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(04/21/04 5:42am)
Former IU basketball recruit Josh Smith announced Tuesday he would skip college and enter the 2004 NBA draft. \n"After discussions with my family and coaches, I believe that entering the NBA draft is the best decision for me and my family," Smith said in a statement to The Associated Press.\nHe is predicted to be a top-10 draft pick, according to the AP.\nLeading Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va., to a 38-0 record, Smith averaged 23 points, eight rebounds, seven steals, seven assists and five blocks per game.\nWhen Smith signed a national letter of intent in November to play at IU next year, IU coach Mike Davis said he wasn't worried the 6-foot-8 senior would skip college and go directly to the NBA. \nWhile Smith might be exactly what the IU basketball team needs next year to complete one of the top-recruiting classes in the nation, Davis said he still supports Smith, his family and the decision he made. \nDavis said he has enjoyed getting to know Smith and his family during the last few years, and that Smith will always be a part of the IU Basketball family, though he will not play here.\n"We wish him nothing but the best," Davis said. "Josh is a special talent with a long and successful future in front of him."\nSmith already violated NCAA freshman eligibility rules by playing in three all-star games. After the EA Sports Roundball Classic in Chicago and EA Sports/Adidas All-American game in Knoxville, Tenn., Smith participated in the McDonald's All-Star Game March 31.\nNCAA rules do not allow players to compete in more than two all-star games after their final high school season. \nCoach Wallace Prather, Jr. coached Smith last summer when he played for the Atlanta Celtics AAU team. He said Smith going pro was a debatable issue, but the decision was based on his career, and he will do fine.\n"It would have been a great opportunity to attend IU," Prather, Jr. said. "Just like it's a great opportunity to be a lottery pick in the NBA ... Best thing the kid can do is work hard, like he has done in the past." \n-- Contact staff writer Natalie A. Trout at natrout@indiana.edu.
(04/15/04 10:49pm)
In 1989 she rocked the world with Rhythm Nation 1814. In 1993 she shocked the world with Janet. Eleven years later, she shocked the world with … let's just say it wasn't her album. \nDamita Jo (Damita is Janet's middle name) has all the perfect ingredients for a hit Janet Jackson album: sex, love, sex, dance, sex, the ex and, well, sex.\nThis is, no doubt, Janet's most sexual album. Seems as though her Super Bowl stunt was the perfect promotion for Damita Jo. Songs like "Moist" and "Warmth" have lyrics too scandalous to even mention in this review. Songs on Damita Jo are lusty enough to make Lil' Kim proud, Jessica Simpson blush and Britney Spears' "Toxic" video look like a children's cartoon.\nThe good parts of the album are the songs which boast a more traditional sound. Sure, it's nothing new for Janet, but that's why her fans still love her. Her albums throw in a few new sounds, but stick mainly to her original pop beats with a number of songs which are great to dance to.\n"Strawberry Bounce" will leave listeners doing just that -- bouncing to the hip-hop beat, much like "R&B Junkie" and "I Want You" will.\nJanet has done a few duets, and right now there is no one hotter to do a duet with than Kanye West. The two collaborate on the track "My Baby" -- a sweet love song, which is a complete anomaly to the rest of the album. It's not about sex.\nJanet has grown up. So what? The world knew that when she posed on the cover of Rolling Stone with a man's hands covering her breasts. She has nothing to prove.\nAlthough the songs sound cool, they really push the limit this time. Past albums had the occasional sex song, but this one is far too full of them for a woman who can succeed twice as much with songs about love, pain and even the world's problems.\nOne thing remains the same though; Janet's sweet, soothing, nearly flawless voice sounds the same as it did when she released her first album, Janet Jackson in 1982. \nMaybe Janet just wants to do her own thing, and clearly her thing is sex. As one of the world's greatest pop icons, she has a right to do what she wants. She's just laying it on a little thick this time.
(04/15/04 4:00am)
In 1989 she rocked the world with Rhythm Nation 1814. In 1993 she shocked the world with Janet. Eleven years later, she shocked the world with … let's just say it wasn't her album. \nDamita Jo (Damita is Janet's middle name) has all the perfect ingredients for a hit Janet Jackson album: sex, love, sex, dance, sex, the ex and, well, sex.\nThis is, no doubt, Janet's most sexual album. Seems as though her Super Bowl stunt was the perfect promotion for Damita Jo. Songs like "Moist" and "Warmth" have lyrics too scandalous to even mention in this review. Songs on Damita Jo are lusty enough to make Lil' Kim proud, Jessica Simpson blush and Britney Spears' "Toxic" video look like a children's cartoon.\nThe good parts of the album are the songs which boast a more traditional sound. Sure, it's nothing new for Janet, but that's why her fans still love her. Her albums throw in a few new sounds, but stick mainly to her original pop beats with a number of songs which are great to dance to.\n"Strawberry Bounce" will leave listeners doing just that -- bouncing to the hip-hop beat, much like "R&B Junkie" and "I Want You" will.\nJanet has done a few duets, and right now there is no one hotter to do a duet with than Kanye West. The two collaborate on the track "My Baby" -- a sweet love song, which is a complete anomaly to the rest of the album. It's not about sex.\nJanet has grown up. So what? The world knew that when she posed on the cover of Rolling Stone with a man's hands covering her breasts. She has nothing to prove.\nAlthough the songs sound cool, they really push the limit this time. Past albums had the occasional sex song, but this one is far too full of them for a woman who can succeed twice as much with songs about love, pain and even the world's problems.\nOne thing remains the same though; Janet's sweet, soothing, nearly flawless voice sounds the same as it did when she released her first album, Janet Jackson in 1982. \nMaybe Janet just wants to do her own thing, and clearly her thing is sex. As one of the world's greatest pop icons, she has a right to do what she wants. She's just laying it on a little thick this time.
