4-star forward commits to men's basketball
His blue shirt contrasting sharply with the bright orange banner draped on the podium in front of him, Juwan Morgan tugged at the black tie around his neck.
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His blue shirt contrasting sharply with the bright orange banner draped on the podium in front of him, Juwan Morgan tugged at the black tie around his neck.
Bloomington resident Lucy Jules takes a Bloomington Transit bus to and from work every day. Until August, she was forced to weather the elements, sitting in the secondhand smoke of her fellow passengers while waiting for the bus to arrive.
These days, Chase doesn’t move quite like he used to.
The Big Ten Conference released its men’s basketball schedule for the 2014-15 season Thursday night, finalizing all but three of IU’s 31 fixtures for the upcoming season.
In recognition of the city’s growing tourism status, more than 175 of the country’s foremost travel journalists will convene in Bloomington next August for the 15th Annual Travel Media Showcase.
IU added to its frontcourt depth with a late roster addition Wednesday morning, with 6-foot-7 forward Emmitt Holt’s commitment to the program.
We’re not supposed to be here. It was too much.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>It didn’t take long for IU Coach Tracy Smith to make his presence known again in Oxford, Ohio.Minutes after a pre-game ceremony honoring him for accomplishments during his nine seasons at the helm of Miami of Ohio’s baseball program, Smith’s IU squad had put the game away.“It was a nice little recognition of helping build their program,” Smith said. “I think that was the gist of it. It surprised me. I didn’t have any idea and I appreciate the gesture, but once the first pitch is made, it’s time to tee it up and square off.”Three runs in the top of the first inning were more than enough for the Hoosiers, who excelled both at the plate and on the mound en route to a 16-1 victory against their coach’s former team. IU got all the offense it needed in the top of the first inning when, after recording five singles, the game’s first six batters scored junior second baseman Casey Rodrigue, junior catcher Kyle Schwarber and junior first baseman Sam Travis. The three-run first inning set the precedent for a slew of runs on an evening that saw season-high totals in both runs and hits for IU.“I thought that was kind of key,” Smith said. “I was kind of shocked that we jumped out on them like that. It kind of put them on their heels a little and obviously they never recovered. It kind of set the tone.”IU scored in every inning but two as 12 Hoosiers recorded a hit. Reigning Big Ten Player of the Week Brad Hartong continued his form at the plate, scoring twice and driving in two runs on two hits, but the evening’s greatest production came from an unlikely source in junior outfielder Tim O’Conner.O’Conner, who entered the game batting just .171 with 9 RBI on the season, put together his best game in an IU uniform. He tallied four hits in four at-bats, driving in four runs and scoring another before being removed from the game in the seventh inning. He agreed that Wednesday’s game was his best since coming to Bloomington.“Yeah, definitely,” he said. “I was seeing the ball well, just felt good at the plate.”Much of the Hoosiers’ outburst was made superfluous by a pitching performance that stifled the RedHawks’ offense.Sophomore left-hander Sullivan Stadler started on the mound, pitching three innings of no-hit baseball to lead a five-man group of pitchers that didn’t allow a run until the ninth inning. Stadler, who received the win to push his season record to 2-1, allowed just two baserunners: one on an error by sophomore shortstop Brian Wilhite and one via a hit batter.He was relieved by sophomore Evan Bell, freshman Thomas Belcher, freshman Kent Williams and sophomore Will Coursen-Carr. Throughout the night, the Hoosier pitching staff gave up just five hits, striking out 11 and walking just two RedHawks.“I’m very impressed,” Smith said of his pitching staff. “They pitched aggressively in the strike zone and allowed guys to make plays behind them, which I’ve been saying all year, if you do that, you’ve got a chance to win. I like what I saw.”The win leaves only one non-conference game on the schedule for IU, which has gone 14-10 outside of the Big Ten in 2014. With his team winning 17 of its last 19 games, Smith said the Hoosiers will continue to push as the season winds down.“I think if we take care of our own business, we’ll come out on the winning side more often than losing,” he said. “We’re going to focus on Indiana and just approach it one inning, one game at a time.”He paused.“One pitch at a time.”
