INDIANAPOLIS'Imagine 18,000 fans booing you every time you touched the ball. Or how about receiving daily hate mail saying how terrible you are. Would that put you on the edge?
Now think about being able to shut every one of those people up by making one shot. With one 10-foot jumper, Iowa senior guard Luke Recker did just that.
\I can't describe to you what this feels like,"" a relieved Recker said after his last-second shot secured a 62-60 victory over Indiana in the semifinal round of the Big Ten Tournament.
The final shot was the culmination of a soap-opera-esque story that featured three prominent actors'Recker, former Indiana Hoosier basketball star and current Iowa Head Coach Steve Alford, and former Indiana University and current Texas Tech men's basketball Head Coach Bobby Knight.
Recker came to Indiana University from DeKalb High School, where the 6'6"" guard was named Mr. Basketball in the state of Indiana, a very prestigious honor in a basketball-crazy state like Indiana.
For two years, Recker was a productive scorer for the Hoosiers, notching 954 career points, including 63 against Iowa.
However, things had started to change for the then-sophomore and he decided to leave the university after the season.
While sending a fax to Knight may not have been the proper channel to follow in his decision, Recker acknowledged his mistakes, yet said he wants people to understand the circumstances behind the decision.
""The bottom line was, I wasn't happy personally at Indiana,"" Recker said. ""Being 19 years old, I left and probably didn't do it the right way, but a lot of people did not know what was going on behind the scenes. Looking back, I wish I could change some things, but I can't go back.""
While many of his fans supported, or at least understood, his decision, there were those that did not. Recker understands the reasons why people were so harsh towards him.
""I think a lot of that had to do with the fact that I was a crowd favorite when I played at Indiana,"" Recker said. ""I got a lot of minutes and a lot of opportunity.""
Alford agrees with Recker's statement, but also explained the passion that Hoosier fans have about the men's basketball.
""I told [Luke], 'you know what Indiana fans are all about,'"" Alford said. ""'They are very prideful fans; you're going to get booed. But you only get booed because they care. If they don't boo, they don't care.'""
Sometimes, the boos were not enough for the fans as they started sending Recker and his family hate mail in letter form and through e-mails.
""The hate mail I have received, the e-mails, were nothing of a life-threatening nature, but it's not fun to open up a letter saying how bad you stink,"" Recker said.
As Recker decided where to go with his basketball life after Indiana, he chose to attend the University of Arizona. It seemed that things could not get any worse.
Unfortunately, they did.
On vacation with his then-girlfriend Kelly Craig and her brother Jason, a drunk driver smashed into their vehicle, leaving Jason in a coma, Kelly paralyzed from the waist down and Recker nearly dead with a sliced temporal artery.
Recker never attended Arizona, choosing instead to stay closer to his parents by attending Iowa.
It was almost too much to handle for a 20 year old, and Alford knew it.
""I know what Luke has been through and I know, through the recruiting process and just being with him for three years, a lot has gone on in his career and his life,"" Alford said.
Adding fuel to the fire that was Hoosier basketball was the dismissal of Knight from the basketball team, which some Hoosier fans felt was Recker's fault.
""So, its not like it has just been Luke transferring,"" Alford said. ""This was a Mr. Basketball that transferred and then the coach leaving.""
But the decision to come back to the Big Ten Conference opened what Recker thought was a closed chapter in his life'Indiana University basketball.
""I remember the first game I played against Indiana [last season],"" Recker said. ""I scored 27 points and broke my kneecap. I sat in the media room and people in there were asking what it felt like. And I was like 'It's not over.'""
It would not be over anytime soon as the Hoosiers took two of the next three contests. The emotional high point was Recker's first game at Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Ind., Feb. 5. Recker struggled, scoring eight points on three-of-10 shooting.
""Obviously I struggled early on and struggled in Assembly Hall this year, but I think going through what I went through, it'd be tough for any kid to play in front of 17,500 people booing you every time you touched the ball.""
Recker would have one final shot against Indiana. It would come during the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament.
With Hoosier fans booing Recker every time the ball was in his hands, he struggled early on, connecting on one three-point basket by halftime.
Then Recker took over. Making good decisions on the court, Recker scored nine points early in the second half and gave the Hawkeyes the ball with 13 seconds left on the clock with the game tied at 60-60.
Recker took a pass from freshman guard Pierre Pierce, drove the baseline and threw up a shot which went in, sending Recker into a celebration mode unlike any other.
In an ironic way, Recker credits the harsh fans for the tide of emotion that overcame him during his press conference.
""It's just that 5 percent of fans that have acted in a classless manner that have probably made this more pleasurable for me to win,"" Recker said. ""I think that's where part of the emotions came in and where the tears came out of.""
Maybe now, Luke Recker can rest.
