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(02/23/05 5:34am)
When a visitor gets cheered in Assembly Hall, something must be up.\nBut a coach?\nWere the Hoosier faithful feeling OK, Tuesday night?\nThe evening might have started with the welling up of some eyes, but it ended with smiles on those same faces. \nThere was nothing but admiration for Purdue coach Gene Keady as he walked out of the visitors' tunnel on the way to coach his 24th and last game against his closest rival in Assembly Hall. \nThe closer he got to his spot on the bench the louder the standing ovation crescendoed. By the time he found his spot marked with a white "X" -- four chairs from the scorers' table -- the crowd of 17,428 was on their feet cheering the legend.\n"Well, the ovation was very much appreciated," Keady said after the game. "I think that's pretty unusual when you have that type (of rivalry). That's very much appreciated. I'll remember that for a long time. But I'll remember the butt kicking they gave us longer. That's the way it's been going. They give you gifts and they kick your butt."\nOne by one each Hoosier walked up to him and shook his hand. \nThere were players he's never met, players he's recruited and even one who told him he'd like to wear the black and gold but then opted for the crimson and cream.\nTo honor the retiring coaching legend, IU coach Mike Davis presented Keady with a 4-foot by 3-foot oil painting on a piece of the Assembly Hall floor. \n"My wife might burn it," Keady joked. "We won't because it was very special. It was very much appreciated and very special. I want to thank the IU people. We've always had a very good relationship except twice a year." \nIU Athletics Director Rick Greenspan said his department came up with the idea for a painting because it was something different than the slew of golf clubs, trips, rocking chairs and humidors Keady has already received. \n"I thought it was great to give him a painting and a part of the floor," Davis said. \nThe legendary Keady bulldog scowl came out a few times during Purdue's 79-62 loss to IU. His intensity, which caused his arms to famously flail like a departing helicopter's rotors, struck IU President Adam Herbert. \n"He's done an outstanding job as coach at Purdue," Herbert said. "He's been a role model for many coaches around the country. I told him before the game that he has been an incredible competitor." \nIn the end, when the clock struck triple zeros, Keady walked off the court as he walked in -- to a standing ovation of the remaining Hoosier fans. \n"I'll always remember the respect they gave me," Keady said. "They treated me nicely for what? Two minutes. Forty minutes they didn't. That part was special."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Josh Weinfuss at jweinfus@indiana.edu.
(02/22/05 5:20am)
It took him less than seven minutes to learn what IU-Purdue was all about.\nBy the time the Boilermakers called a timeout with 13 minutes and 22 seconds left in the first half on Jan. 31, 1981, he was one technical foul away from an early shower.\nArguing that former IU coach Bob Knight was trying to intimidate the officials and his players, then-rookie Purdue coach Gene Keady got a double-technical and nearly an early exit in his first visit to Assembly Hall.\n"I got two technicals," Keady said. "I remember the technicals and a hard-fought game."\nThose few minutes were a preview for what came during the last 25 years. \nNever known as a basketball powerhouse, engineering savvy Purdue played tough, hard-nosed basketball over the past two and a half decades, something Keady has been praised for nationwide.\n"He gets his kids to play hard," IU coach Mike Davis said. "When you look around the country, that's the key to being successful."\nFor the 24th and final time Tuesday, Keady will travel down Route 65, merge onto I-465 South and take Route 37 into the sunset of Bloomington when Purdue visits IU tonight at 7 p.m.\nTuesday night will be an emotional one not only for Keady, who said he's not sure what will come of it, but also for those who watched him coach at Purdue and even played against him.\n"That's the end of a great era," said former Hoosier Todd Leary, who played against Keady from 1989-1994, sitting out the 1990-91 season because of a redshirt. "You don't get coaches who can hang around a program that long. With what he's done with the teams that he's had, it's just been great to see some of his teams play. It's been fun to watch. It'll be a new era for Purdue. It will be sad to see coach Keady go. They're the rivalry for Indiana, so it's a situation that he's been there since I can remember. So it's going to be disappointing."\nTaking Keady's place next season will be Purdue Associated Head Coach Matt Painter, who was hired specifically with the plan of replacing Keady.\nDuring his last season, Keady has been showered with gifts -- golf clubs, golf trips and even a humidor -- and Tuesday night will be no exception. Before the game, Davis will present the coach with a secret gift or two, which the athletics department won't disclose until the pre-game ceremony. \n"I don't know how I'm going to react until I do it (Tuesday) night," Keady said. \nSaddled as the red-headed step-child of Indiana basketball, Keady and Purdue held their own against IU -- but not in Assembly Hall. The black and gold have won only six games over the crimson and cream during Keady's 25 year stretch -- and they were all against Knight.\n"His teams were fun to play against, just how hard they played," said Iowa coach and former Hoosier guard Steve Alford, who went 2-4 against Keady. "The wins we had against Purdue, we knew we had to earn them. They were talented, good teams -- a lot of fun to play against."\nDespite never winning a national championship, Keady can pat himself on the back for being the visiting coach with the most wins in Assembly Hall.\nDuring his 23 visits to Bloomington, going 17-6, Keady saw his fair share of IU moments. \nBesides the 19 future NBA players he coached against, or the two eventual national championship teams, Keady was fortunate enough to have a first row seat for the side show to IU basketball -- Bob Knight.\nKeady was there Feb. 23, 1985, when Knight took part in the only Assembly Hall javelin throwing contest -- but instead of the javelin, Knight tossed a chair across the court on his way to an ejection. The Hoosiers went on to lose that game, 72-63.\nRealizing what had happened during the game would take the morning headlines, former Bloomington Herald-Times sports editor and long-time Knight friend Bob Hammel said Keady was ready to fight for the spotlight.\n"Immediately after the game, Gene was arguing for who won the game and not what happened," he said.\nThe relationship between Knight and Keady, although a famous rivalry, wasn't much to be talked about, Keady said Monday.\n"I wouldn't say we were close -- we were cordial," he said. \nThe pair never played golf or went fishing and usually only had minor conversations before tip off.\n"It was never anything derogatory," Keady said. "It was always NABC (National Association of Basketball Coaches) business, (about) some rule that wasn't good."\nKnight and Keady are never far off any Big Ten fan's mind, but they aren't distanced in the record books either. Knight and Keady are first and second in all-time Big Ten victories, with 353 and 265, respectively.\nAlford said that when the pair met, it was not only a battle, but it was entertaining as well.\n"Just having coach Knight and coach Keady on the sidelines, I don't know if there's been two Big Ten coaches that have meant more to our league," Alford said.\nThe respect for Keady went beyond Knight.\nFormer Hoosier Ted Kitchel, who went undefeated against Keady in Assembly Hall and has been a long-time friend of Keady, said Hoosier fans don't know the real Gene Keady.\n"Indiana fans get a wrong view of him," he said. "They see him on the sidelines, and they see that bulldog look. I don't think it's necessarily what you see is what you get with Gene Keady. He's just a very nice man."\nThat famous "gameface," IU Radio Network play-by-play announcer Don Fischer said, told the whole story of what kind of game it was. \n"That pretty much indicated (what) it was going to be (like)," Fischer said. "He'd take his coat off and throw it in the stands, or swing it over his head. He did what he could to get his team fired up, especially at Indiana."\nHaving only two hours between the two schools, some might say Assembly Hall would hold a small piece of Keady's heart. But not him. \n"A special place in my heart?" he asked. "I don't want to get where you think I like going there. I like the challenge. It's still a situation where you know it's going to be a tough situation to play."\nWith his black hair still black -- even after 68 years -- Keady said he has had six favorite moments, all six of his wins against IU, and is looking for a seventh.\nDavis said he'd take Keady as an assistant if the archrival would accept after the season is over, but he doesn't want Keady out of basketball altogether.\n"Hopefully it's not his last game as a college coach (in Assembly Hall)," Davis said. "I'd really hate to see him go. Anytime you can get players to play hard as he can get players to play, he needs to be a part of basketball, and I just hope he stays in. It's going to be an emotional game for him. This is a rivalry game for him, and it's going to be on national television. He's going to try to come in and try to get a win."\nWhile aiming for number seven, Keady looks back on the past 25 years with a hint of sentimentalism.\n"There's always funny stuff going when your rival is playing you that makes you look back and laugh," he said. "There are a lot of good memories."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Josh Weinfuss at jweinfus@indiana.edu.
