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(02/05/10 5:14am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>It was a familiar scene watching the IU men’s basketball team leave the court after the game, only this time it was a different setting.At Illinois on Saturday, sophomore guard Verdell Jones stood by the IU bench with both hands up high on the back of his head with a look of extreme disappointment on his face.Following a miss on a potential game-tying 3-pointer from deep in the backcourt on Thursday at Assembly Hall, Jones made his way to the bench with the same body language and a similar look on his face.For the second time in five days, IU lost a one-possession game, only this time it was against a top-10 team.Earlier in the week, IU coach Tom Crean said his players would essentially need to play a perfect game to upend the Boilermakers. For 35 of the game’s 40 minutes, they essentially did just that.But once again, IU went cold from the floor and didn’t make the necessary defensive stops.The Hoosiers were close, but when push came to shove, the veteran Boilermakers were more composed than the Hoosiers and made big plays down the stretch.“We just didn’t get enough defensive stops in this game at key times,” Crean said. “You’ve got to be able to finish things in stretches defensively.”With 5:44 to play, freshman guard Jordan Hulls capitalized on a Jones steal by burying a 3-pointer to put the Hoosiers ahead 69-66. It was IU’s first lead since they led 49-47 less than two minutes into the second half. In the next 4:46, the Hoosiers missed two field goals and the front ends of three 1-and-1 free-throw situations.Purdue capitalized and went on a 9-0 run, jumpstarted by a pair of free throws from junior JaJuan Johnson.Elston’s missed free throw turned into a 3-pointer from junior Robbie Hummel – essentially a four-point swing. Jones’ miss, meanwhile, by way of a failed putback from freshman forward Christian Watford, led to a jumper from junior E’Twaun Moore.In that same stretch, Hummel also connected on a two-point jumper.The Hoosiers had just gone on an 8-0 run to capture the lead, but Purdue’s star trio put the gold and black up by six with 1:16 to play.Certainly IU wasn’t out of the game, as Jones nearly sent the rivalry matchup into overtime with his desperate 3-point attempt at the buzzer. But the team somewhat unraveled at the end and lost not only the lead, but also the momentum.“They hit some big shots, and I’ve got to give credit when credit’s due,” junior guard Jeremiah Rivers said. “They’re a good team. We had our chances, we just weren’t able to close out.”As much as Purdue deserves credit, especially the team’s three star juniors, IU really shot itself in the foot late in the game.You can see how different this team is since the loss to Iowa – “a direct result of how we’ve practiced,” Crean said – but it looks the same in terms of late-game management.The Hoosiers are young and will have plenty of time to grow, but their late-game play could result in a number of losses.As always, however, it’s time to move on.“It’s another heartbreaker for us. It was tough for us,” Rivers said. “The team’s got to rebound. You can’t really go home and sulk over these. We’ve got a game on Sunday, and we’ve got to get ready for that.”
(02/04/10 4:58am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU coach Tom Crean doesn’t set numerical goals. Google it, and you’ll see a number of quotes saying just that.The Hoosiers’ second-year coach knows where improvement is being made and that progress is not necessarily something that can be defined by wins and losses.But for everyone else, what are reasonable expectations as the Hoosiers begin the first of their final 10 games today versus Purdue? Perhaps more importantly, what needs to be accomplished for this season to be considered a success? At 9-11, a 10th win would certainly be a milestone for the Hoosiers. Maybe a greater goal for IU should be to pull out a few more conference wins, a feat that might place the team as high as eighth in the Big Ten. Having already lost its previous matchup to Feb. 28 opponent Iowa and looking at the road ahead, IU could very well play the underdog role in each of the remaining games. In other words, it could be quite the struggle for the Hoosiers down the stretch.But the tough schedule also creates a great opportunity for IU to really show how far it has come in year two. If the Hoosiers manage to eke out, say, two or three more victories, the difference between an 11-19 season and a 12-18 record would be marginal. One win here or there won’t mean anything in the long run. What IU really must do to prove it is much closer to a return to national prominence, at least for me, is to get a signature win – going up against a ranked opponent and pulling an upset. It’s time for IU to prove it can hang with NCAA Tournament-caliber teams – much like the Hoosiers did for one half versus Kentucky in December. In the team’s only major Big Ten test to date, they fell by 25 at Ohio State. The wins versus Pittsburgh, Michigan and Minnesota were, for lack of a better term, nice. Certainly those victories were good for the program moving forward. But that wasn’t the same Pitt team that started Big East play 5-0 and will likely be dancing come March, and the Wolverines and Golden Gophers are second-tier Big Ten teams. Beginning with No. 8 Purdue (18-3) today at Assembly Hall, six of IU’s next 10 opponents are currently among the 20 best teams in America. Crean’s squad will have a number of opportunities to upend a serious