Just a few minutes before the IU men’s basketball team took the floor for its 83-79 win against Georgia Tech, J.D. Campbell, director of athletics media relations, handed out a sheet of paper to the media seated in Assembly Hall.\nThe two sentence statement read “Indiana Men’s Basketball Coach Kelvin Sampson announced that freshman guard Jordan Crawford will not play in the next three games due to violating team rules. Coach Sampson will have no further comment on the matter.” \nAfter the game, Sampson declined to discuss specifics of Crawford’s absence, but did say the freshman’s absence would change the way he coached the team. \nIn IU’s previous five games, Crawford averaged 12.5 points per game and 25 minutes per game. Crawford’s suspension will be lifted in time for the guard to face his older brother Joe Crawford on Dec. 8 when Kentucky visits Assembly Hall.\nCrawford’s absence depleted an already thin Hoosier guard lineup. Senior guard A.J. Ratliff is academically ineligible for the first semester. He is eligible to play starting Dec. 15 against Western Carolina. \nWith Crawford and Ratliff out of the lineup, the Hoosiers were left with just four scholarship guards – freshmen Eric Gordon and Brandon McGee, sophomore Armon Bassett and junior Jamarcus Ellis. \nSampson said McGee was sick, which relegated the Hoosiers to using just three guards in its lineup. Gordon played all 40 minutes of the contest, scoring 29 points. Bassett and Ellis played 37 minutes and 33 minutes, respectively. \nWhen either Bassett or Ellis was on the bench, the Hoosiers played a two-guard and three-forward lineup. This forced IU to switch out of its man-to-man defense into a zone defense.\nSampson said the Hoosiers will play more zone defense, “especially the next two games, obviously.” \nMike White to play this season\nAbout two weeks ago, Sampson said during his radio show that IU senior forward Mike White would redshirt this season and use his one year of remaining eligibility for next year. \nBut after a veteran Xavier team outplayed the Hoosiers during Saturday’s 80-65 loss, Sampson reconsidered. \n“I’m on the plane on the way back, and I’m thinking, ‘You know what? It’s a good idea to redshirt Mike, but this team needs him,’” Sampson said after Tuesday’s game. \nSampson did not announce before the game that White would play, but White checked into the game early in the first half, thus eliminating his chance to redshirt. \nSampson said he made the decision to add some more experience to the team, and also add another big body to attack the glass.\n“Besides (senior forward) D.J. (White), which one of those guys can you count on to go up and get a traffic rebound?” Sampson said of his other forwards, freshman Eli Holman, junior Deandre Thomas and senior Lance Stemler. \nWhite finished the night with two points and six rebounds in 20 minutes of action. \n“He was a huge, huge spark off the bench, which is something we needed coming off that Xavier game,” Stemler said. “Every day in practice, Mike attacks the glass, and that’s what he did tonight. Mike played great.”
Stemler finds his groove\nStemler scored a season-high 15 points in the win, and shot 50 percent from behind the 3-point line. Stemler received boos from the fans during IU’s season-opening win against Chattanooga for his no-point, three-foul performance. \nThe senior forward was 5-of-9 from the field Tuesday, and he grabbed two rebounds and one steal.\nAfter the game, Stemler said it felt good to knock down 3-pointers. \n“It helps you get a little rhythm in the game,” he said. “It helps you get a little confidence.”
