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(11/23/13 11:28pm)
Leaders of the IU men's basketball team - senior forward Will Sheehey and sophomore guard Kevin "Yogi" Ferrell - spoke with the media Friday evening after the Hoosiers lost 59-58 against No. 18 UConn in the championship of the 2K Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden.
(11/23/13 3:16am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>NEW YORK -- He had played all of 10 minutes, benched for much of the 2K Sports Classic championship game in foul trouble. IU freshman forward Noah Vonleh had put up just a single shot through all but 0.7 seconds of IU’s dual with No. 18 Connecticut Friday evening at Madison Square Garden, but when he caught the out-of-bounds pass from sophomore guard Jeremy Hollowell, Vonleh had the chance to make his most important shot during his short Hoosier career.After so many things had gone wrong, IU’s hopes were held in the large hands of one of the budding freshman in the NCAA, but as he had the rest of the game, the ugly truth that he had just five previous games under his belt continued to shine through.Vonleh’s shot didn’t even get off before the buzzer sounded, as the Hoosiers fell in their first loss of the season.IU Coach Tom Crean has never been one for moral victories, but after the game, he said he thought there was a lesson to be learned for his young guns in trying to grind out a win against a superior opponent on the road.“They’ll understand more and more they can compete in any type of game as long as they don’t give in and get down on themselves,” Crean said. “When a team likes to score and has been over 100 points three out of five games, and they’ve got to grind it out, and they do all the way to the end…we don’t get the result, but we do grind it out.“I like our upside.”Vonleh’s lack of poise Friday wasn’t the only hurdle the Hoosiers had to scale to compete against the Huskies, though.In fact, the Hoosiers had managed to weather numerous hits Friday night. The freshmen tandem of Vonleh and Troy Williams that had flourished Thursday night to combine for 40 of IU’s 102 points had produced only a single bucket.Without Vonleh for much of the game and the Hoosiers struggling from the field – particularly in the first half – IU failed to pull down a bulk of rebounds on the offensive end and gave themselves few second and third chance opportunities.In fact, on 12 occasions in the first half due to a string of turnovers, the Hoosiers didn’t even put up a shot.“When you play great teams, the margin for error is so small,” Crean said. “When you’re not shooting the ball great, you cannot give up easy baskets or give the ball back like that, especially with the way we rebound. You can’t not have a chance to have a really good offensive possession by getting your second shot, and when you turn it over, you eliminate that.”After IU grabbed an 8-6 lead with 14:18 left in the first half – already with Vonleh on the bench with two early fouls – the Hoosiers wouldn’t regain the lead until nearly the identical mark in the second half, falling behind by as many as six at halftime.In the first 20 minutes, the starters shot 30 percent from the field and 40 percent from the free throw line. Similar to the semi-final game against Washington Thursday night, the Hoosiers suffered several intervals where shots just weren’t dropping.Thursday, though, IU managed to grab an offensive rebound on more than 70 percent of their missed first half shots. With Vonleh on the bench for 13 of the first 20 minutes, the Hoosiers struggled to make up for his length in the post on offense and defense. IU pulled down boards on just 40 percent of the team’s misses, and with the addition of double-digit turnovers and a much slower and methodical opponent in UConn, the Hoosiers’ opportunities for shots were few.“When you’re going against a team like UConn, you’re not going to get a lot of easy baskets,” Crean said. “You’ve got to go force the action. You’ve got to force it in a lot of different ways. I thought we got better in both games as the game went on.”The Hoosiers pulled even at 24-all with a layup from sophomore guard Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell, but UConn’s senior floor general Shabazz Napier knocked down two 3-pointers – the second as the buzzer sounded – and IU went into the locker room with fewer than half their total 20 minutes into the game Thursday.Even in watching Napier on film and preparing to try to contain him, IU Coach Tom Crean said the senior had the skills that mirrored those of an old NBA veteran.