foe, but what’s stopping them from doing it today? A year ago, IU was 0-8 in games versus Top 25 opponents. IU’s December loss to then-No. 4 Kentucky has been its only matchup to date with a ranked team this season. Sure, rankings are subjective, but a win is a win versus a ranked foe, especially a team as highly regarded as Purdue this late in the year. IU is 0-10 versus Top 25 opponents since March 2008, dating back to the 103-74 debacle at Michigan State. The Hoosiers’ last big win – though not an upset, due to IU’s ranking – came against none other than the Boilermakers on Feb. 19, 2008 in the final game of Kelvin Sampson’s tenure at IU. IU hasn’t faced Purdue at home since, but in the one trip to Mackey Arena lead by Crean, the Hoosiers were within three possessions of the Boilermakers 37 minutes into the game.Purdue is currently riding a four-game win streak and has key wins against Tennessee, West Virginia and Wisconsin. Crean said the Boilermakers are one of the top teams in the nation, and the Hoosiers can’t afford to make many errors. “For us to be able to beat a team like Purdue now, we have to play an outstanding game in a lot of areas,” Crean said Monday in the Big Ten weekly teleconference. But the Boilermakers are only 3-2 on the road, including a loss at Northwestern, and they haven’t seen an opponent’s floor in 16 days. Beating an opponent of Purdue’s caliber would be huge for IU looking ahead, though it might not happen today or even at all this season. You might call me crazy for thinking IU has a reasonable chance tonight. But should the Hoosiers pull off the upset, I won’t be the one having to decide whether a team’s fans can storm the court twice in one year. Cohen’s Prediction: IU 68, Purdue 66
(02/04/10 3:14am)
The t-shirts have been out there for a couple months, but at last, the Crimson Guard appears to be an official student section at Assembly Hall. No one's tickets have changed, but an effort has been made to finally unite the students.
(02/01/10 3:36am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – If a picture is worth a thousand words, it takes only one to describe the look on Jeremiah Rivers’ face moments after Saturday’s loss to Illinois: devastation.With IU coach Tom Crean by his side, the junior guard slowly walked across the court toward the IU bench with a look on his face that epitomized the clichéd words “agony of defeat.”This was not just any loss.Sophomore guard Verdell Jones called the loss “gut-wrenching” – the same term he once used to describe the scene of freshman guard Maurice Creek hitting the floor with what became a season-ending knee injury.Considering the manner in which IU lost Saturday, a buzzer-beating floater from Illinois guard Demetri McCamey, the Hoosiers had every right to bury their faces into their jerseys.But watching IU battle for 40 solid minutes on the road, Crean’s squad has a lot to be proud of.Six days after Crean spoke of his team’s “lack of physicality and toughness” in its 15-point loss to Iowa on Jan. 24, he praised his players’ efforts in “an incredibly hard-fought game.”“I’m certainly proud of the resiliency, the edge, the energy and the execution of my team,” Crean said.Without a doubt, he should be.IU had its share of mistakes and gave Illinois a number of easy baskets, including six dunks. But for much of the game, including the majority of the second half, the Hoosiers looked like the more experienced team between the two and hardly flashed any signs of inexperience.The Hoosiers hit 13-of-14 from the free-throw line in the second half, including their last seven.IU had 17 offensive rebounds and converted those into 19 second-chance points. They made smart plays with and off the ball, and not once did the Hoosiers flinch in the wake of danger.The jury is still out on Illinois, as its six conference wins have come against the Big Ten teams with the four worst records. However, no matter who they played, the effort the Hoosiers displayed Saturday seemed indicative of good things to come.IU’s trip to Illinois came six days after the loss to Iowa, and the team responded to its week of practice in a big way and displayed its growth.“We took that week and we thought we really capitalized on a bunch of days of really focusing on the things that we need to do to be successful,” freshman forward Bobby Capobianco said. “We came out tonight and were able to execute those things.”Jones also spoke highly of the team’s preparations prior to the trip, saying it was “probably the best week of practice we’ve had since I’ve been here.”The scoreboard and the standings both indicated an IU loss on Saturday, but the Hoosiers played like winners and, as Jones said, there wasn’t a single weak link on the floor.Freshman forward Christian Watford, for example, shot 1-of-10 from the floor, picked up a technical foul and had one of his worst overall outings in his young career. Yet he hit four key free throws and made a nice hook shot late in the second half.IU played some of its best team basketball Saturday and simply made plays.Perhaps it made the loss that much harder to swallow.While the players were crushed following the loss and likely the rest of the weekend, it is games like these that can make a young team stronger and significantly better in the long run.“It’s very hard, but we’re learning about what it takes to be successful,” Crean said. “Our game was constituted by the week we had of practice, by the week we had of work, by the combativeness and energy of our work against one another. That’s what we have to continue to build on.”
