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(11/04/13 3:47am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>In the IU men’s basketball team’s first exhibition game Oct. 26 against Southern Indiana, it took the Hoosiers nearly midway through the second half to gain significant enough momentum to pull away from the Division II Screaming Eagles.This evening the Hoosiers face their final exhibition test against Hillsdale College at 7 p.m. at Assembly Hall.Lately the Chargers have been causing a few scares of their own in the top division of college basketball.Against Valparaiso Oct. 26, Hillsdale lost by single digits 69-60. Last night, against one of the top teams in the Mid-American Conference, the Chargers took Toledo to overtime before a Toledo jumper at the buzzer lifted the Rockets to the narrow victory.IU Coach Tom Crean said that after watching game tape of the Chargers in preparation for his team’s final exhibition game of the season, one of Hillsdale’s strengths is a very quick motion offense.With a team as young as his, he said he’s been trying to keep the game plan simple for his players so not to get caught up trying to defend a quick team and get caught in a nail-biter.“Motion teams for any team are usually very hard to defend,” Crean said. “For a young team it could be a nightmare, and that means that we don’t want to give them too much to do inside the game as far as game planning, but we’re not just going to come out and play. We’re going to come out with a real purpose.”Crean said facing Hillsdale gives his team a chance to see a great shooting team that may mirror in some ways the sharp-shooting the Hoosiers will face against their tougher non-conference opponents and into the Big Ten portion of the schedule.Crean said the young Hoosier squad struggled on the defensive side against USI. He said some of his younger guys need to learn that playing stingy on defense will help create opportunities to get out and run and allow Indiana to average close to 80 points per game like the Hoosiers did a season ago.But whether in transition or running the offense in the half court, the Hoosiers can’t afford quite the number of turnovers they gave up against USI, Crean said.“My biggest concern going into tomorrow night is turnovers, far too many turnovers, far too sloppy play,” Crean said Sunday. “We’ve got to get that corrected, but at the same time, we’re trying to be fast.“We’re trying to be very up-tempo, and so there are going to be certain turnovers that are going to come with that, but it can’t come from trying to do things that aren’t there.”Two of the veterans on this year’s squad, sophomore guard Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell and senior forward Will Sheehey, turned the ball over four and five times, respectively, in the Hoosiers’ first contest, and Crean said he turns to an analogy to show his players why it’s so important to take care of the ball.“Hit singles and not home run,” Crean said. “Let’s hit a bunch of singles and maybe throw in some doubles, and then those doubles look like home runs instead of trying to make plays that aren’t there, and then those home runs we thought we were throwing turn into strike outs.”Follow reporter Nathan Brown on Twitter @nathan_brown10.
(11/01/13 4:23am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>ROSEMONT, Ill. — IU Coach Tom Crean, joined by graduate student guard Evan Gordon, senior forward Will Sheehey, sophomore guard Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell and sophomore forward Jeremy Hollowell traveled to the Hyatt Regency for Big Ten Basketball Media Day Thursday morning.Players and coaches from all 12 Big Ten schools spoke at the event.Here’s a brief run down of the day’s news.CREAN LATE TO PRESS CONFERENCEBecause of some traffic delays, Crean missed his scheduled 8:10 a.m. press conference with the media Thursday morning. Once he arrived, he was slated at the end of the coach press conferences, and he kicked off his 10-minute slot talking about the young team he has on his hands this season.“Along with Illinois, we’re one of the youngest teams in the league, experience-wise,” Crean said. “I think the biggest thing we’re trying to get accomplished right now is to get our team to understand ... what it takes to practice at a championship level and showing the standards of last year.”Crean added, though, that one of his freshman, forward Noah Vonleh, has been progressing at a high rate and is eager to keep learning the college game.