Every July, Query & Schultz catch up with former prominent Indianapolis and/or Indiana athletes, coaches, and influential figures in their "Catching Up With" series! Hear those players, coaches, and other luminaries look back on their time in Indiana, share personal stories from inside and outside the locker room, and get you up-to-date on what they're doing now.
Fans still hold a special place for the 1995 Colts as the most beloved team of the non-Peyton Manning era and Roosevelt Potts was a key part of that squad. The bruising fullback's deceptive speed made for a solid 1-2 punch with a young Marshall Faulk,but drugs and alcohol cost him the 1996 seasonand his football career never recovered. Potts opened up to us about his substance issues, spoke about his son, R.J., who is a star recruit at Fishers High School, and how he's staying active with the Colts' franchise today.
Chad Austin isn't always mentioned among Gene Keady's best players, but you'd be hard-pressed to find a Boilermaker who hit as many big shots as he did. Austin, who was an All-Big Ten First Team selection in 1997 and 1998, joined our Catching Up With...series to re-live some of those heroics. Now living in Brooklyn, we talked buzzer beaters, Rucker Park, and if he was better than his brother, Woody.
At six-feet and around 150 pounds, he wasn't exactly a towering figure on the basketball court, but A.J. Graves was one of the best scorers in Butler history. The former standout guard joined us for our Catching Up With... feature, and surprisingly told us that he's almost completely stopped playing hoops. Graves looked back on Brad Stevens' first season as a collegiate head coach, Butler's terrific 2007 and 2008 teams (went 59-11 combined in those seasons), and what he's up to now.
A key part of Indiana's 1987 title team as a sophomore, the future looked bright for Rick Calloway in Bloomington. However, after being pushed to a new position and seeing his playing time cut by Bob Knight, Calloway bolted for Kansas. After a brief stint in the NBA, he spent the rest of the 1990s playing overseas. Calloway talked about what led him to transfer from Indiana, and gave us an update on everything that's happening in his life today.
He was only 5'9, but the speedy wideout was Drew Brees' favorite target and a huge part of the Purdue's 2000 Rose Bowl team. In our Catching Up With...conversation, we look back at Sutherland's terrific Purdue tenure, the alcohol issues that disrupted his short NFL career, and learn what he has going on right now in Florida.
The bulky power forward was one of the enforcers on the memorable 1990s Pacers teams and a starter on the franchise's only NBA Finals team (2000). We talked to the fan-favorite about his relationship with his old Pacer teammates, the trade that sent him to Portland (and the one that sent Antonio Davis to Toronto), and Query asked him about his body fat percentage because he has a strange fascination with it.
An Indiana Mr. Basketball and National Player of the Year in 1984, Michigan City's Delray Brooks decided to head to IU to play for Bob Knight. But, after being benched his sophomore year, Brooks bolted to the northeast where he became a key contributor - along with future coaching star Billy Donovan - on Providence's surprising 1987 Final Four team. We talked with Delray about a couple of coaching stops after that did (Kentucky) and didn't (Texas-Pan Am) work out for him, and about returning to his home state.
From stalling in the pits while leading to a parade lap accident as the pole-setter in 1992, Roberto Guerrero did not have good luck in Indianapolis. However, he did find good fortune after fully recovering froman horrific tire test accident that nearly cost him his life, and has since stayed active in racing. The Colombian driver talked about his near-misses in Indy, his long road back from a 17-day coma, and his loose connection to drug kingpin and fellow Medellin native Pablo Escobar.
From 1988-93, there weren't a lot of reasons to watch the Colts. The team never finished better than third in the AFC East, and bottomed out with an awful 1-15 mark in 1991. However, a dynamic return man named Clarence Verdin made it an adventure every time he touched a ball. The former specialist/receiver told stories of the late Bob Irsay at the Colts' Christmas party, Eric Dickerson's "Hollywood" attitude, and shared a great bit about a young Peyton Manning coming to one of his camps in New Orleans.
When talking of the greatest Pacers, names like Reggie Miller, Roger Brown, Mel Daniels, and George McGinnis always come up, but what about Billy Knight? The former NBA/ABA All-Star and Indiana's third all-time leading scorer joined us for our Catching Up With...feature. Knight's timing as a Pacer may have been poor as it coincided with the ABA's demise and their early NBA futility, but he talked glowingly of his days in Indy and gave us an update on what he's doing now.
The lanky big man may not have looked very intimidating, but Kirk Haston became one of the best players in the Big Ten in his three seasons at Indiana. His pinnacle moment as a Hoosier came in the second half of his final season (2001), when his buzzer-beater helped Indiana end defending champion #1 Michigan State's 23-game winning streak. The former first round NBA Draft pick opened up about his recruitment, the tragic loss of his mom while at IU, and his current relationship with Bob Knight.
The former Purdue sharpshooter recently ended his hoops career overseas, and has since come back to his hometown of Indianapolis. We caught up with David Teague to end our series for the year, and looked back on his days at Pike and Purdue, as well as a final clarification of what his relation is (if any) to new Pacer Jeff Teague.