The question for OG Anunoby has always been, “What if?” Specifically, “What if OG Anunoby hadn’t hurt his knee in 2017? Would Indiana have at least put up a fight in the NIT?”
It’s a question that haunts many, perhaps none more so than Tom Crean. But enough has been said about Tom Crean for today. We’re here to talk about OG Anunoby. And we’d assume this haunts him too.
It was brought to mind again the other night when Anunoby opened fire on the Celtics in the Raptors’ Game 2 loss, hitting four threes to help keep the Dino’s in control until, you know, the fourth quarter happened. Anunoby was electric early in the evening, and with society losing its grip nearly 18 months after the last NIT, we can be forgiven for thinking the stakes were high. Obviously, no, this was not a First Round NIT game. But it was still a big deal for the players involved, and frankly, it’s about the closest thing we can get to the pressure and atmosphere of the fabled Round of 32™. Just three and a half years removed from that March night in Georgia, it’s still not hard to picture Anunoby in the crimson and cream, perhaps knocking down some of those same threes as the other night, just on a college court, giving the Hoosiers another option besides missing shots (something they did quite a lot of in that game).
But alas, we’ll never know. So, Anunoby marches on, and Indiana marches on, all parties wondering what could have been.
