Quotes galore
IU coach Tom Crean on playing four freshmen and one sophomore:
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IU coach Tom Crean on playing four freshmen and one sophomore:
Devan Dumes, Tijan Jobe and Steven Gambles will be honored on Senior Day on Saturday. Also graduating is redshirt junior Brett Finkelmeier, a walk-on who joined the team while Kelvin Sampson was coaching. Prior to Indiana, Sampson coached at Oklahoma, another team with a noon Senior Day tip-off on Saturday Sampson's original 2006 recruiting class at Oklahoma included 6-foot-2 guard Scottie Reynolds.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>When I stepped onto campus Aug. 23, 2006, I joined a number of first-year students at IU that included basketball players Armon Bassett and Xavier Keeling. Bassett, Keeling and then-freshman forward Joey Shaw could have been playing their final games at Assembly Hall on Saturday, but each is far-removed from Bloomington. Bassett is at Ohio University, by way of UAB, where the Terre Haute native spent a semester with former IU coach Mike Davis before leaving the team. He was a starting guard for two years at IU. Keeling, also a Davis recruit, stayed at IU for just a season. He then went to Wallace State Community College before resurfacing at Detroit with former IU assistant Ray McCallum. Shaw, meanwhile, spent two years at IU, played a season at the College of Southern Idaho and will play his final home game with Nevada on Saturday after two years with the Wolfpack. But instead of that trio of one-time Hoosiers, Saturday will mark the final home games for seniors Tijan Jobe, Devan Dumes and Steven Gambles — a trio equally as well-traveled. Junior Brett Finkelmeier, a senior by academic standards and the longest-tenured player on the IU roster, will also be honored as he, too, suits up at Assembly Hall for the final time. The IU basketball program obviously looks nothing like it did when I got here four years ago in conjunction with Kelvin Sampsons’s arrival. Despite a brief stint as interim coach by Dan Dakich, the first two years of basketball I witnessed are best defined as the “Sampson Era.” It had its ups and serious downs. The most appropriate name for the first two years of Tom Crean’s tenure at IU, meanwhile, is what I call the “Tijan Jobe Era.” With the second-year Hoosier center preparing to take Branch McCracken Court for the final time Saturday, we can look back on the 15 points, 31 rebounds, 6 blocks and 34 fouls he recorded in his first 42 career games. Certainly there’s no forgetting the 7-foot, 250-pound center from The Gambia leading a 1-3-1 pressure defense at home against Minnesota last January. But when it’s all said and done — no matter how bittersweet Jobe’s farewell might be for some IU fans — this was a player whose work ethic and growth only helped the Hoosiers so much. I interviewed Jobe in May 2008 after his commitment, and he was fresh off a four-mile run. Several times during the last two school years, I spotted him running across campus. But unfortunately for him and his teammates — regardless of the vast improvement from last season to this season and his great work ethic — his basketball skills never allowed him to impact the team during actual competition. Jobe was simply a body and a number for the Hoosiers and has essentially served as the poster child of the rebuilding project that is IU basketball. Having Jobe and Dumes on the team these past two seasons — as opposed to desperately filling the 2008 class with seven freshmen — opens up two scholarships for next year’s season. Next year’s recruits — Will Sheehey and Victor Oladipo, with likely another one or two when it’s all said and done — probably won’t be instant impact players. But they are both Crean recruits that will better fit his system and style of play. As each develops, as does the team, IU will be that much closer to returning to winning days. Saturday ends the second of two brutal seasons at Assembly Hall, as well as the careers of the four seniors. While the class of Jobe, Dumes, Finkelmeier and Gambles might not excite even the biggest Kyle Taber fan, each of the four deserves a large ovation from IU fans Saturday. Each made his impact — whether it was Dumes leading the team in scoring and being willing to take big shots a year ago or the other three who saw limited playing action but were high-character guys who worked extremely hard as Hoosiers. All four were, in their own rights, important to the program. So while the Tijan Jobe era might be coming to a close, look for the real Tom Crean era to finally get underway next season.
