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(08/02/02 7:16pm)
Dane Fife wasn't selected at the NBA draft last month, and most basketball fans don't expect to see him wear an NBA jersey anytime soon. \nBut the former Hoosier has worked hard this summer to keep his NBA dreams alive. \nFife played for the Houston Rockets' summer league team at the Southern California Summer Pro League July 7-21 in Los Angeles. Although still a long shot to find his place in Houston's backcourt, Fife impressed the Rockets staff during the eight-game stint. \nRockets assistant coach Melvin Hunt said Fife conducted himself like a professional throughout the two-week tournament. \n"He was on time, and he played hard," Hunt said. "He did a great job of doing what we expected him to do." \nFife impressed the Rockets with the style of play that had become a staple of IU basketball during the Hoosiers' run to the Championship: feisty defense, accurate three-point shooting and vocal leadership. \nVoted 2002 Co-Defensive Player of the Year in the Big Ten, Fife's spirited defense and willingness to sacrifice his body were certainly on display. \nAt the beginning of the tournament, members of the Rockets' staff each picked the player they thought would stand in and take the first charging call, Hunt said. Whoever chose Fife won; he drew the first two charges. \nFife's offensive production, however, was less noticeable. He averaged slightly less than three points per game. Hunt said there's more to Fife's game than statistics.\n"It's a curse and a blessing," Hunt said of Fife's well-rounded offensive game. "He's sound and solid, a good penetrator, a good shooter, a good passer … If he can become great at one of those, he'll have something to hang his hat on." \nFife might want to try on his three-point shooting hat. He hit nearly 43 percent from behind the arc on 3-of-7 shooting. A 48 percent three-point shooter last season from the college arc, he seems to have adjusted to the longer NBA range. \nFife has modified his game, but that doesn't mean he's backed down from -- or hushed up for -- NBA veterans. Always a vocal presence on the floor of Assembly Hall, Hunt said he has continued to be a prominent on-court leader.\n"You can hear him call 'slide over!' or 'take mine!' or just 'come on, guys,'" he said.\nAlthough louder than other players on the court, it's been Fife's solid play that has caught the attention of pro clubs around the world.\n"We received calls from several NBA teams leading up to the draft asking for background information on Fife," IU associate head coach John Treloar said. "Houston was one of those teams." \nFife might have to decide his future before the Rockets do, however.\nTreloar said Fife also has several offers to play professionally overseas, which means he would have to accept a contract in the upcoming weeks. European teams begin training camp in early August. \n"He can accept the offer overseas, which guarantees money," Treloar said. "Or go to an NBA camp where there's no guarantee."\nNBA teams bring players ranging from highly-touted rookies to veteran journeymen to the camps, held in the cities of Boston, Orlando, Salt Lake City and Los Angeles. Several teams, including the Los Angeles Lakers, Memphis Grizzlies and Phoenix Suns, use these camps to evaluate players who could complement their roster. \nHunt said Houston is currently evaluating players from its summer league team and will make roster decisions in late August.\nFor draft picks with guaranteed contracts, such as Fife's ex-teammate, Washington Wizards rookie Jared Jeffries, camps allow them to adjust to professional competition. The camp is a learning experience for players such as Jeffries, who have plenty of NBA games in their future. \nFife, along with countless other free agents, doesn't have the luxury of a smooth transition to the NBA. He's fighting just to make the team. \nFife believed his work ethic would give him an advantage over players who had nothing to gain from the camp, Treloar said.\n"He felt some guys might not be in the best of shape," Treloar said of players who were assured of making an NBA roster. He also said Fife had spent the weeks leading up to camp conditioning with IU assistant coach Ben McDonald. \nAs to why Fife chose Houston, Treloar suggested that Fife's connection to Rockets head coach Rudy Tomjanovich might have influenced him. Fife's father, Dan, and Tomjanovich were teammates at the University of Michigan \n"He's great to coach," Hunt said. "We hope he can get an opportunity out of the deal"
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
