BPD fleet keeps streets of Bloomington safe
Bloomington Police Deputy Chief Anthony Pope remembers when he began his career in law enforcement 27 years ago and was assigned a Dodge Diplomat police car.
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Bloomington Police Deputy Chief Anthony Pope remembers when he began his career in law enforcement 27 years ago and was assigned a Dodge Diplomat police car.
The owner emerged from the door, escorting a health inspector out of the building.
The #ReclaimMLK protest Monday blocking the intersection of Third Street and College Mall Road turned violent when Michael McConnell, 22, allegedly battered a Bloomington Police Department Officer.
Brittni N. Snyder, 29, was arrested Wednesday afternoon on a preliminary charge of theft, a Class A Misdemeanor, and she was subsequently booked into the Monroe County Jail.
What began as a lunchtime editorial meeting in the offices of French satirical weekly newspaper Charlie Hebdo last Wednesday turned into a harrowing, calculated assault that ended two days later in a pair of standoffs on the outskirts of Paris.
Two arrests have been made in the strong-armed robbery reported early Thursday morning at the Circle K gas station and convenience store at about 12:19 a.m., according to a press release from Bloomington Police Department Captain Joe Qualters.
Spying his target more than 30 yards away, Tony Zizak lifts his right arm and reaches over his shoulder to pull an arrow out of his fox-skin quiver. He feeds the arrow through his Mathews bow and pulls the string taut to his ear.
In the seemingly never-ending game of musical chairs that is conference realignment in NCAA Division I athletics, the music stopped July 1 for the Big Ten Conference.
IU’s Kelley School of Business is no stranger to accolades that place it among the best — if not the best — business schools in the country.
In the seemingly never-ending game of musical chairs that is conference realignment in NCAA Division I athletics, the music stopped July 1 for the Big Ten Conference.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Mersades Clouse enters Frank Southern Ice Arena and leaves her name at the door. The ice has melted and the rink has been converted to a roller derby track. As she steps onto the track for her second home bout of the season, Clouse is no longer a junior majoring in social work at IU. Standing nearly six feet tall in skates and a helmet, she is “Mersadist” — a roller girl name her boyfriend came up with.As a blocker, it’s Mersadist’s job to deliver punishing hits on the track. She competes for Bleeding Heartlands Roller Derby’s A team, the Flatliners.Brash, and not for the faint of heart, roller derby is unlike any other sport.It's a giant game of cat and mouse on skates, like an hour-long episode of "Tom and Jerry," except with more violence. The catch is that each team gets to be the hunter and the hunted — at the same time.Other than points scored, there are no stats recorded. There aren’t any rebounds, assists or steals. Body checks and the resulting bruises are the currency of hard work and hustle in roller derby. “When I first started playing roller derby, I fell all the time, and I just had the most beautifully rainbow-colored bruises,” Mersadist said. “They were gorgeous, and I was obsessed with getting new ones.”Part of her uniform is for show, the rest is for her own protection. Wearing a helmet, pairs of wrist guards, elbow pads and knee pads, and the number 70 written in Sharpie on her biceps, she huddles with the rest of her team on the sideline. Five players per team skate around the track, with each side recognizing one skater as the “jammer.” The jammer tallies a point each time she laps one of her opponents. The rest of the players are blockers.Teams utilize the depth of their benches, sending waves of players to the track for a series of fast-paced, minute-long shifts. Roller derby is the equivalent of building a sand castle too close to the ocean. The ocean will always knock down the sand castle, and the jammer will always break through the blockers. The key is how quickly blockers can get back in position and fortify a human wall for the next time the opposing jammer skates around the track.They can’t completely stop the jammer. They can only hope to slow her down. What separates the winning team from the losing team is its ability to play offense and defense at the same time.Mersadist, or “Mercy” for short, often plays the role of the pivot. The pivot is a blocker who has the distinct ability to replace the jammer if the jammer gets tired or stuck behind opposing blockers. Each team’s pivot wears the “pivot panty,” a special helmet covering to distinguish her role. The beauty of roller derby is there isn’t a perfect recipe of players to win a bout. Players of all types are welcomed with open arms to Bleeding Heartland Roller Derby, and each has a role on the team.“We welcome all body types, all personalities, all people,” Mersadist said. “We don’t ever tell anyone they can’t play with us. It’s never like that.”Small, agile players are typically jammers, with the lateral quickness to sidestep opposing blockers and to tiptoe along the out-of-bounds line. Bigger players often make for great blockers as they are able to position their bodies to cut off possible escape routes for the other team’s jammer.“Sometimes you might put a big jammer in there, because she can just smash through everybody on the track,” Flatlines Coach Duke Silver said. “Sometimes you want a little jammer. We obviously rely heavily on Nuck L. Sammie, who is tiny, but nobody can touch her. She’s so fast.”Tall players have better visibility in packs. Small players can sneak unnoticed through openings between blockers.Mersadist said roller derby is a welcoming sport, but it’s physically demanding. There isn’t a ball to throw or kick from one player to the next — only bodies to skate through. For Mersadist, a fifth-year roller derby player, blocking is both a physical and mental challenge. “I love blocking, because I constantly have to be playing offense and defense,” she said. “It’s such a mind game to be playing.”Mersadist practices 15 hours per week and coaches for another two hours during the week, she said, on top of being a full-time student, having an internship, volunteering at Martha’s House and working two jobs. But playing in front of a few hundred passionate fans who aren’t shy to celebrate a big hit makes it all worth it.