“I told someone in the hall, ‘That’s a 12 or 13 year pro right there,” Crean said. “He deserves every bit of praise he’s going to get this year. There’s no doubt about that.“I imagine it would be like in the NFL, trying to deal with a great running back like Barry Sanders or Adrian Peterson now. The change of direction at the drop of a hat. He can play with both hands, both feet. He’s explosive to the basket. “He’s got the unbelievable ability to make big shots at crucial times.”In the start of the second half, the Huskies’ lead would grow to as many as seven, but the Hoosiers stormed back, scoring eight points in just under two minutes to take the lead as a layup from senior forward Will Sheehey dropped through the net with 14:17 left in regulation.After UConn scored the next two buckets, IU would go on a 17-8 run to gain the team’s largest lead of the game at 51-46 with 5:15 still on the clock.From there, the lead would change seven times, both teams trading buckets while leading just by a point or two until Napier had the ball in his hands with a chance to close the Hoosiers out.With 38 seconds left, Napier – who scored a game-high 27 points Friday night – suffered one of his few misses from 3-point range, but the Hoosiers couldn’t come up with the rebound.Leading 59-58 and the shot clock off, Napier drove to the basket, with sophomore guard Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell lagging behind, Napier drove a shoulder in Ferrell’s chest, drawing the charge.With 21 seconds left – as they had done all night – the Hoosiers still had a shot.Ferrell brought the ball up the court, and he said after the game the plan was to use a high ball screen to open him up for a good look at a game-winning shot.Instead, he was forced to put up an off-balance fade-away jumped that clanked off the back of the rim, shot straight up, and clanked out.Hollowell positioned himself to pull down the rebound, but it slipped through his hands and right to a UConn player – but he slid out of bounds with the ball in his chest.IU ball, 0.7 seconds left. One more shot.After a chess match of strategic timeouts, Hollowell stood with the ball in his hands out of bounds, looking for either an open Ferrell at the 3-point line or a lob and post-up to Vonleh.Ferrell had scored a team-high 19 points and was later named to the all-tournament team. Vonleh had committed four fouls and put up a single shot, but Vonleh was the open target as the seconds ticked away and Hollowell had to find an open man.Vonleh caught the pass, pivoted and tried to put up a prayer, but his man was on him tight enough that he couldn’t get his shot off in time as the ball fell short of the net and fell to the ground.“We feel like we played one of the best teams in the country tonight,” Crean said after the game.After suffering the first loss of his collegiate career in November, Ferrell said that through all the adversity he and his teammates faced throughout the game Friday, the simple fact that they had a shot in the final possession showed some grit.With true road tests in the Big Ten and the post season looming in March, he said the young Hoosier squad will have to battle through tough games, and hopefully in the future they’ll come out on top.“We learned we’re never going to back down,” he said. “We were always there, still fighting, trying to get a lead. It shows our character and everything and how well we stayed together. This loss is going to help us down the road, so we’re just going to learn from it.”
(11/23/13 1:36am)
NEW YORK-At halftime of the 2K Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden, the IU men's basketball team trails the No. 18 Connecticut Huskies 30-24.
(11/22/13 7:53pm)
IU Coach Tom Crean and senior forward Will Sheehey and sophomore guard Kevin "Yogi" Ferrell spoke to the media last night after the Hoosiers' 102-84 victory against Washington in the semi-finals of the 2K Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden. The victory put them into the finals this evening against No. 18 UConn, and that game will tip off at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN2.
(11/22/13 5:56pm)
After defeating Washington last night in the semi-finals of the 2K Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden, the IU men's basketball team will have to survive round two against the Huskies - the Connecticut Huskies, that is - this evening to take home the team's second tournament title in New York City over the past two seasons.
(11/22/13 5:00pm)
Crean on Williams' performance: "He got better as the game went on, and I think he's been getting better really since he's gotten more comfortable having both hands."