(01/31/10 6:29pm)
Found the above video on YouTube - the best angle I've seen of the last play considering we were seated behind the scorer's table on the other side of the court near IU's bench.
(01/29/10 4:56am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>There are no days off in the Big Ten.Iowa coach Todd Lickliter said it Sunday. IU coach Tom Crean has probably said it a number of times in the last two years. Even Michigan State coach Tom Izzo, whose Spartans have gone 23-3 in conference play over the last year and a half, has surely uttered those same words at some point.For IU, that sentiment will especially hold true as the team embarks on the final stretch of the season.Thus far, the Hoosiers have posted a 3-4 Big Ten record , which has included just two games – both losses – against two of the league’s top five teams.With 11 games left on the Hoosiers’ schedule, they have yet to face No. 5 Michigan State, No. 12 Purdue, No. 16 Wisconsin, No. 24 Ohio State or Northwestern (14-6) at Assembly Hall.Crean’s 9-10 squad will also hit the road six times, including trips to West Lafayette, Ind., and Madison, Wisc. Less than two years into Crean’s restoration of the program, IU has posted just a 1-11 record in Big Ten road games and a combined 3-19 record in all games outside of Bloomington.Before IU can turn its focus to the other road trips and all the matchups versus ranked foes, the Hoosiers have been dealt the typically difficult task of playing on Illinois’ home court.While IU holds an 82-81 edge in the all-time series, the Hoosiers are 1-7 at the other Assembly Hall since 2000. Were it not for Sean Pruitt’s free throw shooting performance in 2008, Illinois would be riding a 10-year streak without a home loss to IU heading into Saturday’s game.Don’t expect IU to get embarrassed by 31 points again, but considering Illinois has already beaten IU once this year, it is reasonable to question whether the Hoosiers have it in them to win in Champaign, Ill.Certainly the biggest challenge will be that of 7-foot-1 Illinois’ junior center Mike Tisdale.When IU first met him three weeks ago, Tisdale went for 27 points and 9 rebounds, which included a 13-of-14 effort from the free-throw line.In the five games since, Tisdale’s 9.2 points, 6.4 rebounds and 9-of-14 free-throw shooting didn’t exactly make me all that interested in watching him on the Big Ten Network’s most recent episode of “The Journey.”On Jan. 19, Purdue managed to hold the 7-footer to 4 points and 5 rebounds. But clearly IU doesn’t have a JaJuan Johnson-type big man to keep Tisdale in check.In that game, Johnson recorded 24 points and 12 rebounds in 37 minutes. In IU’s 66-60 loss on Jan. 9, meanwhile, the Hoosiers’ four-man frontcourt totaled 14 points and 18 rebounds in a combined 80 minutes of play.Naturally, look for Illinois coach Bruce Weber to get a number of dump downs into Tisdale.“Illinois is running a lot of ball screens along with more high-low action to get the ball in the middle to Mike Tisdale,” Crean tweeted on Thursday.But the Illini have quite the backcourt as well. Freshman D.J. Richardson and junior Demetri McCamey combined for 33 points in the first contest at IU.McCamey has averaged 17.4 points and 6.4 assists in the five games since, while Richardson has tallied 11.4 points per game in the same time span. Illinois, ranked No. 23 to start the year, has completely underachieved this year. Despite a 5-3 conference record, tied with Ohio State for third-best in the league, the Fighting Illini’s only wins have come against 3-5 Northwestern, 2-6 Iowa, 3-4 IU and 0-8 Penn State twice.Still, Illinois is 10-2 at home and has not been a kind road opponent for IU in recent memory. Like Forrest Gump’s “box of chocolates” analogy, there is no knowing which Hoosiers you will get each time you watch them take the court. IU has had some impressive outings, such as Pittsburgh and Minnesota. The team has also had its share of bad efforts, including Loyola (Md.) and Iowa on Sunday. That being said, regardless of which Hoosiers show up in Champaign, I’d truly be surprised if they come back home with a victory.Cohen’s prediction: Illinois 66, IU 56
(01/28/10 4:33pm)
The IU and Illinois men's basketball teams will face off again Saturday at 2 p.m. in Champaign, Ill. The Fighting Illini won the first meeting this year, 66-60.