“I eat that shit up,” she said. “I absolutely love it. There’s nothing more rewarding than working so hard at something and then having other people appreciate it or enjoy watching us do the crazy tricks that we do or the crazy awesome blocking that we do.”The bottom line is that roller derby is unique.From the lingo — a “panty pass” is when a pivot becomes a jammer — to the arena complete with disco balls and lights. From the fans' indifference towards a player vomiting mid-bout — several sprinkles of sand and a few sweeps of a broom should do the trick — to the singing of ‘O Canada’ before the bout between the Flatlines and Ontario’s Hammer City Roller Girls. From overhearing the arena’s in-game announcer say “Pants? I hate pants!” to the first row of seats on the floor being labeled as “Suicide Seating.”Among the spectators and even the players, there is largely no dress code, aside from the matching jerseys the players wear. “Derby’s kind of a land of misfits,” Coach Silver said. “It’s a very queer-friendly sport. There’s a lot of transgender skaters. Everybody can be open with their lifestyle. It’s very accepting.”Silver said he felt out of place when he joined roller derby, until a skater pulled him aside and told him everybody there was a freak.“That’s why we’re here,” the skater told him.Show up as you are, and you’ll be welcomed.Or think of a clever alter ego and show off a different side of yourself, just like Uh Huh Hurricane, Oxford Coma, Special Sass and the rest of the Bleeding Heartland Roller Derby skaters have.“The best part is they get to make it up themselves,” Mersadist said. “You get to create your own persona. You get to be your own person.”
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Ten weeks after he held his mother for the last time, Jeff Jones was back on his bike.He rode his 2008 Little 500 model Schwinn to class one day in early February. It was just a simple ride across campus. For any experienced cyclist, it would’ve been nothing special. But for Jones, it was everything.Only seven weeks after surgery for a hernia had wretched his abdomen, he was more than halfway to a full recovery. It meant no more time in the hospital. It meant he was back to doing what he loved. It meant he was that much closer to racing in the Little 500.But his journey was far from over. The surgery kept him off the bike for almost two months, and he needed to resume his training. He needed his wound from the surgery to heal, and he needed to lead his team to a qualifying time that placed Sigma Nu’s bike team among the top 33.He had come too far for anything short of success.As a sophomore in high school, Jones began cycling when he started mountain biking through trails outside of Connersville, Ind. After he joined Sigma Nu’s bike team as a freshman in the spring 2012, his mission was clear: He wanted to race in the Little 500.In his mother’s hospital room, he told her again and again, “I’m going to make you proud.”He saw racing in the Little 500 as a chance to keep that promise.***Cycling is a drug for Jones. He’s hooked on the endorphins released during challenging rides.To him, there’s nothing more fulfilling than a three-hour ride to test his endurance.“Especially when you get done after that long ride, you just feel so great about yourself,” he said. “I can’t get over the fact of just being on the bike, being in the saddle, just there all the time.”Jones is in his third year on the Sigma Nu bike team. He has participated in every Little 500 event — the fall series, spring series and Fast Fridays — except for the race itself.He was supposed to ride in the race as a sophomore, when one of his teammates had a pending trial with the University. However, the trial was postponed, making Jones just another fan instead of a rider on race day.After Sigma Nu’s four seniors placed seventh last April, they graduated. In a span of 16 months, he progressed from a rookie who had to draft off of his more experienced teammates to even finish 20-mile rides to the only rider left on Sigma Nu’s team. Jones was forced to be a jack-of-all-trades: he was his team’s captain, best rider, recruiter and coach. Not only did he have to convince at least three more riders to even field a team, he then had to coach and lead them.Ever since last summer when he was handed the reins to the bike team, Jones had been completely focused on a top-10, maybe a top-five, finish in the Little 500. Then his mom called him from the hospital.***Rita Jones was fighting leukemia when she fell and hit her head Oct. 23, 2013.She called Jones and his twin sister, Julie, from the hospital, telling them not to worry because her doctors said she would be all right.But she was not all right.Jones said his mother had suffered a subdural hematoma, a traumatic brain injury that caused bleeding in her brain. Though she had undergone chemotherapy to defeat her leukemia, the disease had reduced the number of platelets in her blood, leaving doctors helpless to stop her brain’s bleeding.Jones was doing homework in Sigma Nu’s formal lounge, four or five hours after Rita called him, when he got a call from his aunt. She said he and Julie needed to get to the hospital as soon as possible.He said he drove as fast as he could, but by the time he made it to her hospital room, Rita had already spoken her final words to him. She was unconscious and doctors were giving her morphine to ease the pain.“You can’t go in for brain surgery with that because obviously, you know, you cut someone open and they have the low blood cell count, they’re just going to bleed to death,” he said.Doctors continued to give Rita morphine. Jones, Julie and their family waited at her bedside. The doctors didn’t tell Jones how bad Rita’s injury was, so he was hoping for the best. But as time passed, he began to realize she wouldn’t recover.Rita died the morning of Oct. 24.Jones sat on her bed, he said, holding her until that moment came.Julie described Jones and their mother as being two peas in a pod. While she was more prone to arguing with their mother, she said he always got along with her perfectly.