IU will face Northwestern at noon on Saturday in what will be the final game at Assembly Hall for Tijan Jobe, Devan Dumes, Steven Gambles and Brett Finkelmeier.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>It was Senior Night at Mackey Arena on Wednesday, and Tom Crean’s Hoosiers essentially served as a prop in Purdue’s festivities.The Purdue fans bid their farewells to seniors Chris Kramer, Keaton Grant and some guy named Mark Wahlford. The Hoosiers, meanwhile, said hello to their second consecutive 20-loss season in the 74-55 defeat. With the Vegas line reportedly at 19.5, IU was victorious in that regard. But that marks the closest the team has been to a win since the three-point loss to Purdue on Feb. 4.The Hoosiers have averaged just more than 55 points scored per game in the eight losses since, while the team’s defense has also been a problem throughout the 11-game losing streak.Overmatched by Purdue, IU played from behind the entire 40 minutes — save for a brief 2-2 tie — a familiar tale for the Hoosiers.There were a number of bright spots offensively at times, but it was quite evident how hard IU had to work to score its points. Purdue, meanwhile, made easy baskets all game.The Hoosiers have a number of players that would fit right onto Matt Painter’s roster, but IU lacks anything close to Purdue juniors E’Twaun Moore and JaJuan Johnson. The do-it-all guard Moore — a student in Purdue’s College of Technology — was all business Wednesday, going for 21 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 assists.Johnson, meanwhile, caused problems on both sides of the ball. He got to the free-throw line eight times, hitting 10-of-15 on his way to 14 points, adding to 7 rebounds and 4 blocked shots.Add in 18 points from Kramer, as well as quality role play from the rest of the Boilermakers, and that created much of IU’s troubles.Still, the Hoosiers internally struggled to stay competitive with their 17 turnovers, just five attempted free throws, four players in foul trouble and another troubled offensive effort.IU made little effort to get to the foul line, often times thwarted by the logjams in the middle of the paint. While a number of the team’s actual penetration efforts were misguided, junior guard Jeremiah Rivers and company should be attacking the hoop.Certainly Rivers continues to badly miss some layups at times, but there were a number of opportunities — some taken, others not — in which the Hoosiers had the ability to get the basket and did not. Developing an effective penetration game opens up the offense, even if the team is missing its best outside shooters and, thus, struggles to spread the floor.Outside of freshman forward Christian Watford — who lost his offensive battle against the 6-foot-3 Kramer — the Hoosiers were solid in going to the rim throughout the game.Freshman forward Derek Elston made the most of his opportunities on the court with a 13-point, 7-rebound effort. Probably more than any Hoosier, the Tipton, Ind., native played aggressively and showed he truly wanted to be on the court.But, as always, a slow start and poor decisions plagued IU. In the first nine-and-a-half minutes, the Hoosiers had eight turnovers, shot a decent 5-of-12 from the floor, but allowed Purdue to hit 10-of-15 in that same period. Purdue had no troubles handling IU without star forward Robbie Hummel. The Hoosiers, on the other hand, seem to be badly missing its injured star, as IU continues to lack a serious offensive weapon without freshman guard Maurice Creek. Perhaps it doesn’t matter how it happened, though. At the end of the night, IU was simply pounded again by a Big Ten foe.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The story goes that it once rained for 40 days and 40 nights. But it’s been 41 days since IU’s last victory, as one-by-one the Hoosiers have been hit by a storm of losses ever since the Jan. 21 victory at Penn State. The 10-game losing streak began against Iowa on Jan. 24, but the Hoosiers’ season truly began to unravel after a 78-75 loss to Purdue on Feb. 4. IU has since lost each of its seven games by double figures, with an average margin of defeat of 20 points during that span.At this point, something must change. It doesn’t have to be dramatic, but IU coach Tom Crean should be approaching these final games a bit differently. Crean spoke about the team’s narrow margin for error Tuesday, adding that, as the program’s coach and leader, he needs to focus on what is going right for his team, not what the Hoosiers have done poorly. IU did well in pressuring the ball and attacking the basket Sunday in Iowa City, Iowa – but that came only in the closing minute, with the game long out of reach. Whatever the Hoosiers’ game plan was on Feb. 4 