(04/08/04 4:34am)
"Home on the Range" does exactly what it should. It entertains a younger generation of kids, who have had to share a majority of their recent movies with adults because of the subtly sophisticated humor in contemporary animated films. While "Range" has a few lines skewed to make adults laugh, it doesn't cross the line and leave kids asking mom and dad what was so funny.\nIn true Disney spirit and fashion, "Range" takes the viewer to a land they've never seen before, the old west. A Patch of Heaven is the farm in which many fun-loving animals sing and dance and crack jokes. Their owner, Pearl, is an elderly woman who has just been informed that her farm will be auctioned off if she does not come up with the $750 she owes the bank.\nSure enough, as if it weren't obvious, the animals work together to save the farm. Specifically, three cows, Maggie (Roseanne), Mrs. Calloway (Judi Dench) and Grace (Jennifer Tilly) set out to capture an evil thief of the old west, Alameda Slim (Randy Quaid). There is a bounty on Slim's head of, as anyone could guess, exactly $750, just the amount they need to save the farm.\nIt is quite an adventure for the three cows as they set out to save the farm and capture the bad guy. The characters they meet along the way are funny, cute and some are evil, but provide a few chuckles. \nThe animation in the film isn't anything spectacular, but that helps. It's a traditional Disney animated film like the one's most of us grew up with.\nAnd all traditional Disney films have one thing in common: songs. This may be the one area where "Range" is really lacking. Movies like "Beauty and the Beast" and "The Little Mermaid" left joyous songs in viewers' heads for days. "Range's" songs are catchy, but not memorable, even if sang by Bonnie Raitt and Tim McGraw. \nDoes the movie have a surprise ending? Of course not. All always ends well in animated Disney films, and the same goes for "Home on the Range." That's exactly how it should be.
(04/08/04 4:00am)
"Home on the Range" does exactly what it should. It entertains a younger generation of kids, who have had to share a majority of their recent movies with adults because of the subtly sophisticated humor in contemporary animated films. While "Range" has a few lines skewed to make adults laugh, it doesn't cross the line and leave kids asking mom and dad what was so funny.\nIn true Disney spirit and fashion, "Range" takes the viewer to a land they've never seen before, the old west. A Patch of Heaven is the farm in which many fun-loving animals sing and dance and crack jokes. Their owner, Pearl, is an elderly woman who has just been informed that her farm will be auctioned off if she does not come up with the $750 she owes the bank.\nSure enough, as if it weren't obvious, the animals work together to save the farm. Specifically, three cows, Maggie (Roseanne), Mrs. Calloway (Judi Dench) and Grace (Jennifer Tilly) set out to capture an evil thief of the old west, Alameda Slim (Randy Quaid). There is a bounty on Slim's head of, as anyone could guess, exactly $750, just the amount they need to save the farm.\nIt is quite an adventure for the three cows as they set out to save the farm and capture the bad guy. The characters they meet along the way are funny, cute and some are evil, but provide a few chuckles. \nThe animation in the film isn't anything spectacular, but that helps. It's a traditional Disney animated film like the one's most of us grew up with.\nAnd all traditional Disney films have one thing in common: songs. This may be the one area where "Range" is really lacking. Movies like "Beauty and the Beast" and "The Little Mermaid" left joyous songs in viewers' heads for days. "Range's" songs are catchy, but not memorable, even if sang by Bonnie Raitt and Tim McGraw. \nDoes the movie have a surprise ending? Of course not. All always ends well in animated Disney films, and the same goes for "Home on the Range." That's exactly how it should be.
(04/05/04 5:28am)
Little Fifty Running Race contestants ran Sunday to see who qualified for the second annual addition to the 'world's greatest college weekend.' \nThe IU Student Foundation sponsors the second annual event April 18 to kick off IUSF's week of Little 500 activities.\nTwenty-five women's teams and 30 men's teams, consisting of four people on each team, competed in Sunday's qualifications. Both the men and women had one more attempt to qualify than last year, according to IUSF Little Fifty Steering Committee Chair and senior Courtney Griffin. \nAll of the women's teams qualified, but only 25 of the 30 men's teams made the cut.\nLeading the pack Sunday for the women was Alpha Phi with a time of 10:40.14. \nLeading the men with a time of 8:43.14 was Pi Omega Tau. \nGriffin said the event adds a lot to Little 500 week because it's completely amateur and anyone can participate.\n"For Little 500, you have to have a bike," Griffin said. "For this, you just need tennis shoes."\nFinishing in ninth place for the women was team Soul Fly, which had a time of 11:32.21. Junior runner Kate Glover of team Soul Fly said she thought her team did pretty well.\n"I didn't even know if we would qualify," Glover said. "I'm proud of us, and I think that in a couple of weeks, with practice, we can improve."\nSome teams had a lot of support at the qualifications Sunday, as fraternity brothers, sorority sisters and friends came out to cheer on the runners.\nThe Little Fifty race came from an idea of IUSF alumnus Ray Jordan. He wanted to include more students in the Little 500 week activities. The fifty-lap relay competition was the product of his idea.\nAlpha Tau Omega senior Stan Regan said he does a lot of cross training year-round and the qualifications showed his team its strengths and weaknesses. \nHis team finished seventh Sunday with a time of 9:11.77.\n"I think it's an amazing experience in addition to the week because so many more people run than ride bikes, and it's so easy to become involved in this," Regan said. "I've been dreaming of an event like this since my freshman year."\n-- Contact staff writer Natalie A. Trout at natrout@indiana.edu.