(11/22/13 5:53am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>In the game’s opening minutes, the IU men’s basketball team made it clear they could score in a variety of manners.After an early foul by Washington’s Shawn Kemp Jr., senior forward Will Sheehey drove it to the hoop for a layup. Sophomore guard Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell sunk a 3-pointer from the right wing, and freshman forward Troy Williams tossed in a deep 2-pointer from the opposite side of the court.7-0, Hoosiers.Although the Hoosiers’ scoring from the field would ebb and flow throughout their semi-final matchup against Washington Thursday night at Madison Square Garden, Indiana managed to combine an improved free throw shooting performance along with an abundance of second-chance points en route to the 102-84 victory, pairing them up with Connecticut in the finals of the 2K Sports Classic Friday.“We got ahead, we stayed ahead, we had some moments where we didn’t play as well, but we were always able to bounce back,” Crean said.After IU’s quick start in just one minute and sevon seconds, the Hoosiers shot just 3-for-12 in the next seven minutes and 40 seconds from the field to let the Huskies hang around at 21-17 midway through the half.But by then, the Huskies had already committed seven fouls — including two for leading scorer C.J. Wilcox and three for Shawn Kemp Jr. — and the Hoosiers took advantage of their trips to the line.After Williams missed IU’s first free throw attempt of the game, the Hoosiers made 16-of-17 to end the half.The Hoosiers were much stingier defending the ball, giving the Huskies just nine chances at the line in the game’s first 20 minutes.And when IU wasn’t at the line and at times struggling from the floor, the Hoosiers managed to pull down offensive rebounds on 71 percent of the team’s misses for 19 second-chance points. The Hoosiers led 29-11 on the boards, complimenting a 50-37 halftime lead.But to start the second half, Washington’s Perris Blackwell gave IU a taste of its own game, scoring an early bucket, absorbing the foul from Sheehey and sinking a free throw to cut the lead to 10.From there, the Hoosiers stretch their lead to their biggest margin at the time — 18 points — at 58-40 with the help of IU’s returning core.Sheehey fought back with his own 3-point play. Ferrell sunk his third of three 3-pointers of the night and capped off the run with a layup fed from Sheehey.In just one minute and 35 seconds, the Huskies cut IU’s lead in half, but Vonleh put an end to it with a free throw and an offensive rebound followed by a dunk. Sheehey’s two-handed slam off a back-door cut and feed from guard Evan Gordon jump-started the Hoosiers again as they cruised to eclipse 100 points and a comfortable victory.Williams led the Hoosiers with a career-high of 22 points off of an 8-for-12 shooting night from the field. Ferrell scored 20 points, giving him at least 20 points for the third game in a row after averaging just 7.6 points per game last season.Vonleh fell just short of his fifth-straight double-double to start his IU career, dishing in 18 points and pulling down nine boards.Follow reporter Nathan Brown on Twitter @nathan_brown10.
(11/21/13 5:07am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>One year ago, members of the IU men’s basketball team were crowned kings of Brooklyn in the Progressive Legends Classic.They had overcome the adversity of trailing at halftime in the first game against Georgia and the struggle of winning against Georgetown in overtime.Even with veteran experience, the Hoosiers struggled at times under the bright lights of the Barclays Center last season.Tonight, as IU Coach Tom Crean’s squad plays its first game of the 2K Sports Classic Tournament in the hallowed halls of Madison Square Garden, Crean said he doesn’t want his players to block out the differences between Assembly Hall and the court the Hoosiers play Washington on this evening.“We can talk about it all week in the sense that we’re going to New York, and lights aren’t any brighter,” Crean said. “It’s a 90-foot court with 10 feet from the floor to the rim. It doesn’t make any difference, but it is. It’s different.“This is a hard environment not to get distracted. The bottom line is we want them to have fun, and we want them to see New York. I want them to experience that.”Last season, Hoosier fans flocked to the Barclays Center remarkably well, dominating the Georgia crowd in the semifinals and matching the Georgetown contingency, who would have had a much shorter trip.Crean said he’s hopeful for another dominating crimson crowd tonight and Friday, but for the Hoosiers, this trip is all about continuing to form an identity with such a young core of players.Even with the addition of the new NCAA foul rules this season, the Hoosiers have managed to keep the team’s high-scoring mentality of last season, where IU averaged 78.6 points per game, ranking fifth in the NCAA.This season, the Hoosiers averaged 90.75 points per game against their first four opponents, but against arguably IU’s best opponent thus far — LIU Brooklyn — IU averaged just 38 percent shooting from the floor and squeaked out a 73-72 victory.At times, certain players have struggled from the foul line, and the team hasn’t been immune to scoring droughts from a team with a lot of athleticism but a few pure shooting threats.The Hoosiers have reached double-digits in fast-break points in only a single game — against Samford.Crean said his team has to have an identity in transition offense, defense and shooting, and he said this goal is still a work in progress.“If you’re getting good shots and have rebounding balance, you have your guys getting back on the air time of the pass, but it’s not a one- or two-man job,” Crean said. “College basketball right now is so much about how you attack in transition and how many two-on-ones you can create.”Crean said after watching tape on Washington, the Huskies thrive on speed and a transition game that he said is the best his team has seen on film thus far.Though Washington has already suffered a loss this season — an 86-72 defeat at the hands of UC Irvine a week ago — Crean said his team will get a great look at some key qualities the Hoosiers must pick up before they get into the meat of the conference schedule this season.“Their speed, their transition game is the best we have watched on film and the best we will see in a long time,” Crean said. “They get the ball out of bounds really quick. They attack and do a great job off of one pass, getting the ball ahead and attacking the rim. They want to play fast.”Follow reporter Nathan Brown on Twitter @nathan_brown10.