versus Purdue, it seemed to work. But regardless of whether the Boilermakers had forward Robbie Hummel in the lineup, that same approach probably isn’t going to work at Mackey Arena.Not the way IU has been playing. Not the way Purdue has been playing. IU is getting outplayed early and the players have shown they hardly have enough in them to compete after the break. Rather than calling a timeout and making adjustments at the first sign of a Purdue run tonight, Crean should instead try setting the tone early defensively — going back to the full-court press. Crean has credited the Boilermakers for their “relentless” pressure on both sides of the ball. Purdue has one of the better defenses in the Big Ten and its offense thrives off of it. “They score so much off of their defense, a lot more than they get credit for,” Crean said. Anyone who watched IU’s 73-57 loss to Iowa three days ago saw first-hand how the Hoosiers’ late-game pressure defense not only troubled Iowa but also gave the IU offense a boost. As freshman guard Jordan Hulls said Tuesday, IU needs its defense to “create energy” for the team. Against a bigger, more talented and more experienced Purdue team — even without Hummel — IU has to be the attacker and not let the Boilermakers control the game’s tempo. Crean has rarely turned to a full-court press, but it isn’t going to cause any harm testing it tonight in West Lafayette. IU is not a solid defensive team and could use a new identity. While rushing offensively has plagued the Hoosiers in recent games, speeding things up on defense might be worth a shot. Crean has talked about short-term evaluation but is also “evaluating for the long-term.” So while on the subject of making changes – even if temporary and experimental – can the Hoosier faithful get a higher dosage of Bawa? Freshman center Bawa Muniru has played just 58 minutes, but seven of those came in the nail-biting losses to Illinois and Purdue.If Crean trusted the Ghana native in those more critical situations, surely it’s time for him to think long-term and get the 6-foot-11 big man on the court. He can only get better with more playing time. So what do you say, coach?Cohen’s prediction — Purdue 67 — IU 55
With the team already up in West Lafayette, we received some quotes from IU coach Tom Crean. One thing Crean addressed was the growth of his three 6-foot-9 freshmen forwards: Christian Watford, Derek Elston and Bobby Capobianco.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>On Saturday, IU coach Tom Crean told members of the media that “statistics accuse; the film convicts.”Following the Wisconsin loss, the team went through a film session in which individual players were asked to call out their own mistakes.Crean might have his team do the same following IU’s 73-57 loss at Iowa, but this team seems guilty until proven innocent.The Hoosiers can look through the film all they want, but seeing the game and taking a glance at the final numbers is sufficient in explaining the team’s 10th consecutive loss.IU shot a respectable 18-of-40 from the floor (45 percent), but the team hit five of its last seven and scored 17 of its 57 points in the final three-and-a-half minutes of the game.Prior to that, IU shot 13-of-33, which is roughly one field goal made every 2 minutes 48 seconds.Down by 21 at the final media timeout, IU went on a 16-5 run, before 8 free throws by Iowa’s Cully Payne helped justify the final score.Crean’s Hoosiers showed defensive tenacity via a full court press, as well as a great ability to get the basket. But that type of effort was hardly anywhere to be found for the first 36-plus minutes. On Feb. 16, Michigan State coach Tom Izzo unintentionally gave IU a backhanded compliment in saying he had never seen a team work harder during warm-ups.That’s essentially the same pat on the back we can give the Hoosiers for their late game effort after getting pounded for most of the night behind by 21 points at Hawkeye-Carver Arena.Crean also spoke Saturday about stopping opponents from getting scoring streaks to break open games. While Iowa started up 17-4, and later added a 13-3 run early in the second half, IU was by far its own worst enemy.Two minutes and 40 seconds into the game, sophomore guard Verdell Jones sank a pair of free throws to tie the contest at 4-4.The Hoosiers didn’t score again until the 9:08 mark in the first half, shooting 1-of-9 from the floor and committing 9 turnovers in the first 11:51 of the game.You don’t win games if you can’t hit shots. The turnovers didn’t help either, but Iowa did manage to beat IU 58-43 in January despite 21 miscues.Iowa came into the Sunday contest as the lowest scoring squad in the Big Ten (61.4 points per game),whereas IU was allowing more points