team, and I'll admit to some interest in how the team is shaping up in the off-season. But I'm not going to spend time on recruiting sites, trying to find out who the top 30 8th grade basketball players are in the state of Indiana (FYI: this info is available) and if they might be "leaning" IU's way. I'm a fan, but not that kind of fan. I still have my racing mice and my beanie baby collection to finish, after all.