(11/19/13 3:07pm)
Sunday evening, after the IU men's basketball team defeated Stony Brook 90-74 at Assembly Hall, three of the stars in the Hoosiers' victory talked to the media about free throw shooting, Vonleh's success and much more.
(11/18/13 4:23am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>To start the IU men’s basketball team’s battle against Stony Brook Sunday at Assembly Hall, the Seawolves got a fresh dose of IU’s returning leadership at its best.After Stony Brook won the tip and scored for the team’s only lead of the game, senior forward Will Sheehey executed a smooth backdoor cut, and sophomore guard Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell found his teammate for the easy bucket.Two trips later, Sheehey drove it to the hole himself for a reverse layup after a pass from Ferrell.Ferrell flipped the ball behind his back the next time down right to Sheehey, who sunk the 3-pointer to give IU a 7-3 lead. Seven points. Three assists.But Sheehey would score just two more points and foul out, as the Hoosiers had to work through a string of missed free throws and foul calls for a 90-74 win against the Seawolves.Just a little over 90 seconds later, IU Coach Tom Crean subbed out three of his starting lineup – including Sheehey – because he felt like he saw a lack of energy from the group on the floor as the offense stagnated. Freshman forward Noah Vonleh missed 3-of-4 free throws and Sheehey committed his first turnover of the game.Freshman forward Colin Hartman, who has now become a regular in coming off the bench in the first wave, managed to grab a spark in place of Sheehey on the court, Crean said.“We had hit a lull. We were quiet. We were a little flat, whether we were getting disappointed they were missing foul shots, whether we thought it should be a little easier — whatever a young team goes through,” Crean said. “We hit a lull, and Colin came in and changed the energy level.”Sheehey didn’t spend much time on the bench, but when he came back in, he just wasn’t the same.The senior missed two chances from behind the arc, similar to the one he made in the game’s opening minutes. He managed a dunk with nine minutes and 45 seconds remaining in the half, but with six minutes and 45 seconds left, Sheehey committed his second foul, this time on the offensive end, and Crean sat him down for the rest of the half.The Hoosiers were managing to draw fouls themselves with the new rules for this season, but they struggled from the line in the first half, shooting just 15-for-28 from the charity stripe, while managing 60 percent from the field.The Seawolves only managed 11 attempts from the line. They made eight to keep them within striking distance at 41-35 at halftime.Sheehey started again in the second half, while regular starter sophomore guard Jeremy Hollowell sat in exchange for freshman forward Luke Fischer.Crean said it didn’t matter to him as much who started but how guys were making use of their playing time and bringing energy to the floor.Sheehey committed his third foul of the night less than a minute into the half and again was sat down for Hartman.Crean said that he was a little frustrated with his players adjusting to the foul calls Sunday, adding that no matter how many are called and how rare of calls they may see, they have to move onto the next play.“If you can’t adjust to it mentally, if you can’t adjust to it physically, you can’t adjust,” Crean said. “The last foul you had cannot affect your next play.”After six minutes on the bench, Sheehey came in with 13 minutes and seven seconds left in the half, his team with a 57-47 lead, but he exited again 45 seconds later with his fourth foul.His younger teammates kept the game just out of reach in his absence.Vonleh recorded his fourth-straight double-double to start his IU career with 18 points and 15 rebounds. Fellow-freshman forward Troy Williams added eight points and six rebounds. Each committed just a single foul in 56-combined minutes.Ferrell led all scorers with a team-high 24 points, while sitting all of five minutes during the action.Sheehey made his final short appearance with two minutes and 31 seconds left, fouling out 11 seconds later after he got in Stony Brook’s Jameel Warney’s way while he pursued a rebound going out of bounds.Some heard Crean say to Sheehey as he walked to the bench, “If you don’t want to play, sit down.”He finished with nine points, two turnovers, five fouls and zero assists or rebounds in 12 minutes of action.“There were certain energy levels all night of guys that I didn’t like. In that situation when you just get back in, Will’s better than that,” Crean said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re a freshman. It doesn’t matter if you’re a senior. If we and if I don’t hold them accountable to make those adjustments ... then what am I?“I love him to death, but we needed more from him tonight. Those fouls play with you, and you’ve got to move on.”Follow men's basketball reporter Nathan Brown on Twitter @nathan_brown10.