than any team in the league (70.9).Something had to give, and that was IU.With a Penn State win Sunday — its third in four contests — the Hoosiers are now tied with the Nittany Lions in the basement of the Big Ten.IU has rights to the No. 10 seed in the case of a tie with Penn State, due to its win in State College in January. But not even that — getting a more favorable match-up in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament — would be a win for IU if both schools close the season without another win.Maybe the Hawkeyes aren’t as bad as we thought they might be, but that doesn’t make IU look any better.After the game, Crean seemed pleased with the fight from his team. But as we have seen all year, even if the Hoosiers fight, it only means so much if the team cannot shoot or be smart with the ball.Surely this wasn’t the worst IU has played, but a loss is still a loss — especially when it’s a team’s 10th in a row.
IU (9-18, 3-12) and Iowa (9-19, 3-12) will square off in Iowa City in less than two hours. Here are some random bits of information about this matchup, in particular the Hawkeyes:
On Feb. 4, 2008, IU ended its 11-game losing streak (eight straight to start Big Ten play) with a win at home versus Iowa.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Three used to be the magic number.Then there was IU coach Tom Crean.While the Big Ten Network has aired a montage of basketball highlights to the sounds of De La Soul’s “Magic Number” track throughout this year, it was the No. 2 that took on a special meaning at Thursday night’s Big Ten contest in Assembly Hall.The Hoosiers got clobbered by another upper-tier Big Ten team Thursday night. IU lost by 32, for those who decided to actually keep score.But it was a pair of second-half technical fouls by the second-year IU coach — separated by 29 seconds — that made the difference last night.“That was the highlight of my season, right there — Tom Crean getting kicked out,” I overheard a Big Red Basketball Band member in passing, just moments after the game.Midway through the second half, the remaining fans — all, I don’t know, 8,000 of them — were pound-for-pound the rowdiest we’ve seen them since the Kentucky game.Sure, they were fired up for Purdue a couple weeks back. Certainly we won’t forget the time IU beat Minnesota and 50 or so students had the brilliant idea to rush the court.Yet it was at 9:53 in the second half, with the score at 58-33 in favor of Wisconsin, when the IU faithful finally got their money’s worth amid another blowout.It was at that moment Crean got tossed after his second “T.” He didn’t even stay long enough for the under-eight timeout flags.Assistant coach Tim Buckley had to hold back Crean before he screamed and shouted his way through the northeast tunnel and into the IU locker room — a good show for the fans.“It happened,” Crean said after the game. “I don’t really know what else to say.”Well, I’ll fill in the blanks.Clearly he did it to fire up his players and send a message.“He was definitely trying to make a point, and he doesn’t need to do it like that anymore,” freshman forward Derek Elston said.After the Minnesota game, Crean talked about the difference between hope and belief. He said he didn’t hope the program was coming back, he believed it. More so, he believes in his guys.If some of the Hoosiers aren’t willing to fight, we saw firsthand that Crean is.In what might seem like a weird way of going about it, Crean proved he’s literally willing to take one — or two — for the team.Elston, the lone Hoosier in double figures, said when the second technical was called, he knew Crean was taking things seriously.“He doesn’t want to get pushed around in this league, and neither do we,” Elston said. “After that happened, we kind of all were like, ‘We need to start taking this personally.’”It was a good move by Crean, and it did appear to inspire the Hoosiers in a somewhat chaotic finish to the game.IU was outscored 20-13 the rest of the way, but either way, it changed what was happening in Assembly Hall — even if the team’s losing ways didn’t.The final score hardly differed from some of the results we’ve seen of late, but the script changed. Crean once said referees wouldn’t “tee” him up, even when he tried getting one last year.It was about time something like this happened.As the team changes pace from a brutal stretch against the Big Ten’s best against Iowa on the road this Sunday, we’ll see how this team responds.The fans got, in part, maybe what they wanted from Crean. After all, it was probably the first time we’ve heard a “Tom Crean” chant from the students since Hoosier Hysteria.IU has now lost nine in a row, but for the fans, at least there’s finally something positive to talk about.
