Norfolk St- Horton Game

[DougSutton]

No, it's because it doesn't help us win or lose.

I respectfully disagree. I would much rather play Norfolk state than Eastern Illinois, Western Illinois and Lourdes. Norfolk is a tough, physical team that has been an NCAA tournament team in 2021 and 2022.

I actually miss the trash talk and hostile environments and this opponent was great for Horton because of that. Back in the day, there was borderline hatred between ISU and Bradley, Wichita State (both in the 80s as well as the Greg Marshal era), Tulsa, Southern Illinois (at different times) and a few other opponents.

These types of games can help to build character, team chemistry and toughness.

Agree it would have been great for our administration to put the court down at Horton much earlier so we could have had multiple shoot arounds there. We just had a really, really bad shooting night and if we were even just below average, we would have won the game.

 

[DougSutton]

It’s because we beat them in football and basketball. The Collins thing was their excuse.

This may not be accurate but I heard that one of the main (if not primary) reasons was that the Northwestern AD was good friends with Gary Friedman (who may have been responsible for scheduling the games) and he was upset about us firing him (or forcing him to resign) and this caused him to cancel the game.

 

[Dmills]

He’s trying to play the victim making it seem like Pedon is something he’s not and so are our fans. If the fans in question didn’t say anything racial as has been alluded to by those close by…I wonder if they consider legal action based on the smear campaign.

This could legitimately rise to the level of death threats because of the consistent escalation. Prayers up for Pedon and his family. He does not deserve this at all.

Ryan Pedon is not losing the locker room over this. He is a players coach and they know his character. I feel this is also worth resurfacing from hiring press release:

"In 2020, Pedon joined Coaches 4 Change (C4C), an organization founded by college basketball coaches who are dedicated to help their student-athletes, their campus, and their communities. The mission of C4C is to provide a platform that engages, educates, empowers, and evolves the collegiate student-athlete on issues of social injustices, systemic racism, and the power of voting in the endless pursuit of equality."

 

[Dmills]

Back to the game, maybe we need to assemble the court at Horton earlier in the week to give our guys a little more practice. Really hard to watch us play that bad. One more observation before I hang up...can we let the band play a bit more? I know we will never get the flaming tubas back, but let the band be the band.

Agreed, unfortunately the schedule didn't really allow for that. With 2 days in between NKU and Norfolk State, there wasn't much time for practice. If you assemble before the NKU game, you increase the risk of players looking ahead to Norfolk State. Additionally, I'm not sure what the needs were for Horton this week, but they did have a track and field competition last Saturday.

 

[Dmills]

Sitting in the lower section cost a good amount of money, so anyone sitting down there is likely a staunch ISU supporter. Surely people would know who the person was.

Was there talk of a racial slur at the game? We were sitting on that side, but didn’t hear anyone mention it. Didn’t find out until getting home and reading online.

I don't think a single fan in the arena had any idea that was what was alleged. It seems pretty clear that the NSU coach was trying to communicate that a fan called his player the N word based on the replay. I do not believe there is any possible way Pedon could've understood what he was saying though. If something was said, I think it would've helped calm the crowd if an announcement was made over the loudspeaker warning fans.

 

[Popsto4]

Of course it is. I'm curious, do you think their coach would have lied and said that the refs told him this knowing the refs would later read or hear his comments? If the refs didn't tell their coach, I'm sure they would deny saying this. Whether our fans said it or not, it seems like the ref told their coach that our fans did.

The refs were bad last night and I usually never say that about a crew. The same ref threatened to kick Mal out the game last night while he was on the bench at one point. That crew lost control of the game early on last night.

 

[Scipio]

Of course it is. I'm curious, do you think their coach would have lied and said that the refs told him this knowing the refs would later read or hear his comments? If the refs didn't tell their coach, I'm sure they would deny saying this. Whether our fans said it or not, it seems like the ref told their coach that our fans did.

 

[Dmills]

Reasonable take. If they really want to change the narrative and do good then a return game should happen.

Great respect to Coach Rob for being reasonable and attempting to deescalate. His comment isn't going to fix things, but his opinion does carry a little weight.