“He (has a) high level in wanting to get better,” Crean said. “For somebody with that kind of talent and ability, it’s fun to watch. He understands there’s things that he doesn’t know, but he wants to get them.”Another member of Vonleh’s class, guard Stanford Robinson, has been plagued this offseason by a right knee injury suffered at Hoosier Hysteria. Crean said Thursday that he’s just now coming back into form and has learned the difference between playing hurt and being injured.“When you’re hurt, sometimes you just gotta be able to deal with it a little bit and play through it,” Crean said. “He’s come back in there, has just played like he’s not favoring anything at all, really trying to play with a really strong, reckless abandon, which is important.”MICHIGAN STATE PRESEASON BIG TEN FAVORITEBig Ten media members unanimously selected No. 2 Michigan State to finish atop the conference rankings in its preseason poll.The Spartans were followed by No. 7 Michigan and No. 11 Ohio State.IU was picked by the media to finish sixth in the conference, with Iowa (fifth) and Wisconsin (fourth) finishing ahead of the Hoosiers.Rounding out the list behind IU in order is Purdue, Illinois, Minnesota, Northwestern, Penn State and Nebraska.The media also tabbed Michigan State sophomore guard Gary Harris as the Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year.Last year, IU was picked as the Big Ten favorite with Cody Zeller selected as the Preseason Player of the Year.No Hoosiers were named to the Preseason All-Big Ten team, which features six players because of a tie.Harris is joined on that team by Ohio State senior Aaron Craft and Penn State senior Tim Frazier, who both make their second consecutive appearance on the lineup.Michigan State senior Adreian Payne along with Michigan sophomores Mitch McGary and Glenn Robinson III round out the All-Big Ten team.IU RECEIVING VOTES IN AP TOP 25, NOT RANKEDFor the first time since Dec. 12, 2011, the first poll after IU knocked off then-No. 1 Kentucky, the IU men’s basketball team is not ranked in the AP top 25 poll.In the first AP poll of the season, IU is the third in receiving votes outside of the top 25 with 111, behind Tennessee (176) and Creighton (145).There are four Big Ten teams in the AP top 25: Michigan State (No. 2), Michigan (No. 7), Ohio State (No. 11) and Wisconsin (No. 20).In the first USA Today coaches’ poll of the season, IU is ranked No. 24.BIG TEN COACHES ON IU, CREANAlthough the Hoosiers aren’t at the top of the rankings in the country or even the conference like they were a year ago, other coaches from around the league still had some things to say related to Crean and his team’s prospects this season.Michigan State Coach Tom Izzo, who Crean coached under before his head coaching position at Marquette, said he thinks the star power of the conference this season will be even greater than the past, with some teams rising up the ranks and others trying to rebuild, including IU.“I mean, Indiana loses a couple of good players, but they’ve got some good players coming back and well-coached,” Izzo said.First-year Minnesota Head Coach Richard Pitino said he has received a lot of help from his peers while trying to adjust to his new position after leaving Florida International, and Crean has been no exception.“It just shows you how great this league is when you walk down the hall, and you see a Tom Izzo or you see a Thad Matta, or you see a Tom Crean or Coach Beilein,” Pitino said. “I’ve known Tom Crean for a couple of years. He was at Marquette when we were at Louisville, and I know him a little bit. He’s been great.“They’ve all been great. I’m the young guy in the league, one of the youngest coaches out there. They’ve been very receptive to me. They’ve given me great advice, been guys that I can lean on, which is nice.”IOWA’S WHITE BEFRIENDS FERRELL, SHEEHEYAfter playing in Russia for Team USA in the World University Games, Iowa junior forward Aaron White said he is now “cool” with Ferrell and Sheehey.White said he ate breakfast with the two IU players Thursday morning before the media day festivities started.He said he asked them about Vonleh, someone he has heard a lot about.“I keep reading about him, but I haven’t seen him,” White said of Vonleh. “They said he’s physical, strong. And I keep reading everyone picking him to be Big Ten Freshman of the Year, so he must be pretty talented.”During the summer, White described the atmosphere in Russia, which included Michigan coach John Beilein and Michigan State’s Payne, as “a bunch of Big Ten guys talking about basketball.”“It was fun to get perspective from guys on different teams talking about the ups and downs of college basketball and the struggles you have within your team. “It was just funny, honestly, to hear different stories from different schools.”Follow men’s basketball reporters Nathan Brown and Robby Howard on Twitter at @Nathan_Brown10 and @RobbyHoward1.
