Source: Icon Sportswire / Getty
Last Friday the Indiana Hoosiers lost to the Wisconsin Badgers 91-79. During the broadcast, legendary IU basketball radio voice Don Fischer said, “I have never said this before in my 51 years behind a microphone at Indiana University, but I am embarrassed for this ball club and not because of the score.”
For the first time since he made the comment following C.J. Gunn being ejected for a flagrant two foul on Max Klesmit, he addressed the comment on Query & Company Monday afternoon.
“Two situations like that in the last two weeks frustrated me. It frustrated me because these players have been told about this, they’ve been warned that you don’t do those kinds of things. Every player gets that indoctrination when he comes to school. Obviously it’s happened twice now, granted I didn’t get to see the replay, the slow-motion replay of CJ’s situation. I didn’t think that was as egregious as I thought it was in real time, but it still can’t happen. I was embarrassed not about the team, not about the play of the game, nothing about that at all. It was about the situation taking place for a second time, and I just felt like that needed to be said. But I didn’t probably put it in the terms because everything was misconstrued like I was blasting the team and all that. That’s not what I was doing.”
At the time of Gunn’s foul, Indiana was down 17 points as a result of Klesmit going on a 12-2 run just after Indiana cut the deficit to seven points to open the first half. Jimmy Cook asked Fischer if he felt like that’s where the game got away from Indiana.
“There’s no doubt that started the downfall. When somebody gets kicked out of a ball game, it’s just not affecting that play, it affects your basketball team. That’s just the facts. To have it happen a second time in two weeks, that is frustrating beyond belief for the coaching staff and the rest of the team.” Fischer responded.
In the heat of the moment, Fischer was worried about the reputation of the Indiana Hoosiers now. Draymond Green in the NBA is a perfect example. Anytime there is something borderline flagrant involving the Warriors forward, it will more than likely be upgraded to a flagrant.
“I think it upsets our program, I think it upsets the Hoosier nation, I think it upsets the coaching staff, and I think it upsets the rest of the players on the team. You don’t want that to occur because then you get a reputation. From my perspective that was the frustration I had with it. I probably didn’t express myself properly as well as I could at that point. Obviously I said what I said, people wanted took it the way they wanted to mean, but it had nothing to do with the coaching staff or the team at that point. It was simply that scenario taking place a second time.” Fischer stated.
Indiana has lost three of it’s last four games with a difficult road game in Illinois on the horizon on Saturday.
To listen to Jake Query and Jimmy Cook’s conversation with Don Fisher, download the podcast containing the conversation below! You can always listen to the Query & Company from 12pm-3pm on 93.5/107.5 The Fan. You can also watch and interact with the show by going to the 107.5 The Fan YouTube Channel.