(01/25/10 4:46pm)
The saying goes, you take it one game at a time. But after IU opened the Big Ten slate 3-4, it can't hurt to take a look at the Hoosiers' last 11 games -- seven of which come against the league's top five opponents.
(01/25/10 5:46am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Even if temporary and based solely on conference records, a win against Iowa would have placed IU in the upper tier of the Big Ten. A victory would have given the Hoosiers a 4-3 record in league play and put them in a four-way tie for third place in the Big Ten with Illinois, Ohio State and Purdue. Only Michigan State (7-0) and Wisconsin (6-2) have better records. But rather than rejoining the conference’s elite – Purdue finished second in 2008 and 2009, while the other four have combined for the last seven regular season Big Ten titles – IU is back among the league’s pretenders. Don’t get me wrong, the Big Ten is a good conference. That is precisely why a loss to 7-12 Iowa at home hurts. With six more road contests to go and the likes of Michigan State, Ohio State, Purdue and Wisconsin yet to make it to Bloomington, Sunday’s contest was almost a must-win for IU. No, the season didn’t hinge on that one game. But for any team to be a serious threat in a top-flight league, it is essential they handle all of the lesser competition. The Hoosiers weren’t in a position to overlook the Hawkeyes, as IU coach Tom Crean said. However, there’s really not much of an explanation for coming out flat and getting outplayed and out-muscled the way IU did. Teams don’t win games scoring 43 points. Teams don’t win games getting out-rebounded by 16. Teams don’t win games with a 13-point differential in second-chance points. Considering Iowa, like IU, started two freshmen, two sophomores and a junior – while the Hawkeyes’ 10 bench points came from a single freshman – Crean was 100 percent correct in saying he couldn’t blame the effort on youth. “I’m putting this on fight,” he said. “We just did not have a toughness about us today that we would’ve beaten anybody.” Junior guard Jeremiah Rivers, meanwhile, said the two days of practice following the win at Penn State went “great” and the team was “real focused” heading into Sunday’s game. IU was well aware of what Iowa could do, he said. “I think at the end of the day, they wanted this more than we did,” Rivers said. “I don’t think we had that sense of urgency that we had against Penn State, that we had against Minnesota.” Well, why not? Certainly one could argue Iowa had more to prove Sunday than IU, but there is no excuse for the team’s “lack of physicality and toughness” that Crean emphasized after the game. Last Thursday, not only did the Hoosiers prevail in a road contest, but they led for the duration of essentially the entire 40 minutes. Aside from the failed comeback attempt versus Loyola (Md.), IU has not exactly responded well to large deficits. But there was no reason they couldn’t have Sunday. The Hoosiers went on an 11-0 run to grab the lead back from the Hawkeyes 13 minutes into the game, but that was the only instance in which IU was able to muster quality play for an extended period of time. Perhaps this will serve as a lesson for the Hoosiers as they move forward. But having a Saturday date with the Orange Krush in Champaign, Ill., and a home showdown the following Thursday with 16-3 Purdue, it won’t get any easier. IU has five days of practice separating Sunday’s loss and the game at Illinois. How the team responds Saturday should ultimately tell how much fight this team really has – even if it wasn’t there against Iowa.
(01/23/10 9:12pm)
No, I'm serious.