(10/28/13 3:04am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Fans flocked to Assembly Hall Saturday night to see the emergence of the IU men’s basketball team’s freshmen class in the team’s first exhibition matchup against the University of Southern Indiana.After a quick opening bucket by the Screaming Eagles, two of IU’s freshmen stars, Troy Williams and Noah Vonleh, gave the Hoosiers a quick burst with six straight points. But it was the team’s lone returning starter who ended up stealing the show and leading the Hoosiers to a 83-68 victory in the exhibition.Sophomore guard Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell scored a career-high 20 points on a 6-of-10 shooting night from beyond the arc to go along with two free throws.With losing trusty shooters like Jordan Hulls, Christian Watford and Victor Oladipo after last season, Ferrell said he knew it was his time to step up his scoring skills beyond driving in the paint.“That just shows what I’ve done in the offseason, especially shooting with guys like (sophomore forward) Jeremy (Hollowell), (freshman guard) Stan (Robinson) and even Noah,” Ferrell said. “We’re always shooting after practice, getting shots up, so I’m gonna continue to do that.”Outside of Ferrell, the Hoosiers shot less than 36 percent from the field during the first half. No one else could connect from long-range, and IU made just 4-of-12 shots from the charity stripe outside of its starting point guard in the half.Williams had almost as strong a half scoring, showing off his athletic prowess by closing the half with a breakaway dunk.Some wondered how effective he would be coming off his right hand injury, but Williams said having to use a single hand during practices leading up to Saturday improved his control in the lane.“I’m considered the athletic one of the team,” Williams said. “I just have to work hard on it. Coach told me at halftime, he said, ‘Use your athleticism to your advantage,’ and I thought about that and just went out on the court and just played.”USI scored five straight points out of the gate to start the second half before Vonleh knocked down a 3-point field goal for IU.USI crept back within two points again with 15:47 left in the game. Five minutes later, Ferrell’s final long bomb of the game brought the lead to 13 points — IU’s largest lead of the game at that point.In the closing minutes, IU Coach Tom Crean tried to ensure all his players — minus the injured Robinson and freshman forward Devin Davis, whom Crean held out for undisclosed health reasons — saw minutes.Hollowell followed Ferrell with 13 points, just a point away from tying a career-high. Both Williams and Vonleh added 10, and Williams finished with 10 rebounds for the team’s only double-double of the night.Crean said he liked how his team improved from its shooting woes in the first half, finishing with a 41.8 percent night from the floor. He said he could tell the freshmen — Vonleh and Williams especially — showed moments of brilliance he’s seen throughout practice during the preseason, but his crew has a ways to go to reach the consistency he feels they need.“I think the fans are really going to enjoy this team, but I think they’re going to be like me,” Crean said. “They’re going to pull their hair out once in a while, but they’re trying to do everything they can do to hold Indiana to the standard we’re at.”Follow reporter Nathan Brown on Twitter @nathan_brown10.
(10/25/13 4:09am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Shortly after IU Coach Tom Crean and the men’s basketball team released Sept. 12 that the Hoosiers would face the University of Southern Indiana in the team’s first exhibition game of the 2013-14 season this Saturday at 7 p.m., USI lost its leading scorer until at least the middle of December.On Sept. 16, the Screaming Eagles’ released that senior forward Orlando Rutledge was declared academically ineligible because he “came up a couple of hours short (in academic progress),” he said to the Evansville Courier & Press.Last season, he averaged 16.4 points and 5.6 rebounds and led the team with 49 3-pointers. In his final collegiate season, he’ll have to miss at least the first seven games while he tries to regain his eligibility for his team’s game against Kentucky Wesleyan Dec. 21.But IU Associate Head Coach Tim Buckley said the Hoosiers have had their own hardships preparing for the start of the season with voids where top-five NBA picks Victor Oladipo and Cody Zeller used to dominate.Although facing Rutledge would have been a good test for the team early on in the season, Buckley said the coaching staff wanted to see USI because of its depth, not just a single player.“They have a very good program, and even though they’ve lost Rutledge ... they will have found ways to compensate and play together as a team,” he said. “One person can’t do it all by themselves.”Indiana’s Division II opponent comes to Assembly Hall with years more experience in college basketball, touting eight seniors, 11 upperclassmen and three starters from last year’s squad that went 23-8 and finished third in the Great Lakes Valley Conference during the regular season and runner-up in the conference tournament.The Hoosiers, on the other hand, will likely have seven players seeing their first time competing on Branch McCracken Court and will have some adjusting to do playing in an NCAA atmosphere.“It’ll be very important that they do what they do best, that they play within themselves and they play within the team concept,” Buckley said. “We’re going to have to do a really good job carrying out the game plan and how we’ve been taught to play and play together and defend, rebound and take care of the basketball.”USI averaged more than 14 offensive rebounds as a team last season, and though they lack the height that the Hoosiers boast — with three healthy players listed at 6-foot-9 inches to USI’s one — Buckley said he expects to see a good test in the post as well as a team that may be quicker up and down the court than his squad.IU’s big men — freshman Noah Vonleh and sophomores Peter Jurkin and Hanner Mosquera-Perea — have to play smart against USI’s smaller but more experienced front court, Buckley said.“You have to use your size the right way,” Buckley said. “You still have to be sharp. You have to do a good job of beating people to spots. There may be some situations where they’re quicker than we are.“Even though they may not have the size we do on paper, I think having older guys and guys who have played at a pretty high level, they have guys who know how to play basketball. They’re able to compensate for the things at least on paper appear to be weaknesses.”Follow reporter Nathan Brown on Twitter @nathan_brown10.
