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(04/26/10 3:22am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Assembly Hall has undergone minimal changes since it first opened in 1971.IU fans saw the addition of a $1.99 million state-of-the-art scoreboard in 2005. But very little else looks different from when the 17,456-seat facility first opened 39 years ago.Sunday afternoon, however, marked the dedication of the new basketball development center, Cook Hall.Take a virtual tour of the facility with this YouTube video.Connected to the historic basketball arena by an underground passageway, the $20 million Cook Hall is expected to provide the tradition-heavy IU program and its recruits a taste of the 21st century.“It is just an amazing thing when you go through that building,” IU coach Tom Crean said at a press conference Friday. “It is going to be such a positive for so many people, whether you have been a fan for a long time, whether you are a new fan and certainly for recruits.”From its two full-sized practice courts and the locker room suites to the strength-and-conditioning center and the athletic training room, Cook Hall will play an important role for both men’s and women’s basketball teams.The new facility will also serve as quite the special place for IU diehards and many others who set foot into Pfau Shine Legacy Court — a shrine celebrating the almost-unmatched IU basketball tradition.From the national championship trophies and other artifacts to the interactive display screens and database, it is likely to impress most who have the opportunity to see it up close.“For a historian, it is unreal, and for a true fan they are going to be blown away,” Crean said. “But I want the casual observer to come in and say ‘Wow, I have to see that again.’”Cook Hall, however, is intended to leave its greatest mark on Hoosier prospects.“We have only had a few players come up and see it at this point because of the tournaments that have gone on, and we had some dead periods,” Crean said. “But when they see it, they are going to be blown away.”As long as it stands, Assembly Hall will remain a unique building representing past IU basketball accomplishments.But together with the new Cook Hall, there is now hope that it will again be a place that houses a perennial college basketball power. “It is a complex now,” Crean said. “It is a basketball complex with Assembly Hall and Cook Hall and then when the Academic Center gets done, it is going to be the largest academic center in the country.”
(04/23/10 2:32am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>In less than two days, IU lost two of its top recruiting targets, forwards Cody Larson and Will Yeguete, to Florida.While IU is still in pursuit of an additional big man for the 2010 recruiting class, it has an opportunity to add a former four-star guard in the coming weeks — as a walk-on.In 2008, Rivals.com rated Walter Offutt the No. 99 recruit in the nation, one spot ahead of then-IU signee Terrell Holloway. The Indianapolis native enrolled at Ohio State in 2008, nearly three years after giving an oral commitment to the Buckeyes.After recovering from knee surgery, Offutt had an uneventful freshman campaign and expected to receive more playing time in his second year in Columbus, Ohio.But Offutt found himself playing behind “four great guards” in Evan Turner, Jon Diebler, William Buford and David Lighty. To make matters worse, OSU coach Thad Matta rarely relied on his bench.“If I would have went anywhere else, I probably would have been playing,” Offutt said Thursday.Offutt did go somewhere else, and that was nearby Wright State. But after coach Brad Brownell took the job at Clemson, the Warren Central grad is back on the move and looking for a new home.It might be with former OSU assistant and lead recruiter John Groce, now at Ohio University. Or, it could be 45 minutes from his Indianapolis home, in Bloomington.“It just got public not too long ago that I was leaving, so possibly more schools might contact me,” Offutt said. “But as of right now, it’s between Ohio and Indiana.”Having already played in the Big Ten, should Offutt opt to enroll at IU, he would join the Hoosiers as a non-scholarship player.The 6-foot-3, 190-pound combo guard said he has been talking with IU coach Tom Crean for a couple of weeks and is trying to make it to campus with his mother to discuss the specifics of a potential transfer to IU.Offutt said he is “very familiar” with the school — he has many friends at IU; he played AAU ball with sophomore guards Matt Roth and Kory Barnett; and he knows the team’s academic adviser, Marni Mooney, who was previously at Warren Central.He also followed IU basketball when Bob Knight was the head coach, he said.The former Buckeye said the Big Ten is a “defensive-minded league” and it is “tough-minded individually.” Offutt possesses those qualities and has a strong work ethic, he said.After all, upon signing with OSU, Matta called him a “tough combo guard” and expected Offutt to be “an outstanding defender.”Offutt plans to finish the spring quarter at Wright State and anticipates having two years of eligibility left when all is said and done. However, he is unsure about whether he will be immediately eligible due to his second transfer.Regardless, the one-time Mike Davis recruit said he hopes to make his decision by the first week of May.While Offutt had a number of good things to say about Groce, he does have one major concern — the potential for the Bobcats’ coach to land another job.“I know he’s probably not leaving this year, but the possibility that he may leave the next year or the next year after that — I don’t really want to be in a position where I’m stuck like I am now,” he said. “It’s going to contribute to my decision on where I pick.”Perhaps this already had made an impact, as Offutt said he “might be a Hoosier” if things fall into the right place.“I don’t know quite yet, but we’ll see,” he said. “I’m leaning towards Indiana as of right now.”
(04/21/10 11:49pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>While many fans are still holding out hope that IU might land another high-caliber recruit for next fall, one major offseason question was answered Wednesday.Confirming speculation from early this week, Steve McClain, former Colorado associate head basketball coach, has been hired to fill the vacant assistant coaching position on Tom Crean’s staff.“It means a lot to me to be able to bring in someone with the knowledge, experience and aggressiveness of Steve McClain,” Crean said in a press release Wednesday afternoon.The 47-year-old McClain spent three seasons as an assistant for the Buffaloes after serving as head coach at the University of Wyoming from 1998-2007.McClain was a favorite among many of the Colorado players and fans to land the head coaching job after Jeff Bzdelik was hired by Wake Forest. The Buffaloes instead opted to hire Northern Colorado’s Tad Boyle.During McClain’s nine-year tenure at Wyoming, the Cowboys went 155-117, including two Mountain West Conference championships and a trip to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2002.In 1999, McClain brought the Cowboys to Assembly Hall, losing to the Hoosiers 99-80 in Bob Knight’s final season at IU.Prior to his Wyoming days, the Orient, Iowa, native served as an assistant at Texas A&M and TCU. His coaching career began at the junior college level, where he quickly established a strong name for himself.He was named National Junior College Coach of the Year in 1994.Though McClain has spent his entire coaching career a number of miles from Bloomington, he realizes the significance of basketball in Indiana and is looking forward to coaching at IU.“I am excited to have the chance to walk into a building with five banners and be a part of a program that believes that what is on the front of the chest means much more than what is on the back of the jersey,” McClain said. “That is what college basketball is all about.”McClain will join current assistants Bennie Seltzer and Tim Buckley, taking over for Roshown McLeod, who was dismissed by Crean in early March.On Tuesday, McLeod was named the head coach at St. Benedict’s Prep in his home state of New Jersey. In an interview with The Star-Ledger, the former IU assistant said he and Crean “saw the game of basketball differently.”IU’s head coach and newest assistant, however, appear to share the same beliefs.“Our philosophies are exactly on the same page in terms of how you ought to play and the toughness it takes to win a championship,” McClain said. “Whether it’s what you do in the office or what you do on the court that day, how you go about things determines how quickly you can reach that goal.”McClain’s hiring comes at a critical time, as the Hoosiers are trying to address recruiting needs during the current late signing period.Crean said McClain “brings a toughness” to the IU program, which he feels can pay off on the recruiting trail.Even with McClain now in the fold, Crean still has another opening to fill as director of operations Brian Barone will be leaving to take a position at Wisconsin-Green Bay.Wisconsin-Green Bay is now coached by Brian Wardle, Barone’s former teammate under Crean at Marquette.