(03/23/04 6:30am)
IU coach Mike Davis is on the list of Auburn University's replacements for former head coach Cliff Ellis, who was fired Thursday, The Mobile (Ala.) Register has reported.\nDavis, a former Mr. Basketball for the state of Alabama, could not be reached for comment on Monday night.\nIf Auburn is interested in Davis, IU athletics director Terry Clapacs said he would be the first at IU to know.\nAs of Monday night, Clapacs said he had not been asked permission by Auburn to speak with Davis. He had talked to Davis after the basketball season was over and said all they talked about was next season.\nClapacs said he thinks Davis' name is automatically thrown out there for the Auburn job because he is from Alabama.\n"He was a very popular player at (the University of Alabama)," Clapacs said. "He was a very popular high school player. Down there he's certainly well known and respected."\nWhen asked what Clapacs would do if Auburn does contact him to speak with Davis, he only said he would cross that bridge when he comes to it.\nEllis had been Auburn's coach for the past 10 years and led them to a 186-125 overall record, while Davis just finished his fourth season as coach and led the Hoosiers to a 14-15 season record, their first losing season since 1969-70.\nDavis and IU reached a contract agreement in May 2002. The six-year agreement gave Davis a base salary of $225,000 with $25,000 in deferred compensation annually. Outside promotions and marketing would add an additional guaranteed $550,000.\nOther incentives to Davis' contract are based on Big Ten Championship performance, NCAA Tournament performance and team academic performance. \nAssistant coach John Treloar said he was out of town for spring break and hadn't talked to Davis about leaving. He said he saw Davis' name mentioned with the Auburn situation and was surprised.\nDavis' wife, Tamilya, said she would not comment on anything.\nMen's basketball sports information director Pete Rhoda said all he would comment on was the fact that Auburn had not contacted Clapacs about Davis. Rhoda said the protocol in coach searching is that it's all speculation until they are contacted.\nClapacs did say he has been contacted from schools about Treloar. \nTreloar was reached by phone on Monday night and said he interviewed earlier in the day in Dallas for a job at Southern Methodist University. He said the interview went well and that he appreciated the opportunity to speak with the athletic director about the program.\nTreloar has also been approached by Southern Mississippi.\n"It's hard to even think about what it would be like going into basketball season not competing as a Hoosier," Treloar said.\nTreloar said he doesn't think anyone can fault him for wanting to lead and build a program himself. He loves Indiana basketball, he said, and loves having the chance to compete for national championships each year at IU, but that it's no secret that he wants to be head coach again.\nPrior to arriving to Bloomington in 1997, Treloar had spent the previous six seasons as a head coach with CBA teams the Chicago Rockers, Wichita Falls Texans and Connecticut Pride.\nTreloar said he believes his friends and colleagues will support him in whatever direction he goes as far as the upcoming season. A decision at SMU could be reached within the next four or five days, Treloar said.\n"I'm honored that there are programs and AD's out there that feel like I'm someone that they would strongly consider to lead their programs," Treloar said.\nAs far as how the loss of either IU coach would effect the basketball program at Indiana, Clapacs said he could not speculate.\n"Coach Davis is our coach," Clapacs said. "He's under contract until 2007-2008. Next year is our focus."\n-- Contact staff writer Natalie A. Trout at natrout@indiana.edu.\nIDS staff writers Gavin Lesnick and John Rodgers contributed to this story.
(03/22/04 5:46am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- It was March 12, a Friday which many IU students will remember for sandy beaches and drinks with little umbrellas in them.\nBut IU's two senior players, center George Leach and forward A.J. Moye, will look back and see defeat in a game that squashed their tournament dreams. \nIllinois 71. Indiana 59.\nEven a comeback after a 13-point deficit couldn't help the Hoosiers. \n'There's always next year,' people will say.\nBut for Moye, Leach and fellow senior Jason Stewart, there is no next year.\n"It hurts, man," Moye said at the post-game press conference, his eyes glistening with tears while the Fighting Illini, who already had a bid to the NCAA Tournament, were off celebrating their victory.\nLeach wasn't brought into the press conference, but could be found sitting in the locker room. He sat wearing his IU uniform for the last time, just looking at the ground and wouldn't say a word.\nLeach scored nine points had 11 rebounds in the game, while Moye scored 13 points and had nine rebounds, both in their final game for Indiana.\nIU coach Mike Davis said for the past four years, Moye gave his heart to IU basketball.\n"I've never been around a player that has given his heart to a program like A.J. Moye has," Davis said. \nWhile Moye said the team battled in its last two games of the season and the Big Ten Tournament, the story was a little different throughout most of the regular season.\n"It just came down to pride and emotion all year," Moye said. "If we were 14-15 right now, and we gave everything we had every night, it would be easier to stomach, but we didn't."\nMoye said he didn't think everyone on the team realized that they were playing for IU, and exactly what it means to wear the Hoosiers uniform. \n"Maybe they think it's Fresno State or something, whatever. I don't know," Moye said. "They've got to wear this uniform with pride."\nSophomore guard Bracey Wright said every player on the team should take Moye's words a little personal because like Moye said, they didn't completely understand what being a Hoosier meant. Wright said that seeing coach speak so highly of Moye showed the team what it was really all about.\n"A.J., he set an example for anybody that comes to this university," Wright said. "I think that if coach Davis continues to coach here he will continue to use A.J. Moye as an example, because he set a standard on how hard you need to work and what it means to be at Indiana."\nIt's all over for Leach and Moye. While Big Ten teams Wisconsin and Illinois continue to fight for an NCAA National Championship, the Hoosiers sit at home in Bloomington.\nChants of "A-J Mo-ye" will no longer be heard echoing throughout Assembly Hall, but he is a player that made an impact on those watching the game and playing the game, because of the heart his coach says he gave to IU basketball.\n"I hope the people of Indiana remember him, not by the 14-15 record that we had this year," Davis said. "Just remember him as a guy who gave his heart and soul to this basketball team."\n-- Contact staff writer Natalie A. Trout at natrout@indiana.edu.