“It was surreal,” Jones said. “I can’t describe the pain of the situation.”***Living in Bloomington with thousands of other students, the clutter of a small city and countless buildings, Jones said he can get cloudy-headed and tense. After his mother died, he needed a sense of normalcy. He got on his bike.“Anytime I’m stressed, that’s my paradise,” he said.Jones took only a week off school because his mother pushed him to be successful, he said, and he wasn’t going to prolong his college career so he could spend a few more weeks grieving. “I was going to do the best of my ability to get back to school or the real life and succeed and make her happy,” he said. In the fall, Jones’ goal for Sigma Nu’s bike team was to build up everyone’s base mileage. In Jones’ eyes, Bloomington is a cycling hub. In his three years at IU, he has discovered numerous routes he loves. But one route to Lake Lemon is special to him.On the back side of the water there is a two-mile stretch of flat road that quickly morphs into a huge climb, a challenge Jones cherished. “It’s just one of those rides you feel great about when you’re done,” he said.Jones led his team through 30- and 40-mile rides, like those to Lake Lemon, four or five times per week to develop his team’s endurance.The unfortunate irony about his love of the lake was that the hernia was rooted in an abdominal strain he suffered while tubing on a lake in high school.Between Jones’ high-interval circuit training and his 175-mile weeks on his bike, the strain could no longer endure his exercise regimen. He said the hernia felt as if his abdomen snapped.“It just felt like there was a knife right there in my groin,” Jones said.***When doctors cut him open, they found a direct hernia. His intestines had punctured his abdominal wall.They pushed his intestines back and sutured a thin mesh patch to the wall to reinforce the weak area where the hernia was. The sutures the doctors used to sew the mesh patch were designed to disappear. Jones hoped they’d dissolve and go away, ending the pain.After the surgery, Jones said his doctor told him he would be able to ride in this year’s Little 500. A full recovery was supposed to take only four to six weeks.So Jones returned to the gym four weeks after his doctor approved of light lifting. But he began to feel worse.“Spring break came around, and I couldn’t walk,” Jones said.He gave himself an ultimatum: If he could go on Sigma Nu’s spring break cycling trip and ride 300 miles that week, then he would ride in the Little 500.But the pain worsened. One day he couldn’t walk at all. Then he lied on the couch for five days. While his teammates prepared for intense training, Jones was immobilized, gripped with pain.“The day before spring break was the day I decided I wasn’t going to ride,” he said. Thirty-one days after his first post-surgery ride in February, Jones realized he wouldn’t be riding in this year’s Little 500. Julie said unlike their mother’s death, which she said motivated Jones, the hernia had crushed his spirit. He was supposed to be the captain of Sigma Nu’s bike team. The team’s heart and soul. Its leader.Then he was out of the picture.All Jones wanted to do was ride, he said, but he had to look at the long-term affects of his hernia and surgery on his overall health.“To have that ripped from you is pretty tragic,” Jones said. Ultimately, he thought about how he needed to get better physically, and not just so he could race in the Little 500.There was still another chance to ride as a senior. But he’s stuck with his body for the rest of his life. There are no second chances when it comes to permanently injuring his abdomen.After seeing the stress he was putting himself through physically following the surgery, he said, he decided he needed to let himself heal.***April 26 will mark the second consecutive year that Jones will watch the men’s Little 500, when he had planned on racing.But unlike last year, he won’t be in the stands. He’ll be one step closer to the action, as Sigma Nu’s coach.Despite being barely able to walk, Jones has gone to track practices all spring. His riders need his guidance.“The guys don’t really know what they’re doing on exchanges and all that stuff,” he said.Though Jones has never raced in the Little 500, he’s a student of the sport. He has learned the intricacies of pack riding, breakaways and exchanges. When Jones couldn’t walk — he relied on an IU disabled services bus to transport him to his classes for several weeks — he still found a way to make it to Bill Armstrong Stadium for practices. “I really think I have a good eye for everything now,” he said. Standing on the sidelines this year has forced Jones to take a step back and look at his life and the challenges he has had to face, Julie said.“But he can adjust to it,” she said.Already Jones has changed his diet, avoiding processed food and instead consuming more protein shakes, fruits and vegetables. He filled the void biking left in his life by buying an entry-level Fender acoustic guitar and teaching himself to play. He changed his major to health administration. He said he wants to teach people about preventative care.But he said when he returns to full strength, he will take every opportunity to ride.As a racer, Jones said there’s no question he wants to win the Little 500 next year. The only way for him to do that is to be the best possible Jeff Jones that he can be.“It’s really been a big change of heart because I’ve honestly changed my whole outlook to gear towards being healthy and being in shape and trying to be as good as I can be on the bike,” he said.He has one opportunity left to ride in the Little 500 before he graduates, and he said he’s not going to let injury or a bad diet stop him.“I will be as healthy and as fit as I can be, and I will do my best for my bike team because that’s what means the most to me as a racer,” he said. “I want to race, and I’m going to do everything I can to fulfill that goal.”