The Stanley Cup Finals begin Tuesday when the Carolina Hurricanes blow into "Hockeytown" against the Detroit Red Wings. The best-of-seven series will determine the National Hockey League champion. Here's a look at the teams vying to take home Stanley for the summer. \nThe Detroit Red Wings are in the Cup Finals for the fourth time in eight years. They have won the Cup nine times. In 1997, the Red Wings celebrated a Cup championship with a parade of over a million fans.\nThe Carolina Hurricanes are in their first Cup Finals. The franchise had won a single playoff series before this year. In 1997, the Carolina Hurricanes, formerly the Hartford Whalers, played their first season in Raleigh in front of a half-empty arena. \nClearly, the Red Wings and Hurricanes don't share much more in common than their red-and-white uniforms. Here's how they'll match up when they share the ice tomorrow: \nDetroit Offense v. Carolina Defense\nIt is no surprise the Red Wings, averaging three goals a game, boast the highest scoring offense of the playoffs. The Wings feature three 600-goal scorers in veteran forwards Brett Hull, Luc Robitaille and captain Steve Yzerman. \nThe Wings don't have to rely upon their top guns, however. \n"We're so deep, you can put any line against (Carolina) and still give them trouble," said Paul Vockler, a Red Wings game night statistician. \nGrind Liner Darren McCarty recorded his first career hat trick in Game 1 of the conference finals and Tomas Holmstrom netted a two-goal 1st period in Game 7. Their exploits have masked the sudden unproductiveness of Brendan Shanahan, the Wings' regular season point leader, who had one goal in the series. \nThe Carolina defense will need to keep Shanahan, who was traded to the Wings from Carolina in 1996, in his struggling ways. \nOne player who has left his struggles behind him is Hurricanes goalie Arturs Irbe, who has been spectacular since being pulled in the middle of the first round against the New Jersey Devils. \n"I've been impressed with the way Irbe's been playing," IU men's club hockey coach Dr. Rich Holdeman said. "He's the only thing that can give them a chance."\nIf Irbe falters, back-up Kevin Weekes proved his mettle in finishing off the Devils in two games before Irbe's second-round return. \nCarolina Offense v. Detroit Defense\nThe Carolina attack features the "BBC Line" of Rod Brind'Amour, Bates Battaglia and Eric Cole, which has accounted for 34 of the Canes' 100 playoff points. \n"That's a good line," said Vockler of the BBC Line. "Carolina is young, and has fresher legs."\nThe Hurricanes' youth and physical style are embodied in rookie sensation Cole and center Jeff O'Neill, who have each earned nine points and more than 20 penalty minutes. \nThey hope to wear down a Detroit defense that struggled at the onset of the playoffs against the Vancouver Canucks, the highest-scoring team in the regular season. Since then, the Wings have put the "D" back in Detroit. The Wings shut out the Colorado Avalanche, featuring playoff point leaders Peter Forsberg and Joe Sakic, in the final two games of conference finals.\nIf future Hall-of-Fame defensemen Chris Chelios and Nicklas Lidstrom stumble, Carolina will have to get past Detroit netminder Dominik Hasek, arguably the greatest NHL goalie never to win a Stanley Cup. The "Dominator" already has five shutouts, the most ever in a single playoff.\nFor the 37-year-old Hasek, a six-time winner of the Vezina Trophy, which goes to the NHL's best netminder during the regular season, a championship could complete an illustrious career.\nWeight of Expectations\nThe Red Wings were designed for a Stanley Cup run, Yankees-style: A high payroll with higher expectations. Red Wings owner Mike Illitch and the fans expect another parade through the streets of "Hockeytown."\n"I never went before," said Robert Powell, a high school teacher in suburban Detroit who had to attend classes during the victory parades in 1997 and 1998. "I'm going this year." \nAdding to the pressure is that Red Wing veterans such as Hasek, Robitaille and Yzerman don't have many years left on the ice. It's been four years since the Wings' last trip to the finals. It's unlikely this crew can wait four more.\nThat urgency could turn to panic if the upstart Hurricanes can steal one of the first two games in Detroit. Carolina fans, removed from their 1997 apathy, could give the Hurricanes a home ice advantage -- they sold out finals tickets in 35 minutes. \n"It's a nice atmosphere," said Holdeman, who attended a Hurricanes game in December. "It's a pretty big crowd."\nThe Hurricanes, not expected to get out of the first round, have relished the role of the underdog throughout the playoffs. Now the Wings will see if they have any bite.