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>In a show of support for injured Little 500 rider Lauren Gill, the IU Student Foundation has arranged for 1,500 stickers in the shape of bandages bearing the IU Nursing team’s rider’s name to be distributed at this weekend’s races.The stickers are part of a weekend-long display of support, which will include a pre-race parade lap at Friday’s women’s race and a table accepting donations to go to Gill’s medical costs. As of Thursday, the Lauren Gill Recovery Fund had raised $7,691.Gill was injured in an accident during a practice race April 17 and taken to Indianapolis’ IU Health Methodist Hospital, where she remains in treatment. A hospital official confirmed Thursday that her status had been changed from critical to serious condition, which is less severe.In the accident, Gill made contact with another rider and was thrown from her bicycle, landing on her head and shoulders.In a statement posted on IUSF’s Little 500 website, the Gill family said her recovery was underway.“The extent of the injury to her brain still cannot be fully assessed, but there are some promising signs,” the family said in the Monday statement. “We hope to learn a little more each day. Her recovery will likely take several weeks or months. We ask that everyone continue to pray for her.”IUSF Director of Communications Kathy Gutowsky said she was impressed with how quickly the IU and Little 500 communities banded together in support of Gill.“I think it’s been impressive, amazing,” Gutowsky said. “You can see all the ‘likes’ on Facebook, they raised over $5,000 in three days ... I’ve been really impressed. Especially the tight-knit Little 500 community, with the alumni and all of them. It’s been amazing.”The women’s race is at 4 p.m. Friday, and the men’s race is at 2 p.m. Saturday. Gill’s IU Nursing team will start the race in 27th position.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Three weeks ago to the day, the IU baseball team traveled to Indiana State to try and find stability in what had been a rocky start to the 2014 season.IU, which arrived in Terre Haute with a 12-10 record after being named preseason No. 3, fell to Indiana State, 12-8. Tonight, after six consecutive wins and back-to-back weekend series sweeps, IU (18-10) will enter a rematch with Indiana State (21-7 as of Monday) in a much different state.“Everyone’s playing a lot more loose, picking each other up,” junior outfielder Brad Hartong said. “We’re getting there. After (junior pitcher Kyle) Hart went down, we’re still getting quality pitching, so our offense knows that if we just have some good ABs and don’t give away at-bats, we’ll be good in the end.”The Hoosiers are coming off consecutive road sweeps of Big Ten opponents Ohio State and Iowa, outscoring their opponents 46-16 over six games and hitting 12 home runs in the process. While the IU lineup has found its rhythm after a start to the season that saw lower-than-expected run production, IU Coach Tracy Smith said it has been success in other facets that has allowed his team to go on its winning streak.“Everyone wants to talk about the bats, but really, we’re playing well defensively, taking outs, cutting off the big innings,” Smith said. “There’s still room to improve.”IU will need to continue its improvement to find victory against an Indiana State team that comes to Bloomington a winner of six of its last eight games as of Monday. While neither squad has named its starter for Wednesday’s game, Sullivan Stadler has all but solidified himself as the Hoosiers’ mid-week starter. The sophomore left-hander started IU’s first matchup with Indiana State, allowing five runs — three earned — in 3.1 innings and taking the loss. If tabbed to start, Stadler will look to continue a run of strong pitching performances from a Hoosier staff that has rebounded from the loss of two key members.Senior right-hander Ryan Halstead, IU’s all-time saves leader, is out for the remainder of the season after undergoing ACL surgery in March, and Hart will miss indefinite time with a torn ligament in his pitching arm.“It’s sad,” junior catcher Kyle Schwaber said of the injuries. “It’s not fun when you lose two of our better pitchers. But that’s part of the game, that’s what’s going to happen ... that’s what baseball’s all about, picking each other up. When someone’s down, not hitting the ball, we’ve got people in the lineup hitting the ball. That could be one through nine.“It’s all about picking each other up. That’s what we do, we always believe in ourselves. That’s Indiana baseball.”