(02/21/05 5:07am)
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Make it eight in a row and one closer. \nIU coach Mike Davis continued his shutout of Michigan coach Tommy Amaker Sunday afternoon with a 70-63 win in Crisler Arena in snowy Ann Arbor, Mich.\nWith the Hoosiers shooting like a John Wayne classic, Amaker walked off the court with his eighth consecutive loss to IU and 10th in a row this season. \nThe win helps IU improve to 12-11 overall and 7-5 in the Big Ten, inching closer to the coveted NCAA Tournament bid. \nBut the Hoosiers wouldn't have been in Sunday's game if wasn't for the marksmanship of everyone on the team -- including junior guard Bracey Wright.\nIU finished with 14 three-pointers -- the most since the team made 15 against Kent State in the NCAA Regional Final on March 23, 2002 -- 14 free throws, and seven two-point baskets.\nWright said it was about time his team's shots began to fall like they did Sunday.\n"Yeah, as a team it was," he said. "We haven't shot that well as a team and for those guys to come out and knock down all those shots like that, that really gives our team confidence."\nThe assault was led by a career high from freshman Robert Vaden who finished with 18 points including four three-pointers and three steals. \n"After I hit my first shot I felt pretty comfortable out there," Vaden said.\nMichigan was subject to another career high, this time from sophomore walk-on Errek Suhr, who thanks to a cut over Marshall Strickland's right eye that forced him to come out in the game's early minutes, scored nine points and went three for four from behind the arc. \n"I'm never told whether I'm going to be playing or not," Suhr said. "Everyone's got to be ready. This season, everyone's got a chance."\nRebounding from a 13-point loss to Ohio State, those two were not to be outdone. \nJunior guard Marshall Strickland also knocked down four three-pointers, the first time all season, en route to 14 points and five assists.\nHe said the game just came to him.\n"Just (in) the rhythm of the game," he said. "I always seem to get on rhythm in this game."\nTwo other Hoosiers scored in double digits, helping IU shoot 60.9 percent from behind the arc and 45.7 percent from the field. \nFreshman A.J. Ratliff hit two three's and finished with 11 points and classmate D.J. White ended with 10 points. \nIn his first start since he sprained his left ankle Feb. 2 against Penn State, Wright ended with seven points, including his first three pointer away from Assembly Hall since Dec. 28 when IU played Ball State at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis -- a span of 23 straight misses.\nHaving learned to play without Wright, Vaden said he knows that once Wright comes back to full strength the Hoosiers can be a force late in the season.\n"Once he gets it going, I know he was kind of rusty tonight, but once he gets it going, we've got me, him, D.J., A.J. -- playing the way he played tonight -- then we're going to be a pretty tough team to beat," Vaden said.\n-- Contact Staff Writer Josh Weinfuss at jweinfus@indiana.edu.
(02/16/05 5:57am)
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- They still suit up. \nThey still play their games. \nTheir fans even still come. \nThey have nothing to lose and nothing to gain because of self-imposed sanctions, but that doesn't matter for the Ohio State Buckeyes. By March 13, the Buckeyes will be back on campus after playing in the Big Ten Tournament, snuggled on their couches and have their televisions tuned to CBS for March Madness. \nBut for now, it's still February.\nTuesday night Ohio State played the role of bubble buster, as the team has all season, with a 57-44 win over IU.\nWith the loss, the Hoosiers move one game closer to the NIT and one game away from the coveted NCAA Tournament. \nBut some might say IU did it to itself by looking ahead -- either to future games or the round of 64 -- and overlooking a team that would be simply watching come March. \nDuring halftime of a recent televised game, Buckeye junior Terence Dials heard the commentators say the Hoosiers have two big games left this season -- Michigan State and Wisconsin. That didn't go over too well with the 18-8 Buckeyes. \n"It seemed like they overlooked us," Dials said. "They said they only had two tough games left. And that's the kind of bulletin board material when you're playing a team like us, who has nothing to lose and is hungry, who goes out there and plays hard. Maybe they should go back and take some of that stuff back."\nTuesday night wasn't the first potential bubble buster Ohio State has had this month. On Feb. 5, the Buckeyes handled Michigan -- the Hoosiers' next game -- 72-46, possibly puncturing a hole in the Wolverines bubble as well. \nBut OSU coach Thad Matta said he doesn't take pride in possibly ruining the future for teams or other Big Ten coaches.\n"When you coach, when you walk the walk, when you live in this position, you don't want to ruin anything for anybody else," Matta said. "It's too hard. And I have too much respect for every coach in this league. I want to win. That's all I want my guys to do. Yeah, I would like to be a team, that in the end people say they would have been in the NCAA tournament. But I don't take great pride in making somebody else's life difficult."\nBut he still pointed out to his team what the halftime show said.\n"I actually saw it, but (coach Matta) brought it to our attention as well," Dials said. "It got a lot of guys riled up. For someone to overlook us, and just say they only have two tough games left." \nNow, the Hoosiers have five games and the Big Ten Tournament left to persuade the NCAA Selection Committee to take them as one-sixty-fourth of the March field. \nAll the talk about the tournament and postsesason bothers Matta -- but not just because he can't be on the dance floor. \n"I don't like the fact that people talk now about the tournament and all that stuff," he said. "Enjoy the game. Enjoy the season. And maybe I'm saying that because we can't participate in post-season play."\nDespite the added-incentive for Ohio State, IU coach Mike Davis felt the Buckeyes executed well.\n"You have to give Ohio State all the credit," he said. "They played great. They had a great game plan coming into the game."\nMatta had nothing to do with the current situation at Ohio State. After allegations that former Ohio State coach Jim O'Brien provided cash for a recruit who never played for the Buckeyes, Ohio State put itself on self-imposed sanctions from post-season play during the on-going investigation.\nEven though they can't play in March, the Buckeyes still can have their fun dancing now -- at the expense of the Hoosiers. But if IU makes it to the NCAA Tournament, Dials might just be on that same couch, watching that same television.\n-- Contact staff writer Josh Weinfuss at jweinfuss@indiana.edu.