(11/18/13 2:29am)
IU Coach Tom Crean spoke to the media after Sunday night's 90-74 victory against Stony Brook.
(11/17/13 11:09pm)
Senior forward Will Sheehey sophomore guard Kevin "Yogi" Ferrell started IU's game Sunday against Stony Brook off strong with seven points and three assists between them in the opening minutes.
(11/15/13 3:11am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Thursday evening, IU Athletics officially received the National Letters of Intent from two of the three members of the IU men’s basketball 2014 recruiting class — Robert Johnson and James Blackmon Jr. IU Coach Tom Crean, with Associate Head Coaches Tim Buckley and Steve McClain and Assistant Coach Kenny Johnson at his side, noted that his staff were all three key parts of signing the future of Indiana basketball.But today, as the Hoosiers take on Samford at 7 p.m. at Assembly Hall, Crean will have to game plan for the coach that worked alongside him for six years during his final two seasons at Marquette and the outset of his career in Bloomington: Bulldogs Coach Bennie Seltzer.“I had no doubt he’d be a successful head coach, and he obviously is being that,” Crean said. “He had the best record they’ve had in some time last year inside the conference. They’re recruiting well. They’re playing well. They do a lot of the same things we did here, and they do them very well.”Crean said Seltzer was a key link in recruiting previous cornerstones of the program Victor Oladipo and Christian Watford and was a major factor in helping Crean during the rebuilding years of the program.Current Hoosier, senior forward Will Sheehey said Seltzer made a big impact on his choice to come to Bloomington and impacted his career for his first two years playing for IU.“He was big time,” Sheehey said. “He was involved with my recruitment from my official visit and even came down to my high school. Once I got here, he helped push me through a lot of things. Coach Seltzer was definitely one of the reasons this program has grown back into what it is and why many of the guys who have left developed into the players they are now.”Crean said that he doesn’t often schedule games against coaches that he’s had a previous relationship because he wants to be able to root for them and see their success after they leave his side.“You want somebody that you’re with like that to be extremely successful,” Crean said. “You just don’t want them to be successful tomorrow night.“It’s always just a little bit hard going against people you’re like brothers with.”In two games this season, the Bulldogs have gone 1-1, winning the team’s opener against Martin Methodist handily 79-62. Tuesday, in the team’s first road trip of the season, Samford fell to UT Arlington 88-75.After watching game tape to prepare for Seltzer and the Bulldogs, Crean said he noticed a few wrinkles in the offense that are similar to what the second-year head coach helped Crean instill during his time at IU.He added, though, that he expects to see some surprises pop out for tonight’s matchup against a team he expects to be competitive, quick, and a challenge for his young squad trying to get used to playing defense at this level.Watching Seltzer rebuild a program of his own has been great to see, Crean said, but tonight he and his staff will put that aside, learn from mistakes made in the first two games and hope to come out the other side still undefeated.“You go through periods where you’ve been through so many things together, the highs and lows, and you’re so excited to see them get their opportunity, and you don’t want to do anything to get in the way of it,” Crean said. “But for a couple hours tomorrow night, that’s what it is, and I’m sure that Bennie and his group will feel the same way.”Follow reporter Nathan Brown on Twitter @nathan_brown10.