(03/12/04 4:43am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- Despite a losing record for the first time in years, the IU men's basketball team hasn't given up.\nThe Hoosiers (14-14) beat the Ohio State Buckeyes (14-16) at Conseco Fieldhouse in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament, 83-69.\nIt was a game full of surprises, emotions and career records.\nWith 6:29 left in the first half, IU was down 11 points. Sophomore guard Bracey Wright wasn't hitting his shots, so coach Mike Davis brought in junior guard Mark Johnson.\nThis decision began what would end up being a 21-4 run by the Hoosiers.\nIU was up 38-35 with five seconds left until halftime, but senior forward A.J. Moye wanted to make one more contribution to the first-half points. He sunk a three-point basket to put IU up 41-35 going into the half.\nHis dance and celebration running off the court brought the crowd to its feet.\nAt half time, Moye said it was the most emotion he'd seen out of the team the entire year.\n"It was like we had already won the game," Moye said. "I just love the intensity that the guys brought today. That's Indiana basketball. It was awesome. It felt like 2002."\nMoye finished the game with 19 points and eight rebounds.\nIn the last four seasons in the conference tournament, Moye has hit 28 of 40 field goal attempts in eight games. \nOSU coach Jim O'Brien said he hopes Moye gets an opportunity to continue his senior season.\n"I've really enjoyed coaching against him and watching him and watching his growth," O'Brien said. "My hat's off to A.J. Moye. He's one of my favorite players in the conference."\nInto the second half, the Hoosiers started to see their 41-35 halftime lead fall away. \nGame-high scorer OSU center Terence Dials had 22 points and contributed to the Buckeye comeback.\nWith 8:42 left in the game, the score had the two teams tied at 58.\nThe Hoosiers weren't going to take the pressure OSU was handing them, and it started with the three-point basket from Johnson that put IU in the lead, 61-58.\nJunior guard Ryan Tapak said he never doubted Johnson was a good shooter.\n"There were a couple huddles where I tried to get coach to run a play for him," Tapak said. "When he comes off, he has the confidence. Why not shoot it? That's what he is -- a proven shooter."\nThe game went the Hoosiers' way the rest of the time. While OSU tried to foul to get the ball back, IU was extremely successful in its free-throw shooting and finished the game missing only one of its 18 free-throws.\nThere were 12 seconds left in the game when Moye grabbed a defensive rebound and passed the ball to senior center George Leach. Leach made a fast break to the IU basket and dunked the ball to give the IU team its final two points.\nLeach had 14 points and four rebounds.\nSophomore guard Bracey Wright had a team-high 20 points and became the 39th player in Indiana basketball history to score 1,000 points. \nWright struggled in the first half, hitting only one of seven shots, but came out on fire in the second half to hit six of 10.\n"In the second half, I got into a groove," Wright said. "We set really good screens and set up our cuts really well. We got wide-open shots."\nThe next challenge for IU comes today at noon, when they will play the conference champions, the Illinois Fighting Illini (22-5).\n"They're a tough team," Johnson said. "They've got a lot going for them right now. They're playing real well, so for us to go out there and compete with them and play with them, we've really got to step our game up even more." \nIt had been awhile since the IU team ran off the court smiling, but Thursday afternoon in Indianapolis left the Hoosiers grinning from ear to ear.\nTheir season is not over yet.\n-- Contact staff writer Natalie A. Trout at natrout@indiana.edu.
(03/08/04 6:05am)
Before the game was even over, the look on senior forward A.J. Moye's face summed up the entire Big Ten season of IU basketball.\nAnd even after thousands chanted Moye's infamous "A.J. Moye" cheer and a few started up a cheer for senior center George Leach, the emotions still weren't satisfying for Moye.\nSad. Disappointed. Frustrated. \nAll words Moye used to describe his feelings after IU's (13-14, 7-9) 70-52 loss to Wisconsin (21-6, 12-4) senior night. \n"It's a hard pill to swallow," Moye said. "My last game, to go out like that, that's a disgrace."\nLeach said he's got to live the rest of his life knowing he lost his senior night game. \n"Fans may not know it, but that hurt us so much to lose," Leach said, "especially me and A.J. It killed our team to lose on senior night."\nLeach and Moye were the top scorers for the Hoosiers Saturday against Wisconsin. Moye played 37 minutes and had a team-high 11 points and nine rebounds. Leach had 10 points and eight rebounds.\nThe two seniors, and senior walk-on forward Jason Stewart, gave emotional speeches after the game thanking everyone who has been a big part of their basketball careers while at IU.\nMoye's speech was the longest, as he thanked almost his entire family who came to see him play in his last game at Assembly Hall. \nMoye thanked his father, Malume Moye, and was then surprised as his father snuck up behind him and gave him a hug. The two laughed, and everyone cheered.\nAfter the speeches, when a member of the media asked Leach if he was satisfied with his overall career at IU, he didn't think twice before speaking.\n"If I were satisfied, I'd be sitting here smiling instead of frowning," Leach said. "I wish we, as a team, or myself, could have done better. I wish we had two or three Big Ten Championships instead of one."\nLeach said fans have criticized IU coach Mike Davis for IU's losing season but it wasn't Davis' fault the team didn't live up to the fans' expectations. \n"He gives us a system that y'all have seen work because it got us to the Final Four," Leach said. "It's us because we haven't carried out everything. It works. It works. We won a Big Ten Championship with it and went to the final game. It's just us. We've got to buy into what he's teaching us."\nMoye said one of the reasons the Badgers beat Indiana was because they bought into their coach's system.\nLike Leach, Moye also showed love for his coach.\n"Our coach, I think, is the best coach in the Big Ten," Moye said. "And it's on us to execute (his system)."\nDavis said he was disappointed for Leach and Moye, having to go out the way they did.\n"That's not what I want for them," Davis said. "Hopefully, they can go out on a better note."\nWhile the seniors were top scorers for the Hoosiers Saturday, it didn't make the wound feel any better. IU finished the regular Big Ten season 7-9 and lost five home games. \nLeach said he hopes future IU teams can learn from the 2003-04 season.\n"If this year doesn't teach you to come out and give your heart and soul and fight for this program," Leach said, "I don't know what will."\nDespite the disappointing season, Moye said he is still proud to have worn the Indiana uniform and represent the school. He said, win or lose, he always believes the team can win its next game.\nBut, one more loss and IU's two senior starters, Leach and Moye, are finished with their IU basketball careers forever.\nMoye isn't ready for that to happen.\n"I hate losing. I just hate it," Moye said.\nAnd in case you didn't hear him the first time, he hung his head and repeated himself.\n"I just hate it," Moye said looking at the ground. "I just hate it."\n-- Contact staff writer Natalie A. Trout at natrout@indiana.edu.
(03/08/04 4:48am)
Illinois\nA one-point win over Ohio State Sunday evening put the Fighting Illini on top of the Big Ten, where they take sole possession in the conference. Illinois' (22-5, 13-3 Big Ten) only Big Ten losses came to Purdue at home and on the road at Northwestern and Wisconsin. \nIn his first year at Illinois, Bruce Weber was able to lead the team right into the NCAA Tournament and give the Illini the Big Ten title.\nIllinois ended its season with a 10-game winning streak, the longest of any Big Ten team this season.