(03/12/10 4:19am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU closed its 2009-2010 campaign on Thursday.It was a year in which IU improved by four games and completed its second season under coach Tom Crean with a 10-21 record.There were highs and there were lows. But with each game, inch by inch, the team made progress.Freshman forward Derek Elston spoke about the players beginning the year as individuals but subsequently coming together as a team.Fellow freshman forward Christian Watford added that both individuals and IU as a whole improved during the course of the year.Following the 73-58 loss to Northwestern on Thursday, Crean spoke like the Hoosiers have another game on the horizon.“We’ve just got to continue to build our will on both ends of the court,” Crean said.There won’t be another contest for IU until November.But as one season comes to a close, another begins.Both Watford and sophomore guard Verdell Jones talked about adding weight, as well as focusing on other individual aspects of their respective games.Crean, meanwhile, will continue to provide instruction and eventually hire a replacement for recently dismissed assistant Roshown McLeod. But he will also hit the recruiting trail hard.“We’re not anywhere close to being done recruiting, and that will pick up again tomorrow in a big way,” Crean said of Friday’s potential trips to scout high school talent.Just like player development, recruiting is a process that spans the length of the calendar year.Certainly the other big-name coaches will also be hot on the trail throughout the rest of March and certainly into April and the late signing period.But Thursday’s end to the season marks a vital opportunity for Crean and his staff to log a number of miles, covering the entire Hoosier state, while also venturing out to a number of areas beyond state boundaries.He’ll probably be up east, down in Florida and in a plethora of other gyms throughout the country, continuing to try to outwork many of his peers in order to help get the IU program back on its feet.“There’s a lot of good young players that we’re recruiting that we want, and we’ve got to make sure that we get those,” he said.Crean stressed making sure his current players continue to get “stronger, bigger, better, more athletic.” He also spoke of the benefits of bringing injured guards Matt Roth and Maurice Creek back into the equation.But Crean also knows that nothing will come easy for him and his staff, even 23 months on the job.The second, going on third-year IU coach needed to field a team before he could actually rebuild the Hoosier program, he said.That was two years ago, and this past year Crean was able to capitalize on and sign guys with whom he had already built relationships while at Marquette — players such as Watford and Creek.But still needing to round out the 2010 class, while continuing to seek out the younger talent, has become a balancing act, Crean said.He has to address the short-term and also make sure the program doesn’t take any steps backward when his current players eventually graduate.A Tom Crean team can never have too many good guards, but the coach didn’t need to be probed for him to recognize the need for a big man.“We also need somebody that’s better at getting in the lane,” Crean said. “We need somebody that can get in the lane and create havoc; that can get into that paint and make decisions to get the ball to shooters.”Although the current Hoosiers are continuing to improve, the period between years two and three provides an opportunity for the players to make more serious strides.It’s also a chance — but really a necessity — for Crean to address future needs.The 2010 class has its share of talent, but 2011 and 2012 will be more critical with players leaving and even more talented high school stars emerging. With two almost default years of rebuilding in the books, one can more fairly assess the progress being made by Crean and the Hoosiers next season.Therefore, this offseason serves as a critical time for the Hoosiers to build for the future.Say hello to the 2010-2011 campaign, because it has already begun.
(03/11/10 2:58am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Twenty losses: see ya. A 4-14 conference record and 1-11 finish to the regular season: gone. An eight-point Saturday victory against today’s opponent: You can probably forget about that as well.IU’s body of work over the last nine weeks secured them the No. 10 seed in an 11-team conference tournament. It wasn’t a pretty season and certainly IU is not expected to make many waves up the road in Indianapolis.But a 30-game season ended last weekend and a new one begins today for the Hoosiers.The Big Ten Tournament bracket has the Hoosiers labeled with a big “10,” but team’s individual records don’t matter at this point.IU has a clean slate — a 0-0 record, if you will.When the Hoosiers tip off late this afternoon at Conseco Fieldhouse, the team will be starting the first of a potential four-game run towards a bid into the NCAA Tournament.While significantly easier said than done, anything is possible.Just look at Georgia in 2008, a team that was 4-12 in the Southeastern Conference and 13-16 overall, yet completed an improbable run to grab the SEC’s automatic bid into the big dance.Although the IU players might have a similar run on their minds, more than anything, the Big Ten Tournament presents the team with a chance to build off its recent 88-80 overtime victory against Northwestern.It presents a chance to show this team is continuing to get better and work hard to improve each day.IU coach Tom Crean wasn’t certain how much momentum his team actually had riding on a one-game winning streak that was preceded by 11 consecutive losses. At the same time, his approach to today’s game wasn’t any different than the strategies he used with his best Marquette teams.“It wouldn’t make a difference whether we’re the first seed or not, you’re going to do everything you can do give your team every avenue to be successful in your preparation,” he said. Due to its practice schedule the previous week, IU was forced to take two days off this week — the team opted for Sunday and Tuesday.Sophomore guard Verdell Jones said the team has been “really focused,” and the players still came into Assembly Hall to prepare for the Northwestern game.Unlike some of his teammates, Jones knows the pressure of playing well when one loss will send the Hoosiers back down State Road 37.“I know we’ve said that in the past, in previous games, but in the postseason everybody’s trying to play to get a berth to the NCAA Tournament,” Jones said. “You’ve got to play your best no matter what.”On Saturday, IU played the best it had in more than a month, but even that means only so much.Whereas the Hoosiers have tweaked its strategy following the recent win against Northwestern, the Wildcats have also corrected their mistakes and are looking for ways to disrupt Crean’s game plan.After all, Northwestern’s slate is clean as well, and they, too, have a lot at stake.Its no different for any other team at conference tournament time, whether they’re in the Big Ten, the Big East, the Big Sky or the Big West.All that will be on display today and throughout the rest of the week in Indianapolis. But it isn’t about which team is seeded what or which players were all-conference selections.“The postseason is a whole new season,” Jones said.