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Months of training will be put to the test Saturday during the 2014 Little 500 qualifications at Bill Armstrong Stadium. This year marks the 64th running of the men’s Little 500 and 27th edition of the women’s race. Thirty-seven men’s and 35 women’s teams will attempt to qualify for one of the 33 spots in each race.Qualification times were chosen Monday evening in a double-random draw.The top three men’s and women’s teams from the fall cycling series were awarded the opportunity to pick their qualification times, but the rest had to endure the suspense of picking their times out of a hat.Phi Gamma Delta, known as Fiji, will kick off the event with the first trial at 8 a.m. The track conditions may change over the course of the day, potentially giving some teams an advantage. Alpha Epsilon Phi rider Sydney Aronovitz said the track might be a little fresher early in the morning, while Liz Lieberman, a cyclist for Kappa Alpha Theta, said mornings tend to be wet and windy.“It’s definitely something to take into consideration,” Lieberman said.Given the split personality of the weather in Indiana, there is no way to accurately predict what the conditions of the track will be until race day.Theta rider Brenna Mcginn said the weather changed about three teams this week, adding that her team doesn’t know if there are potential advantages of qualifying early in the morning or later in the day.She offers simple advice for cyclists attempting to combat Mother Nature.“Pedal harder,” Mcginn said with a laugh.AEPhi rider Margot Kleinberg said her team is happy with its early qualification time. AEPhi is scheduled to take the track at 9:40 a.m.“We’re really excited about that so we can kind of get it over with,” she said. “Our heads will be clear for the rest of the day. We won’t be thinking about it.”AEPhi is made up entirely of rookies, so it has less cycling experience compared to veteran teams.Kleinberg said her team is just learning, making the road ahead for AEPhi a little more nerve-racking. She said her team rides every day, and they have spent three hours per day at the track in the days leading up to qualifications.“It’s that intense,” Kleinberg said. “It’s unlike any other sport you’ve ever experienced.”Qualifications will continue until 4:25 p.m., when Cutters will be the final team to take the track. Teams can choose to attempt to qualify for a third time at 5 p.m.In each qualification attempt, teams will ride four consecutive laps, with a different rider riding each lap.The first rider will get one warm-up lap and the attempt officially starts once the rider crosses the start-finish line. After each lap, the rider will exchange the bike with his or her teammate, and the exchange must take place within 16 feet of either side of the start and finish line. The attempt is over as soon as the fourth rider crosses the finish line.Theta cyclist Abbey Rogers said the key to performing well Saturday will be her team’s mindset.“I think (it’s) the mentality of ‘we’ve done this a thousand times already,’” she said. “Nothing is changing. It’s us, the bike and the track.”While that mantra sounds good in theory, Saturday will be so much more than just the cyclists and their bikes. The stadium will be brought to life with thousands of fans supporting the riders.“It’s not just the four of us,” Lieberman said. “But it’s your house or your parents or whoever is coming to support you. You have a hundred of your friends cheering you on.”New and established teams alike will leave it all on the track Saturday, as four men’s teams and two women’s teams will not make the cut.Qualifying for the Little 500 is the most important part of Saturday. Earning a good position in April’s race is just the cherry on top.“Our goal is just to qual,” Aronovitz said. “We don’t care exactly how fast we are, but we just want to make it.”
