All of this truly started last March.
Indiana had just fired Archie Miller, whose four-year stay in Bloomington yielded no NCAA Tournament berths. Miller’s Hoosiers came close in 2020, but the Big Dance was canceled in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A six-game losing streak, ending with a quick exit in the Big Ten Tournament at the hands of Rutgers, spelled doom for both Indiana’s tournament hopes and Miller’s employment.
The energy had been sapped out of Cook Hall, around Bloomington and across the state. Trayce Jackson-Davis said Indiana was in the dark. The very life had been sucked out of the Hoosiers, who entered the transfer portal in droves.