I liked him, on sight.Ī few months later I drove from my home near Cincinnati to Bowling Green to play golf with him, and write about it. I disliked many of them, on sight.ĭakich brought his son, Andrew, a little kid with a big smile. I still remember meeting him at the Nike recruiting camp in Indianapolis, where coaches from around the country congregated and acted important. I was at, a hothead ripping college basketball coaches left and right, and Dakich was the coach at Bowling Green. It was organic, the way I fell for Dakich about 15 years ago. His best is gone, replaced by the caricature he created and has become, though he’s in the process of erasing it, and himself, one appalling act at a time. This is the story I never wanted to write, because once upon a time I saw the best in Dakich. The reason: He’s disintegrating, right before our eyes. He felt the need to delete his Twitter account last year for a reason. His local ratings have plummeted for a reason. ESPN dropped him last year as a national basketball analyst for a reason. "Heart of gold," I used to say about Dan Dakich. That’s just his radio persona, I’d tell folks.
For years I defended Dakich to IndyStar colleagues he’d ripped, to IndyStar readers he’d disillusioned, to mutual friends in basketball he’d disgusted. I told Dan some of my deepest secrets, and he told me some of his. Candidates must be nominated and then presented to the IBHOF board, and apparently nobody wants to nominate Dakich, much less argue on his behalf.Ī few years ago I told Dakich I’d nominate him for the IBHOF and present his case. And his basketball story is spectacular, perhaps deserving a spot in the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame, though his HOF absence is no mystery. STAY UP-TO-DATE: Subscribe to our Sports newsletter now!īut, two, we will remember most his unraveling, the most spectacular part of his story.
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