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU freshman wide receiver Isaac Griffith, who redshirted last season, suffered injuries to his lungs after a swimming accident last Monday evening. He was taken to Sarasota Memorial Hospital in Sarasota, Fla., where doctors put him into a medically induced coma until Wednesday night. Griffith was discharged Sunday afternoon. Here is a timeline of events in his accident and recovery.About 6:30 p.m. Monday, March 17IU football players Isaac Griffith, Ty Smith, Nick Stoner and IU student Mitch McCune traveled to Sarasota, Fla., for spring break and stayed at La Siesta Condominiums. The four students consumed alcohol in their room before going across the street to Siesta Beach, according to an incident report from the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office. All four men went swimming, and the current pushed them away from shore. Griffith was reportedly taken about 15 yards away from the swim buoy, where he started to go into distress.The incident report said McCune rescued Griffith and brought him back to shore, where he had a pulse but was unconscious. His breathing was short and sporadic, so McCune performed CPR while 911 was called. Marine rescue and law enforcement responded, and Griffith was transported to Sarasota Memorial Hospital.The report said, “The hospital later reported Griffith’s CAT scan results came back normal, which is promising.”The incident was reported at 7:31 p.m. Monday.10:04 p.m.Homestead Football tweeted, “Please pray for former Spartan & current Hoosier, Isaac Griffith & his family. Isaac was in a swimming accident & is critical. Thank you.”10:55 p.m.IU Athletics released a statement, “We are aware of Isaac Griffith’s condition. Our prayers are with Isaac and his family and we ask Hoosier Nation to keep the Griffith family in their thoughts.”11:04 p.m.Shannon Griffith, Isaac’s father, tweeted that he and his wife Kim were boarding a plane to Sarasota. Then, Shannon said his son was stabilized in a medically induced coma. Isaac’s other vitals were positive, but he was “still critical.”6:45 a.m. TuesdayShannon tweeted that he and Kim had arrived at Isaac’s bedside in the intensive care unit at 2 a.m. and had not left. His father said his vitals were stable, but the freshman was still in a medically induced coma and was on a ventilator to help his lungs heal.10:48 p.m. TuesdayShannon tweeted Isaac was still on the ventilator, but doctors reduced it to 50 percent of his breathing.“We continue to pray for lungs to show signs of healing and pray for the antibiotics they are giving him to ward off infection,” he tweeted. “Isaac is receiving great care here at #SarasotaMemorial critical care unit. We continue to talk to Isaac because we believe he can hear us.”8:25 p.m. WednesdayShannon tweeted Isaac was breathing on his own and that the doctors brought him out of his medically induced coma.“Today was a very good day for Isaac!” he tweeted. “Early this afternoon the doctors gave the orders to remove him from the ventilator and bring him out of his medically induced coma. He woke up well, is breathing on his own and resting at this present moment. He has responded to his name immediately, moved his hands, squeezed Kim’s hand, moved his feet.” 10:39 a.m. ThursdayKim Savage, the Sarasota Memorial Health Care System’s media contact, released a statement that said Griffith was “awake, breathing on his own and responding well to his family and hospital caregivers.” She said doctors upgraded his condition to “serious, but stable,” and they believe he will make a full recovery. “The biggest issue right now is monitoring and treating him for pneumonia and damage to his lungs that followed his near-drowning Monday afternoon when he was caught in a riptide off Siesta Key Beach in Sarasota, Florida,“ she said in the statement.11:00 a.m. FridayShannon and Sarasota Memorial Critical Care Physician Dr. Kenneth Hurwitz met with the media outside of Sarasota Memorial Hospital for the first time since the accident. Hurwitz, who is board certified in pulmonology, critical care and internal medicine, said Isaac was not in “any immediate danger.” The hospital press release said Hurwitz credited Isaac’s friends for getting him out of the water quickly. He said five minutes without oxygen is all it takes to cause a severe brain injury and permanent disability.The actions of his friends who risked their own lives to pull him from the rip current, and who then performed CPR until paramedics arrived, saved not only his life but also his quality of life, according to the release.“A lot of the credit goes to his friends,” he said. “They put themselves at serious risk to help him. Two or three minutes longer and it would have been a different story.”According to the release, Griffith got up and walked Friday and is eating a controlled diet. He was moved out of intensive care today to a regular patient care unit. He continues to be monitored and treated for pneumonia, lung damage and risk of infection from the salt water that was trapped in his lungs. His prognosis for a full recovery is very good.“It’s a good day to smile,” Shannon said, thanking Hurwitz and the entire team of physicians, nurses, respiratory care therapists and others who have cared for his son since he was admitted to Sarasota Memorial Hospital.Shannon said he learned of his son’s accident when his wife called Monday evening.“It dropped me to my knees,” he said. “It was the worst call I ever got in my life.”Shannon credited Isaac’s football training for saving his life.“Not too many people walk away from that,” Shannon said. “Because of his physical conditioning, the daily regimen, the cardiovascular and strength training, good nutrition — all those things, that’s how we win football games. For me, now, that’s how you save your life.”10:09 a.m. SaturdayShannon tweeted Isaac’s doctor told him his chest X-ray was clearing up, and the small air pocket he had went away. “Doctor said to get out of bed, walk around and get outside!” he tweeted. “The oxygen has been turned off and he is breathing on his own.”1:04 p.m. SundayShannon tweeted Isaac had been discharged from Sarasota Memorial Hospital.“Thankful for everyone who lifted our son up in their prayers, the hospital staff and Sarasota for helping two strangers in need,” he tweeted.Shannon also tweeted two pictures of Isaac in a wheelchair with each of his parents.Minutes later, Isaac tweeted for the first time since the accident.“Nothin’ more to say except I’m blessed. Indiana, I’m on my way home today,” he tweeted. “I can’t thank everyone for their support in these past few days for me and my family. I can’t say enough how grateful I am.”