(01/22/10 5:46am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>On Wednesday, IU coach Tom Crean told members of the media that Penn State’s 0-5 Big Ten record and 8-9 overall season performance was “misleading.” The Nittany Lions had lost a number of close games.But Penn State looked like a junior varsity Big Ten team, if there were such a thing, though IU deserves all the credit for going on the road and beating Ed DeChellis’ squad at the Bryce Jordan Center.It was a rather uneventful game, but what most stood out to me watching the Hoosiers and Nittany Lions do battle was one number in particular: zero lead changes.IU got in foul trouble, Penn State won the rebounding battle by eight and they were dominated in the paint by the not-so-talented Andrew Ott.Yet the Hoosiers stuck to their game plan, did an overall good job in limiting junior guard Talor Battle offensively, kept their composure throughout the game and never surrendered the lead.Following a 5-0 spurt by Penn State, the game was tied at 40 seven minutes into the second half, but IU went on a 10-2 run to grab an eight-point lead. Though the offense looked a bit sluggish for a few minutes without junior guard Jeremiah Rivers – he was riding the pine with four fouls – it was senior guard Devan Dumes who came to the aid of his teammates.During the 10-2 run, which put the Hoosiers up in front 50-42, Dumes hit a big 3 and added a pair of two-point buckets.Late in the game, it was two familiar faces – freshman forward Christian Watford and sophomore guard Verdell Jones – that made key plays for the Hoosiers.With just a 60-57 lead and under four minutes to play, Dumes missed a deep 3 that might have given Penn State a chance to cut the lead or tie the game. But in swooped Watford with a big offensive rebound that not only reset the shot clock, but it eventually led to trey from Jones that extended the lead to six.On IU’s next possession, Jones got in the lane, faded away and connected on a fall-away jumper to make it 65-57. Though Penn State tried clawing back, sophomore guard Daniel Moore hit a pair of free throws to seal the deal.But it wasn’t just Dumes, Watford, Jones or even Moore, for that matter. It was Rivers’ 6 first-half points, freshman forward Derek Elston’s 8 points and 3 blocks coming off the bench and freshman guard Jordan Hulls’ steady play without Rivers.“Everybody that played made a big contribution,” Crean said. “It might have been free throws, it might have been a rebound. When you’re on the road in a possession-by-possession game, everything is magnified. And when you make those kinds of contributions, it makes your team feel really good about themselves.”The game was boring at times, as IU slowed the pace of the game and worked their offense, but it was enough to get things done.IU had an answer for Penn State in most situations, and while Battle went for 22 points, he missed 11 shots and the team was held to 4-of-22 from behind the arc.The end result might be a bit different at Illinois next Saturday if the team finds itself in early foul trouble and gets outrebounded like they did.However, the Hoosiers took care of business when it came down to it, and they held their own on Penn State’s home court.“Our guys should feel good about themselves,” Crean said. “They earned a victory again tonight.”
(01/21/10 3:47am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Sitting down at a Starbucks in his hometown of Loveland, Ohio last winter, I fired a number of questions at then-high school senior Bobby Capobianco in a lengthy sit-down interview.Unlike most other teenage basketball prospects, Capobianco was never a kid of just a few words. Instead, and much to the delight of any journalist who ever spoke with him, Capobianco was like a well-oiled interview machine.He gave long answers, he was honest and he always seemed to say just the right thing.When asked about the role he anticipated having during his freshman season at IU, the 6-foot-9 big man talked about simply listening to his future coach, Tom Crean.“I don’t know if he’s going to throw me out there and say, ‘Bobby, we need you to score.’ If he says that, then by all means, I’m going to try my best to score. If he says, ‘Bobby we need you to go out there and play defense and rebound,’ I’ll do that,” Capobianco said. “I just want to go out there and make a difference and help the team win.”Though Capobianco has averaged just 1.9 points and 2.3 rebounds through 17 games, the former Loveland Tiger is certainly making a difference and he played a major role in IU’s 81-78 win Sunday.Although he fouled out in only 15 minutes of action against Minnesota, Capobianco pulled down three offensive rebounds, hit his first-career 3-pointer and recorded two steals. He also hit that scoop shot from 16 feet out to beat the shot clock and to save junior guard Jeremiah Rivers from his bad play.Outside of the box score stats, the freshman forward battled hard