(02/10/05 6:12am)
Late Wednesday afternoon, Athletics Director Rick Greenspan went in front of the Committee on Fee Review and said he would not ask for a fee increase during renewal hearings of the mandatory $30 student athletics fee. He also said students would not receive tangible services in return, comparable to those of the transportation fee or the legal services fee.\n"I don't think anybody necessarily wants to pay more but I'd like to think the intercollegiate athletic program provides significant benefits to students, faculty, staff and the community, and it's a worthwhile investment," Greenspan said during the 90-minute meeting. \nFlanked by Athletics Department Business Manager Kevin Clark and Associate Athletics Director Mary Ann Rohleder, Greenspan explained that the money raised by the fee, about $1.1 million based on this year's enrollment figures, will be used to support the school's Olympic sports, which constitute all sports except football and men's and women's basketball. The budget for those 21 sports equals about $6 million, and the fee money would "only cover a small portion," Clark said.\nIU Student Association President and CFR Chair Tyson Chastain said historically, once a fee passes its test year and gets renewed, it is renewed for good.\nNow that Greenspan has presented his case for the fee renewal to the CFR, something that did not occur last year when former Athletics Director Terry Clapacs pushed the fee through, it is up to the seven-member committee to decide whether the fee is needed.\n"The one thing that's important is that every department and organization presents in front of the CFR," Chastain said. "But the CFR, in the end, can make recommendations to where that money should go and if that money should exist. And then the committee, off that experience, makes their decision."\nChastain, a non-voting member, said the CFR appreciated Greenspan not asking for a fee raise. \n"It's interesting that the athletics department did not ask for an increase, and that was well-respected by the board, because of the problems associated with tuition and fee caps," he said.\nGreenspan offered to do two things in response to criticism and the whirlwind of questions surrounding the fee.\nFirst, he said he would submit an audited report to the CFR each July of the previous fiscal year to show exactly how the fee helped the department. Greenspan said the salaries of coaches would be removed from that audit to give a clearer view of the exact impact of the fee. \nSecond, Greenspan said the athletics department would take $100,000 of the $1.1 million expected from the students and invest it in the athletics department endowment, which helps support scholarships for student-athletes. \nThe $32 million endowment is the largest in the Big Ten, and of that, the athletics department is allowed to use $1.6.\n"We need the student fee support for our operating budget," Greenspan said. "And the concept of taking some of it and putting it into the endowment is consistent with what we're trying to do across the board, and that's to make our financial ends meet."\nEven though the students will not receive a direct service from the athletics fee, Greenspan said they will benefit later in life from it.\n"I think the students on this campus that choose to take advantage of the athletics events and partially world-class competition in many, many sports, receive some benefits from this athletics department that might be felt years later when they rekindle relationships through football games and through basketball contests and tailgating," Greenspan said. "If there's a direct and immediate (impact on) every student on this campus I'd be surprised. But I think a lot of students benefit from the satisfaction of success and recognition that hopefully it brings in a positive way to the campus."\nThe CFR will have its report completed and submitted to Dean of Students Richard McKaig on March 1. \nGreenspan is unsure whether or not the fee will pass CFR certification, but he follows the rules.\n"I'm not a betting person," he said. "The NCAA doesn't allow it."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Josh \nWeinfuss at .
(02/07/05 6:08am)
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- For the four starting IU freshmen, it looked like it was over before it started against top-ranked Illinois.\nThe "baby Hoosiers" needed another 11 minutes and 21 seconds of warm-ups before they settled their nerves, calmed down and were ready to play Sunday afternoon. \nBut in the end, IU needed every minute -- and maybe a few more.\nNo. 1 Illinois jumped out to a 20-3 lead in the first 11 minutes of Sunday's game against IU and never looked back, staying undefeated with a 60-47 win over the Hoosiers in Champaign-Urbana, Ill. \nWith just over eight minutes left in the first half, IU snapped out of its funk to recover from a 20-3 Illinois run to start the game, with a 17-6 run of their own to finish the first 20 minutes only down six, 26-20.\n"It was tough," junior guard Marshall Strickland said of the run. "We didn't come out as sharp as we'd like to, but I think we battled back nicely. We started to settle in and started to play our game a little bit, play our rhythm."\nThe second half started no different than the first. Illinois jumped out to a 17-point lead with a 17-6 run, before IU outplayed the Illini to finish the game. In the last 10 minutes, the Hoosiers outscored Illinois 18-17, behind the leadership of freshman Robert Vaden. \nWith junior guard Bracey Wright sitting out with a sprained left ankle, Vaden and freshman D.J. White picked up the scoring slack with 12 points apiece, leading IU. \nIn place of the injured Wright, freshman James Hardy got the start and finished with six points in 18 minutes.\n"More time makes me feel better out there," Hardy said.\nIn order to combat the versatile and volatile Illini, IU coach Mike Davis went to his bench often and early against IU, playing Sean Kline, Ryan Tapak, Rod Wilmont, Pat Ewing Jr. and Donald Perry.\nDespite the wide rotation used Davis, four Illini scored in double digits, led by junior James Augustine with 16 points -- 10 of those points came in the first 5 minutes of each half. Guards Luther Head and Dee Brown had 13 and 12 points respectively, and forward Roger Powell added 10. \nBut the Illini show was conducted by Wright's high school teammate Deron Williams. He orchestrated Illinois' 23rd consecutive win, with 11 assists and only one point. \n"That's a great game," Davis said of William's 11 assist performance. "I think he could be a top-five NBA player if he stays in school another year. He controls the tempo of the game; you're not going to take the ball away from him. He's an outstanding player. I think if you look at the point guards across the country, he's got to be in the top two in the country."\nWilliams' IU counterpart, Strickland ended with zero assists and seven points, but was relieved of his point duties for some time by Perry, who dished out two assists. \nBeing the only upperclassman among freshmen, Strickland had his hands full with more than just running the offense.\n"Things don't run as smoothly as you'd like them," he said of playing with four freshmen. "Guys don't really get to their spots. There's always that extra second for them to think about what we're about to do. Without our upperclassmen on the floor, it's an adjustment." \nWith 35 of the Hoosiers 47 points coming from the four freshmen, Vaden thought his classmates handled the pressure under the circumstances. \n"I think we dealt with it pretty well," Vaden said. "We got a little rattled at first. As the game went further and further we got used to it."\nIn front of a relentless Illinois crowd, IU shot 37.8 percent from the field, and only 28.6 percent from the three-point line.\nDespite hearing about the high-powered Illinois offense the Hoosiers' defense stood firm. The 60 points IU held Illinois to was the Illini's lowest of the season. For the game, Illinois shot 43.2 percent from the field and 25 percent behind the arc.\nDavis said people need to realize the amount of youth he is dealing with. By them being exposed to a team like Illinois, he said his guys saw a team they want to be like in a few years. \n"It seems like no one understands this is a young basketball team," Davis said. "The expectations at Indiana should always be high -- always be high - but sometimes should be realistic. (Vaden's) a freshman, D.J White's a freshman, A.J. Ratliff is a freshman. Patrick Ewing is a sophomore. We have two big-time players (redshirts Marco Killingsworth and Lewis Monroe) sitting out. These guys have a chance to be a great, great, great basketball team. The key is they get a chance to grow together."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Josh Weinfuss at jweinfus@indiana.edu.