(03/08/10 5:12am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Saturday afternoon at Assembly Hall, Tom Crean’s wolf pack grew by three.It was a day honoring four seniors. It was a day in which IU’s one-two punch of sophomore guard Verdell Jones and freshman forward Christian Watford combined for 38 points and 16 rebounds.But it was also a day in which three other freshmen — guard Jordan Hulls and forwards Derek Elston and Bobby Capobianco — emerged as the other pieces that could eventually help turn around the IU basketball program.Crean already had a nice foundation set in Jones, Watford and injured freshman guard Maurice Creek.But if the trio of Hulls, Elston and Capobianco continue to play at the level they did on Saturday, the future is looking much brighter for the Hoosiers.Sure it was just one game, and certainly they could be eliminated in the first round of this week’s Big Ten Tournament. But collectively, IU’s young talent, maybe for the first time since the Pittsburgh win, truly lived up to its previous billing as “The Next Generation.”It was largely the joint effort of those four freshmen and one sophomore that won the game — especially down the stretch — scoring 81 of the team’s 88 points.Despite a blown eight-point lead to end regulation, those five outscored Northwestern 19-11 in the extra period.Crean was certainly pleased with the play from that group, but he didn’t dwell much on it either.“It hit me once when I looked out there on the defensive end, and I knew we had four freshmen and a sophomore, but other than that I didn’t think about it,” IU coach Tom Crean said. “I was just looking at a basketball team.”We saw that, too.A year ago, IU was essentially just a group of guys thrown together by Crean and his coaching staff. Throughout much of this season, especially of late, the Hoosiers hardly looked much different.Despite the occasional standout individual performances in recent weeks, the Hoosiers finally played and won like a team. That’s a huge positive move forward.It once seemed that the Hoosiers had no other direction to go but up. Then came the 11 straight losses, and it appeared that the Hoosiers were headed the other way.There was never much doubt about Crean’s vision for this program, but watching IU play, it was often hard to believe his players shared a similar passion and sense of urgency.But following another big loss Wednesday, the team made some changes.Crean started Jones at the point and pushed junior guard Jeremiah Rivers into a more limited role off the bench. He also played Watford more at the small forward position.So while it might be but a single victory and only the team’s 10th all year, it shows how much stronger this team is having experienced great adversity.It also shows what happens when a talented group of young players keep fighting.Hulls and Elston, a pair of in-state recruits, were especially sharp.Hulls, who went for a team-high and a personal career-high 24 points, hit 8-of-12 from outside. This included back-to-back triples after IU fell behind 54-51, as well as a big trey early in overtime.Elston, meanwhile, posted a career-high 17 points, including eight in the first half and seven in overtime. He added eight rebounds, one game after a 13-point, seven-rebound effort Wednesday.“They’re going to have a hand in turning the program,” Crean said. “You want to have program-turners, not just program guys. We’re really fortunate to have them.”The other less-heralded freshman who made significant contributions was Capobianco. Though his stats might not show it, he’s been one of the more consistent Hoosiers of late.Despite only eight points, the freshman big man scored six in overtime, had 7 rebounds and continues to defend well inside. Capobianco was also 4-of-5 from the free-throw line, after he was previously 6-of-17 from the stripe.Just as Rome wasn’t built in a day, IU won’t be rebuilt on five-star recruits — at least not for now.If Saturday’s win was a glimpse into the future, it looks like a bright one.“It’s great. It gave us confidence. We’ll be ready for next year,” Watford said. “But first we’re going to be ready for the Big Ten Tournament coming up.”
(03/05/10 3:50am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>When I stepped onto campus Aug. 23, 2006, I joined a number of first-year students at IU that included basketball players Armon Bassett and Xavier Keeling. Bassett, Keeling and then-freshman forward Joey Shaw could have been playing their final games at Assembly Hall on Saturday, but each is far-removed from Bloomington. Bassett is at Ohio University, by way of UAB, where the Terre Haute native spent a semester with former IU coach Mike Davis before leaving the team. He was a starting guard for two years at IU. Keeling, also a Davis recruit, stayed at IU for just a season. He then went to Wallace State Community College before resurfacing at Detroit with former IU assistant Ray McCallum. Shaw, meanwhile, spent two years at IU, played a season at the College of Southern Idaho and will play his final home game with Nevada on Saturday after two years with the Wolfpack. But instead of that trio of one-time Hoosiers, Saturday will mark the final home games for seniors Tijan Jobe, Devan Dumes and Steven Gambles — a trio equally as well-traveled. Junior Brett Finkelmeier, a senior by academic standards and the longest-tenured player on the IU roster, will also be honored as he, too, suits up at Assembly Hall for the final time. The IU basketball program obviously looks nothing like it did when I got here four years ago in conjunction with Kelvin Sampsons’s arrival. Despite a brief stint as interim coach by Dan Dakich, the first two years of basketball I witnessed are best defined as the “Sampson Era.” It had its ups and serious downs. The most appropriate name for the first two years of Tom Crean’s tenure at IU, meanwhile, is what I call the “Tijan Jobe Era.” With the second-year Hoosier center preparing to take Branch McCracken Court for the final time Saturday, we can look back on the 15 points, 31 rebounds, 6 blocks and 34 fouls he recorded in his first 42 career games. Certainly there’s no forgetting the 7-foot, 250-pound center from The Gambia leading a 1-3-1 pressure defense at home against Minnesota last January. But when it’s all said and done — no matter how bittersweet Jobe’s farewell might be for some IU fans — this was a player whose work ethic and growth only helped the Hoosiers so much. I interviewed Jobe in May 2008 after his commitment, and he was fresh off a four-mile run. Several times during the last two school years, I spotted him running across campus. But unfortunately for him and his teammates — regardless of the vast improvement from last season to this season and his great work ethic — his basketball skills never allowed him to impact the team during actual competition. Jobe was simply a body and a number for the Hoosiers and has essentially served as the poster child of the rebuilding project that is IU basketball. Having Jobe and Dumes on the team these past two seasons — as opposed to desperately filling the 2008 class with seven freshmen — opens up two scholarships for next year’s season. Next year’s recruits — Will Sheehey and Victor Oladipo, with likely another one or two when it’s all said and done — probably won’t be instant impact players. But they are both Crean recruits that will better fit his system and style of play. As each develops, as does the team, IU will be that much closer to returning to winning days. Saturday ends the second of two brutal seasons at Assembly Hall, as well as the careers of the four seniors. While the class of Jobe, Dumes, Finkelmeier and Gambles might not excite even the biggest Kyle Taber fan, each of the four deserves a large ovation from IU fans Saturday. Each made his impact — whether it was Dumes leading the team in scoring and being willing to take big shots a year ago or the other three who saw limited playing action but were high-character guys who worked extremely hard as Hoosiers. All four were, in their own rights, important to the program. So while the Tijan Jobe era might be coming to a close, look for the real Tom Crean era to finally get underway next season.