against Minnesota’s 6-foot-11 center, Ralph Sampson, and made other plays to help the team. Along with his 7-point, 10-rebound performance in an early season loss to George Mason - as well as a 7-point, 4-rebound game in the win versus Pittsburgh - the Minnesota game was likely Capobianco’s best outing.Despite averaging just six minutes in the five games that took place during winter vacation, Capobianco has seen 21, 15 and 15 minutes, respectively, in each of the last three games. At his press conference on Wednesday, Crean called the search for a consistent starting big man to compliment freshman forward Christian Watford “a complicated situation.”Crean said he would like to give everyone minutes – including the seldom-used senior center Tijan Jobe and freshman center Bawa Muniru.But as Crean figures things out, from the sounds of it at least, Capobianco is making it tough on the other members of the front court through his strong play in practice. Crean spoke about one drill, in particular, in which the team went four-on-four and was not allowed to dribble.“(He) made the most passes, got the most rebounds, made the most baskets,” Crean said. “Those are the signs that he is going to be a pretty good player because he does have a pretty good understanding and feel for the game. “He’s just got to get experience and I think his confidence will grow. If anybody grew up the other day it was him, in the sense of a game. I don’t think there’s any question about that.”Fellow freshman Jordan Hulls, who has played with Capobianco since the eighth grade, said his former AAU teammate is “getting better everyday.”“He’s a hard worker and he just does whatever needs to be done,” Hulls said. “He’s willing to do whatever it takes to win and, today in that drill, he was rebounding like crazy and getting all the putbacks.”Last winter, Capobianco said he has always admired San Antonio Spurs forward Tim Duncan, a great player “who is never flashy.”While Capobianco, himself, is never full of flash and isn’t all that athletic, in tonight’s game at Penn State, he will have another opportunity to prove himself and gain more confidence.He might not start and he might not do much scoring, but if he gets the minutes, look for “Big Bobby” to make a difference against the Nittany Lions.Prediction: IU 68, PSU 64
(01/20/10 12:55am)
Here are some other recent videos from YouTube including those of 2012 targets A.J. Hammons, Hanner Perea and Peter Jurkin (follow the jump):
(01/19/10 2:53am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Verdell Jones was running on fumes.The sophomore guard from Champaign, Ill., went into overtime Sunday with 17 points and had made 10-of-12 free throws.Jones hit his 11th free throw 45 seconds into the extra period. But he missed the second of two and later missed a pair with IU trailing 76-71.“Those free throws I missed, I think it was just my legs – the legs were gone,” Jones said. The 6-foot-5 guard said there was “a little mental fatigue and physical fatigue.” Watching Jones and his teammates from press row, that seemed like a major understatement.One of the team managers probably should have slipped some 5-Hour Energy into Jones’ water bottle late in the game, as Jones played the entire second half and overtime, finishing the game having played 40 of the 45 minutes.Yet in the game’s final two minutes, Jones hit his next two shots from the charity stripe to cut Minnesota’s lead to three, and then hit a pull-up jumper from just inside the free-throw line.Following a missed layup by Minnesota guard Devoe Joseph, the lanky IU guard took him one-on-one and ultimately threw up a turnaround jumper, drew a foul and hit what came to be the game-winning basket.TV play-by-play man Gus Johnson gave shout his patented “ha-ha” over TV broadcast; Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert, already up on his feet at his courtside seat next to Pat Ewing, Jr., yelled in excitement; and the rest of the 17,000 crowd in Assembly Hall went into a frenzy.It was a great team effort and win, one that seemed unlikely when Minnesota brought the momentum into overtime and had five-point leads on two occasions. But with apologies to every other player on the court, Jones certainly deserves a great deal of the credit for the victory.IU’s front court combined for 33 points and 25 rebounds. Senior guard Devan Dumes had a very good first half and was key in helping the Hoosiers take over the opening frame. Freshman guard Jordan Hulls, though he didn’t fill up the stat sheet, played a good game himself.But it was Jones who truly personified what IU coach Tom Crean described as the two defining words of the Hoosiers’ 81-78 victory: “perseverance and scrappiness.”Jones made his college decision later than most in 2008, ultimately choosing IU in early May instead of Billy Gillespie’s Kentucky Wildcats and Tubby Smith’s Minnesota.Smith, the losing coach in Sunday’s game, saw firsthand what he lost out on roughly 20 months ago. “He’s very talented,” Smith said. “He’s long and athletic. He’s a very heady player, a very smart player. He knows how to draw the foul. You hedge on the pick and roll and he knows how to use his body and force you to foul him.”But while Jones did take 19 free-throw shots, missing six of them caused less reason to celebrate – at least for one person.