(03/05/04 5:55am)
The IU men's basketball team is going to end its Big Ten season playing the same Wisconsin team it opened against -- and lost to by 34 points Jan. 6.\nIt's a game senior center George Leach didn't even want to talk about after IU's win over Michigan Wednesday night. The game will be one of the most emotional nights of his basketball career, playing for the last time in Assembly Hall.\n"Nobody wants to play in their final home game," Leach said. "Of course it will be sad."\nIU's other senior to see action in Assembly Hall for the last time is forward A.J. Moye. Moye said he wishes he could play at Indiana for ten more years.\n"I wish it was like the NBA or something," Moye said. "I love this crowd, man. I think they just respect my heart and my effort."\nLeach and Moye said they know the night will be emotional, but their greatest concern right now is giving Indiana (13-13, 7-8 Big Ten) a win over Wisconsin (20-6, 11-4). \nDavis said the team will have to come out and play good basketball and it being the senior's last home game could be good or bad for their play on the court.\n"Sometimes you want to play so well in your last game that you end up going in the opposite direction," Davis said. "They just need to come out and play with energy and emotion and really good concentration."\nMoye averages 9.5 points per game, while Leach averages 8.7. \nIn Wednesday's victory over Michigan, Moye had a career-high 15 rebounds, and Leach tied his career-high seven blocks.\nDavis said he has seen the two go through ups and downs throughout their careers at IU.\n"I don't think either guy played over a 15-minute role in this system, and this year they've had to play a lot of minutes," Davis said. "This is their first time, as seniors, playing this type of role. We just try to make sure they continue to grow and improve game by game."\nLeach and Moye have spent four years together growing game by game, and they each have one game that sticks out in their memories more than any other -- IU's miracle win over Duke in the 2002 NCAA Sweet Sixteen.\nMoye said the Duke game was unbelievable and he's never been with a team with more of a will to win.\n"We never looked at the score, and we never panicked," Moye said. "I've never felt more unified with a team in all my life."\nBesides the Duke game, Leach said he remembers when he and Moye were the small guys on the team and that now, as seniors, it's weird to look back and see how they have grown together.\nAlthough both seniors, Leach sees Moye as an inspiration to his game.\n"He rebounds the way I want to rebound," Leach said. "He has the heart that I want to have sometimes. It is good to have that and play with a guy like that."\nLeach and Moye both know a lot is riding on Saturday's game. It could mean a bye in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament if they beat Wisconsin at 12:15 p.m. Saturday.\nWin or lose, it will be an emotional day for the two seniors saying good-bye to the many games played in Assembly Hall. \nLeach said he looks forward to verbally thanking the crowd and coaches who have helped him through his years playing at IU but the most important thing Saturday is that the team comes away with a win.\n"We've got a game to play and a game to try and win on Saturday, so that's what I'm focusing on now," Leach said. "Then, after the tournament, I'll think about it and reminisce. But right now, I'm focusing on these games coming up."\n-- Contact staff writer Natalie A. Trout at natrout@indiana.edu.
(03/04/04 5:04am)
It has been since the Purdue game Jan. 27. \nOne month and five days is how long Hoosier fans had to wait for a win in Assembly Hall. Wednesday night they got it when IU (13-13, 7-8 Big Ten) beat Michigan (16-10, 7-8) 61-56. \n"We just wanted to get that winning feeling back," sophomore guard Marshall Strickland said. "After you lose a couple of games, everybody gets down. The mood kind of gets down. We just want to get the fans excited again, and get everybody excited about basketball, and we're not done yet."\nThe balcony was almost empty at the start of the game, and the student section barely full, but fans filling the seats in Assembly Hall wasn't the only thing missing at the beginning of the game. Official Ed Hightower was stuck in traffic and didn't come into the game until there were less than eight minutes left in the first half. \nAlthough Michigan was first to score, further into the game with the score in IU's favor, 19-17, Michigan forward Bernard Robinson Jr. fouled sophomore guard Bracey Wright on a three-point field goal attempt, sending Wright to the line for the Hoosiers. \n"My thing was just to back off of him and give him that cushion so he'd drive right into me and not pass me," Wright said. "I did a really good job on him I held him to two points tonight. So that's something that I'm proud of."\nWright hit the first two free throws, but missed the third. Senior forward A.J. Moye grabbed the rebound and put it in, giving the Hoosiers their greatest lead of the first half, 23-17. Later in the first half, Moye made a fast break to the basket giving the Hoosiers a field goal with just over five minutes left before halftime.\nIt was the type of basketball IU fans had been waiting for, and it brought the crowd to its feet. \nAt halftime, the Hoosiers and Wolverines were tied 31-31. Strickland was the top scorer for the first half with seven points and for the game with a career high 21 points. \nLike IU's last four home losses in Assembly Hall, the game came down to critical play in the final moments of the game. And after Leach turned the ball over with just 1:58 left, giving Robinson, Jr. a jumper tying the game 56-56 -- it appeared the Hoosiers just might lose another close one at home.\nBut after a foul from Michigan guard Lester Abram, Strickland hit both free-throw shots giving IU the lead by two, 58-56.\nWith 29 seconds left in the game, Abram fouled an IU player, once again. Sophomore guard Donald Perry had the chance to secure the Hoosier win.\nHowever, his first free-throw shot didn't go in. \nAfter the second shot went in for Perry, Michigan guard Daniel Horton missed a three-point basket in a desperate attempt to tie the game with 16 seconds left.\nThe free-throw shooting wasn't over.\nMichigan forward Courtney Sims then fouled Wright. He missed both shots.\nThe Wolverines had two chances to score a basket and missed them both -- one when Leach blocked Sims' shot with one second left on the clock. \n"I was just thinking rebound," Leach said. "Fortunately, I was able to be there in time to block Sims' shot. I gave up an offensive rebound -- I'm not happy about that, but I got the block."\nSims then fouled Leach, who made the last two points of the ball game with two successful free throws. \nSims and Abram were Michigan's top scorers with 13 points apiece. \nWright said it is always good to get a win when the team is on a losing streak and that it was obvious how the team felt after the win.\n"You can see it on everybody's faces and the way everybody is acting," Wright said. "It's a big relief to get a win at home and kind of just get this thing slowly going back in the right direction"
(03/03/04 5:31am)