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
He has been a high school McDonald's All-American, the Big Ten Most Valuable Player and a key member of a Final Four team. \nOn Wednesday, Jared Jeffries will add first-round draft pick to his list of accolades at the NBA Draft in New York City. The former IU star will likely be a top-10 selection, according to draft analysts for espn.com and cnnsi.com. \nThe draft will mark the end of Jeffries' remarkable career in Bloomington, first from Bloomington North High School and later as a Hoosier. It will also mark the beginning of a dream.\n"All my life, I've (dreamed) to hear my name called for the NBA Draft," Jeffries said when he announced his decision to go pro. "I never could have imagined that I would get an opportunity to play in the NBA so early."\nJeffries' opportunity may become one team's gain Wednesday night. The NBA covets players like Jeffries, 7-footers who can score in the post, drive to the basket and shoot from outside. Versatility is so sought after that a player similar to Jeffries, 7-foot-5-inch Yao Ming from China, will likely be the first overall pick of the Houston Rockets. \nEven at nine years old playing AAU basketball, Jeffries exhibited the skills that have impressed NBA insiders. Jeffries' incredible height never made him feel awkward on the basketball court, said Cecilia Jeffries, Jared's mother.\n"He always said he wanted to be a point guard," said Cecilia. "But he just kept growing."\nJeffries' physical growth since his AAU days has been complemented with an understanding of what he is capable of doing. \n"He's improved (at IU) on posting-up inside and stepping out when he has to," said Bloomington North coach Tom McKinney, who won a State title with Jeffries in 1997. \nIronically, the major critique of Jeffries' game may be that he is too versatile.\n"Jeffries is one of those kids that is so impressive because he does so many things well for a big man," one scouting report on espn.com said. "The problem is that he doesn't do anything great." \nJeffries admitted he had plenty of work ahead of him when he decided to enter the draft. \n"I realize that in no way am I a finished basketball product," Jeffries said at the press conference in April. "I know I must develop in order to meet the demands of NBA basketball." \nAnd he has certainly developed. Jeffries has gained roughly 15 pounds since the NCAA championship game, when he struggled against Maryland's larger frontcourt in a 64-52 loss. Listed at 215 pounds at the start of the season, he weighed 230 pounds at a pre-draft function in Chicago. \nThe beefed-up Jeffries has likely impressed NBA scouts with his work ethic as much as his improved strength.\n"Strength is not something that you gain overnight. It takes months and months work," IU Associate Head Coach John Treloar said. "Since the end of the season, he has had more time to commit to the weight room, which allows for quicker progress." \nBesides his versatility and new muscle, Treloar said he thinks NBA teams are seeing other attributes of his game in private workouts.\n"One thing that has probably gone unnoticed is his great defensive play," Treloar said. "He is a good team defensive player, (that's) something that scouts look for."\nScouts are also looking for players who can help immediately. In recent years, high school players have moved up in the draft. Such is the case with last year's No. 1 pick, Kwame Brown, whom the Washington Wizards are patiently tutoring for NBA stardom. With fewer prep players expected to go in the first round, experienced players from the U.S. and overseas might get more attention in this year's draft.\nFortunately for Jeffries, one of 47 underclassmen who forfeited collegiate eligibility to go pro, he has been groomed for the NBA game. McKinney credits IU head coach Mike Davis for making Jeffries NBA-ready.\n"He's coached in the pro leagues," said McKinney of Davis, who coached in the CBA during the early 1990s. "Some of the sets (Jeffries) ran in college, he'll run in the pros." \nTreloar agrees.\n"Jared will succeed in the NBA because he knows how to play and understands the NBA game," Treloar said. "This makes for a quicker transition (from college)."