(03/04/10 5:31am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>It was Senior Night at Mackey Arena on Wednesday, and Tom Crean’s Hoosiers essentially served as a prop in Purdue’s festivities.The Purdue fans bid their farewells to seniors Chris Kramer, Keaton Grant and some guy named Mark Wahlford. The Hoosiers, meanwhile, said hello to their second consecutive 20-loss season in the 74-55 defeat. With the Vegas line reportedly at 19.5, IU was victorious in that regard. But that marks the closest the team has been to a win since the three-point loss to Purdue on Feb. 4.The Hoosiers have averaged just more than 55 points scored per game in the eight losses since, while the team’s defense has also been a problem throughout the 11-game losing streak.Overmatched by Purdue, IU played from behind the entire 40 minutes — save for a brief 2-2 tie — a familiar tale for the Hoosiers.There were a number of bright spots offensively at times, but it was quite evident how hard IU had to work to score its points. Purdue, meanwhile, made easy baskets all game.The Hoosiers have a number of players that would fit right onto Matt Painter’s roster, but IU lacks anything close to Purdue juniors E’Twaun Moore and JaJuan Johnson. The do-it-all guard Moore — a student in Purdue’s College of Technology — was all business Wednesday, going for 21 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 assists.Johnson, meanwhile, caused problems on both sides of the ball. He got to the free-throw line eight times, hitting 10-of-15 on his way to 14 points, adding to 7 rebounds and 4 blocked shots.Add in 18 points from Kramer, as well as quality role play from the rest of the Boilermakers, and that created much of IU’s troubles.Still, the Hoosiers internally struggled to stay competitive with their 17 turnovers, just five attempted free throws, four players in foul trouble and another troubled offensive effort.IU made little effort to get to the foul line, often times thwarted by the logjams in the middle of the paint. While a number of the team’s actual penetration efforts were misguided, junior guard Jeremiah Rivers and company should be attacking the hoop.Certainly Rivers continues to badly miss some layups at times, but there were a number of opportunities — some taken, others not — in which the Hoosiers had the ability to get the basket and did not. Developing an effective penetration game opens up the offense, even if the team is missing its best outside shooters and, thus, struggles to spread the floor.Outside of freshman forward Christian Watford — who lost his offensive battle against the 6-foot-3 Kramer — the Hoosiers were solid in going to the rim throughout the game.Freshman forward Derek Elston made the most of his opportunities on the court with a 13-point, 7-rebound effort. Probably more than any Hoosier, the Tipton, Ind., native played aggressively and showed he truly wanted to be on the court.But, as always, a slow start and poor decisions plagued IU. In the first nine-and-a-half minutes, the Hoosiers had eight turnovers, shot a decent 5-of-12 from the floor, but allowed Purdue to hit 10-of-15 in that same period. Purdue had no troubles handling IU without star forward Robbie Hummel. The Hoosiers, on the other hand, seem to be badly missing its injured star, as IU continues to lack a serious offensive weapon without freshman guard Maurice Creek. Perhaps it doesn’t matter how it happened, though. At the end of the night, IU was simply pounded again by a Big Ten foe.
(03/03/10 4:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The story goes that it once rained for 40 days and 40 nights. But it’s been 41 days since IU’s last victory, as one-by-one the Hoosiers have been hit by a storm of losses ever since the Jan. 21 victory at Penn State. The 10-game losing streak began against Iowa on Jan. 24, but the Hoosiers’ season truly began to unravel after a 78-75 loss to Purdue on Feb. 4. IU has since lost each of its seven games by double figures, with an average margin of defeat of 20 points during that span.At this point, something must change. It doesn’t have to be dramatic, but IU coach Tom Crean should be approaching these final games a bit differently. Crean spoke about the team’s narrow margin for error Tuesday, adding that, as the program’s coach and leader, he needs to focus on what is going right for his team, not what the Hoosiers have done poorly. IU did well in pressuring the ball and attacking the basket Sunday in Iowa City, Iowa – but that came only in the closing minute, with the game long out of reach. Whatever the Hoosiers’ game plan was on Feb. 4 versus Purdue, it seemed to work. But regardless of whether the Boilermakers had forward Robbie Hummel in the lineup, that same approach probably isn’t going to work at Mackey Arena.Not the way IU has been playing. Not the way Purdue has been playing. IU is getting outplayed early and the players have shown they hardly have enough in them to compete after the break. Rather than calling a timeout and making adjustments at the first sign of a Purdue run tonight, Crean should instead try setting the tone early defensively — going back to the full-court press. Crean has credited the Boilermakers for their “relentless” pressure on both sides of the ball. Purdue has one of the better defenses in the Big Ten and its offense thrives off of it. “They score so much off of their defense, a lot more than they get credit for,” Crean said. Anyone who watched IU’s 73-57 loss to Iowa three days ago saw first-hand how the Hoosiers’ late-game pressure defense not only troubled Iowa but also gave the IU offense a boost. As freshman guard Jordan Hulls said Tuesday, IU needs its defense to “create energy” for the team. Against a bigger, more talented and more experienced Purdue team — even without Hummel — IU has to be the attacker and not let the Boilermakers control the game’s tempo. Crean has rarely turned to a full-court press, but it isn’t going to cause any harm testing it tonight in West Lafayette. IU is not a solid defensive team and could use a new identity. While rushing offensively has plagued the Hoosiers in recent games, speeding things up on defense might be worth a shot. Crean has talked about short-term evaluation but is also “evaluating for the long-term.” So while on the subject of making changes – even if temporary and experimental – can the Hoosier faithful get a higher dosage of Bawa? Freshman center Bawa Muniru has played just 58 minutes, but seven of those came in the nail-biting losses to Illinois and Purdue.If Crean trusted the Ghana native in those more critical situations, surely it’s time for him to think long-term and get the 6-foot-11 big man on the court. He can only get better with more playing time. So what do you say, coach?Cohen’s prediction — Purdue 67 — IU 55
(03/01/10 5:46am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>On Saturday, IU coach Tom Crean told members of the media that “statistics accuse; the film convicts.”Following the Wisconsin loss, the team went through a film session in which individual players were asked to call out their own mistakes.Crean might have his team do the same following IU’s 73-57 loss at Iowa, but this team seems guilty until proven innocent.The Hoosiers can look through the film all they want, but seeing the game and taking a glance at the final numbers is sufficient in explaining the team’s 10th consecutive loss.IU shot a respectable 18-of-40 from the floor (45 percent), but the team hit five of its last seven and scored 17 of its 57 points in the final three-and-a-half minutes of the game.Prior to that, IU shot 13-of-33, which is roughly one field goal made every 2 minutes 48 seconds.Down by 21 at the final media timeout, IU went on a 16-5 run, before 8 free throws by Iowa’s Cully Payne helped justify the final score.Crean’s Hoosiers showed defensive tenacity via a full court press, as well as a great ability to get the basket. But that type of effort was hardly anywhere to be found for the first 36-plus minutes. On Feb. 16, Michigan State coach Tom Izzo unintentionally gave IU a backhanded compliment in saying he had never seen a team work harder during warm-ups.That’s essentially the same pat on the back we can give the Hoosiers for their late game effort after getting pounded for most of the night behind by 21 points at Hawkeye-Carver Arena.Crean also spoke Saturday about stopping opponents from getting scoring streaks to break open games. While Iowa started up 17-4, and later added a 13-3 run early in the second half, IU was by far its own worst enemy.Two minutes and 40 seconds into the game, sophomore guard Verdell Jones sank a pair of free throws to tie the contest at 4-4.The Hoosiers didn’t score again until the 9:08 mark in the first half, shooting 1-of-9 from the floor and committing 9 turnovers in the first 11:51 of the game.You don’t win games if you can’t hit shots. The turnovers didn’t help either, but Iowa did manage to beat IU 58-43 in January despite 21 miscues.Iowa came into the Sunday contest as the lowest scoring squad in the Big Ten (61.4 points per game),whereas IU was allowing more points than any team in the league (70.9).Something had to give, and that was IU.With a Penn State win Sunday — its third in four contests — the Hoosiers are now tied with the Nittany Lions in the basement of the Big Ten.IU has rights to the No. 10 seed in the case of a tie with Penn State, due to its win in State College in January. But not even that — getting a more favorable match-up in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament — would be a win for IU if both schools close the season without another win.Maybe the Hawkeyes aren’t as bad as we thought they might be, but that doesn’t make IU look any better.After the game, Crean seemed pleased with the fight from his team. But as we have seen all year, even if the Hoosiers fight, it only means so much if the team cannot shoot or be smart with the ball.Surely this wasn’t the worst IU has played, but a loss is still a loss — especially when it’s a team’s 10th in a row.