 

[Birdfriend72]

It really is a shame the narrative spreading about Coach Pedon. Complete and utter defamation spreading like wildfire. Lots of people who were not at the game and do not know Coach Pedon with a lot to say. Everyone take note and be considerate of what you say online. People should not be trying to ruin a man's career over a misunderstanding in a high intensity moment. It's a sick world we

Also sucks that we have to wait a full week to stew on this mess. Will be interesting to see how next Sunday's game plays out coming off this intense rollercoaster and after final exams. Need to bounce back strong.

This was St.Louis all over again. It’s not like we hadn’t seen this before.

 

[Birdfriend72]

Of course it is. I'm curious, do you think their coach would have lied and said that the refs told him this knowing the refs would later read or hear his comments? If the refs didn't tell their coach, I'm sure they would deny saying this. Whether our fans said it or not, it seems like the ref told their coach that our fans did.

The weird thing is sitting in that lower bowl you would think we would have saw someone getting escorted out. I saw no one getting escorted out- not to say it didn’t happen.

 

[Dmills]

I'll preface this by saying if the fan called a player the N word, then he was rightly ejected and there is no place for that. I went back to ESPN+ to re-watch some of the game. There are a lot of different parties commenting on this situation. Some were at the game, some watched online, and some didn't watch the game. The camera angles on the stream missed a lot of the antics of Norfolk State. Even if you were an Illinois State fan watching online, there were certainly many things that you missed. I'm proud of how disciplined our team was given the circumstances. Just something to consider.

 

[Dmills]

The weird thing is sitting in that lower bowl you would think we would have saw someone getting escorted out. I saw no one getting escorted out- not to say it didn’t happen.

Paul Kabbes escorted 4 court side fans out

 

[BirdGrad2011]

Paul Kabbes escorted 4 court side fans out

They were briefly moved to the bleachers by band and cheerleaders. Then removed before play resumed.

 

[Birdfriend72]

The coach's son was very visible before the game. He was wearing a ISU lettermen's jacket. My wife, from way across the court, one of her first comments was, that must be the coach's son to be able to be on the court like that. I have watched the replay on ESPN. There was taunting from the NS bench towards the crowd that you don't see on TV. And #6, after almost every play would stare, yap, motion, whatever at the fans in the front row. This was from the tip. There was back and forth way before the culminating incident. I've been told they were giving him a hard time for "flopping" and nothing inappropriate was said.

Ok, that doesn’t bother me. That reminds me of Xavier McDaniel. Just because the kids on the floor are into to the game doesn’t mean someone has to be a jagwod and embarrass our fan base. I wish some of our guys had some swag/confidence.

 

[cubird]

There at least 2 phantom fouls on Thomas called on Johnny. To his credit Thomas was 15-17 at the line. Acoustics in Horton are terrible for talking. Had a hard time in any conversation with buddies sitting right next to me. So what was the reason given on the broadcast the refs looked at the monitor during the removing of fans incident?

 

[Redbird222]

The weird thing is sitting in that lower bowl you would think we would have saw someone getting escorted out. I saw no one getting escorted out- not to say it didn’t happen.

One person came over and talked to them. They moved to the bleachers behind the basket where the band and cheerleaders were. Someone went back to them and the three guys left.

 

[Dmills]

There at least 2 phantom fouls on Thomas called on Johnny. To his credit Thomas was 15-17 at the line. Acoustics in Horton are terrible for talking. Had a hard time in any conversation with buddies sitting right next to me. So what was the reason given on the broadcast the refs looked at the monitor during the removing of fans incident?

I think you're talking about them reviewing the scuffle at mid court? Making sure they called technicals on the right individuals, make sure no ejections needed to be made, etc.

 

[DoubleDeuce]

I was pulling for Jordan Davis when he got into the game. Was hoping he could provide a spark. I appreciate the love Chase Walker showed him when he came out, think these guys really pull for each other.

 

[Hamdonger]

The weird thing is sitting in that lower bowl you would think we would have saw someone getting escorted out. I saw no one getting escorted out- not to say it didn’t happen.

They moved to the south bleachers initially, then an admin came over a minute or 2 later and walked them out of the building.

If the referees actually heard the slur, then there should be a statement from the officials saying so. Too bad it wasn't an MVC game, then we'd know.

 

[Hamdonger]

I was pulling for Jordan Davis when he got into the game. Was hoping he could provide a spark. I appreciate the love Chase Walker showed him when he came out, think these guys really pull for each other.

I thought Jordan played pretty decent.