(02/04/05 5:32am)
Four wins.\nMarch 28, 1987. Dec. 4, 1993. Jan. 7, 2001. March 21, 2002. \nFour dates etched in IU's history.\nThe games played on these days had one thing in common -- the Hoosiers knocked the nation's No. 1 team off its pedestal.\nWill Feb. 6, 2005 be next?\nThe other 11 times IU has faced the top team in the nation, they left without a win, but no one remembers those. \nWhen IU travels to Champaign-Urbana this Super Bowl Sunday for its 16th meeting with college basketball's No. 1 team, the Hoosiers will be looking for an unexpected fifth win.\n"I think everybody's excited," senior guard Ryan Tapak said. "In your four-year career, the chances of playing the No. 1 team are very slim. Them being No. 1 is not that big of a deal, just because it's Illinois. It's a conference game, so that kind of changes things up. But if we could go in there and end their streak, it would really help us as a team move forward but also help our tournament chances."\nBut IU might be trying to protect the 1976 Hoosiers' undefeated record against the most recent team threatening the program's prestige without its top player.\nJunior guard Bracey Wright is listed as doubtful for Sunday's game as of Thursday evening after suffering a sprained ankle in the Hoosiers' win over Penn State Wednesday. \n"Hopefully he can be like Terrell Owens or something and come back on Super Bowl Sunday," Tapak said.\nThe last time IU and Illinois met, the Hoosiers bowed out of the Big Ten Tournament with a 71-59 loss in March.\nBut this time could be different, junior guard Marshall Strickland said. \n"We will step up," he said. "I guarantee my guys will be ready to roll come Sunday. I think it's going to be an exciting game."\nTelevised in front of a national audience at 1 p.m. on CBS, the country doesn't believe IU -- like the rest of Illinois' opponents -- has a chance to unseat the top team. \nBut whether or not Wright plays, the Hoosiers' experience playing a tough schedule will benefit them, IU coach Mike Davis said.\n"When you look at our schedule of all the opponents that we've played this year that's been in the top 10, it's a lot," he said. "It's a great opportunity for us. Great opportunity to go and play the No. 1 team in the country. No one has beaten them, so if we don't beat them there's no surprise to anyone in this room."\nFeaturing a starting line all averaging in double figures, led by Luther Head's 16.9 points per game, Illinois' backcourt of Head, Deron Williams and Dee Brown hand out more than four assists per game, with 4.2 apg, 7 apg and 5.1 apg, respectively.\nThat trio along with the other two starters James Augustine, 10 ppg, and Roger Powell Jr. 12.7 ppg, gives Davis something to worry about.\n"What concerns me most about Illinois?" David asked Wednesday. "Dee Brown, Luther Head, Deron Williams, Augustine, Powell. They are the best team in the country, because, they play team basketball."\nWith the three guards as the heart of the Illini and the key to their success, Tapak said they are also the key to an IU win.\n"If we can contain those three guards and make someone else beat us, then I think we have a chance," he said.\nTrying to protect a 29-year-old record without the 18.6 points of Wright causes concern for some IU fans. That 1976 IU team crushed Illinois in Champaign-Urbana 83-55 on their way to a 32-0 record and a national championship. At 22-0 and with eight games left this season, along with three Big Ten tournament wins and six in the NCAA tournament, Illinois would be 39-0 and secure the best record in college basketball history. But Strickland thinks IU will give Illinois a run for its money.\n"We'll be less predictable, without a doubt, without Bracey on the floor," he said. "We'll have guys coming off screens, guys slipping screens. We'll have more options. I think guys will step up and make plays."\nIU needs those plays, so they can add Feb. 6, 2005 to that list.\n-- Contact Staff Writer Josh Weinfuss at jweinfus@indiana.edu.
(02/03/05 5:00am)
Whatever happened at the 15:31 mark of Wednesday night's game against Penn State wasn't anything a kiss and a miracle pill couldn't handle.\nComing down from hitting a 15-foot jump shot, guard Bracey Wright landed on the feet of Penn State's Aaron Johnson and sprained his left ankle. \nThe junior left the game and did not return. \nAfter the game, IU coach Mike Davis said he took care of Wright in the locker room.\n"Sorry it took me so long to get in here," Davis told the assembled media. "I had to kiss Bracey's ankle. He was in there crying. Made sure I gave him some love before I came in here. To answer your question, he is OK. (IU trainer) Tim (Garl) gave him a miracle pill. He had one left and gave it to Bracey."\nThe slack left by Wright's 18.6 points per game was filled by six Hoosiers, who combined for the 25 points IU scored after Wright left the game.\nWright said the way IU played after he left shows how much the team has grown over the season.\n"They kept their composure, and the young guys are playing well and will only continue to get better," Wright said. "This says a lot about the progress we've made, and how much the young guys have grown.\nWhen Wright went down, White said he knew Wright's night was finished. After the media time-out one second after Wright fell, White huddled with the Hoosiers and told them they needed to keep their heads up. \n"I kind of figured," White said of Wright not returning, "I've had my share of injuries before. When he went down, I knew he wasn't coming back. So after coach talked to us, I just grabbed the team together and told them all, 'Don't get down just because Bracey is out. We still have a chance to win the game.' And I guess we pulled through."\nThis is Wright's second significant injury this season. \nAt Missouri Dec. 19, Wright suffered a broken nose. He also left the game, but returned shortly after.\nBut Wednesday night's injury was a first in front of his teammates.\n"I've never seen him hurt like that," Strickland said. "So that was a first for me."\nWhen Wright went down, Strickland said the game plan didn't change. The only difference was that each player had to do something else on top of their game assignments to pick up for the missing Wright.\n"Roles changed -- the game really didn't change," Strickland said. "Guys had to play different positions. And we just tried to pick up where (Wright) left off." \nBy the Hoosiers holding their own down the stretch against the Nittany Lions, it showed Tapak, that things have changed in Bloomington.\n"I think it shows in the years past maybe it was the 'Bracey Wright Show,'" Tapak said. "He was our main offensive threat. A lot of things went thought him and he was our go-to guy. It's a real shame to lose Bracey." \nWinning without Wright boosted the confidence of the rest of the Hoosiers. \n"I think we stepped up pretty well. We got the win." Vaden said. "So, anytime you can get a win without your leading scorer and your best player than that's good. That's a good win." \nWith the biggest game on the Hoosiers schedule coming up Sunday, Davis weighed in with his opinion on Wright's condition for the Illini game.\n"We expect Bracey to play on Sunday," Davis said.\nIt wasn't a spoon full of sugar or a game-day miracle, but Dr. Davis thinks he found a way for Wright to be ready for Sunday.\n"I kissed it," Davis said. "If you take a miracle pill and you get a kiss from the coach, you should be able to play."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Josh Weinfuss at jweinfus@indiana.edu.
(02/01/05 5:04am)
IOWA CITY, IA -- With 2:27 left in the first half, the Hoosiers' number 12 got up off the bench and hurried to the scorers table. \nIt was the first time since IU lost to Illinois in the 2004 Big Ten tournament that senior guard Donald Perry had checked into a game. \n"First time I've been out there all year, it was good to be out there," he said. "But just being out there ain't good enough."\nPlaying only six minutes, and not scoring, Perry gave the Hoosiers an option to rest point guard Marshall Strickland. \n"(We're) just trying to get another point guard in the game and give (Strickland) some rest," IU coach Mike Davis said.\nPerry knows Saturday afternoon wasn't just a fluke, and he set high standards for himself.\n"It felt good just being out there," Perry said. "I need to be out there and be effective, I got a lot of work to put in."