\nMock drafts by the media predict Jeffries will be selected between the 8th and 12th pick of the draft. Andy Katz of ESPN and Ian Thomsen of Sports Illustrated both think that the Phoenix Suns, who have the ninth pick, will select Jeffries. \nAnother possibility is one of Jeffries' favorite teams, the Miami Heat, at the tenth pick. However, his mother said Jeffries doesn't have a preference at this point. \n"He's liked them all," said Cecilia Jeffries of the teams he has worked out for in recent weeks, including Memphis, the No. 4 pick; Cleveland, No. 6; New York, No. 7; Phoenix, No. 9; Miami, No. 10; and Washington, No. 11. \nWhether he goes in the top-10 or slips to the middle of the first round, Jeffries' draft position will net him a hefty first paycheck. In 1999, the Suns had the ninth pick, which they used to select forward Shawn Marion. They signed Marion to a three-year deal worth over $4 million. A similar deal likely awaits Jeffries, if not in Phoenix then elsewhere. \nAnd although he might not be sure how to spend all of his NBA riches, Jeffries at least has a few ideas.\n"Jared and his father (Tom) like to go fishing," Cecilia said. "So Jared's said he'll buy him a truck and a boat so they can go out and fish."\nWhen asked why her son won't buy his family something bigger, like a house, Cecilia didn't hesitate.\n"We have such a wonderful family," said Cecilia, who added that several of Jared's relatives live in Bloomington. "We're not material people. We're very content."\nFamily members will travel to New York today to attend the draft. Cecilia, Tom, his brother Justin and Jeffries' girlfriend will join Jeffries in the "green room" at The Theater at Madison Square Garden. \nProbable first-round picks will wait in the green room before walking across the stage to greet NBA Commissioner David Stern. Jeffries, like most potential first-rounders, has a new tailor-made suit for his NBA entrance. \nAnd that's why despite the significance Wednesday night holds for Jared Jeffries, his mother will come back from New York with memories that have nothing to do with basketball. \n"It'll be the only time, other than prom, I'll see him in clothes that fit," Cecilia said.
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
The IU athletics department announced Wednesday that former University of Pacific coach Ray Looze Jr. will be the next men's swimming coach. Looze replaces Kris Kirchner at the helm of one of the Big Ten's most storied swimming programs.\nLooze's work ethic and reputation for building programs impressed members of the committee that selected him from a national search. \n"He's a young coach with lots of energy," said Jennifer Brinegar, a member of the committee. "That's what we're going to need to put this program back on top."\nSenior swimmer David Schulze also recognized the competitive fire in the 35-year-old coach.\n"He's really motivated," Schulze said. "(The team) can feed off that motivation."\nBrinegar said she hopes Looze's energy and success at the collegiate and prep level will attract blue-ribbon recruits to IU.\n"A young coach can relate with recruits," Brinegar said of Looze, who was a four-year All-American for the University of Southern California from 1987-1990. Looze coached New Jersey's Peddie School from 1993-1995, leading them to Swimming World's mythical high school national championship prior to his tenure at Pacific. \nLooze said recruiting in-state talent to IU is a top priority in rebuilding the program. \n"We need to take care of our own backyard," said Looze, who added he would concentrate on recruiting throughout the Midwest. \nLooze concludes a successful five-year stint at Pacific, where he guided both the men's and women's teams to Big West titles last season. Looze also garnered Big West men's coach of the year honors for the fourth consecutive season in 2002. \nHired as the men's coach in 1997, Looze assumed coaching duties a year later for the women's team at Pacific, where he worked under current IU Director of Athletics, Michael McNeely. \n"Our mission is to prepare student-athletes for championship competition," McNeely said in a prepared statement. "We are fully confident that Ray will provide outstanding leadership for successfully building upon the IU swimming program's championship history." \nLooze will take over a program that has captured 23 Big Ten swimming titles, but none since 1985. In 12 seasons under Kirchner, who was fired in May, IU placed no higher than third in the conference. The Hoosiers slipped to seventh at the 2002 Big Ten Championships. \nLooze is also looking to the past to prepare for the future. He has already contacted several alumni of the men's program, which won six consecutive NCAA titles from 1968-1973 under legendary coach James "Doc" Counsilman.\n"I need all the support I can get," said Looze, who will begin searching for an assistant coach immediately. \nAmong the changes he will bring to Bloomington, Looze promises a tougher meet schedule to prepare for the rigorous Big Ten competition. The conference had five schools in the top 20 at the NCAA Championships in March. The Hoosiers finished in 32nd place. \n"We need to learn how to live like champions," Looze said.