Virginia Tech freshman center Trevor Thompson will transfer, per ESPN college basketball writer Jeff Goodman.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>INDIANAPOLIS — IU traded scoring runs with Illinois throughout Thursday’s 64-54 loss, but the Illini had the final say when they closed the game on an 11-2 run. A defensive lapse by the Hoosiers led to Illinois guard Tracy Abrams knocking down a wide-open 3-pointer with 2:07 remaining in the game, providing his team some breathing room in what was at the time a one-point game.“That was the dagger that hurt,” sophomore point guard Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell said.IU’s loss ended the team’s hopes of earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.“It’s always disappointing not to make the goal that we had set at the beginning of the year, but it’s been like a roller coaster this year,” Ferrell said.He said the team’s goal was to win a national championship.After a 17-15 record in their 2013-14 campaign, the Hoosiers will not be invited to the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. Instead, they are likely to play in the National Invitational Tournament.Despite IU's down year after making two consecutive appearances in the Sweet 16, there is a sense of hope among the players about next season.“I think we can be very good, especially make a tournament run," Ferrell said. "Of course we’re going to want to do that."Senior forwards Will Sheehey and Jeff Howard will graduate this spring, and graduate student guard Evan Gordon will exhaust his eligibility after this season.However, most of the Hoosiers’ roster is set return next season, provided Big Ten Freshman of the Year Noah Vonleh — a potential top-10 pick in this year’s NBA draft — elects to stay in school.IU Coach Tom Crean’s starting lineup Thursday included three freshmen and a sophomore, providing the Hoosiers a foundation to build upon for the future.Across the board, IU’s freshmen have shown improvements in February and March.Freshman guard Stanford Robinson scored a season-high 17 points off the bench in IU’s win against then-No. 20 Iowa on Feb. 27.Troy Williams was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week last week after scoring 34 points on 15-for-21 shooting in two games.Devin Davis earned the first start of his career last Saturday, scoring nine points and grabbing six rebounds against No. 12 Michigan.Robinson said next year will be a good one because the team gained confidence this season.“I think in the beginning we were all dependent on Yogi, but now us stepping up gave us a lot of confidence coming in to next year or the NIT, to play even better as a team,” he said.Robinson said the team improved its chemistry over the course of the season.“Obviously not tonight, but as the end of the season started to come, I feel like we’ve all learned how to play together as a team,” he said.Part of IU’s shortcomings may have been the result of the composition of the team’s roster and its lack of consistent shooters. Excluding Ferrell and Vonleh's 3-point shooting, the rest of the Hoosiers shot a combined 27.8 percent from beyond the arc this season. “I feel like we have a lot of people who can get to the rim at will,” Robinson said, adding that the Hoosiers don’t have a lot of players with the confidence to knock down jump shots.IU’s lack of outside shooting could change this summer when the team’s three 2014 recruits — James Blackmon Jr., Robert Johnson and Max Hoetzel — arrive on campus. All three players are billed as sharpshooters by scouts.“I mean, we can be really good with these new recruits coming in, just brings us more shooters to the table,” Robinson said.The freshman guard said the addition of high-level shooters will give IU better spacing on offense, opening up the floor for its wing players.“Individually I learned how to attack, attack, always attack and finish at difference levels, and even collapsing the defense and kicking it out,” Robinson said, when asked how he improved over the course of his freshman season. “I’m still working on that.”Similarly to the individual development of IU’s young players, the team was a work in progress this season. The Hoosiers had four wins against ranked opponents but only had one winning streak longer than two games.After the game, Vonleh said that after the first few games of Big Ten play, he thought they were going to finish at least among the top three teams in the Big Ten.“But we lost a lot of close games,” he said. “We were up in a lot of the games, but in the second half we would get into a drought and we would end up losing.”If Vonleh returns to IU and the team’s young shooters develop, the Hoosiers have the pieces in place to be among the top Big Ten teams next season and potentially make an NCAA Tournament run.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU is in control of its own destiny. After finishing the regular season with a 17-14 record and an eighth-place finish in the Big Ten, the Hoosiers only have one way to punch their ticket to the big dance — winning the Big Ten Tournament.IU’s first-round matchup is against Illinois (18-13, 7-11) at noon today in Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The Fighting Illini enter the tournament having won four of its past five games, including road victories against then-No. 18 Michigan State and then-No. 24 Iowa.During Monday’s Big Ten Coaches Teleconference, IU Coach Tom Crean said Illinois has played great basketball during the last month, with the exception of its 31-point loss to Michigan.