Many experts looked at Cleveland State and figured that Indiana would have no problem disposing of the pesky Vikings.
To the Hoosier's dismay, those pesky Vikings pulled off one of the biggest upsets in NCAA Tournament history.
Ten years later, the thoughts of an NCAA Tournament are as unlikely as the upset was.
Funny how ten years can change a program.
Change is not the operative word. Destroy is more like it.
Since 1988, which was the last time the Vikes saw any kind of tournament action in the NIT, the CSU basketball program has become a mere shell of what it was in its hey-day.
After 1988, Cleveland State was nailed with NCAA rules violations, forcing the aspiring team to be gutted of opportunities to recruit the big names of high school that the Vikings had hoped to gain with their new winning mentality.
Not surprising that only two years later, then-coach Kevin Mackey was fired, and to have have been found using cocaine.
So it can be said that Cleveland State's basketball program went up his nose.
But the Vikings, two year before Mackey's firing and during turmoil over rules and regulations, still remained above a .500 team. These days, mediocrity would be an improvement.
Coach Mike Boyd came to CSU with a year left on its probation, leaving him little to work with when he came in.
Two seasons later, another winning team emerged. But who was around to celebrate?
With a 22-6 record, the 1992-93 team will be known as the best team that nobody ever heard about. Both NCAA and NIT tourneys, apparently not impressed with CSU's rag-tag conference, the Mid-Continent, snubbed them. Even ESPN was reluctant to show highlights.
The 1993-94 season made Cleveland State's previous season look like a fluke. Like they weren't really playing anybody.
The basketball team finished 14-15 that year, wiping any memory of what might have been or what transpired the previous year. Same conference, relatively same schedule as the previuous year, but different results.
When the Vikes moved into the more powerful Midwestern Collegiate Conference in the 1994-95 season, things really got ugly, as they went 3-11 in the conference and 10-17 overall.
This season isn't getting much better, though they have recently been able to grab two conference wins. Their woes for the rest of the season have been evident.
They lost to Akron by 25, for God's sake!
What's the problem here? They should have been all set after the 1992-93 season.
The 1993-94 roster featured 10 underclassmen that should have been around this season. How many are left? Three: Joe Rey, Derrick Zeigler, and Eric Nichelson. What happened to the other seven?
I have a serious problem with that, and the fact that the 95-96 campaign is a lot better than their hideous record shows.
I won't say anything about how to run the CSU basketball program, or the athletic department, simply because it's not my job. But the problems here are more than obvious, and quite frankly, major changes need to be made if this school ever wants to see another NCAA tournament berth.
Follow-up: The CSU basketball team finished 5-21 that year and didn't make it their the conference tournament. Boyd was gone after that season, and is the subject of a later Teed Off of who should be in charge.
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