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Noah Vonleh showed his youth at a press conference on Thursday that was organized to announce his intent to enter the 2014 NBA Draft. His professional career was about to begin, and he arrived in sweatpants.Vonleh, who will turn 19 years old in August, announced he will forgo his final three years of eligibility and pursue a career in the NBA.“I just want to thank God for having me here today to announce that I’ll be taking my talents to the NBA,” Vonleh said. “I want to thank the whole Indiana staff ... for all helping me get to where I’m at.”The Haverhill, Mass., native was named the 2014 Big Ten Freshman of the Year and third team All-Big Ten after averaging 11.3 points and 9.0 rebounds per game. In his lone season in Bloomington, he led the conference in rebounding and double-doubles.Vonleh said while the decision was a difficult one, the opportunity to follow a lifelong dream proved too alluring.“It was a pretty difficult decision, but as a little kid, I always had a dream of playing in the NBA,” he said. “So I said, ‘Why not go for it?’ I went home, I talked to my mom ... I just stuck with my heart and went with it.”Crean praised his star freshman’s work ethic and preparation.“We’ve put our time into helping him become better, but he has worked as hard or harder than anybody who’s worked with him,” Crean said. “He has got an uncommon work ethic for his age.“He literally came in the first day that he was here and started in the gym, came back to the gym that night and has never stopped. It’s amazing how that works.”Vonleh said he began to think of leaving school toward the end of the 2013-14 season. Vonleh, the seven-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week, said buzz from the media and people around him made him consider the possibility of turning professional after just one season.“I really started to realize it toward the end of the season,” he said. “A lot of people were like, ‘Oh, he could possibly leave after this year,’ but I tried not to pay too much attention to that. When the season was over, I talked to a few people and saw where they could see me going, and I thought it was the right time to go.”A projected lottery pick, Vonleh has yet to hire an agent. He becomes the third Hoosier to declare early entry in the NBA Draft in the past two seasons. Victor Oladipo and Cody Zeller were selected No. 2 and No. 4 overall, respectively, in last year’s draft.The 2014 NBA Draft is scheduled for June 26 in New York City.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU Coach Tracy Smith is finally happy with the performance of his baseball team.After a slow start to the season that saw the preseason No. 3 Hoosiers drop out of the rankings, the team rallied to win eight of its last 12 games and sweep a three-game series at Ohio State last weekend. They returned to the top 25, with IU coming in at No. 24 in this week’s Baseball America rankings.The Hoosiers brought together their sharpest series of the season in Columbus, Ohio, outscoring the Buckeyes 21-7 and outhitting them 42-19.“We’re hitting stride right now,” Smith said. “We know the way we’re capable of playing. It wasn’t a shock, I mean, honestly, that’s the way we play. We’ve just kind of been waiting for it to happen.”Smith will look for a continuation of that momentum today as IU (15-10) takes on his former team.The ninth-year head coach and his Hoosier squad will welcome Miami (Ohio) to Bart Kaufman Field for a first pitch scheduled at 6:05 p.m. today.Smith, a four-time letterwinner at Miami, spent nine years in the RedHawks’ dugout before accepting the IU job prior to the 2006 season. His Hoosier teams have fared well against his former squad, going 4-5 against the RedHawks since he came to Bloomington.He will tap sophomore left-hander Sullivan Stadler to take the mound in pursuit of victory Wednesday afternoon.After pitching just one inning in 2013, Stadler has made two starts for the Hoosiers this season. He has compiled a 1-1 record with a 5.23 ERA in 10.1 innings.Miami will send freshman right-hander Christian Bokich to the mound to complete the pitching matchup. Bokich has struggled this season, allowing 9 runs in just 4.2 innings coming out of the bullpen.Bokich will make his first career start against a talented Hoosier lineup featuring two 2013 All-Americans that is now hitting its stride. Smith said it was up to junior catcher Kyle Schwarber and junior first baseman Sam Travis to spark the offensive surge.“They tried to do a little too much earlier in the season,” Smith said of his two All-Americans. “It’s nice that they’ve settled in with quality at-bats. The thing is, when they do that, other guys are going to follow. You trust the guys around you, you take a walk if they’re going to give you a walk and trust the guys to drive you in.”Schwarber said he and the rest of the IU lineup have fine-tuned their approach and will look to put up runs no matter the opposition.“We really focused on putting in quality at-bats at the plate,” Schwarber said. “We haven’t been putting in quality at-bats for the last month or so. We wanted to make a team effort towards that, and I feel like we made a really good adjustment.”The statistics back up Schwarber’s claim. After scoring 69 runs in its first 17 games — going 9-8 in those contests — IU has scored 51 in its last eight games, winning six of those.Schwarber said despite the RedHawks’ struggles in recent games, with five losses in a row and a 10-15 overall record, the Hoosiers will look to jump on Bokich early.“We don’t care who we’re playing,” Schwarber said. “We’re going to come out and play Indiana baseball. If we play Indiana baseball, we’re not going to be afraid of the results.”
