Indy Cornrows is now on Substack!

Excited to be back following what's happening at the Fieldhouse!

Welcome, Indy Cornrows readers to this third version of the site I am excited to launch on Substack. After an extended hiatus the site has officially moved on to become an independent blog after Vox Media pulled the plug on our now former site within the SB Nation NBA network.

That sudden turn of events prior to the end of the actual season was a surprise, but also a chance to step back and consider what to do next. I realized this was a chance to breathe new life into the types of Pacers and general hoops stories I want to cover. After 16 years covering the Pacers, I briefly considered hanging up the laptop, but then realized that the competition for the time I need to do what I want to do, was about to leave the house and leave me with more time than I need to fully enjoy the process.

Following my two boys and all of their games, practices and activities over the past six years in particular has been incredible, but also made maintaining the blog a challenge. Thanks to exceptional writers like Nathan Samples, Caitlin Cooper and Mark Schindler delivering prolific work, keeping up with the game-to-game community posts was a snap.

But now with my youngest set to graduate and move down to Bloomington, I have plenty of time and a ton of topics in the bag ready to touch on regarding the Pacers. Plus, the current state of the team is highly intriguing as they try to climb back to a respectable playoff contender in the East. Watching the NBA playoffs that are now in May provides an illuminating guide into the difference between good and great teams, as well as how successful regular season teams differ from successful playoff teams.

My focus will be on how Pacers build the team going forward and how the players fare in developing into key pieces needed to be that perennial playoff contender, battling for a championship once again. I have studied team building for many years find many similar components across the board, whether you are talking about a sports team or a corporate team working toward a common goal.

I may be the only person to still admit I liked the idea of adding Evan Turner and Andrew Bynum in 2014 even though it ended as a failure. But more on that at a later time. This will be the third effort to rebuild the Pacers since I’ve been covering the team, but this time they are building from the ground up with a young, solid foundation already taking shape. Now what?

In addition to the Pacers, I also want to also shine a light on the local legends trying to jump from the grassroots level to that big NBA stage. I loved watching all of the AAU and high school action while my son was involved. Running across a guy like Markus Burton last summer, who had no big D1 offers, and then watching him play a monster game, followed by a Notre Dame offer the next day was a blast. Continuing to follow Burton’s high school season as he became the only logical choice for Mr. Basketball was sweet. Now what?

Oh, and who is next?

So after starting Indy Cornrows as a classic Blogspot stream of consciousness blog to the second version as a team blog on the SBN NBA network with a group of writers covering all of the angles, this third versions feels like a full circle moment, putting my effort back to the basics of covering what I want, how I want and trying to build a supportive group of readers who will want to share their thoughts on all of the hoops happenings in Indiana.

So, I ask for you to subscribe with your email, sign up for comments, donate if you wish, and get yourself familiar with the new Indy Cornrows. You can read it all via email, website, or app. Please come along for the ride and tell your friends!