(02/26/10 6:36am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Three used to be the magic number.Then there was IU coach Tom Crean.While the Big Ten Network has aired a montage of basketball highlights to the sounds of De La Soul’s “Magic Number” track throughout this year, it was the No. 2 that took on a special meaning at Thursday night’s Big Ten contest in Assembly Hall.The Hoosiers got clobbered by another upper-tier Big Ten team Thursday night. IU lost by 32, for those who decided to actually keep score.But it was a pair of second-half technical fouls by the second-year IU coach — separated by 29 seconds — that made the difference last night.“That was the highlight of my season, right there — Tom Crean getting kicked out,” I overheard a Big Red Basketball Band member in passing, just moments after the game.Midway through the second half, the remaining fans — all, I don’t know, 8,000 of them — were pound-for-pound the rowdiest we’ve seen them since the Kentucky game.Sure, they were fired up for Purdue a couple weeks back. Certainly we won’t forget the time IU beat Minnesota and 50 or so students had the brilliant idea to rush the court.Yet it was at 9:53 in the second half, with the score at 58-33 in favor of Wisconsin, when the IU faithful finally got their money’s worth amid another blowout.It was at that moment Crean got tossed after his second “T.” He didn’t even stay long enough for the under-eight timeout flags.Assistant coach Tim Buckley had to hold back Crean before he screamed and shouted his way through the northeast tunnel and into the IU locker room — a good show for the fans.“It happened,” Crean said after the game. “I don’t really know what else to say.”Well, I’ll fill in the blanks.Clearly he did it to fire up his players and send a message.“He was definitely trying to make a point, and he doesn’t need to do it like that anymore,” freshman forward Derek Elston said.After the Minnesota game, Crean talked about the difference between hope and belief. He said he didn’t hope the program was coming back, he believed it. More so, he believes in his guys.If some of the Hoosiers aren’t willing to fight, we saw firsthand that Crean is.In what might seem like a weird way of going about it, Crean proved he’s literally willing to take one — or two — for the team.Elston, the lone Hoosier in double figures, said when the second technical was called, he knew Crean was taking things seriously.“He doesn’t want to get pushed around in this league, and neither do we,” Elston said. “After that happened, we kind of all were like, ‘We need to start taking this personally.’”It was a good move by Crean, and it did appear to inspire the Hoosiers in a somewhat chaotic finish to the game.IU was outscored 20-13 the rest of the way, but either way, it changed what was happening in Assembly Hall — even if the team’s losing ways didn’t.The final score hardly differed from some of the results we’ve seen of late, but the script changed. Crean once said referees wouldn’t “tee” him up, even when he tried getting one last year.It was about time something like this happened.As the team changes pace from a brutal stretch against the Big Ten’s best against Iowa on the road this Sunday, we’ll see how this team responds.The fans got, in part, maybe what they wanted from Crean. After all, it was probably the first time we’ve heard a “Tom Crean” chant from the students since Hoosier Hysteria.IU has now lost nine in a row, but for the fans, at least there’s finally something positive to talk about.
(02/25/10 5:46am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>I have nothing personal against Tom Luicci. As a sports writer for one of the nation’s largest newspapers, he’s a better and more accomplished journalist than I will ever be.But The Star-Ledger (N.J.) reporter deserves a big, Ochocinco-style “child please.”On Monday, Luicci, who appears to work primarily on the Rutgers football beat, wrote, “speculation is growing about how much longer Tom Crean will last at Indiana.”Rutgers basketball coach Fred Hill is squarely on the hot seat, but the New Jersey reporter is discussing Crean’s job security?I might as well be working on a story about the Jersey Shore club scene. Let’s get real.Many of you are probably upset with how the Hoosiers are playing, especially of late. You might be frustrated with the players. You might be frustrated with Crean.But if anyone expected a quick fix in Crean’s attempt to right the S.S. Hoosier ship through these “uncharted waters,” then you’ve gone off the deep end.There are a number of areas in which little progress seems to have been made since last season. That’s understandably frustrating and so is the lack of heart witnessed in some recent contests.However, this team was never supposed to win many games. Even a .500 record would have been a long shot with a healthy Maurice Creek and Matt Roth. If IU doesn’t reach that 15-win plateau next year, then there might be significant reason for concern. But this program is moving forward, even if at the pace of a DeAndre Thomas marathon run.Tom Izzo, Crean’s mentor and Michigan State’s coach since 1995, saw firsthand what happened to Michigan (loans made to players by a booster) and Minnesota (academic fraud) during the ’90s.The Wolverines really haven’t recovered, while the Gophers appear to be turning the corner — a decade later.“When there are major, catastrophic issues — whether it be academic problems or violations, or whatever they are — it really decimates a program and it doesn’t just bounce back like that,” Izzo said.“Just look at those other programs. Sometimes it lasts for a long, long time,” he said. He added that Crean will “get it built and done, and a lot faster.” Even if Izzo’s words hold to be true, “faster” still won’t be fast enough for most Hoosier fans. Nevertheless, there must be patience.Until the NBA changes its draft rules, many college basketball fans will continue to be infatuated with one-and-done stars and other instant “solutions.”But it does not take five-star recruits to build Final Four-caliber teams if a coach can recruit the right players and then develop them.The current crop of freshmen is Crean’s first real recruiting class at IU, and it might be another couple of years before he’ll have a fair shot at grabbing the nation’s best prospects.Often times, however, the beauty in college basketball comes in witnessing players grow from freshman to senior year.As a kid, I watched Kenyon Martin average 2.8 points per game as a freshman for Cincinnati. Three years later, Martin was the national player of the year and the 2000 NBA Draft’s No. 1 overall selection. Crean might not have any future NBA players, or even All-Americans, on this year’s squad. But if sophomore guard Verdell Jones, freshman forward Christian Watford and the aforementioned Creek are all back and healthy next season, then the foundation has already been set. Give these Hoosiers their full four years with strength and conditioning coach Jeff Watkinson, and they could be scary good. Like Dick Vitale name-dropping Mike Krzyzewski on a non-Duke broadcast, a turnaround of the IU program will take time but nevertheless should happen. IU is 15-42 under Crean and there’s no guarantee IU will win tonight or even at all the remainder of this season. But Crean isn’t going anywhere, and he’s doing everything in his power to bring Hoosier basketball back. There’s no point in speculating if he is still “the guy” for the IU job, because if he’s not, tell me someone who is and explain why many big-name coaches balked at the position two years ago.IU should be fine. But like it or not, you’ve just got to give Crean and the program some time.