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Members of the 2012 IU men’s soccer team were honored at the White House Monday for an event celebrating 19 teams that won NCAA Division I championships in 2012-13.The Hoosiers received their invitation by way of the 2012 NCAA College Cup, the IU program’s eighth national championship. A goal by former IU midfielder Nikita Kotlov made the difference in that season’s College Cup Final, handing IU a 1-0 victory over Georgetown to seal its ticket to Washington, D.C.After dining with Sen. Dan Coats, R-Ind., and Sen. Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., the Hoosiers were greeted on the White House’s South Lawn by President Obama.“We were able to tour quite a bit of the White House,” IU Coach Todd Yeagley said. “And then we were up in the Red Room, the dining room, another large meeting space, learned about the history of the White House, and we had kind of a private moment with the president.”President Obama spoke with Yeagley and senior members of the 2012 team, including team captain and defender Caleb Konstanski, now an IU alumnus.“We each shook his hand and he came and talked to everybody a little bit,” Konstanski said. “He was saying, ‘With IU basketball, who would’ve known that the soccer team was such a dominant team? Well, now the President of the United States knows.’”While Yeagley said he was certain the day’s events would be a highlight in the lives of his players, he remains confident that their focus will remain on the field and out of the nation’s capital.“It was a highlight for our guys, definitely,” he said. “But I don’t think we have any future politicians in our group.”
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Fifty-five years ago Monday, Thupten Anyetsang watched as his country erupted.On March 10, 1959, 9-year-old Anyetsang sat in a monastery high in the Himalaya Mountains and looked down to Lhasa, capital city of Tibet and his hometown, as it began its rapid descent into chaos.“I was a little distance, maybe a couple miles, in a monastery called Sera monastery,” Anyetsang said. “From there, looking down to Lhasa, the capital, you could see it.”On that day, the Chinese government invited the Dalai Lama to a theatrical performance in Lhasa with the request he bring no bodyguards or security.“When the general public heard that, they got suspicious,” Anyetsang said. “They thought he would be kidnapped ... so they surrounded the Dalai Lama’s palace, not let him go to Chinese theater. Then he snuck out one night with the help of Tibetan freedom fighters. My father was one of them.”Nine days later, the Chinese government began to drop bombs to break up the uprising.From his perch in the surrounding mountains, Anyetsang saw Chinese shells destroy the Tibetan capital.More than 80,000 Tibetans were killed.“We walk around, there’s thousands of bodies lying around, blood everywhere,” he said. “And then, curious, we went down to see it and we see bodies all over. All over.”He fled Lhasa three days later, leaving his family behind.He found refuge in India, living there for more than a decade before coming to the United States, where he settled in Bloomington. After 40 frustrating years of inactivity from world leaders about Tibet, he opened Fourth Street’s Little Tibet restaurant, which he uses as a tool for his message of Tibetan freedom.“I wanted the general public to know. I thought the best way to educate was to have a humble restaurant,” he said. “So since we opened, lots of customers come and say, ‘Oh, what is Tibetan food?’ Then they ask about me ... So I do my best. Everything I know, our history, and let them ask questions.”Food with a message. To remember.That’s how he finds himself here, on the steps of the Monroe County Courthouse in Bloomington, 55 years after Tibet was torn away from him. He and 11 others stand, candles lit and Tibetan flags raised high, singing the Tibetan national anthem in unison.Some, like Anyetsang, are native Tibetans. He estimates there are more than a dozen in Bloomington. Others, like Lisa Hilgeman, simply stand in support.“I have been connected with Buddhism since 1999, and actually am connected to China through my father, who was born there,” she said. “I’ve had the opportunity to travel to Tibet on three different occasions after making friends with a number of Tibetans in exile.”The group gathered at IU’s Sample Gates and marched to the courthouse, stopping to speak with curious passersby or to pass out flyers.“I think we’re just trying to raise the message to everyone, both within the government as well as average Americans, so that they’re aware of what happened inside Tibet starting in the 1940s,” she said.At the courthouse, against a blood-red sky that slowly faded to black, Anyetsang walked up the steps to the foot of the Alexander Memorial — dedicated “to the soldiers of all wars” — and spoke.“Today is a very sad day,” he said, his low voice barely audible above the noise of passing cars.“It has been 55 years since we have been in exile. Over 10 million Chinese have moved into Tibet and our people are minorities.”He has spoken with U.S. senators, congressmen, local officials and President Obama himself, to no avail.