“I don’t think there’s any question that they are playing with excellent confidence,” Crean said, adding that the Illini are playing with tremendous energy and at a high level on defense. “We’re going to have our work cut out for us at any point in time with anybody in this league. But certainly going into this game, we have great respect for what they are doing and how they are progressing.”Illinois’ road game against Penn State on Feb. 9 was the team’s turning point, according to Crean.After an eight-game skid during the heart of the regular season, Illinois Coach John Groce changed his starting lineup in State College, Pa.He moved graduate student Jon Ekey and redshirt senior Joseph Bertrand to the bench. Freshmen Kendrick Nunn and Malcolm Hill were promoted to the Illini’s starting five.Illinois finished 5-3 down the stretch in conference play, and Nunn has been a catalyst in his new role.He scored 95 points during the team’s first 23 games of the season. The 6-foot-3 guard poured in a season-high 19 points against the Nittany Lions and has averaged 12.1 points per game since becoming a starter.“Kendrick Nunn, with more minutes, provides just a little bit more explosiveness to their game that creates things for other people,” Crean said. “The way he plays is he is a very, very high-energy type of player and a lot of similarities, in my mind, to Victor Oladipo.”While Nunn is a key contributor, he is just one of Illinois’ weapons.Redshirt junior Rayvonte Rice scored 49 points in his two games against IU this season.Crean said the Hoosiers have to improve their defense against Rice in Indianapolis.“We have to do a much better job against him, but at the same time, they put 3-point shooters on the court,” he said. “They are playing some young guys now that have the benefit of playing with the older guys, the fifth-year guys or the fourth-year guys who have been through it, and they’ve been able to blend in.”The winner of Thursday’s game gets the opportunity to face Michigan, the Big Ten regular season champion, on Friday.However, IU remains focused on the next game on its schedule. Crean said the Hoosiers have to be locked in to what’s in front of them.“The most important thing is that you don’t ever look ahead,” he said. “It doesn’t really matter what team you have going in. If you look ahead to day two, you could be done on day one.”
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The No. 34 IU women’s tennis team went .500 in its two matches Saturday. The Hoosiers lost 5-2 to No. 41 DePaul but responded with a 7-0 defeat of IUPUI. The Blue Demons jumped out to a 2-0 lead by winning the doubles point and the No. 4 singles match. IU tied the match with singles victories from junior Katie Klyczek and senior Sophie Garre. DePaul won the No. 5 and No. 6 singles matches in third-set to win the match. The Hoosiers were dominant during their afternoon match against the Jaguars and did not surrender more than three games in any doubles match or singles set.IU won every singles match in straight sets to improve to 11-4 this season. The team will play host to Purdue at 3 p.m. Friday in the IU Tennis Center.Andy Wittry
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>On a night dedicated to IU’s four seniors, Nebraska’s 70-60 victory against the Hoosiers Wednesday spoiled their home farewell to the upperclassmen and effectively ended the team’s hopes of earning an NCAA Tournament at-large bid.“First of all, I do hate to lose, and I hate tonight,” senior forward Will Sheehey said in the opening of his post-game speech on Branch McCracken Court.After trailing by as many as 11 points, the Hoosiers tied the game midway through the second half when a wide-open Sheehey knocked down a 3-pointer from the left wing.However, it was all downhill from there for the Hoosiers. IU only scored eight points in the final 10 minutes and shot 3-for-18 during that span. For the second consecutive game, freshman forward Noah Vonleh was sidelined with inflammation of his left foot. In his absence, the Hoosiers couldn’t find an answer for Nebraska sophomore Walter Pitchford.Pitchford — a 6-foot-10, 234-pound forward — scored Nebraska’s first nine points and finished with a team-high 17 points on 7-for-10 shooting.His biggest shot of the game was a 3-pointer in the final two minutes of the game that gave the Cornhuskers a 62-58 lead and proved to be the dagger.“The mistake late of leaving Pitchford baffles my mind to be honest with you,” IU Coach Tom Crean said. “How we can make a mistake there in a switch game late like that in the game.”Sheehey said it bothered him that the Hoosiers left opponents open.“There was a stretch there where the other guys hit a bunch of threes,” he said. “That was unacceptable.”The Hoosiers’ struggles weren’t limited to the defensive end. On offense, IU shot 36.7 percent from the field.Crean said the bottom line in the Hoosiers’ loss was that they didn’t shoot well enough.