Tamar Bates and family already making an impact on Indiana Basketball

Just when you thought it couldn’t get better Indiana Basketball fans, it is. One of Indiana’s two incoming freshmen, Tamar Bates, arrived in Bloomington this past weekend, to get settled into his new digs. Making the trip with “Scoop” were his parents and two younger sisters. The Bates family, ironically enough, is already making an impact at Indiana, and Scoop has yet to play a game.

Scoop’s arrival to the Bloomington campus couldn’t have come at a better time. The Hoosier fan base is riding high right now on the momentum of Mike Woodson’s hire earlier this spring. Woodson was tapped by Indiana Athletic Director, Scott Dolson, to replace fired Archie Miller. It was a move that is having a profoundly good effect on what had become a very fractured fan base.

Dolson’s hiring of Woodson, coupled with the hiring of another former Hoosier, Dane Fife, has proven to be a great move for the program. The few cynics left are so vastly outnumbered that no one is even taking them seriously. We have yet to see a game played in the Woodson era, but Indiana fans seem convinced that winning is going to happen under this leadership.

Into this almost utopian honeymoon period for Coach Woodson and staff appears a freshman. A good-looking, 6’7” young man, from a  great family. A young man who appears the be exactly what the Hoosiers ordered—a ready-made star–Tamar ‘Scoop’ Bates.

Not only did Scoop Bates skyrocket up the recruiting ratings this spring, but he also arrived in Bloomington apparently ready for the big stage that is Indiana Basketball. One thing Indiana is, say what you will about their recent performance on the floor, is a huge brand. It’s a program that boasts the second most followers on Twitter of any college basketball program in the country. Its following is huge.

That also is one of the areas that AD Scott Dolson has said he wants the basketball program to exploit better than it has in recent years. He has talked about the need for Indiana to really re-brand itself. To do that, Indiana needs coaches and players who are ready, willing, and able to engage the rabid fan base that makes Indiana so unlike so many other schools. In 49 other states it’s just basketball, right?

The Bates family already seems to get it. This past weekend as they visited Bloomington and got the red carpet rolled out for them, they took a whole bunch of Indiana fans on the journey with them via their Twitter feed. What a great move. What a savvy move.

Many of us Indiana kids grew up dreaming about what it would be like to be recruited to play basketball at Indiana or to watch one of our kids or even a player from our local school or county become a Hoosier. So to get to see some of the photos of this special day for Scoop and his family really kind of allowed us to live vicariously through him, and them. That was fun for all of us. And it was a very savvy move. Did I say that already?

It was so much fun to see Scoop in his new candy stripe pants and hanging out with Coach Woodson. It was fun to imagine him walking around on Branch McCracken Court, staring up at all the empty seats and imagining what it’s going to be like when he runs out of that tunnel the first time to 17 thousand plus adoring fans.

Seeing the way the Bates handled those days, sharing the photos, and taking the time to interact with some Indiana fans, gave me the sense that this kid is going to be special at Indiana. I assume that he will be special on the floor. At this point, I can’t predict how high his level of play will reach, but from what I have seen and heard he has plenty of game to make the Big Ten stand up and take notice.

My prediction about Scoop being special is more about what he may bring off the court. I see him becoming a fan favorite from day one. He seems like the kind of young man that won’t shy away from the limelight, and what I mean by that is he, and his family, seem to understand the size of the fishbowl they climbed into, and they not only aren’t shying away from it, they are embracing it. They are embracing the crazy that is Indiana, and they are engaging one of the country’s most passionate fan bases. Savvy.

I just can’t help but feel like Scoop and family couldn’t have come at a better time in Indiana’s history. In Woodson, we finally have a Hoosier at the helm of the storied program which has been mired in mediocrity. That has been great for the basketball program to this point, healing a lot of old wounds.

We know Coach Knight, whatever health condition he might be in these days, is happy and proud to have one of his players at the helm. Some will say that doesn’t or shouldn’t matter. I will tell you as a person who started watching Indiana as a kid back during the Isiah Thomas days, it does matter. Coach Knight is still beloved by the vast majority of Indiana fans, this writer among them. To see him honored in this way at this point in his life does my heart good.

With Coach Woodson bridging the gap between old and new, Scoop literally couldn’t have asked for a better time to come into this program, possessing the kind of potential, personality, and parents he has. I’ve got this feeling that by the time Scoop’s career at Indiana is through, he will be on many of our personal lists of our all-time favorite Indiana players. Mark it down somewhere and let’s see if I am right.

No pressure, Scoop. Just keep doing what you’re doing. You guys are off to a heck of a start. And Scoop, if you can manage to make a few threes when we need them next season, you may have to fight to keep your name off the gubernatorial ticket next time that rolls around in the Hoosier state. Help us get into, and advance in, the NCAA Tournament, and you will be well on your way to venerated sainthood.