“I met the president here, asked for help to talk openly about Tibet, Chinese genocide of Tibet, not just statement and have sympathy,” he said of the then-senator’s campaign stop in Bloomington. “We shook hands and I said, ‘Please, help Tibet.’”While President Obama and the Dalai Lama met at the White House Feb. 21, the U.S. does not officially support Tibetan independence. A White House statement released that day stated, “The president reiterated his strong support for the preservation of Tibet’s unique religious, cultural and linguistic traditions and the protection of human rights for Tibetans in the People’s Republic of China.”Anyetsang said he believes that is not enough. One-hundred twenty-nine Tibetans have self-immolated since 2008, each one an attempt for the world’s attention.“While they’re burning themselves, it says, ‘Please, free Tibet,’” he said.So Thupten Anyetsang, Lisa Hilgeman and their 10 companions find themselves on the steps of the Monroe Country Courthouse, singing and pleading to an audience of three. Aside from one reporter and two photographers, nobody has stopped to watch their demonstration.Undeterred, he continued.“We have the truth, we will one day be able to go back to our country, and His Holiness will again live in the Palace.”When the songs had ended and the candles had been blown out, Anyetsang started down the short group of stairs to the sidewalk below. Before he reached the bottom, he turned, right hand raised and summed up the night’s objective.“Bhod gyalo,” he said. “Victory to Tibet.”
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>With its senior and all-time saves leader sidelined for the season with a knee injury, the IU bullpen put together a resilient effort to capture a series win against Jacksonville this weekend.The absence of senior right-hander Ryan Halstead, who injured a knee attempting to field a ball in Wednesday’s win against Xavier and will miss the rest of 2014, allowed unsung members of the Hoosiers’ corps of relievers to shine in the weekend series, which saw IU take wins Saturday and Sunday after a Friday loss.“Obviously with the loss of Ryan Halstead, that forces us to do some things a little bit differently with our bullpen,” IU Coach Tracy Smith said. “But it was good to get some guys in some pressure situations, some opportunities to pitch with the game on the line.” Smith called upon six different relievers in Jacksonville, Fla., with sophomore right-hander Scott Effross submitting the most notable performance.Called into action in the fourth inning of Saturday’s contest, Effross pitched 4 and 1/3 shutout innings in relief of sophomore left-hander Will Coursen-Carr, whose start lasted only 3 and 2/3 innings. Effross allowed just four hits and two walks, striking out three as IU took a 9-2 lead that would stand as the final score.“I watched (senior left-hander) Joey DeNato on Friday, looking at what he did against them,” Effross said of his approach Saturday. “A lot of fastballs, trying to get ahead early in the count. I went out there with the mentality that if my fastball’s working, I can get ahead and get some outs.”Redshirt freshman Thomas Belcher closed out Saturday’s victory in his first collegiate appearance, and IU returned to its winning ways after a 4-3 defeat in Friday’s game.In that series opener, IU received another strong outing from DeNato and a home run from junior catcher Kyle Schwarber but could not overcome a Jacksonville fifth-inning rally that took the lead for good. With the series knotted at one game apiece, the two teams headed to Sunday’s game, where Smith again had to rely on his bullpen to overcome a short day from his starter. Sophomore right-hander Christian Morris made it through just three innings, allowing seven hits and three earned runs, before turning it over to a group of five Hoosier relievers to control the damage.Junior Luke Harrison, Belcher, redshirt freshman Jake Kelzer, sophomore Evan Bell and junior Kyle Hart combined to close out the game’s final six innings, allowing three runs on seven hits.They stifled Jacksonville’s bats enough to allow IU to make a ninth-inning comeback, with junior first baseman Sam Travis and junior second baseman Casey Rodrigue scoring in the top of the inning to give IU, and Hart, a 7-6 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth.The left-hander retired the first three batters he faced to earn his first career save and take the series victory for IU.The two victories raised No. 17 IU’s record above .500 for the first time since Feb. 14, but Smith said he has yet to see what he wants out of his team going forward.“We’ve got some things we need to fix,” he said. “I still don’t think we’re playing great baseball. Moving forward, that’s got to be the focus of the coaching staff, is to make sure we’re playing baseball the Indiana way and staying focused on good baseball.“I wish I could say I’m sitting here feeling great.”Follow reporter Alden Woods on Twitter @acw9293.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>ANN ARBOR, Mich. — A regular season that began with promise ended on a sour note for the IU men’s basketball team, but freshman guard Troy Williams said an opportunity remains to salvage success.