Horoscopes
Miller might be nearing end at IU, but don’t expect Baylor’s Drew to return for job
TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (03/14/21). Make creative dreams come true this year. Steady planning, coordination, routines and practices build for success. Make a career switch this spring, before summertime renovations beautify your surroundings. Shift creative communications next winter, leading to a career blastoff. Stay true to your higher ange
To get the advantage, check the day’s rating: 10 is the easiest day, 0 the most challenging.
(March 21-April 19) — Today is a 9 — Invent your own fun. Indulge your passions, obsessions and fascinations. It doesn’t need to get expensive. You’re growing stronger. Follow your heart.
ARIES
TAURUS (April 20-May 20) — Today is a 7 — Take it easy. Emotion could beat reason. Nurture sensitivities with peaceful privacy. Nature and beloved creatures inspire your creative spirit. Imagine and dream.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20) — Today is an 8 — Share what you’re learning with friends. Tap into your community. Strengthen networks with participation. Invite others to play. Pull together for common cause.
CANCER (June 21-July 22) — Today is an 8 — Career matters have your attention. Resolve any lingering doubt through research. Don’t fund a fantasy. Make choices and determinations. Figure out the details.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) — Today is an 8 — Expand your research. Study the options and determine which way to go. Do the homework to make a strong case. Outline statements, presentations and reports.
VIRGO (Aug. 23Sept. 22) — Today is an 8 — Manage shared accounts and initiatives. Contribute your energies to reduce debt and build wealth together. Simplify and clarify priorities. Collaborate for common gain.
LIBRA (Sept. 23Oct. 22) — Today is an 8 — Share the load with shared commitments. Collaboration sparks in conversation. Romantic possibilities merit investigation. Listen to another’s view. Support each other.
(Oct. 23-Nov. 21) — Today is a 9 — Prioritize your health, work and energy. Restore it with good food and rest. Recharge and grow stronger with regular physical practices. Pamper yourself.
SCORPIO
SAGITTARIUS
(Nov. 22-Dec. 21) — Today is an 8 — Listen to your heart. Beauty inspires your spirit. Find and follow a passionate connection. Kindle some sweet romance. Have fun with the ones you love.
(Dec. 22-Jan. 19) — Today is an 8 — Home improvement projects satisfy. Beautify your space. Clean and clear clutter. Make an upgrade to support family systems. Celebrate results with something delicious.
CAPRICORN
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) — Today is an 8 — Write, research and edit. Analyze the basic structure. Get creative with format and details. Put together presentations, reports or statements. Express your view.
PISCES (Feb. 19March 20) — Today is a 9 — Your ideas are attracting attention. Tap a favorable market. Spend less than you bring in. Generate positive cash flow through reliable excellent results.
I’ve got bad news for the Indiana basketball faithful. The IU job is no longer better than the Baylor job. If someone had said in 2003, when Scott Drew left Valparaiso University on a hot August day for Waco, Texas, that someday the Bears were going to surpass IU in college basketball’s pecking order, it would’ve been deemed extremely fake news.
Only Drew could see potential in what was then college basketball’s greatest train wreck.
For a refresher, Drew took over after Carlton Dotson killed Baylor teammate Patrick Dennehy in June 2003. A subsequent investigation revealed improper tuition payments were made to several Baylor players, failed drug tests were not reported, coach Dave Bliss had asked an assistant to portray Dennehy as a drug dealer, and Bliss had lied to NCAA investigators.
To avoid a seasonlong ban by the NCAA, Baylor imposed draconian sanctions on its program. It offered releases to its scholarship players, limited scholarships and banned itself from postseason play in 2003-04. Then the NCAA put it on probation for five years and banned the team from nonconference play in 2005-06.
Drew held tryouts in his first season at Baylor to try to fill the team. He had five scholarship players. The Bears finished 8-21.
In December 2004, the Bears, a glorified high-level intramural team, came to Mackey Arena and beat a bad Purdue team by a point. It was a huge thrill for Drew. Valparaiso had been on the wrong side of so many lopsided games against Purdue. It felt good to return to Indiana and get one for the family.
Still, Baylor finished 9-19 in 2004-05.
Drew, always a relentless recruiter, put his head down and went to work.
And he was patient. In 2007-08, Baylor made the NCAA Tournament.
Drew has made the tournament eight times at Baylor and reached the Elite Eight twice. The Bears just won the Big 12 regular-season title, its first conference crown since 1950. And Drew makes $3.35 million per year, according to USA
Today.
A few weeks ago, rumors started bubbling that Drew would be one of the top candidates for the IU job. The Hoosiers haven’t made the NCAA Tournament since 201516.
IU’s Archie Miller is a dead coach walking. Even if he hangs around for another year, he’ll have to do something he hasn’t done at IU: get the team into the tournament.
That alone might not be enough.
I’m bemused by the Drewto-IU narrative. It’s great fodder, but it’s not rooted in reality.
Drew has authored the greatest turnaround in the history of college basketball.
Ian McCaw, who was the athletic director at Baylor when Drew arrived, said the program was in a free fall.
“It was a dire set of circumstances,” McCaw said. “Season ticket holders were canceling their orders, and longtime
donors were throwing their hands up and walking away.”
McCaw said Drew walked into his office the first year and asked if he was ready to go to the Final Four.
“I was just focused on getting a team on the floor,” McCaw said. “That was 18 years ago, and it’s close to reality.”
One day at a time, Drew made Baylor into a destination job.
It’s the perfect fit for him. Drew is deeply religious, and Baylor is a private school with a Baptist affiliation.
And Drew is smart. He took the Baylor job because there were zero expectations, and he had time to rebuild.
That’s exactly what won’t happen at IU. Five national
championships have created elevated expectations.
McCaw, the athletic director at Liberty, is still close with Drew. He knows it would be hard to pull Drew away from Baylor.
“I wouldn’t say he’d never leave,” McCaw said. “I think it would take an extraordinary situation.”
Is IU extraordinary?
Not now. It’s messy and complicated. A series of mediocre hires since Bobby Knight was fired in 2000 has shaken the identity of a program.
It’s not as good as the fans think it is, and it’s not better than what Drew has at Baylor — where he is close to making good on the Final Four declaration.