(01/31/05 5:59am)
IOWA CITY, IOWA -- The saying goes, "Home is where the heart is."\nBut in the Hoosiers case, home is only where the wins are. \nWith the Hoosiers down seven points, 53-46, with 6 minutes and 42 seconds left in Saturday's Big Ten battle against No. 23 Iowa, IU looked to be back in a ball game they previously struggled to be a part of.\nBut then Iowa's junior Jeff Horner started the storm. \nHe hit a three pointer to get the Carver-Hawkeye crowd of 14,364 alive and going. Then two trips down the court later, he tossed an alley-oop pass to fellow junior Doug Thomas, who dunked over two Hoosiers. \nThe Hawkeyes never looked back.\n"(I) just felt like we didn't play with the intensity we needed to play with, from a toughness standpoint," IU coach Mike Davis said.\nAfter their 72-57 loss at Iowa, Saturday afternoon, the Hoosiers' record dropped to 9-9 overall, and 4-3 in the Big Ten. Iowa improves to 15-5 on the season, and 3-4 in league play. \nThe Hoosiers road woes continue, as their record fell to 1-4 on the year and 1-2 in conference play, with their only win coming at Purdue on Jan. 15.\nAll season long, IU coach Mike Davis stressed that in Big Ten play, it is important to hold home court, but win one or two on the road.\n"It's road games, it's road games," he said. "Every loss you have is disappointing but it's a road loss. And what we have to do is make sure to take care of home court and try to steal a game on the road."\nBanging and battling down low, freshman D.J. White ended the game leading IU with 23 points and seven rebounds -- only one coming in the second half. \n"It was a very physical game -- a lot of pushing, a lot of driving," White said. "It was just one of those games."\nBracey Wright's struggles from behind the arc continued, as the junior guard missed all of his three-point attempts for the second game in a row. Wright went 0-4, finishing a 0-14 week from behind the three-point line. He shot 4 of 8 from the field against Iowa and ended with 10 points, before fouling out with 1:24 remaining.\n"I thought every last one of them was going to go in tonight," Wright said. "In the first half I got a lot of open looks." \nLife on the road is never easy, but especially in conference play, for the young players who have never seen Big Ten crowds before. \n"It's tough when you have players who are young and have never played on the road in that type of environment before," Davis said. "Things aren't happening and you can see they get a little nervous or whatever and you look up and you were down five and now you're down 15 or 20."\nFor the first four and half minutes, Saturday's game looked like a typical Big Ten battle. The score was bouncing between teams, with one not able to secure a sizable spread until Iowa went on a 13-2 run to pull ahead 24-14 with 11 minutes left in the first half. But the spurt was cut short when guard Marshall Strickland rattled off five straight points to cut the lead to seven as part of a short 7-2 IU run.\n"We had stretches when we don't play hard for 40 minutes," White said. "Some times we play hard in stretches and sometimes we go dead. I mean, that's a part of what we got to learn. We got to play hard for 40 minutes. That's part of growing up." \nDavis believes that the experience his young basketball team is gaining on the road will help them grow up the most now, and benefit them in future games. \n"Going to Northwestern, Purdue and Minnesota and even here today, you've seen a different basketball team then what you've seen in our home games," Davis said. "The crowd seems to get to us a little bit. That's a great experience for us, as a young basketball team, to be able to learn some things on the road. That's going to help us when we're going to go play at Ohio State, at Michigan, at Wisconsin and Illinois."\nDavis added an unfamiliar face to his rotation Saturday when senior guard Donald Perry saw his first action of the year, backing up junior guard Marshall Strickland.\nStrickland ended a perfect shooting night with 10 points on 4 of 4 shooting and including his only three pointer of the game. \n"Right when we let up, that's when we're at our worst," Strickland said. "This team has to play really aggressive and really hard all the time to be good."\nStrickland said it doesn't matter where the Hoosiers go, they don't get affected by the fans, the arena or being away from home.\n"I don't think it's up to the venue," he said. "I don't think the road is hurting us. I think it's just when we play with energy, were a tough team to play against."\nSenior Donald Perry said the team as a whole is not doing what it needs to win games. \n"Its got nothing to do with the road," Perry said. "Its road and home. Every night we're not really executing what we need to be like. We're making spurts. We're playing some good teams and we got a young team. So when we're on the road, we can't have that many mental mistakes or all those stretches where you're not getting the basketball. We just got to eliminate that."\nStrickland agreed with Perry. The junior guard said playing with their heads is as important as playing with their feet.\n"We're not as sharp as we need to be on the road," junior Marshall Strickland said. "On the road you need to play against the other team, the fans and all the other circumstances. We weren't able to be as rough and tough as we wanted to be, so we had to play with our heads (Saturday)."\nEven though no conference opponent has come into Assembly Hall and left with a win, teams go away from campus and return victorious -- something that IU wants to start doing.\n"The message is, we want to win every game," Strickland said. "We see teams win on the road every day and we think we are good enough to do that."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Josh Weinfuss at jweinfus@indiana.edu.
(01/28/05 6:27am)
MINNEAPOLIS -- IU men's basketball coach Mike Davis' plan to steal a Big Ten game on the road didn't go too well Wednesday night, but the Hoosiers have another chance Saturday in the second half of their first two-game road trip of the season.\nThe Hoosiers travel to Iowa City to take on Iowa coach and former IU star Steve Alford and his No. 23 Iowa Hawkeyes at 4 p.m. at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in a battle of the Big Ten's leading and third-highest scorers. \nDavis' squad comes in tied for third place in the Big Ten at 4-2 in the conference and 9-8 overall, while Iowa sits tied for fourth in the league with a 2-4 Big Ten record and 14-5 overall. \nJunior guard Bracey Wright leads the Hoosiers into Iowa City with a conference-leading 19.1 points per game and knows how crucial a road win is in the battle-tested Big Ten.\n"Anytime you go on the road it's going to be tough, no matter who you play," Wright said. "This game is real big for us. After this weekend we have Penn State at home, then (No. 1) Illinois on the road. So it could be real big to get this road win."\nThe game will be on ESPN, live to a national audience, but should not phase the young Hoosier squad, as they have already been exposed to the country with televised games against North Carolina, Connecticut, Kentucky, Notre Dame and Purdue. \nLast season when the Hoosiers and Hawkeyes met, Iowa guard Jeff Horner hit a bank shot in the lane with seconds left to give the visiting Hawkeyes a double-overtime win in Bloomington.\nBut IU has won the past two games in Iowa City, giving Davis an even record at 4-4 against the Hawkeyes.\nAlford, though, hasn't been as fortunate. In the three meetings he has coached between his alma mater and his current team, he has only been victorious once.\nIowa comes into the IU game fresh off an overtime loss to Northwestern on Wednesday. In that game, Hawkeye forward Greg Brunner set a career-high with 28 points.\nLeading the Hawkeyes is dynamic wingman Pierre Pierce, who is averaging 17.4 ppg, third in the Big Ten.\nAll eyes will be on the Wright-Pierce match-up, but that doesn't concern the Hoosiers' leading scorer.\n"I don't know him that well but I knew of him when we both played (Amateur Athletic Union basketball)," Wright said. "I know that he is a really good player, but we don't have a back-and-forth thing going on during the game."\nComplementing Pierce is an Iowa front line of 6-foot-7-inch Brunner and 6-foot-11-inch center Erek Hansen, both of whom will keep IU freshman D.J. White's hands full. But size doesn't matter to White, who said the Hoosiers just need to keep battling night in and night out.\n"We want to win," White said. "That's all we are thinking about. We need to go into a game with a lot of focus. It's going to be a hard fight for 40 minutes."\nPossibly matching up against the stronger Brunner, who can be an offensive threat for Iowa, White said guarding men on the perimeter doesn't phase him.\n"It might surprise the other team, but I think it's good for us," White said. "I use my long arms to try to disrupt the offense. That's what we try to force on defense. I just try to give a strong defensive presence."\nHaving won all their home conference games thus far, the Hoosiers say it is critical for them to win a road game and understand it's not as easy as they think.\n"It's hard to play on the road," Wright said. "It's a foreign environment for the visiting team and you only have a few days to prepare for another gym. It's a war every time you go on the road."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Josh Weinfuss at jweinfus@indiana.edu.