“My dad, when I first came out to say ‘What’s up’ to him, he didn’t even say ‘Hi,’ or anything. He said, ‘You’ve got to make free throws,’” Jones said of his conversation with his father. “That’s something I have to keep working on.”But at the end of the day, IU beat a good Minnesota team and Jones put together a pretty nice stat line – a career-high 24 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists.On a day in which the likes of Hibbert, ex-Hoosiers Damon Bailey and Brian Evans, former Indiana Pacers center Rik Smits, and, reportedly, Cincinnati Reds third baseman and Jasper, Ind., native Scott Rolen, were in Assembly Hall, it was Jones who left the arena as the big man on campus.And while the postgame court rush celebration was extremely premature – let’s face it, Minnesota might not even make the NCAA Tournament – it was a quality win for the Hoosiers and a tremendous effort from Jones down the stretch.“He stayed fearless,” Crean said. “That’s exactly what you have to be when you’re making that transition to being a very good player, which he’s doing.”
(01/18/10 8:14pm)
DeMatha Catholic (Md.) senior and future Hoosier guard Victor Oladipo won the 2010 Spalding Hoophall Classic earlier this weekend. At 5 p.m. this afternoon, DeMatha will play Mater Dei (Calif.) on ESPNU in the final day of Hoophall Classic action.
(01/18/10 3:35am)
Left the press room after 10 p.m. and don't plan on posting anything else until tomorrow, but I wanted to post the following quote before the end of the night:
(01/17/10 8:58pm)
Minnesota at Indiana
(01/15/10 6:32am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>With 3:34 to go in Thursday night’s game at Crisler Arena, Michigan claimed a 57-45 lead. The Wolverines finished the contest on a 12-0 run, but by then it made no difference.Michigan finally did what it had been trying to do all game – and that was blow it wide open for a 69-45 win.IU put up a lackluster effort and was outplayed by a Michigan team that looks like it will be sitting comfortably in the N.I.T. field two months from now. After being dominated at Ohio State and seeing the Illinois game slip out of their hands on Saturday, perhaps the Hoosiers deserve some credit for hanging tough on the road for as long as they did.The way IU shot, the way they carelessly passed the ball at times and the way they let Michigan get the number of second chance opportunities that they did, it could have been a lot worse even earlier.As the Hoosiers have done all season, they managed some big buckets when their back was seemingly up against the wall. Early in the second half, one that started just as ugly as the first, freshman guard Jordan Hulls took his man one way, spun and drove in for a crafty lay up from the other side to cut the deficit to just four points.“A little razzle dazzle by Jordan Hulls,” ESPN commentator Steve Lavin exclaimed on the broadcast. But as the half wore on, the Hoosiers continued to play sloppily, missed a lot of shots and looked more frazzled than anything near “razzle dazzle.”IU couldn’t get over the hump and bring the lead under four points, and the mistakes mounted.Freshman forward Derek Elston badly overthrew a wide open freshman forward in Bobby Capobianco, and he later airballed a free throw; Hulls dribbled a ball off his knee and out of bounds; Michigan began beating IU to the basket with simple crossovers; and Wolverines star guard Manny Harris scored 17 points in the final 11:03 of the game to seal the deal.Without freshman guard Maurice Creek able to suit up, IU has lacked a true scorer. Further, while freshman forward Christian Watford was very productive, the Hoosiers continue to get next to no production from the other big men.Aside from Watford, IU’s three other members of the front court combined for 8 points and 9 fouls. Capobianco didn’t even take a shot, despite some open looks.The Hoosiers hung by a thread for most of the game until Michigan completed the inevitable and took over late.It wasn’t as bad as the performance at Ohio State earlier in the month, but IU simply looks uncomfortable away from Assembly Hall.From purely a shooting standpoint, the Hoosiers have connected on 35.2 percent of their field goal attempts (37-of-103) and 15.1 percent of their 3-point shots (5-of-33) in the two road games versus Ohio State and Michigan. IU alternates home and road games over the next 12 contests and will need a much better effort versus Minnesota on Sunday to restore some of its confidence. Or maybe they don’t need more confidence. Just a better overall effort.