Donald Perry, IU's 6-foot-2 guard from Tallulah, La., is a junior juggling basketball practice, games, being a recreational sports marketing and management major and the pressure of the IU fans at home games. \nAs a freshman, Perry was a key part of IU's success in the 2002 NCAA Tournament and scored what was then his career-high 10 points in just 11 minutes of play during IU's victory over Oklahoma in the Final Four. \nBut now, it's two years later, and IU is struggling to even make the NCAA Tournament.\nPerry said he and the team at least expected one thing from this season.\n"You come into the year with expectations to win the Big Ten," Perry said. "That's our expectation every year as a team."\nPerry's best game of his career came at Assembly Hall against then-No. 4 Missouri Dec. 6. While the Hoosiers suffered a loss, Perry posted 13 points and hit three baskets from behind the arc. It was a game sophomore forward Sean Kline said showed Perry could control the game.\nFurther into the season, Perry is looking for more playing time but isn't seeing it from IU coach Mike Davis. Perry started at Northwestern, IU's most recent game, but only played 14 minutes and scored just two points. \n"It's up to me if I come out there in a game and play well," Perry said. "If I play lackadaisical, I won't play that much."\nIn order to improve, Perry said he would have to play better defense and make better decisions on the court. \nDavis said Perry needs to work on his concentration and the biggest part of his game is dribbling.\n"When you're six feet, you have to have a passion and intensity about you to really cause havoc," Davis said. "We're still working on that with Donald. Hopefully, he can improve in that area."\nPerry has started in 13 of IU's 24 games this season and averages 22.7 minutes a game. He is tied at sixth on the team in scoring with freshman guard Roderick Wilmont. They both average 3.4 points a game. \nWith freshman forward Jessan Gray-Ashley academically ineligible for the second semester of this season and freshman forward Pat Ewing Jr. out one game due to academic issues, dealing with school and basketball has been an obvious problem for some players on the IU team.\nPerry said it is really hard to be a student and an athlete.\n"Especially when the season starts and you're always traveling," Perry said. "You've got practice, and you're trying to fit your classes around your practice schedule, and it's tough."\nBesides being focused on improving on the court and keeping up with classes, Perry is just one of the 14 IU players dealing with the unsatisfied fans in Assembly Hall. \nHis view, however, is different than those of some of his teammates.\n"I understand where they're coming from with that," Perry said. "They are used to seeing us come out and playing and winning at home. You shouldn't lose five or six home games. That's uncalled for.\nAs for the booing, we've just got to take that as a challenge and feed off of it instead of getting mad at the fans and stuff like that. It should make us play harder I think."\nSince Perry's expectations to win the Big Ten this year have dwindled away -- the Hoosiers are currently only four teams from the bottom of the Big Ten -- he said he's focused on going on a winning streak.\n"I want to win from here on out," Perry said. "I just want to win every game we possibly can, and whatever happens, happens."\n-- Contact staff writer Natalie A. Trout at natrout@indiana.edu.
(02/25/04 6:34am)
Sophomore guard Bracey Wright seems to have all the right award nominations and accomplishments attached to his name.\nHe was recently named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches All-District 10 First Team. He is a finalist for two national college basketball player of the year awards -- the Rupp Award and the Naismith Award.\nWright is only 49 points away from becoming the 39th player in IU history to score 1,000 career points.\nOhio State junior forward Terence Dials even noticed the effect that Wright has on the IU team and said after IU's win against Ohio State that Wright was the heart and soul of the team.\n"He is a great player who is hard working," Dials said. "When you have those characteristics, you are going to be successful."\nWright has earned five Big Ten Player of the Week honors in his career, three of which he earned this season. Besides Glenn Robinson, Wright is the only player in league history to earn at least five Player of the Week honors in his first two seasons.\nBut Wright doesn't walk into a room with his head held higher than his teammates. He doesn't show arrogance or talk like he's better than anyone else.\nAfter all, in IU's most recent home game, he made only one of 12 field goal attempts. This is the same player that scored a career-high 39 points earlier this season at North Texas.\nPut all the personal accomplishments and award nominations aside and you have a 6-foot-3 Wright from The Colony, Texas, who says expectations sometimes leave him with the weight of the world on his shoulders.\nPutting the most weight on Wright's shoulders has been his shooting slump on IU's home court in Assembly Hall, but Wright said he takes these situations and tries to learn from them. \n"God puts you through things to see how you're going to react and to see if you're going to split or stay together," Wright said. "He's testing every single one of us right now, and we have to become tighter as a team and just keep going no matter what happens." \nThe same building Wright comes to every day and the same court and same hoop he practices with are what have given him the most trouble his sophomore year.\nIn IU's seven Big Ten road games this season, Wright has scored a total of 138 points. In IU's six home games, he's scored a total of 83 points. That's an average of 19.7 points per game on the road and 13.8 ppg at home, a difference of almost six points per game.\nIU has lost all of its last four home games by a total of 9 points.\n"I think it's gotten into my mind right now, and you know, before every game I talk to myself and tell myself I'm going to come out and play strong and knock down every shot I take," Wright said, his frustration clear from the look on his face. "When we start and I shoot, the basket is regulation size. As I miss, it gets smaller and smaller, and by the time the end of the game comes, it looks like I'm shooting a basketball into a cup of water."\nIn the last three games alone, Wright is 11 of 44 from the floor and 3 of 15 from beyond the arch.\nIU coach Mike Davis said he has told Wright not to let things get to his head and that there isn't even time for Wright to let things get to him mentally. \nDavis said maybe Wright feels too much pressure at home and the key is for him to relax.\nThere is one thing that Davis said he knows does not help out the Hoosier's leading scorer -- booing from the fans. \n"When a kid is struggling the worst thing you can do is make him feel bad about it and not be pulling for him," Davis said. "He needs a lot of love and a lot of support."\nWright is hoping the love and support of his teammates will be enough to get the Hoosiers (12-12, 6-7 Big Ten) into the NCAA tournament. He said he has faith in everyone on his team, from the coaching staff to the players who don't even get to play in every game.\nIt's a matter of getting hot, Wright said, and he knows that applies to himself as well. He said the team was clicking together at the beginning of the Big Ten season and they just need to find the spark that will kick-start the team and get them on fire.\nConfident but never cocky, Wright said there is no doubt in his mind the team will make the NCAA tournament.\n"I only want to play in the NCAA tournament," Wright said. "I think that when they have the selection show, I believe in my mind and in my heart that they will call our name out."\n-- Contact staff writer Natalie A. Trout at natrout@indiana.edu.