(02/22/10 4:55am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>In IU’s three conference wins, senior Devan Dumes scored 11, 13 and 15 points. He scored 10 when IU lost to Illinois by six points on Jan. 9. He had 11 at Illinois on Jan. 30 and 11 against Purdue on Feb. 4 — a pair of games each decided by one possession. Last weekend, the Hoosier team suffered its biggest loss of the season with Dumes out with an illness.Dumes has had his ups and downs with IU the last two seasons, often shown by his shot selection. But to say he hasn’t been a key player for IU, at least during the Big Ten season, would be wrong.Love him or hate him, Dumes has grown and is showing that with his recent ability to drive. He’ll keep firing up some deep 3-pointers, but with a team that has had a limited number of go-to guys on offense during the last two seasons, he deserves some credit. In IU’s 23-point loss Saturday, Dumes missed 11 shots. But he hit six of them, including a 4-of-9 performance from beyond the arc, on the way to scoring 20 of the team’s 58 points. The starters, meanwhile, combined for 31 points on just 10-of-35 shooting from the floor. Still, Dumes’ efforts Saturday might be almost trivial. Similar to the tree falling in the forest dilemma, if a player scores 20 points off the bench in a 23-point loss, does it really matter? The Hoosiers best efforts came from Dumes and junior Jeremiah Rivers — the two IU players most ridiculed this season for their offensive decision making. Rivers complemented Dumes’ 20 points with 10 of his own on 4-of-6 shooting.It wasn’t the Hoosiers’ worst game by any means. The Golden Gophers have a long-shot NCAA Tournament bid and they certainly played like a team with more on the line. IU got abused in the paint again, however, getting outscored 38-16. The Hoosiers have now been dominated in the paint 110-50 during the last three contests. “We have to do a better job of really getting up into people, and at the same time we have to hold our own and guard the dribble better,” IU coach Tom Crean said “We gave up too much penetration and we gave up too many shots.”As a result, Minnesota hit 55.4 percent of its shots. Certainly, as in the case of Gopher center Ralph Sampson’s hook shot late in the first half, some attempts were well defended but still went down.Similarly, IU had a number of good looks, but couldn’t get them all to fall. At the same time, the Hoosiers continue to get blocked more than Rudy Ruettiger during a Notre Dame football practice.IU has had 31 of its 250 shot attempts blocked in the last five games, or 12.4 percent of them. The Gophers, the Big Ten’s best shot-blocking team, swatted the Hoosiers seven times on Saturday. IU continues to get beat on both ends of the floor. While it is often a result of stronger opponents, the Hoosier team isn’t doing itself any favors.
(02/19/10 5:46am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Tom, Derek, Bobby — it’s time to step up. Other than freshman forward Christian Watford, there has been little to no consistency from the members of IU’s front line.Each of IU’s “bodies” has had his moments, but collectively there has been limited production from the Hoosiers playing opposite of Watford at the “5.”Against Michigan State on Tuesday, IU’s four big men outside of Watford combined for five rebounds in 48 minutes of action. Junior guard Jeremiah Rivers, meanwhile, had 6 boards alone in his 28 minutes. That must change for IU if it wants to go on the road and complete the season sweep of Minnesota. In the narrow overtime defeat of the Golden Gophers at Assembly Hall on Jan. 17, it was the Verdell Jones show down the stretch. The sophomore guard scored 13 of the Hoosiers’ last 18 points, including a number of big shots and key free throws.Aside from the 24 points from Jones, IU got a tremendous boost from its post players. Watford had an impressive stat line in 16 points and 10 rebounds. But more significantly, the Hoosiers’ three other big men combined for 17 points and 15 rebounds. Sophomore forward Tom Pritchard scored 7 points, while freshmen forwards Derek Elston and Bobby Capobianco had 5 apiece. But the key number was their combined 15 boards. Despite 19 points from Minnesota’s centers — 17 from sophomore Ralph Sampson — the Gophers’ two tallest players grabbed only 6 rebounds. “We would have never won the game without rebounding,” IU coach Tom Crean said after the game. Minnesota coach Tubby Smith saw it, too. “I thought all day, Indiana did a great job of working hard and getting on the boards,” Smith said. “That’s where the game was won. They really did a great job of attacking the glass.” In the eight games since the Minnesota win — seven of which have gone in the loss column — IU has played as many as five different forwards or centers alongside Watford. Not once in that span has that group of Pritchard, Capobianco, Elston, senior Tijan Jobe and freshman Bawa Muniru pulled in more than 13 total rebounds. Pritchard continues to be the most curious case of the big men, having averaged 9.7 points and 6.4 rebounds a year ago but just 4.7 points and 3.7 rebounds to date. He played the half of his life on Feb. 4 versus Purdue, scoring 13 points and bringing in 3 rebounds in just 19 minutes. But in the 100 minutes of playing time since, encompassing his 17 second-half minutes and IU’s four most recent games, Big Tom has gone for a meager 14 points and 10 rebounds.With Minnesota guard Al Nolen academically ineligible, that’s one less guard to key on for the Hoosiers. Therefore, Smith’s game plan will likely run through the post even more than it did in January’s contest at Assembly Hall. Whereas Watford continues to be reliable at the 4, Crean and the Hoosiers will need more help from Pritchard and his teammates at the 5. Certainly the Gophers will focus heavily on Jones, so elevated post play will be critical for the Hoosiers if the team hopes to emerge victorious on Saturday. “Playing through contact, being physical, being on the glass, being willing to take shots, being willing to get fouled — those are all a big part of it for us,” Crean said after beating Minnesota in January.Those same factors will be in play at The Barn this weekend. So, Tom, Derek and Bobby, let’s see what you’ve got.Cohen's prediction: Minnesota 70 - IU 63
(02/17/10 5:06am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The scoreboard might not have shown it — and it was the team’s seventh loss in as many games — but IU took some baby steps in the right direction Tuesday.Tom Crean’s Hoosiers played with more heart and more fight than they showed in recent performances, despite ending on the losing end of things yet again. In the final minutes, even when the game was out of reach, the Hoosiers were battling for rebounds, on the ground scrapping for loose balls and playing hard on both ends. Unlike Saturday, the Hoosiers looked like a team that wanted to be out there. IU grabbed 17 offensive rebounds and scored 21 second-chance points, took several charges and created a number of problems early for the Spartans, but Michigan State was simply the better team. “They have no weaknesses at any position and they have the depth and all that, and you just can’t let them come down and get comfortable,” Crean said. IU was not much of a match for Michigan State, despite playing them tough for virtually the entire contest. The Spartans had nine guys play 10 or more minutes and had four players score in double figures and had 10 different guys score at least a bucket. Although IU out-rebounded the Big Ten’s top rebounding team by six, the Spartans were the dominant team for much of the game.The Hoosiers didn’t even collect their first defensive rebound until nearly 12 minutes into the game, partly due to the Spartans shooting, offensive boards and second-chance opportunities. Michigan State also distributed the ball well, and eight of the team’s 13 assists came from a pair of big men. IU, meanwhile, had five assists to 16 turnovers. Unlike in recent games, IU didn’t fall apart after getting behind by double figures. But the Spartans, led by guard Kalin Lucas, always had an answer to the Hoosiers’ small runs.“Every time we thought we were going to cut it and make a little dent and get a little momentum, then Kalin would come back with a big shot,” Crean said. The Hoosiers weren’t expected to win, but given the team’s performance, they should be returning to practice Wednesday with much more confidence than they had been playing with prior to Tuesday’s game. “We came out with a lot of energy today. We played hard, they just had some more points off turnovers,” freshman guard Jordan Hulls said. “I thought our group played with a lot more energy than we had the last couple games and we’re just going to build off that.”Junior guard Jeremiah Rivers made similar comments, talking about continuing to build off the successes of both recent practices and certain spurts.“Losing is tough, it’s real tough, especially when we know we’re right there and good enough to win,” Rivers said. “I think if we just continue to believe in ourselves and believe in what the coaches preach I think we’ll be okay.”Although the Hoosiers weren’t satisfied with Tuesday’s outcome, the team did appear to be back on track and the players talked with a renewed since of hope.Even Michigan State coach Tom Izzo spoke about Crean bringing his program back. It won’t come all that quickly, but if IU continues playing hard and making strides in the right direction — even if just small steps — good things will come in time.