(11/15/13 2:54am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>In his early high school years, Evan Gordon visited Bloomington for a basketball camp with then-IU Coach Kelvin Sampson and the rest of the IU roster.His older brother, Eric Gordon, then a senior at North Central High School, had already given a verbal commitment to play college basketball at the University of Illinois, but the younger Gordon pleaded for Eric to reconsider.“I went back home and told my brother, ‘It’s closer, and you can go there and be the man’ because they were a good team, but I definitely thought he could come down and make a difference,” Evan said. “I told my dad, and it started circulating through my family, and my dad got interested.”On Oct. 12, 2006, Evan’s persuasion was felt across the basketball world as his brother withdrew his verbal commitment to the Fighting Illini for the Hoosiers.Evan said he thinks he played a major role in his brother’s decision.The older Gordon came to Bloomington for just a single season but led the Big Ten in scoring as a freshman with 20.9 points per game.After later watching his brother endure a myriad of taunts and jeers in Champaign, Ill., Evan knew he wanted to play in the Big Ten because of the atmosphere the fans’ love and devotion created for the game.Instead, he ended up at Liberty University where his father, Eric Gordon Sr., played three seasons from 1982-84.After two seasons in Lynchburg, Va., Evan decided it was time for a change.Again, a chance to play back in his home state just wasn’t there. He instead opted for Arizona State.But last spring — with one year of eligibility left and the Hoosiers losing a string of veterans to graduation, the NBA and transferring — Evan saw an opportunity to leave another one-year legacy of the Gordon brothers in Bloomington.IU Coach Tom Crean made Evan an offer to come play for the Hoosiers for his last year of eligibility while he pursued a master’s degree in sports administration and sports management.Evan took a tour of Assembly Hall and Cook Hall, and it was just as he remembered it in his high school days.Now, with less than a season until his Hoosier days are done, Evan can only hope to be an influential player, just as persuading his brother did six years ago.***Shortly after Evan arrived in Bloomington for summer workouts with his new teammates and coaches, the team’s two leaders, senior forward Will Sheehey and sophomore guard Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell, left the country for Russia to represent the United States in the World University Games.For two weeks, Evan was left to continue to learn the ropes of the IU offensive and defensive schemes, all while taking on the role as the oldest player on the squad and mentoring the incoming freshmen.IU Associate Coach Steve McClain said he was impressed with Evan’s adaptation to the IU culture.“He’d been here a week, and you would have thought he’d been here for four years,” McClain said. “He’s done an unbelievable job fitting in.”Because he had already moved once before, Evan said he knew it was all about winning basketball games. But after arriving on campus, he said he was glad he was taken in with respect for what he knew and could teach the younger guys on and off the court.“I basically just gave them my personality and hoped they liked it, but at the end of the day it’s a business,” Evan said, “We need to win, I’ve won and this team has won the last couple years, and I just hope to bring my experience and my leadership and my knowledge to this team.”Evan said his work ethic has been able to rub off on some of the freshmen who he’s taken under his wing, including forward Devin Davis and guard Stanford Robinson.During the summer, after organized workouts, Evan said he would often spend more time in Cook Hall putting up more shots with Robinson or lifting weights with Davis, but one of the best things he could teach the younger guys was time management while balancing school work, sleep and team responsibilities.“When they got here, guys would be tired for workouts and didn’t know what to do, and then they would ask me what time I went to sleep. I said 10:30,” Gordon said. “Because we’d get a text at 10 p.m. saying we had 5 a.m. conditioning. They just didn’t know what to expect.”But coming from what he thought was a pretty big “party school” at Arizona State, Gordon said he was surprised trying to adapt to the social life of being a student athlete in Bloomington.“He (Eric) said, ‘It’s gonna be a different college experience than you’ve been experiencing, even at Arizona State,’ and you know you always hear about Indiana being a big party school, and I thought Arizona State was, but it’s a little different being a basketball player at Arizona State and being a basketball player here,” Evan said.“I think here the spotlight is even brighter than it ever has been for me. Basketball-wise, coaches push you a little bit harder. Just the workouts are a little bit harder, but as a team we always help each other out.”***Evan pushed his way into the starting lineup during IU’s first exhibition game against Southern Indiana, where he put down a solid stat sheet of six points, five rebounds and three assists in the Hoosiers’ easy victory.He played a lesser role coming off the bench behind Ferrell and sophomore Jeremy Hollowell against Hillsdale in the final exhibition game of the season.Evan went just 1-for-4 from the floor but still grabbed four rebounds and dished it off for two assists.He came off the bench once again in his regular season debut against Chicago State where he, along with most of the team, prospered with the slew of foul calls.Evan shot 6-for-7 from the free throw line to go along with one bucket, three rebounds and one of IU’s 13 blocks.As a much stockier guard than Ferrell, he’s proven he can battle for rebounds and take it into the glass against defenders much bigger than his listed 6-foot height.In practice, IU Associate Coach Tim Buckley said Evan provided a different skill set than the Hoosiers were used to with Ferrell at the point.Although he may not be as quick to get up the court, his change of pace and bulk have allowed him to be explosive driving in the lane.“Evan does a great job of changing his speeds and playing at his tempo, and he’s a powerful guy when he gets where he wants to go,” Buckley said. “He can put you under the rim.“He can finish, so even though he’s compact and he’s not necessarily really long, he does a great job putting that defender in trouble at the rim.”Ferrell and Evan often played on separate teams during preseason practices and workouts, and Ferrell said he was impressed with how quickly Evan was able to pick up the play book after making another college transition.But he knew because of the Gordon name that he was getting a great teammate to join him in the backcourt after watching Eric’s play during his college and NBA career.And although their relationship has been interesting — with Ferrell teaching Evan about the IU method of play and Evan giving his younger teammate some experience tips on basketball in general — the two have meshed well and have created a diverse skill set in IU’s backcourt whenever they’re both on the floor.“He’s a poised point guard,” Ferrell said. “He won’t go fast at times like myself. I always want to go fast, but I’ve noticed you don’t have to go fast all the time. He’s more of a poised point guard, just picking his spots.”Evan said he knows he may not be the focal point of the offense after his days at Liberty and Arizona State, but just having a chance to play under the lights of Assembly Hall and close to home has made his third college worth the switch.And for a guy with hopes of playing at the next level, knowing that five players on last year’s roster now play overseas or in the NBA, he said he doesn’t think there’s a better place to showcase his talents one last time.“I have aspirations to play in the NBA or play overseas, so I (hope) to better my chances and have a great season for myself,” Gordon said. “This is a program that always wins, so I’m helping out in that aspect to try and make sure we win games.”Follow reporter Nathan Brown on Twitter @nathan_brown10.