(01/14/10 3:49am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Technically speaking, the Hoosiers haven’t won a game all year. IU closed out 2009 with a bang, defeating Michigan by six at Assembly Hall in a New Year’s Eve showdown. Despite two straight losses, the Hoosiers have a chance to beat a familiar foe when they play the Wolverines in Ann Arbor today.Some have credited the Dec. 31 victory to emotion, as the team was playing its first game without star freshman guard Maurice Creek. IU coach Tom Crean isn’t buying that.“We executed. We earned the victory,” Crean said.It will take similar execution and a solid defensive effort for the Hoosiers to prevail as “the victors” this time around, especially playing on the road at Crisler Arena.Michigan is good enough to win on most nights, but it hasn’t exactly done that. And while it has an excellent one-two punch in junior guard Manny Harris and senior forward DeShawn Sims, there is not a whole lot else.John Beilein’s team gets little offensive production from its bench, and its best reserve, freshman guard Darius Morris, is more of a defensive stopper.Michigan doesn’t have the personnel to compete at the highest of levels day in and day out, or at least it hasn’t shown that in the first half of the season. But the Wolverines do have weapons.When Harris and Sims were slowed by foul trouble versus IU two weeks ago, sophomore guards Stu Douglass and Zack Novak picked up much of the slack. The Indiana natives went for 16 and 18 points, respectively – and the duo combined to shoot 8-of-15 from behind the 3-point line. Since the loss to IU, however, the duo has combined for just 9-of-30 from outside, or 30 percent, and as of Sunday the team as a whole was ranked No. 261 among Division I teams in 3-point shooting.But as Crean said before the teams’ first meeting, “They can get hot at any time.”Michigan’s fifth starter, sophomore guard Laval Lucas-Perry, recently showed just that. Despite posting a doughnut at Assembly Hall and having been kept scoreless in three of the team’s last four games, Lucas-Perry hit four 3s and scored 16 points to help pace the Wolverines past Penn State on Thursday.Although IU could have its hands full with any of those three, it still comes down to stopping the Harris-Sims duo.The Detroit natives, who average 37 points and 13.9 rebounds combined per game, are both versatile in their own rights and have played well since the IU loss.Sims, the reigning Big Ten Player of the Week, averaged 23.3 points and 8.3 rebounds in the three games since Michigan’s trek to Bloomington. Harris, meanwhile, posted 20.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, four assists and three steals in that same period.While both were kept in check by the Hoosiers the first go-around, combining for 25 points, four rebounds and nine fouls, they are unquestionably the biggest threat to IU.Junior guard Jeremiah Rivers did an excellent job limiting the athletic and aggressive Harris last game, but the IU guard is anticipating a different Harris in game two.“He missed some of the shots he usually makes, so I’m sure next game he’s going to come even harder and more determined to score and win the game,” Rivers said. “We’re going to have to be ready for that.”Sims, meanwhile, though playing the role of power forward as the only big man in the Michigan starting lineup, can step out and shoot, hit pull-up jumpers and drive to the basket.The dilemma IU faced last time was that it stopped Harris and Sims for the most part but left Novak and Douglass open for too many shots. Michigan missed 18 of its last 23 3-pointers but could hurt IU if it gets a lot of open looks this time. Further, Michigan is among the nation’s best with a + 4.3 turnover margin and a 1.49 assist-to-turnover ratio. Facing a team that makes minimal mistakes, it will be critical for the Hoosiers to take care of the ball, challenge Michigan’s shots and box out and grab the long rebounds from missed 3s.While rather obvious, oftentimes IU has struggled with the basic elements of winning basketball games. Furthermore, it is imperative for the Hoosiers not to come out flat like they did in their last road contest. IU beat Michigan once, but I don’t like their chances away from home. Cohen’s prediction: Michigan 69, IU 65
(01/12/10 7:35pm)
As posted a couple days back, 6-foot-9 sophomore Greg Echenique has transferred from Rutgers and is considering IU as a possible destination.