“It’s very disappointing, I mean, nobody’s happy about it, but the most you can do is just go to the next game,” Williams said. “You can’t just dwell on the past, you’ve got to look forward into the future. And next in the future is the Big Ten Tournament, so we’re just ready for that.”IU ended the regular season with consecutive losses to Nebraska and No. 12 Michigan to finish at 17-14, but it’s the team’s 7-11 Big Ten record that will determine the Hoosiers’ next opponent.The final conference standings will show IU at No. 8 or No. 9, depending on how Sunday games play out. Either seeding would lead to IU opening the conference tournament with a game at noon Thursday in Indianapolis’ Bankers Life Fieldhouse.IU Coach Tom Crean said despite the losses, he has seen progress from his young team.“We feel like we’re playing our best basketball, at least I do,” he said.A core contingency of freshmen have improved their standard of play in recent weeks and will be relied upon heavily in the postseason.Guards Williams and Stanford Robinson and forward Devin Davis, along with seven-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week Noah Vonleh, combined to play 101 minutes in IU’s regular-season closing loss to Michigan, a number limited by the aftereffects of an injury to Vonleh’s left foot.The four freshmen combined to score 45 of IU’s 80 points and pull in 19 of its 26 rebounds, both above their combined season averages.Though the group has elevated its play as of late, Crean said having so much reliance on players with limited experience has led to inconsistency this season.“Freshmen are freshmen, and we happen to have a lot of them, and we expect a lot of them,” he said. “We coach them tough. They’re learning a lot, they’re maturing. If that maturity turns into consistency, we’ll be a really good team — but in the meantime, this is what it looks like.”While Vonleh has provided consistent production outside of the two games he missed due to injury, Williams, Robinson and Davis have fluctuated. They average 15.6 points per game combined, with Vonleh adding 11.4 per game.Crean said IU will need more consistent production from all four — in addition to sophomore guard Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell, the Big Ten’s No. 3 scorer, and senior forward Will Sheehey, among others — to make a deep tournament run.“Our young guys have got to continue to grow and mature, and lose some of the inconsistencies that go with being young,” he said. “If those things happen, then we’ll see what happens next week.”@acw9293
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Despite seeing his team shake off a string of early-season losses with three consecutive wins, IU Coach Tracy Smith said he still has yet to see a complete performance from his squad.“I still don’t think we’re firing on all cylinders,” Smith said. “I’d still like to see us play a little bit better than what we’re doing. More competitive at-bats for the lineup all the way through.”The No. 17 Hoosiers, who started the season 2-5 before rattling off victories against Toledo, No. 19 Louisville and Xavier, will put their newly acquired .500 record on the line with a three-game series against Jacksonville (3-7) in Jacksonville, Fla., this weekend.Their resurgence has been powered by a series of strong pitching performances that have allowed opponents to score only six runs in the past three games after giving up 5.4 runs per game in 2014’s opening seven contests.Smith will give the ball to senior Joey DeNato and sophomores Will Coursen-Carr and Christian Morris to continue the Hoosiers’ pitching success.It will be the third different group of weekend starters for IU as Smith looks to solidify the rotation.“We’re going to try to start getting it set,” he said.The Hoosiers will be bolstered by the full return of senior third baseman Dustin DeMuth, who missed two games with a hamstring injury before playing a full nine innings during Wednesday’s win against Xavier.DeMuth, a 2013 third-team All-American, is one of only two Hoosiers batting over .300 this season. He has bat from the No. 6 position in Smith’s new-look lineup, which features junior catcher Kyle Schwarber in the leadoff position the first time in his career and junior first baseman Sam Travis hitting third.Slotting in between the two Hoosier sluggers has been junior Casey Rodrigue, who said he has settled into a rhythm at the plate.“Yeah, I feel very comfortable at the plate,” he said. “My approach right now is not to try and do too much. I’m just getting up there ... get on base for the big bats in our lineup with Travis, DeMuth and Schwarber.”In Jacksonville, the Hoosier lineup will be tested by the Dolphins’ rotation of left-hander Josh Baker and right-handers Alex McRae and Justin Russell, who have allowed 16 runs in 47 combined innings this season.Smith, who said he would take his first look at the Dolphins on Thursday, said his team has stayed focused despite faltering early in the season.“We’re a mature team, just trusting the guys,” he said. “We battled back to .500 now, but we got a lot of questions early on, about ‘What’s wrong with you?’ Nothing’s wrong with us.“They hit, they do well,” Smith said. “We just weren’t hitting. So we’re going to keep being who we are, and I’m going to trust in the players and hopefully they trust in what we’re doing. If we do that, we’ll come out on the winning side more than not.”
