2018 top Indiana sports stories: Colts comeback, Romeos's choice, Tyler Trent, Pacers

Not everything went as planned, but we got the answers to plenty of questions this year: 

Who's the coach? How's the shoulder? Who saw this coming? Where are you going? How does one school do that? Who are the champs? Wasn't that terrible timing for an injury? What is a fireable offense? Does he have a chance to recover? Will he stay or will he go? What can we learn from him? 

Here are the events that kept fans guessing: 

How the Colts turn

The Indianapolis Colts wasted little time making changes after a 4-12 season ended, announcing coach Chuck Pagano's firing shortly after the season finale (this was Dec. 31).

But there was plenty of drama ahead.

It was a poorly kept secret that the Colts had hired New England Patriots Josh McDaniels as coach. They even announced an introductory news conference. However, the night before the formality, McDaniels informed the Colts he wouldn't be coming to Indy after all. GM Chris Ballard went back to the drawing board and hired Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Frank Reich as coach. (The Eagles beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl, so that's a net gain, right?) 

Ballard had more deals ahead. The Colts had the No. 3 pick in the draft, but he made a trade with the New York Jets that gave them the No. 6 overall pick (used on guard Quenton Nelson), plus two more picks in the second round. After some more dealing, the Colts ended up making 11 selections on draft weekend.

And this was all before the "how is Andrew Luck's shoulder" saga. There were plenty of hints that his repaired throwing shoulder felt better before he finally threw passes to Colts receivers at June minicamp. 

Luck's shoulder turned out to be just fine, as he had an eight-game stretch in which he threw at least three touchdowns every game. The Colts got superior performances from rookies Nelson (guard) and Darius Leonard (linebacker). Adam Vinatieri broke the NFL career scoring and field goals records. Despite a 1-5 start, they won nine of their final 10 games and earned the No. 6 AFC playoff spot.

Pacers are a pleasant surprise 

With little expected of them, any improvement was welcomed by Indiana Pacers fans.

The team delivered.

Led by All-Star, Most Improved Player and third-team All-NBA performer (isn't that enough?) Victor Oladipo, the Pacers won 48 games, earned the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference and took LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers to seven games in the first round. 

Oladipo also released some music and drove the Indianapolis 500 pace car. 

The Pacers had trouble meeting higher expectations early in the 2018-19 season, but they're certainly competitive. Oladipo remains a premier performer, and they get solid efforts from several core players. 

So, Romeo, where ya going? 

Two questions followed New Albany's Romeo Langford: Can you reach Damon Bailey's state scoring record in boys basketball? And, are you going to IU? 

Answers: No, and yes. 

Langford finished his Bulldogs career with 3,002 points, fourth most in state boys hoops history. He was the runaway IndyStar Mr. Basketball winner. After the season, he returned to the New Albany gym, donned a Hoosiers cap and headed to Bloomington, where he became a top offensive option immediately.

Nice work, Warren 

For the first time, girls and boys basketball state champions came from the same high school. The Warriors girls surged late in the season and knocked off state contenders North Central and Pike on the way to the Class 4A championship. Warren's boys went undefeated, but it was hardly a cakewalk, beating Ben Davis in overtime in the regional and New Albany at the buzzer in the semistate. (The Warriors ran their winning streak to 40 games by the end of the year.) And the Warriors' football team couldn't be left out, taking the Class 6A championship with an undefeated season. 

Two national champions

Notre Dame's women claimed their second NCAA basketball crown, while IU made the best of its fate and won the WNIT. Tyra Buss left the Hoosiers as the career scoring leader.

It's May at the track

If you're looking for winners, look no further than Will Power. He dominated the IndyCar Grand Prix before winning the Indy 500 from the fourth starting spot and unleashing a post-race (and somewhat indelicate) demand for respect. Danica Patrick crashed in her last career race.

But the drama started in qualifying. There were 35 entries, so there was bumping. Two popular drivers — James Hinchcliffe and Pippa Mann — were left out. Hinchcliffe's omission was surprising, considering he had won a race earlier in the season and was in the championship hunt heading into the 500. 

Boilers hoops 

Purdue basketball had a ton of experience, with four seniors and a high-scoring sophomore leading the way. When they were on, the Boilermakers were a Final Four threat. However, center Isaac Haas suffered a broken elbow in the NCAA tournament opener, putting more pressure on the perimeter players. Purdue edged Butler to reach the Sweet 16 before bowing out.

High school coaches 

Coaching changes always occur between seasons and school years. The circumstances can vary. North Central boys basketball coach Doug Mitchell retired. Mark James moved from Ben Davis to Perry Meridian. Mike Kirschner, who had been the BD football coach, took over at Mt. Vernon. Tod Windlan was let go as Carmel girls basketball coach after a strange couple of weeks, and he landed at Greencastle. The future of Center Grove football coach Eric Moore was in question, but he returned for a 20th season with the Trojans.

Reminder of the danger

Robert Wickens suffered spinal injuries in a severe crash at Pocono, and referred to himself as a paraplegic as he rehabilitated. Also, Scott Dixon won a fifth IndyCar championship. 

Crossing the bricks, eventually

NASCAR's visit to Indianapolis Motor Speedway was all wet, as the weather delayed the Brickyard 400 for a day. Brad Keselowski won.

Leaving under a cloud 

Bob Lamey, the "voice of the Colts" for decades, abruptly announced his retirement during the preseason, but a few days later, it was learned he had used an inappropriate term in front of a radio station employee while recalling a story from decades earlier. Local racing analyst Derek Daly was caught up in the fallout and lost his position with a local TV station.

Go Irish, Boilers! 

Notre Dame navigated its football season undefeated and earned a spot in the College Football Playoff. Purdue had an eventful season, starting 0-3 before rallying to earn a bowl berth. Along the way, the Boilermakers beat then-No. 2 Ohio State, and ranked Boston College and Iowa squads. Purdue needed an Old Oaken Bucket win over Indiana to become bowl eligible. Just after the regular season ended, coach Jeff Brohm spurned his alma mater, Louisville, to stay in West Lafayette. Purdue and Notre Dame lost their bowl games.

Inspirational Boiler

Tyler Trent, a Purdue student and super fan, fought cancer throughout the fall and inspired so many along the way. He took his message to football games, the Statehouse and even ESPN's "SportsCenter." Despite his struggles, he remained thankful. Trent died on the evening of Jan. 1, 2019.

Fan conduct under scrutiny

Was it simply a fan trying to distract an opposing player, or did it cross the line into bullying? When a Center Grove student's writhing on the floor was caught on video, it became a flash point when it became known that the player he was trying to distract suffers from epilepsy.