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
Both of your captains have graduated. So have five of your point leaders. And it's your first year on the job. \nThis is the predicament of Adam Schuchman, first-year general manager of the IU ice hockey team. The Hoosiers reached the 2002 National semifinals in March, but will be a much different team when Schuchman holds tryouts in September. \n"The top-scoring line is gone," said Schuchman, referring to the trio of Bryan Grant, Brandon Phillips and captain Dan Hauck. "So that's where we will be working."\nSchuchman and head coach Dr. Rich Holdeman, who returns for his 11th season, will not be starting from scratch, however.\nThe offense starts with returning leading scorer David Ravensberg, who will try to avoid a sophomore slump after netting 21 goals in his freshman campaign. Ravensberg will look for senior Clint Heiber, whose 29 assists were the second most on the team last season. \nDespite graduating five seniors who accounted for more than half of the team's offense, Schuchman said this will only exhibit the club's depth. \n"We have excellent players from the third, fourth lines moving up," Schuchman said. "And we'll fill those lines."\nPlayers such as junior forward Bob Pesavento, who had one goal in nine games, could benefit from the roster turnover with more ice time. But Pesavento is more concerned about team chemistry than individual opportunity.\n"Hopefully, returning players will show some improvement and come together," said Pesavento, who said he sees himself as a grinder and playmaker rather than a scorer. "It's not about who's starting and who's on the third and fourth lines -- it's how we come together." \nHow the returning players mesh with newcomers, who will tryout for nine openings on the 30-man roster, will also be key. Schuchman said he hopes tryouts will produce some new prospects who can help at both ends of the ice. \n"There's not a lot of good defensemen out there who want to play defense," Schuchman said. He also said he would like to find a committed defensemen to the returning group of blue-liners.\nJunior defenseman Mike Piotrowski, who has been voted the team's most valuable player on defense the past two seasons, will anchor the blueline once again. The defense returns Piotrowski and four other defensemen, but loses its top-scoring defenseman and captain in Tim McMahon. \n"I think we're as strong or stronger than last season," said Joe Rogers, assistant captain of the defensive unit. Rogers said he expects sophomore Jamie Dillon to build on an impressive freshman season to compensate for the loss of McMahon. \nThe defense will have the luxury of working in front of starting netminder Charlie Pulley, who returns for his senior season after posting a 15-3-1 record last year. Schuchman said Junior goalies Josh Block and Brandon Tucker are familiar with the program and will likely see more minutes this season. \n"We're pretty strong in goaltending with all three returning," he said. \nBy pairing a solid defensive and goaltending core with a less-seasoned offense, Rogers said the team will have to buckle down on defense.\n"I definitely think we're going to watch our goals-against," Rogers said. "Because we had five to six goals, but we might only score two to three a game (this season)." \nA member of the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA), the hockey program has reached the Division II national title game three times under Holdeman, most recently in 2000. \nThe Hoosiers compete in the Great Midwest Hockey League (GMHL), which includes club squads from Big Ten counterparts Michigan and Michigan State. \nFor more information about the club and fall tryouts, visit www.indiana.edu/~iuhockey.