(11/13/13 5:12am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU Coach Tom Crean said Tuesday night’s battle with LIU Brooklyn, a No. 16 seed in last year’s NCAA Tournament, wasn’t a game where “we get on a yellow school bus and we’re supposed to win by 30 ‘cause it’s us.”In fact, they had to battle until the closing seconds and pray as a shot floated through the air to be sure they would win at all.With a three-pointer from sophomore Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell just 13 seconds into IU’s second game of the season, the Hoosiers more than struggled from the field for the rest of the first half and went into the locker room down three. After Ferrell’s long jumper, the Hoosiers missed their next 16 shots from behind the arc, and none of Crean’s players suffered worse than senior forward Will Sheehey, who shot 0-6 from behind the arc in the first half.The lone senior, Ferrell said after the game the Blackbirds were playing a stifling defense in the paint, respecting IU’s length, strength and skills driving in the paint. They were asking IU to win with the mid-range shooting.“They didn’t have a lot of respect for our outside shooting game, and I don’t blame them,” Crean said. “What was there for us was not what we needed to take, and that’s why early on in the game we took so many jump shots rather than diving into what the game was giving us.”Rather than attacking and racking up the fouls like Friday night, Sheehey and his teammates continued to force guarded three-pointers that clanked off the rim.Ferrell said after the game he isn’t worried about his team’s shooting capabilities behind the arc, and Crean said he doesn’t want his players to get tentative from a rough half of shooting.“We don’t want people to stop shooting,” Crean said. “We want people to understand what the best shot is.”IU managed to battle back early, but LIU Brooklyn distanced themselves with a three-pointer of their own from Troy Joseph, and with that, the Blackbirds led 16-10.Freshman forward Noah Vonleh broke IU’s scoreless streak of five minutes and 49 seconds with a hook shot in the lane with 10 minutes and four seconds left in the half to close the defecit to six.It would get to as big as nine before the Hoosiers clawed back and went into the locker room down just three.In the first 20 minutes, the Hoosiers shot just 11-for-40 from the field and had Ferrell’s lone three-pointer for their 17 shots behind the arc.But things changed in a hurry in the second half.After trading a few buckets, Sheehey took over. He would score all six of his field goals in the final 20 minutes to go along with four first-half free throws for 19 points to lead the Hoosiers.His first bucket came at the 17 minutes and 35 seconds mark of the second half, giving the Hoosiers their first lead since 12 minutes and 46 seconds left in the first.Ferrell said the Hoosiers slowed the game down in the final 20 minutes, stayed calm, and looked for open players, whether they were slicing through the lane or on the perimeter. Crean added afterwards that he thinks the Hoosiers have the top cutter in college basketball: Sheehey.“In the second half, we just started slowing things down, kept reversing the ball,” Ferrell said. “(We would) kick it to Will. He had the baseline open, and he’d drive it. He’d either score it, get fouled or get back for that open shot. That was a pretty big part.”Sheehey sunk his first of three three-pointers of the night with 13 minutes and 42 seconds remaining from the right corner to close a five-point deficit to just two points.The Blackbirds continued to hang around with their own deft three-pointers and the passing skills of senior guard Jason Brickman.Joseph hit another three to break a 58-all tie with 7:02 to go, but Sheehey pulled through with two dagger threes to keep LIU Brooklyn at a distance in the closing minutes.Brickman pulled down a defensive rebound off a missed free throw from freshman forward Devin Davis with 4.8 seconds left, and he heaved one from 25 feet as the buzzer sounded, but it fell short, as the Hoosiers walked off the court with a narrow victory to begin the 2K Sports Classic.Ahead a single point at the buzzer, Crean said he knew his team didn’t cruise through for a victory Tuesday night, but he didn’t expect to.“I think we really had to win tonight,” he said. “I think we won.”Follow reporter Nathan Brown on Twitter @nathan_brown10.