Wisconsin at Indiana
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>I have nothing personal against Tom Luicci. As a sports writer for one of the nation’s largest newspapers, he’s a better and more accomplished journalist than I will ever be.But The Star-Ledger (N.J.) reporter deserves a big, Ochocinco-style “child please.”On Monday, Luicci, who appears to work primarily on the Rutgers football beat, wrote, “speculation is growing about how much longer Tom Crean will last at Indiana.”Rutgers basketball coach Fred Hill is squarely on the hot seat, but the New Jersey reporter is discussing Crean’s job security?I might as well be working on a story about the Jersey Shore club scene. Let’s get real.Many of you are probably upset with how the Hoosiers are playing, especially of late. You might be frustrated with the players. You might be frustrated with Crean.But if anyone expected a quick fix in Crean’s attempt to right the S.S. Hoosier ship through these “uncharted waters,” then you’ve gone off the deep end.There are a number of areas in which little progress seems to have been made since last season. That’s understandably frustrating and so is the lack of heart witnessed in some recent contests.However, this team was never supposed to win many games. Even a .500 record would have been a long shot with a healthy Maurice Creek and Matt Roth. If IU doesn’t reach that 15-win plateau next year, then there might be significant reason for concern. But this program is moving forward, even if at the pace of a DeAndre Thomas marathon run.Tom Izzo, Crean’s mentor and Michigan State’s coach since 1995, saw firsthand what happened to Michigan (loans made to players by a booster) and Minnesota (academic fraud) during the ’90s.The Wolverines really haven’t recovered, while the Gophers appear to be turning the corner — a decade later.“When there are major, catastrophic issues — whether it be academic problems or violations, or whatever they are — it really decimates a program and it doesn’t just bounce back like that,” Izzo said.“Just look at those other programs. Sometimes it lasts for a long, long time,” he said. He added that Crean will “get it built and done, and a lot faster.” Even if Izzo’s words hold to be true, “faster” still won’t be fast enough for most Hoosier fans. Nevertheless, there must be patience.Until the NBA changes its draft rules, many college basketball fans will continue to be infatuated with one-and-done stars and other instant “solutions.”But it does not take five-star recruits to build Final Four-caliber teams if a coach can recruit the right players and then develop them.The current crop of freshmen is Crean’s first real recruiting class at IU, and it might be another couple of years before he’ll have a fair shot at grabbing the nation’s best prospects.Often times, however, the beauty in college basketball comes in witnessing players grow from freshman to senior year.As a kid, I watched Kenyon Martin average 2.8 points per game as a freshman for Cincinnati. Three years later, Martin was the national player of the year and the 2000 NBA Draft’s No. 1 overall selection. Crean might not have any future NBA players, or even All-Americans, on this year’s squad. But if sophomore guard Verdell Jones, freshman forward Christian Watford and the aforementioned Creek are all back and healthy next season, then the foundation has already been set. Give these Hoosiers their full four years with strength and conditioning coach Jeff Watkinson, and they could be scary good. Like Dick Vitale name-dropping Mike Krzyzewski on a non-Duke broadcast, a turnaround of the IU program will take time but nevertheless should happen. IU is 15-42 under Crean and there’s no guarantee IU will win tonight or even at all the remainder of this season. But Crean isn’t going anywhere, and he’s doing everything in his power to bring Hoosier basketball back. There’s no point in speculating if he is still “the guy” for the IU job, because if he’s not, tell me someone who is and explain why many big-name coaches balked at the position two years ago.IU should be fine. But like it or not, you’ve just got to give Crean and the program some time.