(06/13/02 3:55am)
The crowd stretched so far down the street it didn't seem to end. Everyone sweating through their red and white shirts was yelling as if they had won the lottery. Strangers were high-fiving and hugging like best friends, simply because their team won … a hockey game?\nThis picture might stir memories of pushing (or getting pushed) through the crowds at Kirkwood Avenue or Showalter Fountain during the Hoosiers' Final Four run, but I also remember watching this scene five years ago, when my hometown Red Wings paraded through the streets of Detroit with the Stanley Cup -- the trophy of the NHL Championship -- on television.\nAt the time I thought I had missed my chance to share in the jubilee, the last sports championship I would see in my life. Then the Hoosiers made their remarkable run on the hardcourt, and I darted around campus in my candy-striped pants, got a picture with fellow Michigan-native Dane Fife and rubbed shoulders with Jared Jeffries. (Actually, I think it was his hip and my shoulder, but you get the point.) \nSports celebrations might be the purest joy left in sports. There's no ticket prices or expensive merchandise. An interesting costume and loud voice certainly help. But all you need is pride and gratefulness that you support one particular team at one extraordinary time. \nThere will be sports celebrations across the country and the world in the next few weeks, for the NBA Finals, the Stanley Cup Finals and the World Cup. None of them will be exactly alike. None of them will be like Bloomington in March. But all of them will be unforgettable.\nSo, in the coming days, when my Detroit Red Wings clinch their third Stanley Cup in six years by defeating the Carolina Hurricanes, I will have three things: a full tank of gas (it's a long ride to Detroit), a camera and thankfulness that I can go celebrate again, as if it's my very first time.
(05/13/02 3:46am)
The men's and women's track and field teams enjoyed several first-place performances in the final regular-season home meet on Saturday at the Billy Hayes Invitational. Held at the Robert C. Haugh Track Complex, the invite served as a final tune-up before next weekend's Big Ten Championship.\nThe women's five first-place victories were highlighted by freshman Emily Tharpe's record-setting victory in the pole vault. Tharpe broke her own school record, which she set earlier in the season, and also the track record. \nJunior Danielle Carruthers nearly broke her school record in the 100-meter hurdles with a winning time of 12.89. Carruthers' time was still the fourth-fastest in the world this year by any athlete -- amateur or professional. Carruthers' performance makes her the second-fastest American woman this year. \nJunior Rachelle Boone and senior Tia Trent continued their season-long success, winning the 100-meter dash and the 400-meter run, respectively. Junior Irina Kharun won in the javelin competition and freshman Carolyn Schopf won in the triple-jump to round out the women's victories.\nAlthough not considered technical victories in the open meet format, freshman Mindy Peterson and sophomore Audrey Giesler were the top two collegians in the 1,500-meter run, both with season-best times. \nFor so many Hoosiers to notch personal bests the weekend before the Big Ten Championship was an encouraging sign to assistant coach Ed Beathea. \n"It's not a matter of getting in shape," Beathea said. "It's a matter of going out and having a positive race." \nThe lone victory for the men came from freshman Mike Skiles' season-best performance in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. \nDespite only one victory and sitting out half of his squad on Saturday, men's coach Marshall Goss said he was still impressed with the performances turned in, including junior Hasaan Reddick's second-place finish in the triple jump. \nGoss said he was also pleased to see sophomore Contrell Ash, the 2001 Big Ten champion in the 100-meter dash, return from a six-week layoff. Ash sprinted to a seventh-place finish with a season-best time of 10.60.\nIn the 110-meter hurdles, junior Matt Harris and sophomore Micah Harvey placed second and fourth, respectively. Both hurdlers had season-best times. \n"(Harris and Harvey) had big performances for themselves," said Goss, who hopes another big performance next weekend can place them high at Big Tens. Harvey said he thinks he's in a good position to do just that.\n"With it getting closer to Big Tens, I'm getting happier and happier each time I run," Harvey said.\nAlthough the Hoosiers enjoyed the comforts of home on Saturday, both the men's and women's teams will travel to Madison, Wisc., for the Big Ten Championship this weekend.\n"We always look forward to running at home," Goss said. "But we know next weekend is the big one"