(11/13/13 3:25am)
IU men's basketball freshman forward Noah Vonleh and sophomore guard Kevin "Yogi" Ferrell, along with their teammates, pulled out a close win Tuesday night against LIU Brooklyn 73-72 after shooting just 11-for-40 in the first half.
(11/13/13 12:17am)
Against many NCAA Tournament teams, the inexperienced IU men's basketball team likely would have taken an 11-for-40 shooting half to the locker room with a double-digit deficit.
(11/12/13 6:08am)
Nancy Stockton, director of Counseling and Psychological Services at the
IU Health Center said with the highly publicized drinking culture at
IU, she knows cases like Amanda’s are common.
(11/12/13 5:44am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU men’s basketball freshman forward Noah Vonleh was named the first 2013-14 Big Ten Freshman of the Week on Monday after his debut double-double against Chicago State Friday.In the Hoosiers’ first game of the regular season, Vonleh kicked the game off with IU’s first five points, including his first-made free throw in exhibition and regular season contests.The 6-foot-10 freshman from Haverhill, Mass., scored 11 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. He also pulled down three of IU’s 13 blocks and found his touch from the charity stripe, going 5-for-5 from the line.With his stats, Vonleh became the fourth freshman since IU Coach Tom Crean took over in 2008 to record a double-double in his regular season debut. He is the first Hoosier to earn the distinction since Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell won it for the second time March 4.— Nathan Brown
(11/12/13 5:18am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Tuesday evening, IU Coach Tom Crean’s squad will play its second game of seven in the span of 19 days.The Hoosiers will take on LIU Brooklyn, a team that won its third-straight Northeast Conference title last season and clinched a trip to Dayton to face IU’s eventual NCAA Tournament first round opponent, James Madison.The Blackbirds fell to the Dukes 68-55, but Crean said he saw enough of the Blackbirds to declare them a worthy foe to help the Hoosiers prepare for the rigorous conference slate.“The sustainability is not there yet, so it’s going to be a very, very interesting week for us playing three games this week with the level of competition we have,” Crean said. “We do need the experience. We scheduled it that way.”In particular, Crean said the Blackbirds’ starting senior guard Jason Brickman will pose a challenge for IU’s young team on the defensive end comparable to guarding Ohio State senior Aaron Craft, who was named to the 2013-14 Preseason All-Big Ten Team.“I think getting ready for someone like Brickman is getting ready for somebody like Aaron Craft,” Crean said. “He knows how to find people. He makes everybody better on the court. He’s a capable scorer and certainly a capable shooter.”In the team’s first game of the season Saturday against Saint Peter’s, Brickman scored 13 points and dished off 14 assists as his team’s leading facilitator and dual scoring threat.Friday in IU’s opening game against Chicago State, Crean said his team was able to get away with using its lengthy players to make up for some of his younger players not being in the right spots on the defensive end.But with a crafty passer and floor general such as Brickman to defend, Crean said the Hoosiers can’t continue to be out of place and using incorrect spacing in transition.“The strength has to be the discipline of our defense, the discipline of not reaching, not gambling, not going for a play that’s not there, not being late on a rotation, not switching and having our hands down,” Crean said.Crean continued to emphasize that he wants this team to play quick, but also in control while running the court. The Hoosiers committed 19 turnovers against Chicago State, and Crean said that his players can’t get moving too quickly and let Brickman control the pace that they play.The Blackbirds are not a nonconference foe to be overlooked, Crean said.“Every one of these games matter, and when they understand that every one of these games really matter, they’ll understand the value of every possession,” Crean said. “If they don’t understand these teams come to win, it doesn’t matter. This is not a game where we get on a yellow school bus, and we’re supposed to win by 30.”Follow reporter Nathan Brown on Twitter @nathan_brown10.