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Just over 30 minutes before IU tipped off against No. 22 Ohio State on Sunday, IU Coach Tom Crean announced via Twitter that his team would take the floor without its freshman star.“We will be without Noah Vonleh today,” Crean tweeted at 3:29 p.m. Sunday. “He has foot inflammation and is not going to go.”The Hoosiers were forced to take on the Buckeyes without the prodigious freshman forward and second-leading scorer. Vonleh, a seven-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week, had started every game for IU this season, averaging 11.6 points, 9.1 rebounds and just over a block per game.Crean said Vonleh’s foot is something that has plagued him all season and is merely an issue of inflammation, not a fracture. IU is unsure of when the Haverhill, Mass., native will be available again.“It’s an inflammation of the foot that has been bothering him for some time,” Crean said. “There’s no stress fracture or anything like that. It’s just bothering him and he’s not very comfortable with it.”His absence left the Hoosiers with only two players — sophomore guard Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell and senior forward Will Sheehey — with double-digit scoring averages entering a game against the Big Ten’s No. 1 scoring defense.6-foot-8 sophomore Jeremy Hollowell started at center in Vonleh’s absence, scoring four points and pulling in five rebounds, but was overshadowed by a breakout performance from sophomore forward Hanner Mosquera-Perea.Coming off a tumultuous month that saw a Feb. 14 arrest and charge of operating while intoxicated, a two-game suspension and the Hoosiers endure a blowout loss to archrival Purdue without him, the 6-foot-9 Mosquera-Perea submitted a complete performance in his 15 minutes off the bench.He scored a career-high eight points, connecting on three of his four field goal attempts and two of three free throws. On the defensive end, he added five rebounds, three blocks and a steal.“When we found out that Noah wasn’t playing, I knew my team was going to need me right now and I stepped it up,” Mosquera-Perea said.Should Vonleh’s foot continue to plague him and keep him out of either of the Hoosiers’ two remaining Big Ten games, Mosquera-Perea will be a major part of a rotation of forwards that will attempt to fill his vacancy.Aside from Vonleh, IU carries on its roster only three players who stand at 6-foot-8 or taller: senior forward Jeff Howard, sophomore center Peter Jurkin, Hollowell and Mosquera-Perea. Jurkin has played only 11 minutes this season and Howard has thrived in his role as a high-energy substitute, leaving Hollowell and Mosquera-Perea as the legitimate options to take Vonleh’s starting position.Crean said Hollowell did not provide the Hoosiers with the variety of options that his gameplan demanded.“We chucked the gameplan over the period of time with Noah not in there, because Jeremy just wasn’t going to be able to do some of those things in the sense of what Noah brings and at the same time some of the plays we run with Noah,” he said.He added that he will wait for Vonleh to get deeper into his recovery process before making a decision on the gameplan for the rest of the season. “It’s truly going to be a day-to-day thing with him,” Crean said. “We’re just going to have to wait and see how it goes for him.”