“When we moved the ball well and kept it moving from side to side, we were really hard to guard,” he said. “We just didn’t do it enough.”Sophomore guard Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell said the team’s game plan against Nebraska’s zone defense was to get into the middle and drive. However, IU’s offense became stagnant at times and the Hoosiers struggled to finish at the rim and to shoot from behind the arc.They were 5-for-21 from 3-point range. Ferrell finished 1-for-10 from distance.Cold shooting from Ferrell and Sheehey, coupled with Vonleh’s ailment, demanded that the Hoosiers’ supporting cast step up on both ends of the floor.“We had some guys step up,” Crean said, citing the play of freshmen Devin Davis, Troy Williams and Stanford Robinson. “We told Troy before the game somehow you got to find a way to get 10 rebounds.” Williams scored a game-high 18 points, which was his second-highest scoring output of the season. Despite entering the game as a 12 percent 3-point shooter, he made both of his jump shots from behind the arc.Davis played 15 minutes — the most action he has seen in a game since Nov. 22 — and chipped in seven points, three rebounds and several hustle plays.“He was a straight warrior tonight,” Crean said. “That’s exactly what we need from him.”Even though its role players stepped up Wednesday, IU didn’t make enough plays in crunch time to earn its eighth conference win of the season, ensuring a sub-.500 record in the Big Ten.“We didn’t make enough (shots) to put us over the hump at any point in time,” Crean said. “That combined with a couple defensive mistakes at crucial times defies imagination. But it happens and it did and now we got to regroup and get ready to go play Michigan.”
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>On a night dedicated to IU’s four seniors, Nebraska’s 70-60 victory against the Hoosiers Wednesday spoiled their home farewell to their upperclassmen and effectively ended the team’s hopes of earning an NCAA Tournament at-large bid.“First of all, I do hate to lose, and I hate tonight,” senior forward Will Sheehey said in the opening of his post-game speech on Branch McCracken Court.After trailing by as many as 11 points, the Hoosiers tied the game midway through the second half when a wide-open Sheehey knocked down a 3-pointer from the left wing.For the second consecutive game, freshman forward Noah Vonleh was sidelined with inflammation of his left foot. In his absence, the Hoosiers couldn’t find an answer for Nebraska sophomore Walter Pitchford.Pitchford, a 6-foot-10, 234-pound forward, scored Nebraska’s first nine points and finished with a team-high 17 points on 7-for-10 shooting.His biggest shot of the game was a 3-pointer in the final two minutes of the game that gave the Cornhuskers a 62-58 lead and proved to be the dagger.“The mistake late of leaving Pitchford baffles my mind to be honest with you,” IU Coach Tom Crean said. “How we can make a mistake there in a switch game late like that in the game.”Sheehey said it bothered him that the Hoosiers left opponents open.“There was a stretch there where the other guys hit a bunch of threes,” he said. “That was unacceptable.”The Hoosiers’ struggles weren’t limited to the defensive end. On offense, IU shot 36.7 percent from the field.Crean said the bottom line in the Hoosiers’ loss was that they didn’t shoot well enough.“When we moved the ball well and kept it moving from side to side, we were really hard to guard,” he said. “We just didn’t do it enough.”Sophomore guard Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell said the team’s game plan against Nebraska’s zone defense was to get into the middle and drive. However, IU’s offense became stagnant at times and the Hoosiers struggled to finish at the rim and to shoot from behind the arc.They were 5-for-21 from 3-point range. Ferrell finished 1-for-10 from distance.Cold shooting nights from Ferrell and Sheehey, coupled with Vonleh’s ailment, demanded that the Hoosiers’ supporting cast step up on both ends of the floor.“We had some guys step up,” Crean said, citing the play of freshmen Devin Davis, Troy Williams and Stanford Robinson. “We told Troy before the game somehow you got to find a way to get 10 rebounds.” Williams scored a game-high 18 points, which was his second-highest scoring output of the season. Despite entering the game as a 12 percent 3-point shooter, he made both of his jump shots from behind the arc.Davis played 15 minutes — the most action he has seen in a game since Nov. 22 — and chipped in seven points, three rebounds and several hustle plays.“He was a straight warrior tonight,” Crean said. “That’s exactly what we need from him.”Even though its role players stepped up Wednesday, IU didn’t make enough plays in crunch time to earn its eighth conference win of the season, ensuring itself of a sub-.500 record in the Big Ten.“We didn’t make enough (shots) to put us over the hump at any point in time,” Crean said. “That combined with a couple defensive mistakes at crucial times defies imagination. But it happens and it did and now we got to regroup and get ready to go play Michigan.”