(01/27/05 5:43am)
MINNEAPOLIS -- He tried.\nAfter a 10 minute and 25 second span in which IU scored two points to start the second half and allow the Minnesota Golden Gophers to jump to a 47-32 lead, freshman D.J. White tried to put the Hoosiers on his back and win their fifth straight game.\n"It was just a drought," White said. "We just couldn't find the hole. I mean our offense was working, we just couldn't put the ball in the hole."\nThe Big Ten Freshman of the Year candidate finished with 23 points, 12 of which came in the last 5:35 of the game. \nDuring that 10 minute stretch in the second half, the Hoosiers failed to give White enough touches to make an impact, not going inside against Minnesota 7-footer Jeff Hagen who tried to neutralize the 6-foot-9-inch White. \n"I wouldn't say my teammates forgot about me, just it was how we were doing things at that time," White said. \nClassmate Robert Vaden said the team didn't forget him. They just didn't go inside -- similar to the first half, in which junior guard Bracey Wright went without touching the ball for possessions at a time. \n"I don't think we forgot about him," Vaden said. "I don't know, for some reason we just weren't going inside. I think we should start looking more for him in the post." \nThere's only so much a team can do. In Wednesday's game, Vaden realized that it just wasn't the Hoosiers' day.\n"I guess things just weren't going our way," Vaden said. "We had some open shots. They just weren't falling. And we probably should have went inside to DJ some more."\nVaden finally began to break out of his shell -- a topic IU coach Mike Davis has touched on before. \nThe Indianapolis native had a stretch of eight straight points minutes before White started his barrage on Minnesota, finishing with 13. \nVaden said he doesn't like to force shots, which is the cause of his lack of scoring that dominated his high school days. \nWhite said the game plan was to get the ball down low and let the game work from there.\n"Coach stressed 'get the ball inside', and that's what we did," White said.\nBut there's only so much the freshman can do. \nDuring the 10:25 stretch, the only Hoosier to score was junior guard Bracey Wright -- 5:07 into the second half. \nFollowing that shot, it took the Hoosiers another 5:18 to score any points. The next field goal IU made was a three-pointer from Vaden, which was followed by another three from him and then 'The White Show' started. \nBut it was too little, too late for the Hoosiers. \n"(Minnesota) did a great job doubling him," Davis said. "D.J. has a chance to be a very good ball player. He's a young boy but a talented ball player. Overall, at times I thought we panicked and forced it to him."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Josh Weinfuss at jweinfus@indiana.edu.
(01/25/05 4:47am)
After freshman D.J. White played only a short time in the second half of Saturday's game because of cramping in his legs, IU coach Mike Davis was surprised to see that happen to a southerner.\n"I looked over and he had his head down, but the thing I don't understand is ... I'm from Alabama, he's from Alabama. I've never seen anyone cramp from Alabama," Davis said.\nBut the resilient White didn't let the cramping get the best of him. Playing through pain, the 6-foot-9-inch White told Davis he was ready to go again.\n"The thing I love about him is that he said he was ready to play," Davis said. "He wanted to go back in the game. And for a freshman to tell you that during a crunch time, to say 'I want to go back in the game,' that meant a lot to me, so I put him back in, and he got a dunk." \nDavis keeps mum about Perry's play time\nSince returning from his suspension, senior Donald Perry has yet to see any action this season. \nLast season the Tallulah, La., native averaged just over 22 minutes per game.\n"I'm not discussing anybody that's not playing," Davis said. "We've won seven out of eight, so there's no sense in discussing him." \nWright starts taking it to the rack\n\nIn the latest conference statistics, IU ranks last in the conference in four categories. \nThe Hoosiers are the cellar-dwellers in field-goal percentage, 3-point field goal percentage, assists and assist-to-turnover ratio.\nIU is shooting 41 percent from the field and 30.9 percent from behind arc while dishing out 11.4 assists per game. The assist-to-turnover ratio is 0.8\nHowever, IU is top in the conference in field goal percent defense, holding opponents to only 39.7 percent from the field.\nThe Hoosiers are ranked third in the conference in free throw percentage, shooting 73.6 on the year, evident in junior guard Bracey Wright's play, Davis said.\n"I think Bracey is being more aggressive," he said. "He has the ability to get to the line if he plays aggressive. We just don't want to take wild shots like we did at times earlier in the year."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Josh Weinfuss at jweinfus@indiana.edu.
(01/24/05 6:30am)
With less than a year since the battle between the students and the administration over the controversial implementation of the $30 student athletics fee, the process to renew the fee is about to begin.\nOpposed by many student groups, the fee brought $1,134,630 to the athletics department riddled by a deficit amounting to more than $5 million. \nWhether or not the fee will be renewed is not the only question during the renewal process. There is a possibility the athletics department will ask for an increase in the fee.\n"The fact that athletics is still in financial difficulty leads me to believe the trustees will not only keep the fee, but might increase it," IU Interim Chancellor Ken Gros Louis told the Indiana Daily Student Friday.\nIU Trustees President Fred Eichhorn said he would accept an increase if the proper areas benefitted.\n"I don't know (if the fee will be increased), if it means the success of the athletic department," Eichhorn said. "I think athletics is central to our University operation, and I think we have to support it."\nEven if the price comes from the students' pockets, Eichhorn said the fee might be needed.\n"Overall, we have state funds provided by the legislature, we have grant funds provided by outside people and we have tuition, and that's the end of the story," Eichhorn said. "That seem's to be the only place we could find it."\nLast year's process for the mandatory fee didn't take the conventional path most, if not all, mandatory student fees take.\n"What was most distressing (about last year) was the lack of process," Gros Louis said. "For years here, fees have not been increased. Mandatory fees have not been increased, unless it goes through a committee made up solely of students. And the fee did not go through that committee at all."\nInstead of being reviewed by the Committee for Fee Review, the fee went from idea straight to the trustees for a vote without the students' voice being considered.\nIU Student Association President Tyson Chastain said the students have two options to consider when combating the fee.\n"(The students) can either fight the fee or actually do the right thing and take it through the process," Chastain said. "The way it went last year took all student input out of it."\nThe process allows the Committee for Fee Review to review the submitted fee, either approving it or rejecting it. If the CFR approves the fee, it makes a request to Dean of Students Richard McKaig who then reviews the approval and passes it along to Gros Louis who would then submit it to the Trustees for a final vote.\nChastain stressed the need for the fee to go through the proper channels any other mandatory student fee does.\n"We are trying to make sure (the administration goes) through the right processes," he said.\nLast year, the fee was a revolving door between the trustees, IU President Adam Herbert and the athletics department bypassing the normally required fee review committee.\nThis year, Athletics Director Rick Greenspan will make presentations to IUSA and the CFR, Eichhorn said.\nEichhorn said he did not know why last year's process skipped the traditional means, but said this year he expects everything to go as planned.\n"We've talked with Rick Greenspan, and I think he's going to talk to IUSA and give further definition to what's going on," Eichhorn said.\nChastain said IUSA is already beginning to form a strategy to inform the students about the fee.\n"Our game plan is to make sure they know where their money is going," he said. "First of all, why is this there? Where is the money going? Secondly, if that is not given to students, IUSA and its congress needs to address the facts of whether they support or reject the fee."\nWith other mandatory student fees at IU, the students receive something in return. The athletics fee is the only fee that does not give back, which is a concern for IUSA and IU students, Chastain said.\n"There are some other fee increases and fee requests that show student services changing," Chastain said. "A lot of other fees that are on the board, supported by students and IUSA, show direct change in student services. The question is, where is the change in service for students with this mandatory fee?"\nEichhorn had no answer for that question, but said the answer could come in Greenspan's presentation to IUSA. \n-- Contact Staff Writer Josh \nWeinfuss at jweinfus@indiana.edu.