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>EVANSTON, Ill. — The IU men’s basketball team was given an unexpected layoff this week. They used that time off to prepare for a rematch against a Northwestern team that took home a win in Bloomington earlier this season.IU Coach Tom Crean said after Tuesday night’s scheduled game against No. 15 Iowa was postponed because of a fallen piece of metal in Assembly Hall, the Hoosiers came out energetic in their 61-56 victory over the Wildcats.“Their energy was high, their spirit was high, they were ready to play all week long, and fortunately we were able to get the win tonight in a highly contested game against a team that has obviously proven this year that they are capable of some really good things,” Crean said.Crean said his team’s up-and-down performances — victories over then-No. 3 Wisconsin and then-No. 10 Michigan preceded a three-game losing streak — has displayed the difficulty of collecting wins in a deep Big Ten Conference.“That’s what makes this league so hard, but it’s also what makes every win so gratifying,” Crean said. “It’s what makes every win so incredibly, not just valuable in standings and things, but precious because they’re so hard to come by. Especially when you go on the road.”IU was paced in scoring by a quartet of Hoosiers — senior forward Will Sheehey, sophomore guard Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell, freshman guard Troy Williams and freshman forward Noah Vonleh — who each scored 12 points.Vonleh, the Big Ten’s seven-time Freshman of the Week, fell just shy of recording his 11th double-double of the season by adding eight rebounds, but it was Williams who drew praise for his performance.Crean said he has seen development from the freshman, and it was Williams’ non-statistical contributions that made the biggest difference for the Hoosiers despite his 12-point, zero-turnover performance.“I think he’s improving all the time,” Crean said. “I think that tonight, the way that he played, his footwork was really good. He played fast, but he didn’t play in a hurry ... Didn’t try to take shots that weren’t there.”Williams said Saturday’s victory will give himself — and the rest of the Hoosiers — confidence moving into their final five regular-season games.“Not just for me, I feel like it was more of a team thing,” he said. “We came off three or four losses. Winning this game gives us confidence for our next three games, especially ranked teams. So I feel like we picked up our confidence — now we have to pick it up to another level.”The Hoosiers will finish their regular-season schedule with five games in the next two weeks, four of which come against ranked opponents. With that grueling schedule in mind, Crean said he will keep his players focused on making strides as a team rather than looking at results.“I think it’s really easy this time of year to get so focused on the games,” he said. “You can get so focused on the games that you can lose sight or lose that time of making sure that you’re really locking in on what your players need to get better at not only as a team, but individually.”Follow reporter Alden Woods on Twitter @acw9293.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>EVANSTON, Ill. – The IU men’s basketball team was given an unexpected layoff this week, and used that time off to prepare for a rematch against a Northwestern team that took home a win in Bloomington earlier this season. IU Coach Tom Crean said after Tuesday night’s scheduled game against No. 15 Iowa was postponed because of a fallen piece of metal in Assembly Hall, the Hoosiers came out energetically in their 61-56 victory over the Wildcats. “Their energy was high, their spirit was high, they were ready to play all week long, and fortunately we were able to get the win tonight in a highly-contested game against a team that has obviously proven this year that they are capable of some really good things.”Crean said his team’s up-and-down performances – victories over then-No. 3 Wisconsin and then-No. 10 Michigan preceded a three-game losing streak – has displayed the difficulty of collecting wins in a deep Big Ten Conference.“That’s what makes this league so hard, but it’s also what makes every win so gratifying,” Crean said. “It’s what makes every win so incredibly, not just valuable in standings and things, but precious because they’re so hard to come by. Especially when you go on the road.”IU was paced in scoring by a quartet of Hoosiers – senior forward Will Sheehey, sophomore guard Kevin ‘Yogi’ Ferrell, freshman guard Troy Williams and freshman forward Noah Vonleh – who each scored 12 points. Vonleh, the Big Ten’s seven-time Freshman of the Week, fell just shy of recording his 11th double-double of the season by adding eight rebounds, but it was Williams who drew praise for his performance.Crean said he has seen development from the freshman and that it was Williams’ non-statistical contributions that made the biggest difference for the Hoosiers despite his 12-point, zero-turnover performance.“I think he’s improving all the time,” Crean said. “I think that tonight, the way that he played, his footwork was really good. He played fast, but he didn’t play in a hurry… Didn’t try to take shots that weren’t there.”Williams said Saturday’s victory will give himself – and the rest of the Hoosiers – confidence moving into their final five regular-season games. “Not just for me, I feel like it was more of a team thing," he said. "We came off three or four losses. Winning this game gives us confidence for our next three games, especially ranked teams. So I feel like we picked up our confidence now we have to pick it up to another level.”The Hoosiers will finish their regular-season schedule with five games in the next two weeks, four of which come against ranked opponents. With that grueling schedule in mind, Crean said he will keep his players focused on making strides as a team rather than looking at results.“I think it’s really easy this time of year to get so focused on the games,” he said. “You can get so focused on the games that you can lose sight, or lose that time of making sure that you’re really locking in on what your players need to get better at not only as a team, but individually.”