(02/25/04 6:10am)
The Northwestern Athletics Web site has put out a "fan advisory" for tonight's game at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Ill. It's one of their most popular games of the season, and if things go the Wildcats' way like they did last year, they will pick up another home win, this one against IU.\nIU (12-12, 6-7 Big Ten) last met Northwestern (11-12, 6-6) in Assembly Hall where the Hoosiers won 73-62.\nIn that contest, Northwestern forward Mohamed Hachad was the leading scorer for the Wildcats with 18 points and five rebounds.\nJunior guard Ryan Tapak only played one minute in the game back in January, but he managed to sink two free throws and get one rebound.\nTapak said the team never looks forward to playing on the road but that even after a home loss to Ohio State Saturday, the team is ready to go out and play another game.\n"Each game we've got to get better," Tapak said. "So I think we're looking forward to getting better. We've got three games left in the Big Ten regular season to get things clicking."\nIU is currently only averaging 65.3 points per game. That's the lowest single-season points per game average since 1983-84. This season, the Hoosiers have been held under 60 points in eight games.\nNorthwestern has won three of their last four games with victories over Wisconsin, Purdue and Penn State. The team's most recent game was a loss to Michigan State.\nIU coach Mike Davis said the Northwestern game on the road would be tough, especially since their only home loss has come to a fierce Michigan State team.\nIn the last match-up between these two teams, Northwestern played without sophomore forward Vedran Vukusic, who was out with a knee injury. Vukusic is the second-leading scorer for the Wildcats, averaging 14.2 ppg.\nDavis said the 6-foot-8 Vukusic is a good basketball player.\n"It's another big guy that can shoot the basketball," Davis said. "He's good off the dribble."\nLeading Northwestern in scoring is senior guard Jitim Young. He averages 18 points per game.\nThe main thing Davis mentioned about Northwestern was their ability to take care of their home court. \n"If we had taken care of home, where would we be right now?" Davis said. "That's the disappointing thing about it."\nJunior guard Donald Perry said the Hoosiers' last home loss to Ohio State started out all wrong from the beginning and that the team came out with no energy, emotion or passion.\n"Somehow we lost it," Perry said. "It's been like that the last two games."\nDavis and the Hoosiers can only hope things change in Evanston, Ill., tonight.\n-- Contact staff writer Natalie A. Trout at natrout@indiana.edu.
(02/23/04 6:28am)
The IU men's basketball team has lost its last four home Big Ten games by a combined total of nine points. The team's greatest home loss in the conference season came Saturday against Ohio State University (12-13, 4-8 Big Ten) by three points, 59-56.\nIU (12-12, 6-7) beat the Buckeyes back in Jan., 69-61, in Columbus, but Saturday, it was OSU's turn to do the celebrating. While its players celebrated the road win midcourt, the IU players walked to the locker room feeling emotions most IU teams rarely feel -- the emotions dealt with after a loss at Assembly Hall.\n"We come out so flat at home," sophomore guard Bracey Wright said. "It seems like we're just lost out there."\nSophomore guard Ryan Tapak said the team doesn't have time to be down on itself and he doesn't understand why it's been so hard for the team to win at home.\n"I grew up in Indianapolis, and it was never hard," Tapak said. "I always watched the IU games that were at home, and it's almost a guaranteed victory. We're doing the little things that are costing us basketball games right now."\nIU made only 33 percent of its field goals Saturday, while OSU made 50 percent. Neither team did well from behind the arch, with both IU and OSU making less than 30 percent of those shots. \nSophomore guard Marshall Strickland was the leading scorer for the Hoosiers with 13 points. \nWith under a minute left in the game, the Hoosiers were in the exact same position they have been in their last three home losses. It was a tied ballgame.\nIU scored its last field goal of the game with 3:44 on the clock. OSU's last field goal came at a more timely moment with only 15 seconds left. It gave them the lead, 56-58. After OSU guard J.J. Sullinger's good jumper, IU called a timeout. \nIU coach Mike Davis set up a play for Wright to score for the Hoosiers, but the OSU defense put two players on Wright, forcing him to pass the ball to a teammate. \nSenior forward A.J. Moye was wide open.\n"I knew as soon as I got it that as soon as I came off that ball screen that they would double me," Wright said. "And I knew that A.J. would be wide open, and when I caught the ball, I wasn't even thinking about trying to get that shot because I knew he'd be right behind me and open."\nWith six seconds left on the clock and Moye wide open, Wright passed the ball to his teammate in which he said he had so much faith.\nBut Moye missed the shot. \nDavis said while you normally want to go into overtime in a situation like that, Moye was wide open and took a good shot. \nMoye was then forced to foul OSU's Terence Dials to get the ball back for IU. While Dials' first free throw was good, he missed the second. \nSenior center George Leach grabbed the rebound, giving IU one last shot at the tie. \nThe four seconds on the clock weren't enough to set up a play, and Wright threw the ball across the court only for it to hit the bottom of the net and the game to be over.\nWright had his arm around Moye and was doing a lot of talking as the two walked off the court together.\n"I told him I live with that shot 10 out of 10 times," Wright said. "I know he can make it, and I have so much confidence in him that there's no reason for him to hold his head down because he missed that shot, because I'd give it to him every time in that situation and wouldn't think twice about it."\n-- Contact staff writer Natalie A. Trout at natrout@indiana.edu.