(02/16/10 2:46am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>When IU lost to No. 11 Michigan State last March, it was the team’s eighth-straight loss and the 19th in 20 games. Yet after the way the Hoosiers performed against the eventual NCAA Tournament runner-up Spartans last year, there wasn’t much with which to be disappointed.“It was a great game,” IU coach Tom Crean said. “Our guys were in it the entire way to the very end.” While the upset didn’t happen and then-senior Kyle Taber lost his final home game at IU, it was a valiant effort. Crean said his team could have “packed it in” after falling behind by 13 midway through the second half, but they never did.“That is a sign of maturity and our goal as we go through this is to keep playing better basketball, keep building a better mind-set and keep building that belief that we can win now and we can win in the future,” Crean said.IU quickly surpassed last year’s six wins and a single Big Ten victory this season, but since starting 9-9 overall and 3-3 in conference play, the Hoosiers have lost six straight.In the team’s most recent losses, it hasn’t displayed that same fight the 2008-’09 Hoosiers did against the Spartans. IU simply hasn’t been competitive after falling behind by double digits.That has to change quickly for the Hoosiers to compete in the final six games of the regular season, starting tonight.Although Michigan State has lost three of its last four, including two of its last three on the road, the Spartans will be a tough matchup for the Hoosiers. MSU guard Kalin Lucas, though still not fully recovered from an ankle sprain, scored 24 points, dished out 6 assists and nabbed 3 steals Saturday at Penn State. The Spartans have three other double-figure scorers in guard Durrell Summers (10.4) and forwards Raymar Morgan (10.4) and Draymond Green (10.0). Michigan State is third in the Big Ten in scoring but the conference leader in rebounds (39.5 per game) and rebound margin (+9.5). IU, meanwhile, is third in the Big Ten on the boards (35.8), yet is in the league cellar by allowing its opponents to grab an average of 36.7 per game. “Rebounding is going to be key for us, as long as we are tough in there,” freshman guard Jordan Hulls said.Green is Michigan State’s biggest force on the glass, averaging 8.2 boards, while starting forwards Delvon Roe (5.7) and Morgan (5.6) could greatly challenge IU as well. It should be an up-tempo and sometimes sloppy game, as IU and Michigan State lead the Big Ten in turnovers. Despite its recent woes during the course of Lucas’ injury, Michigan State will not be an easy opponent for IU to bring down. Yet if recent performances have anything to do with today’s outcome, it is likely IU will determine its own fate. The Hoosiers might seem due for a win soon, but it won’t be handed to them in the Big Ten. They will have to earn it, and that starts inside. “We’ve had some tough games the last couple weeks, but as long as we keep working hard in practice, it’s going to come,” Hulls said. “We’re staying together and as long as we keep doing that, it’s going to work out.”Cohen's prediction: MSU 72-IU 64
(02/15/10 6:02am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>After freshman guard Maurice Creek was lost for the season, you wondered how the Hoosiers would respond. Three days later, IU beat Michigan 71-65. On Jan. 17, riding a three-game losing streak consisting of two blowout road losses and a blown lead to Illinois at home, IU pulled out a gutsy overtime win against Minnesota. Then the Hoosiers beat Penn State on the road by six. IU returned to Assembly Hall with a 15-point loss to mediocre Iowa, but the Hoosiers came within seconds of winning at Illinois and at home against No. 7 Purdue.Despite a number of setbacks, coach Tom Crean’s Hoosiers continued to show a lot of fight and looked like a team unwilling to be weighed down by the overwhelming odds against them. However, many wondered, at what point would the close defeats start to take its toll on the young IU team? The answer seems a bit obvious at this point, as the Hoosiers have railed off a pair of 17-point losses at Northwestern and at home to No. 13 Ohio State and a 28-point road loss to a Wisconsin team that was without its leading scorer and rebounder on Saturday.Wisconsin scored 30 points alone on 10-of-25 shooting from behind the 3-point line, yet the Badgers dominated the Hoosiers in the paint as well: 32-16. IU turned the ball over 21 times, a significant number of them unforced, and Wisconsin scored 29 points off those miscues. The Badgers also grabbed 15 offensive rebounds, which led to 18 second-chance points, while IU joined Cal Poly and Green Bay as the only teams Wisconsin has scored at least 80 points on this season.Save for sophomore walk-on guard Daniel Moore and some spurts by a few of his teammates, the Hoosiers looked almost uninterested in being out there. They aren’t playing hard and they certainly aren’t playing tough. We continue to hear about the team playing well in practice and coming in with a good game plan, but in each game the team unravels from the opening tip.At Wisconsin on Saturday, IU was down 8-0 less than two minutes in and had fallen behind by the equivalent of two touchdowns and a pair of field goals by the 12:35 mark in the first half. In its last three games, the Hoosiers have trailed a combined 33-6 by the first media timeout, which comes just more than four minutes into each game. Wisconsin was hitting baskets at will Saturday, but that was due in large part to IU’s defense. It let the Badgers get open, and it couldn’t stop the inside-out game, allowing a number of easy layups and second-chance baskets. “I felt like when they were in zone or even when they were in man, I felt like nobody really checked me out,” said Wisconsin forward Mike Bruesewitz, who had six offensive rebounds. “I kind of felt like I could just go get it whenever I wanted to.” It can’t be easy for IU, but you question where the motivation is even going to come from at this point.A coach’s pep talks can only do so much, and it really has to come from the players — even if you subscribe to the idea that Crean should be taking more responsibility for these losses. The Hoosiers can either keep on playing as they have been, taking a knockout punch in the early stages of a game and wilting from there, or the team can own up, come together and try turning things around. Without the fans, the IU program isn’t more than five cloth banners, some pictures on the wall and a couple display cases of past achievements. This team owes it to the Hoosier faithful to come out and play like it deserves to wear cream and crimson.