(01/24/05 6:19am)
Saturday night ended with Bracey Wright as the hero.\nBut it didn't start like that. Fans were heckling the junior guard to stop shooting and pass the ball after he made one of six shots and ended the first 20 minutes with five points. \nBut as coaches say, the second half is a whole new ball game.\nScoring 18 points in the final 20 minutes, including a run of 12 consecutive on four three-point plays in a span of 2 minutes and 39 seconds, Wright led the Hoosiers to a 67-60 win against Ohio State in front of 17,437 Hoosier faithfuls.\nThe win moves IU into a three-way tie for second place at 4-1 in the Big Ten and 9-7 overall.\n"For us to go in the first half leading with Bracey struggling shooting the basketball, I thought was a good sign for us," said coach Mike Davis. "In the second half, D.J (White) struggled with cramps, and Bracey stepped up, played well with 18 points."\nWright's first half woes were countered by Wednesday night's star, freshman D.J. White, who had 11 points in the first half, and ended with 15 points and three blocks despite limited court time in the second half because of cramping in his right leg.\nWhite said he lost fluids before the game, and didn't replenish enough. \n"(D.J.) was really big for us in the first half," Wright said. "He was a big spark plug for us in the first 20 minutes."\nEven with Wright struggling, the Hoosiers shot 55.6 percent behind the arc in the first half, and ended Saturday shooting 46.7 percent. IU shot 45.7 percent from the field, and 75 percent from the free throw line. \nBut it wasn't White who got the Hoosiers off on the right foot.\nFreshman Robert Vaden started the game with two three-pointers in just over 4 minutes, and classmate A.J. Ratliff hit his own three to put IU ahead 14-9, 6:06 into the game.\nHaving other scorers beside Wright is refreshing for both Wright and Davis, who said that's one major difference between last year's Hoosiers and this year's team.\n"The funny part about it is that Vaden hasn't scored the way he can score. He got off to a good start tonight," Davis said. "What we have going, we are still young, but we have guys that can make plays -- that's the difference in this team and the team last year. We have guys who can make plays."\nOhio State big man Terence Dials led the Buckeyes (12-7, 1-4 Big Ten) with 18 points and 13 rebounds. \nLeading the Buckeyes by eight at halftime, 31-23, the Hoosiers looked to be cruising to their fourth consecutive win, but an 18-9 OSU run put them ahead 43-41 with just over 13:30 left in the game. \nFor the rest of the game, the Buckeyes did exactly what sophomore guard Rod Wilmont said they would -- pound the ball inside. Defended by a team of White and Pat Ewing Jr., the Buckeyes fed Dials in the post play after play. \nDials and the rest of the Buckeye's frontcourt outscored the Hoosiers 30 to 14 in points in the paint. \nCombined with OSU guard Tony Stockman, the pair scored 13 of the 18 points during the run.\n"I thought we did a great job of doubling the post when they did and fronting the post and really pressured the ball," Davis said. "Dials is a handful -- I've said it from day one. He's one of the best 'bigs' in our league, and for D.J. to play the way he played against Dials shows a lot of potential and upside for D.J."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Josh Weinfuss at jweinfus@indiana.edu.
(01/21/05 6:03am)
He just takes it one at a time.\nAfter an emotional performance that whirled the Hoosier Nation into a standing ovation Wednesday night, D.J. White has his priorities in order heading into Saturday night's game against Ohio State at Assembly Hall.\n"Take it as a regular game," he said. "Nothing different in my mindset, keep focused. Do what I'm here to do."\nJust one-quarter of the way through his first Big Ten season, the freshman is preparing for the rigors of league play. In the next two-and-a-half weeks, the Hoosiers play six games -- a time when some freshmen would hit a wall of exhaustion and burn out. White knows what's ahead and is ready for it.\n"It's a big adjustment I got to make," he said. "But it's a challenge, but just play hard and fight."\nWhen the Buckeyes come to town at 8 p.m. Saturday, they will bring with them 6-foot-9-inch junior Terence Dials, who dominated the Hoosiers last season when OSU came to Bloomington with 16 points and 10 rebounds in an IU loss. \nSophomore Rod Wilmont expects the Buckeyes to go after White, similar to the way Michigan started off Wednesday's game by going to center Graham Brown immediately.\n"I expect them to come in and play real physical inside, that's what Michigan did," Wilmont said. \nDespite White's performance against Michigan, Wilmont doesn't think OSU will change its game plan.\n"I still think they'll go down in the post and see if they can get DJ in foul trouble," he said.\nHeading into Saturday's game tied for second place in the Big Ten with only eight wins overall, the Hoosiers are on the right side of a three-game winning streak in conference play. \nIU coach Mike Davis said this time of year is unique.\n"It's conference play," he said. "Conference is different. (It's a) different mindset."\nThe reason for the 3-1 conference record has somewhat to do with the maturation of the young team, Davis said.\n"It's definitely important that the attitude and personality (of the team) has changed," Davis said. "I think the older guys have changed."\nBy older guys, Davis means junior guard Bracey Wright, who leads the Big Ten with 18.9 points per game and adds 4.6 rebounds per game.\nWhile the scoring load remains on Wright's shoulders, the stepped-up play of White has given the Hoosiers a dynamic duo that spreads out the pressure, once solely on Wright.\nWith three freshmen and two juniors starting, Davis said the personality of the team "has definitely changed from the last couple of years."\nDavis also said White has stepped up as of late, usually late in games as he did against Michigan. \nKeeping his level of play to the high expectations the fans have now placed on him, White said the most important thing is keeping his body rested, and by doing that, it keeps his mind focused.\n"You can't worry about too much other stuff," he said. \nHearing his name chanted by the crowd Wednesday night only added to White's confidence, he said. \nNight-in and night-out facing the rigors of Big Ten competition, White said he expects every game to by physical, including Saturday night's game.\n"I'm always ready for the challenge," he said. "I come prepared."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Josh Weinfuss at weinfus@indiana.edu.
(01/20/05 6:22am)
The Hoosiers found their new A.J. Moye Wednesday.\nWith 8 minutes and 5 seconds left in the game, D.J. White took a no-look pass from junior guard Marshall Strickland and flushed it.\nAnd that's when the chant came.\n"D.J. White, D.J. White!"\nThat all-so-familiar tune came back to Assembly Hall, but for a different generation.\nNot only did the freshman center dominate Michigan with 16 points and three blocks, he established himself as the heart and soul of the Hoosiers.\n"(D.J.) plays with a spirit that seems to be contagious for the (Hoosiers)," said Michigan coach Tommy Amaker.\nAfter a first half which saw White sit next IU coach Mike Davis for 12 of the 20 minutes because of foul trouble, senior Auburn transfer Marco Killingsworth took the rookie aside in the locker room and calmed him down.\nJust in time. \nMidway through the second half, White went off for 11 straight points over the course of 4:22 to increase the IU lead from three to 10, during which the dunk and the ensuing chant came.\n"The crowd made me feel good," White said. "(They) picked me up. (I) appreciate the fans."\nOnly playing in his 15th game for the crimson and cream, the Tuscaloosa, Ala., native has shown more signs of maturation than the other freshman, and provided a lift when the Hoosiers needed it most.\n"He really stepped up" junior guard Bracey Wright said. "He made some key buckets when we needed them." \nThe 6-foot-8-inch White established himself as a threat for IU. \n"He gives us an inside presence," Wright said. "He gives us that long presence, gives us big rebounds."\nNot only has White started to form into a Big Ten Freshman of the Year contender, he has began to be a leader on this young IU team.\n"I try to," he said. "I think they listen to me more because, I say, because I'm performing better. I'm starting to get more vocal." \nTrying to etch his name along side great IU freshman such as Isiah, Steve, Keith, Alan, Calbert, Jared, Dewayne White Junior isn't at full stride yet, freshman forward A.J. Ratliff said.\n"He's a dominant player," he said. "You have yet to see him."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Josh Weinfuss at jweinfus@indiana.edu.