(02/20/04 5:55am)
With a loss to the worst team in the Big Ten still fresh in its mind, the IU men's basketball team has to brush off its loss and focus on the next challenge. \nAt 8 p.m. Saturday night, the Hoosiers (12-11, 6-6 Big Ten) will take on the Ohio State Buckeyes (11-13, 3-8) at Assembly Hall.\nSophomore guard Marshall Strickland said the team has had good practices this week, but it was a real let down to lose at home to Minnesota.\nStrickland said a lot of things have added up for the Hoosiers that have cost them games. He wasn't pointing fingers at one person but instead said mistakes have been made by everyone, and everyone has taken their turn. \nThe last time IU played OSU was Jan. 20, when IU won 69-60. \nIU coach Mike Davis said, like every other team IU has faced, OSU presents a problem because of its good inside players, forward Terence Dials and center Velimir Radinovic.\n"Dials is always good against Indiana," Davis said. "Every time he plays us, it's going to be a record-setting night." \nSenior center George Leach will be a key player on the inside, trying to stop Dials and Radinovic. \nAfter Leach's stellar performance in the Minnesota game, in which he scored a team high 26 points, Davis said he hopes to see the same type of play out of Leach for the rest of the season.\n"He was great. That's the best I've seen George," Davis said. "That's what people have been waiting on to see from George for five years. Hopefully he can keep his composure."\nLast week was the first time Davis said he had really seen Leach working outside of practice. Davis said he worked hard for the entire week.\nSenior forward A.J. Moye did not practice on Thursday due to a death in the family. Davis said the coaching staff is leaving it up to Moye whether or not he will play against OSU on Saturday.\nIU is 96-68 overall in the contest with OSU. The Buckeyes lost its last two in Bloomington but had consecutive wins at Assembly Hall in 1999 and 2000.\nDavis said Saturday's game would be a matter of cleaning up the little things down the stretch of the game. He said practice on Thursday was good, and he gives his team credit for still fighting.\nStrickland said the Minnesota game helped the team understand what has to happen the rest of the season. The Hoosiers' still hope to play in the NCAA tournament. \n"We have to win the rest of the games in conference and really go deep to the championship or possibly win the Big Ten Tournament to get a bid," Strickland said. "It's understood, and everybody knows what we have to do."\n-- Contact staff writer Natalie A. Trout at natrout@indiana.edu.
(02/19/04 3:49pm)
Minnesota coach Dan Monson said that IU senior center George Leach made his team pay throughout the game. \nLeach did, after all, have a career- and game-high night for the Hoosiers, scoring 26 points and grabbing eight rebounds.\nBut in the final seconds of IU's 73-71 loss at home to Minnesota (10-14, 2-10 Big Ten), it was Leach and the Hoosiers (12-11, 6-6) that paid. \nLeach came into the Minnesota game averaging 6.8 points per game. Against the Gophers, Leach had 17 points in the first half alone, making him the top scorer for IU in the first 20 minutes.\nAlthough only making six of 14 field goal attempts in the first half, Leach was able to score seven points in the last two minutes before halftime, and he only had one foul. \nIU coach Mike Davis said Leach struggled early but that further into the game they realized they needed to go inside.\n"Instead of shooting quick jump shots, you have to go with what's working for you," Davis said. "And tonight, George Leach, he was that guy."\nLeach picked up his fourth personal foul almost 13 minutes into the second half but returned with 6:35 remaining after freshman forward Pat Ewing Jr. fouled out.\nWith just 3.6 seconds left in the game and with the score tied at 71-71, the unthinkable happened. After a career-high night, Leach picked up his fifth personal foul, sending Minnesota's top scorer, freshman forward Kris Humphries, to the line to shoot two free throws.\nLeach watched from the bench as Humphries sank the two shots. \nHe watched as the Hoosiers were unable to make a basket to tie or win the game. \nSophomore guard Marshall Strickland, who had 12 points in the game, said he didn't think Leach's last foul was the only thing that cost them the game.\n"George, he did a lot of great things for us tonight," Strickland said. "It was a bunch of things that added up and everybody relaxing on certain plays, and it really killed us."\nLeach had his previous season-high 12 points when IU made the trip to Minnesota in January. The Hoosiers prevailed in that game in overtime, 86-81. \nThe 32 minutes Leach was on the court Wednesday night was one of the best performances of his entire career, and yet his team suffered a two-point loss to Minnesota, who has dwelled at the bottom of the Big Ten the entire conference season. \nWhen asked what his feelings were after the IU loss to Minnesota, Leach said he felt only one emotion.\n"Embarrassed," Leach said. "There ain't nothing else I can say. Just embarrassed."\n-- Contact staff writer Natalie A. Trout at natrout@indiana.edu.
(02/16/04 6:09am)
WEST LAFAYETTE -- If the IU men's basketball team was looking for love on Valentine's Day, West Lafayette was the last place they were going to find it.\nA game in which the Hoosiers picked up 26 fouls compared to the Boilermaker's 11, ended in Purdue's favor, 71-56.\nPurdue coach Gene Keady said he told his team it would be their biggest game of the year to see how they would handle the pressure. Sure enough, Purdue handled the pressure just like Keady wanted them to. They played with effort, and three different Boilermakers scored 17 points a piece.\nIU coach Mike Davis didn't see that same effort from the Hoosiers.\n"It's a shame to be shown, by the other team, the effort you need to win a game," Davis said.\nThe Hoosier effort looked solid in the first couple of minutes of the game. Field goals from seniors A.J. Moye and George Leach put IU up by four -- its biggest lead Saturday.\nAs IU's small lead quickly dwindled away, the team was never again in the lead and was down by as many as 16 points in the first half.\nThe Penn State game showed the Hoosiers ability to make three-point baskets, but in the contest at Purdue, IU only had three successful treys before halftime, which saw IU trail 35-25.\nThe second half had the Hoosiers down by as many as 18 points. \nIt was junior guard Ryan Tapak who stepped up for IU in their struggle to get back into the ball game.\n"Ryan Tapak played well and with a lot of energy," Davis said. "He played basketball, and I hope the other guys look at him and watch him."\nDavis said Tapak made good passes and his intensity helped him play well. \nTapak finished third on the team in scoring with 11 points -- nine of which came from three-point baskets. \nMoye said he didn't set the tone for the Hoosiers at all.\n"That's why we lost," Moye said. "I have no reason why I played like crap."\nMoye finished with seven points and two assists.\nHurting the Hoosiers the entire game was senior guard Kenneth Lowe. \nLowe scored his 1,000th career point less than eight minutes into the game. He finished with 17 points but fouled out late in the second half with a technical foul.\n"It was an error on my part," Lowe said of his technical foul and would not comment otherwise.\nIU's leading scorer was sophomore guard Bracey Wright. Wright had 16 points and three assists but was only successful on five of his 18 field-goal attempts.\nDavis said it wasn't playing on the road that hurt Wright, it was just Purdue and the fact that they wore him out and chased him all over the court.\nWright said the team missed a lot of wide-open shots and he personally wasn't able to knock them down.\nThere is no question the IU team has to win the rest of its games, Wright said, and in order to make it to the NCAA Tournament, the team will have to first win the Big Ten Tournament in March.\n"It's frustrating, but you have to take the card that's dealt right now," Wright said. "And that's the position we put ourselves in."\n-- Contact staff writer Natalie A. Trout at natrout@indiana.edu.