Memories from my Indy Final Four
By O. Henry Swartzentruber
The tension inside Lucas Oil Stadium was electric Monday night, particularly after the "less than 4 minute" TV timeout. Only a close National Championship produces that level of intensity. The clannishness created by college sports is unmatched on this continent. Standing with my clan, eight-year-old son, Henry, and my father-in-law, Jeff Heron (a Michigan native), I realized it was a memory we’d share for decades. Everyone was on their feet in a close one with minutes left.
Jeff, a proud University of Michigan (Flint) alum, wore a North Daviess black-and-orange quarter-zip. Hoping to snag an interview with Coach Dusty May (Eastern Greene '95) I sported a borrowed ND Cougars sweatshirt, and Henry proudly wore an orange “Cougars by a Million” T-shirt with his royal blue “Wagler Custom Homes” hoodie. Go Blue, indeed! A big thanks to Drew for the ND Swag, Lyndon for the Wagler Swag, and Mark for the tickets. We were quite a sight at Fan Fest before the game. UConn fans, rare and sophisticated; Michigan fans, numerous and rabid. Daviess County fans? Maybe a little out of their element.
While Henry nailed a few slapshots at the Capital One hockey kiosk, I spotted Miami (Ohio) head coach Travis Steele next to us. Steele led the MU (Ohio) RedHawks to a 31-0 regular season this year, with his best player the Carmel HS alum and MAC player of the year, Peter Suder. Seeing Steele took me back to the BR-Carmel matchup over Christmas break 2020 when Suder’s Carmel squad beat those stingy Barr-Reeve Vikings in overtime. Even though Carmel won (and later the 4A state championship while BR took the 1A title), I’ll never forget how those little, local Daviess County boys looked as if they could play with anyone—even Carmel Greyhounds.
"Surely we will see someone we know," Jeff said. Minutes after, we ran into college friends from Indiana Wesleyan in the Ritz Cracker basketball card line, big Michigan fans Marc and Ben from Fort Wayne (with Henry). In the stands, Jeff was in full-on Michigan form, fist-pumping and shouting “Go Blue!” at the heavy Michigan crowd of 70,000+ (of course, I mostly maintained my Hoosier sensibilities). Football stadiums like Lucas Oil aren't ideal for watching basketball, but I was amazed at the detail we could see, augmented by giant screens surrounding us. We sat near Congressman Mark Messmer of Indiana's 8th District, himself sporting a very Purdue-looking ensemble.
The game was a tight, defensive grind, and Michigan secured the title due to its free-throw proficiency and toughness. The greatest team ever assembled, I heard them called. When I asked Henry for his favorite moments, he lit up talking about Aday Mara's dunks. Aday made UConn's Tarris Reed, Jr. 6-11 look short. The 7-foot-3 Spaniard from Zaragoza easily kept his elbows above the rim all night, showing why he was Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. Henry also got a kick out of player names— UConn’s Solo Ball to Michigan’s star UNC transfer Elliot Cadeau, and even Dominican national team player Yaxel Lendeborg, the Big 10 player of the year. Who names their son Solo or Yaxel? (says the guy with a baby named Felix).
Though the UM media team couldn’t pry local legend Dusty May away from the trophy long enough for our Odon Journal exclusive, we’ll get him another day. As the confetti fell, Jeff high-fived our seat neighbors and Henry. I found myself thinking back to when I was six years old, hearing about Michigan’s last title 37 years ago, two years after IU's last one and years before Purdue's first. Enjoy the moments, my friends.