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| *Credit to iuhoosiers.cstv.com |
By now you're aware of the fact that the NCAA Student-Athlete Reinstatement Committee has denied Indiana University's appeal regarding Guy-Marc Michel's eligibility. As a result, Guy will not be allowed to play for the Hoosiers. So, what does this mean for IU? Pondering the situation I can't help but think back to those old Tootsie Pop commercials where the curious young child asks the old wise owl, "how many licks does it take to get to the tootsie roll center of a Tootsie Pop?"
"The World May Never Know."
Besides from the 14 points, 10 rebounds and 4 blocked shots, Guy accumulated in his 28 minutes of IU's pre-season scrimmage, we really don't know what kind of talent he possessed. Hoosiers fans recent memories of seven foot centers include the incredibly raw, uncoordinated images of Bawa Muniru and Tijan Jobe. No offense to Bawa and Tijan, but this doesn't leave Hoosier Nation with much to get excited about.
But, for some reason I had a feeling that Guy was different. No, I did not think that Guy would be Tyler Hansbroughish or Blake Griffinesque, but I did feel like his 7' 1", 265 pound frame was capable of helping the Hoosiers during their Big Ten schedule.
Guy, who showed excellent shot blocking ability during is two years with Northern Idaho, would have given this year's Hoosiers team a legitimate "Big Ten body" to patrol the paint. Tom Pritchard has already been disqualified from two of the first six games due to fouls and aside from the performance he turned in against Evansville (8 PT, 8 RBs, 5 BS, 3 PFs) what kind of resistance will Pritch offer against the Big Ten big men? Another big body to block shots, set screens and give us five more of those precious fouls would have been a welcomed addition to this year's Hoosiers team. That is exactly the reason why Tom Crean went out and got him, and I think that we can all agree that Tom Crean hasn't been sleeping on his recruits lately.
Sure Pritch is going to have to step up in Guy's absence but all of the responsibility shouldn't fall on Pritch's shoulders. The Hoosiers are going to have to do it by committee. It may be a different guy every night but in order for the Hoosiers to be competitive in the Big Ten they will have to get solid contributions from guys like Pritchard, Bobby Copobianco, Derek Elston and I'll even throw Christian Watford into that mix.
Are these guys up to challenge? That question will be answered this season, but as for Guy-Marc Michael's possible contributions to the Indiana Hoosiers Men's Basketball team...
"The world may never know."