IU hosts Bo Ryan's No. 17 Wisconsin Badgers (20-7, 10-5) at 9:00 p.m. on Thursday. The one and only Gus Johnson will have the call on the Big Ten Network, along with former Buckeye and NBA journeyman Jim Jackson.
So the design staff isn't my biggest fan. Apparently I write too much, though I contend they aren't giving me enough room - even Brett Finkelmeier got more space than me into today's paper.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>In IU’s three conference wins, senior Devan Dumes scored 11, 13 and 15 points. He scored 10 when IU lost to Illinois by six points on Jan. 9. He had 11 at Illinois on Jan. 30 and 11 against Purdue on Feb. 4 — a pair of games each decided by one possession. Last weekend, the Hoosier team suffered its biggest loss of the season with Dumes out with an illness.Dumes has had his ups and downs with IU the last two seasons, often shown by his shot selection. But to say he hasn’t been a key player for IU, at least during the Big Ten season, would be wrong.Love him or hate him, Dumes has grown and is showing that with his recent ability to drive. He’ll keep firing up some deep 3-pointers, but with a team that has had a limited number of go-to guys on offense during the last two seasons, he deserves some credit. In IU’s 23-point loss Saturday, Dumes missed 11 shots. But he hit six of them, including a 4-of-9 performance from beyond the arc, on the way to scoring 20 of the team’s 58 points. The starters, meanwhile, combined for 31 points on just 10-of-35 shooting from the floor. Still, Dumes’ efforts Saturday might be almost trivial. Similar to the tree falling in the forest dilemma, if a player scores 20 points off the bench in a 23-point loss, does it really matter? The Hoosiers best efforts came from Dumes and junior Jeremiah Rivers — the two IU players most ridiculed this season for their offensive decision making. Rivers complemented Dumes’ 20 points with 10 of his own on 4-of-6 shooting.It wasn’t the Hoosiers’ worst game by any means. The Golden Gophers have a long-shot NCAA Tournament bid and they certainly played like a team with more on the line. IU got abused in the paint again, however, getting outscored 38-16. The Hoosiers have now been dominated in the paint 110-50 during the last three contests. “We have to do a better job of really getting up into people, and at the same time we have to hold our own and guard the dribble better,” IU coach Tom Crean said “We gave up too much penetration and we gave up too many shots.”As a result, Minnesota hit 55.4 percent of its shots. Certainly, as in the case of Gopher center Ralph Sampson’s hook shot late in the first half, some attempts were well defended but still went down.Similarly, IU had a number of good looks, but couldn’t get them all to fall. At the same time, the Hoosiers continue to get blocked more than Rudy Ruettiger during a Notre Dame football practice.IU has had 31 of its 250 shot attempts blocked in the last five games, or 12.4 percent of them. The Gophers, the Big Ten’s best shot-blocking team, swatted the Hoosiers seven times on Saturday. IU continues to get beat on both ends of the floor. While it is often a result of stronger opponents, the Hoosier team isn’t doing itself any favors.
A $15 millon donation by the Cook Group, the largest in IU Athletics history, has been announced by IU President Michael McRobbie and Director of Athletics Fred Glass.
Indiana at Minnesota
IU has extended a scholarship offer to 2010 big man Moses Abraham, according to Rivals.com.