(02/12/10 4:39am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>After falling to No. 13 Ohio State on Wednesday, IU will play at No. 11 Wisconsin on Saturday and No. 10 Michigan State at home Tuesday. Outside of the Big East Conference’s Providence Friars — currently in the middle of a four-game stretch consisting of No. 7 Georgetown, No. 4 Villanova, No. 5 West Virginia and No. 2 Syracuse — no other team in the country is facing a tougher span of games than the Hoosiers. But while Providence is facing the Murderers’ Row of the Big East during a 15-day period, IU’s difficult three-game stretch is taking place in a week’s time. That means very little turnaround between games and limited time to prepare for the next opponent. Prior to Wednesday’s Ohio State game, IU assistant coach Tim Buckley had taken care of the Wisconsin game tapes and done the necessary scouting.But while the players went home after the 17-point loss, IU coach Tom Crean suggested he had a long night ahead to watch the film. “I’ve released them from the locker room, but I can go back another eight hours tonight,” Crean said. The Hoosiers likely practiced Thursday and will get in some work Friday before heading north to Madison, Wis., for Saturday’s 2 p.m. tipoff.After playing Ohio State, a team averaging nearly 75 points per game, IU has had only a little time to transition to a Wisconsin swing offense that significantly slows down the game pace. The Badgers (18-6, 8-4) are also the top defensive team in the Big Ten, allowing just 56.5 points per game. Less than 72 hours later, however, the Hoosiers will be back on its home court to face Michigan State at Assembly Hall. The Spartans (19-6, 9-3), third in the conference in total offense behind just Minnesota and Purdue, play an up-tempo game that is drastically different from what the Hoosiers will see Saturday. It likely will not be an easy back-and-forth transition between games and playing styles, especially going against more experienced, more talented and very well-coached teams like Wisconsin and Michigan State. In recent days, IU hasn’t played like a team that can compete at the Badgers and Spartans’ level, but the Hoosiers aren’t far removed from a stellar effort against No. 6 Purdue. “Six days ago, we played one of the best teams in the country to a three-point game,” Crean said Wednesday. “It’s not like we can’t do good things. But we have a lot of challenges in front of us ... We just have to continue to grow through it.” Although banged-up Michigan State star Kalin Lucas should be 100 percent by Tuesday, IU will benefit at Wisconsin if 6-foot-10 forward Jon Leuer is still sidelined with his wrist injury. Leuer, Wisconsin’s leading scorer and rebounder at 15.4 points and 6.2 rebounds per game has missed the team’s last eight games.The Badgers began the year 13-3, but they have gone just 5-3 in Leuer’s absence. Most notably, Wisconsin fell by seven at home versus Illinois on Tuesday, snapping the Badgers’ 51-game home winning streak versus unranked opponents. Of course, Illinois (17-8, 9-3) will almost surely be ranked next week and IU hasn’t won at Wisconsin since 1998. The Hoosiers lost there, 85-61, a year ago, despite a game-high 23 points from then-freshman guard Verdell Jones. This could be a critical stretch for IU, considering the manner in which the team has responded since the Feb. 4 loss to Purdue. It might also show how much fight the team has left.Cohen’s prediction: Wisconsin 65, IU 51
(02/11/10 4:52am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The NBA All-Star Game 2010 Weekend won’t begin until Friday, but Wednesday’s IU and Ohio State game at Assembly Hall had the looks of it. There was plenty of dunking – alley-oops, two-handed flushes and a near-perfect windmill attempt by Ohio State’s William Buford. There were a fair amount of 3-pointers shot.And toward the end of the first half, and for much of the second half, especially, it was a quick-paced, sometimes sloppy game.Unfortunately for IU fans, it looked as though the Hoosiers signed up for the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge – IU’s team of primarily “rookies” and sophomores were outplayed by the much more experienced Buckeyes. The Hoosiers were beaten in a number of areas and were dominated inside. The Buckeyes scored 40 points in the paint, including seven dunks, a number of hardly contested layups from penetration and a number of open looks due to IU not sealing off the Buckeyes in the lane.“We went on what I called ‘island defense,’” IU coach Tom Crean said. “On the defensive end, you’ve got to cover for your teammates, you’ve got to be alert and you’ve got to block out.” Buford, who averaged 14 points per game entering Wednesday’s contest, scored 12 first half points and 21 overall. He got to the basket at ease for layups when his jump shots weren’t falling, making up for star guard Evan Turner’s early foul trouble. Forward Dallas Lauderdale and center Kyle Madsen, a pair that averaged 7.1 points and 2.3 points per game, respectively, combined for 25 on Wednesday. But it wasn’t necessarily a product of Ohio State playing that well, though there is no doubt the team’s No. 13 ranking and 9-3 Big Ten record are legit. The Hoosiers simply weren’t there tonight mentally, Crean said. “I love what our game was about. But it wasn’t about game plan, it wasn’t about anything significant in the fact that we didn’t move well,” he said. “We weren’t alert. We didn’t guard the dribble. We weren’t alert on the backside.” Although he hadn’t seen a stat sheet, Crean said he felt the team did a good job of handling Turner, a favorite for national Player of the Year honors.Turner has been the primary reason the Buckeyes are where they are today, but his presence wasn’t all that significant as OSU put together a 12-0 run late in the first to enter the half ahead by 14 points. “We just broke down,” sophomore guard Verdell Jones said. “We weren’t playing as a team today. We didn’t play team defense, we weren’t playing as a team on the offensive end. If we want to win games against good teams like Ohio State we’ve got to do those things.” The Hoosiers fared rather well in the early part of Big Ten season, but amidst a brutal schedule – one that includes a game at No. 13 Wisconsin on Saturday and a home contest versus No. 10 Michigan State next Tuesday – it’s a legitimate question to ask when, or even if, another IU victory will come. Freshman forward Christian Watford said he and his teammates “just didn’t come out ready.” With a brutal schedule to end the season, the Hoosiers quickly need to figure things out. I haven’t the slightest clue what that entails, but IU must find some answers if it hopes to compete down the stretch.
(02/10/10 4:17am)
1-on-1 with OSU walk-on and blogger Mark Titus