(01/14/05 2:12pm)
Six hundred and 19 days ago, Purdue fans suffered another defeat to in-state rival IU. \nOn May 6, 2003, then-Indianapolis Pike High School superstar Robert Vaden reneged on his oral commitment to play for Gene Keady and the Boilermakers, only to choose their neighbors two hours south. \nSaturday will be the first time Vaden faces the West Lafayette crowd -- a group that once hailed him -- as the Hoosiers face Purdue at noon in Mackey Arena.\nIU enters the weekend with a 6-7 record, 1-1 in the Big Ten, fresh off a 13-point win against conference foe Wisconsin. Purdue is sitting in the conference cellar with a 3-9 record and 0-3 in the Big Ten. The Boilers are riding a three-game losing streak, all against conference opponents.\nStarting three freshman, two of whom are from Indiana, IU coach Mike Davis' Hoosiers understand the importance of the IU-Purdue game -- not only for the two schools but for the state.\n"I think that there is so much built-up energy because it's a rivalry," junior guard Bracey Wright said. "Everyone that goes to Purdue wants to beat Indiana and everyone that goes to Indiana wants to beat Purdue. That is so much added pressure on both teams to play better. We need to come out and match their energy." \nLast year IU lost 71-56 at Purdue -- the game that ended Sean Kline's season with a knee injury from which he still hasn't regained full form.\nThe Boilermakers, led by the backcourt of junior David Teague and senior Brandon McKnight, have been disappointing in Keady's last season at the helm. He will retire at the end of this season after 25 years as head coach at Purdue to make room for Associate Head Coach Matt Painter.\nAlthough the Hoosiers are going for their second consecutive Big Ten win, and first conference road win of the season, Ft. Wayne native James Hardy said the team is going into Saturday like they do for any other game.\n"They're the biggest rival Indiana has," Hardy said. "It will be very intense and everybody will be very excited. We're looking forward to (Saturday)."\nClaiming to never be a big college basketball watcher on television, Hardy said that when he did have the chance to catch the IU-Purdue game, he could feel the intensity through the screen.\nWright leads the way for the Hoosiers with 18.8 points per game, followed by freshman D.J. White's 12.4 ppg. \nWhite, who will be playing in his first rivalry game, said the Hoosiers' schedule has been nothing but an asset to the young team.\n"The opening stretch of games that we played was really tough," he said. "I think that it will only help us over the rest of the season. It has prepared us when we play Big Ten games at home or on the road."\nWright said the time has come for an IU road win. With the Hoosiers' experience playing in front of tough crowds in Connecticut and Louisville, they will be ready for Purdue.\n"I think that our pre-conference schedule is getting us ready to have a big win on the road," Wright said. "Our games at Connecticut, Kentucky and Missouri have prepared us to win in tough environments. We have been in some hostile environments and I think heading into Purdue, we will be ready."\nOn top of trying to win two consecutive Big Ten games, their first road conference game and quieting swirling rumors about Davis' future at IU, the Hoosiers will have to deal with the pressure of playing their biggest rival.\n"It's big for us. It's going to be a big-time game for the whole team," Wright said. "It's a road game that we need. Everybody knows about the IU-Purdue rivalry, so everyone is going to pumped-up to play. We know that we struggled there last year, so it's very important to us."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Josh Weinfuss at jweinfus@indiana.edu.
(01/11/05 5:20am)
With students taking a much-needed three-week break from the rigors of academe, the IU men's basketball team wasn't given that fortune. IU lost the final two games of their tough six-game stretch before picking up three much-needed wins against easier foes.
(01/10/05 5:42am)
Whatever IU coach Mike Davis put in his Hoosiers' Wheaties this past week worked. \nComing off a disappointing and embarrassing 21-point loss at Northwestern in the Big Ten opener Wednesday, IU regrouped and defeated Wisconsin at Assembly Hall 74-61 Saturday night. \n"It was the most fun we had in a win," said junior guard Marshall Strickland. "The fans were really into it and we played with a lot of passion tonight."\nPacing the Hoosiers (6-7, 1-1 Big Ten) was junior guard Bracey Wright, who led all scorers with 30 points, Wright took on the role of baseball's utility man against the Badgers. He did anything -- and everything -- Davis wanted him to. Either running the show at point guard or scoring off the wing, Wright was able to get to the free throw line 10 times, making seven of them and putting much-needed points on the board for IU. \nOnly three of his 30 came from behind the arc. \nSaturday's game was a vast difference not just for Wright, but for the whole team.\n"I just think in the Northwestern game I never found my rhythm or my place in what I was doing," Wright said. "And tonight I just took it upon myself to be assertive and establish myself."\nDavis started three freshmen for the fifth consecutive game, in which the Hoosiers have gone 4-1. \nFreshman guard Robert Vaden also recovered from a poor showing at Northwestern with 11 points and three assists.\nGoing up against a bigger and stronger Wisconsin front line, freshman center D.J. White had his hands full, but was able to take the Badger big-men duo of Zach Morley and Mike Wilkinson out of the game. \nWhite ended with 13 points and seven rebounds in his first Big Ten win.\n"It feels good to get it off my chest," White said.\nWith such a young squad, Davis said they, at times, get intimidated by the opposition. Saturday, it appeared as if the three first year players found their comfort zones on defense, forcing Wisconsin into 18 turnovers.\n"When you have three freshmen starting against that type of system, it is really tough for them," Davis said. "They have a tendency to play timid. I thought tonight, we came out and played the way we played earlier in the season as far as our defense goes."\nIn contrast to other games this season, the Hoosiers buckled down and starved off late runs by the Badgers. Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan said his team was "working to get (the score) to single digits," because if they got the difference to nine or under, he said they could play the foul game. But the Hoosiers relented. \nDuring the second half, the three men officiating crew appeared to be foul-happy, whistling 35 of the 50 team fouls in the second stanza. In a stretch of 18 seconds, sophomore Roderick Wilmont was called for three fouls.\nAfter starting the season with two consecutive wins, the Hoosiers lost six games in a row but have rebounded with four wins in their last five games. Beating teams at home, Davis said, is expected, but losing on the road isn't something he gets worried about.\n"We just took care of home," Davis said. "That's the thing that is overlooked. You go on the road and you lose. It's normal. Play at home, you should win. You don't win, you are putting yourself in a hole. Last year, we put ourselves in a hole because we lost at home. You have to take care of home and try to steal a couple on the road."\nWhether or not the Hoosiers will be able to steal a couple on the road is still unknown, as the rollercoaster season continues.\nWright doesn't know why the Hoosiers play well during one game and like a completely different team the next, but with in-state rival Purdue coming up, he is looking forward to a steal on the road.\n"If I could explain it, I would be able to fix it," Wright said. "That's just how it's been happening for us. We play so well in one game, and then we play like it is our first game another game. Hopefully now that league play has started and we got a win under our belt we can relax and take this momentum into the Purdue game."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Josh Weinfuss at jweinfus@indiana.edu.