(10/09/13 1:56am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>After a fateful move during the final five seconds of Friday night’s scrimmage during Hoosier Hysteria at Assembly Hall, the IU men’s basketball team has now had four of the team’s six scholarship freshmen go down with injuries during preparation for the 2013-14 season.Forward Troy Williams (hand) and center Luke Fischer (shoulder) suffered their injuries during team activities prior to the start of official team practice and did not participate in the skills competitions or team scrimmage Friday.After the scrimmage ended, with forward Noah Vonleh not participating and guard Stanford Robinson going down on his right knee, it was clear the Hoosiers lost two more stars during what IU Coach Tom Crean said is one of the most crucial parts of the season.Here are the latest details on each of their injuries:Stanford RobinsonFriday night, Crean told the media the early prognosis on Robinson was he had bruised his right knee. Crean did not yet have a timetable for his return. Saturday evening, the team released a statement that the freshman guard “is beginning treatment, daily evaluation and will be out indefinitely.”ESPN’s Jeff Goodman was at IU’s practice Sunday night and said then on Twitter that Robinson was likely out 7-10 days, and Crean tweeted Monday that Robinson was likely still two weeks away.Noah VonlehCrean also told the media Friday night that Vonleh had suffered an ankle injury Wednesday during practice, and the team was taking his action easy as a precautionary measure. Friday in practice, Vonleh only put up a few shots and competed in the 3-point competition that night, but was held out of the team scrimmage. Goodman said Sunday that Vonleh should be ready to go for normal action for the Hoosiers’ next practice, and Crean said Monday on Twitter that Vonleh was getting healthier.Troy WilliamsCrean said Williams likely will be back in practice early this week after suffering a hand injury two weeks ago during a workout before official team practice. Crean again said Monday on Twitter that Williams would be back “in a limited role this week.”Luke FischerCrean said Fischer will still be out for a few more weeks as he continues to nurse the left shoulder injury he suffered before official team practice while diving for a loose ball during a scrimmage.— Nathan Brown
(10/07/13 4:03am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>In between the different skills competitions Friday evening in Assembly Hall for Hoosier Hysteria, highlights from the 2012-13 flashed quickly across the jumbo-tron.The crowd, which filled the entire bottom bowl of the arena, plus a few spots up in the balcony level, roared for each made jumper, block or slam dunk, but the most popular highlights made evident just what the IU men’s basketball team will miss this season.The defense Cody Zeller provided during the waning moments against Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich., to capture the Big Ten regular season title.Victor Oladipo’s clutch jumper during the closing seconds to seal a win against Temple in the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament.Both appeared separately on the screen during breaks in the action Friday night to talk about what their time in Bloomington had meant to them. IU Athletics even dressed two IU fans in the jerseys of the No. 2 and No. 4 picks from this past summer’s NBA Draft to shoot prayers from half-court – both of which barely flew to the free-throw line.Minus an Oladipo vocal performance, the Hoosiers got the crowd into it early, as several players gathered at center court donning white stunner shades to perform a choreographed version of the “Stanky Leg.” The rest gathered after to join in on Soulja Boy anthem and Daniel Weber and Brice Fox’s “This is Indiana” brought the fan base in Assembly Hall to a roar.In one of the biggest surprises of the night, IU Coach Tom Crean took the mic and began to reflect on that past season, his team’s accomplishments and the road of four seasons prior it took to get to a Big Ten title and a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.Then, the lights dimmed, and a banner signifying the team’s conference regular season title – the first new banner in Assembly Hall since 2002 - rose to the rafters just above the north basket.“You don’t buy Big Ten championships at Walmart. You earn them,” Crean said. “We just worked for five-straight years for you to hang a banner in Assembly Hall.”The 3-point competition followed Crean’s presentation – the place where IU fans found out last season that Zeller had the potential to be a threat from beyond the arc. Five players from each of the men’s and women’s teams faced off in preliminary rounds, where guards sophomore Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell and redshirt sophomore Kaila Hulls emerged, each making 18 shots to cruise into the final round.In a close race that came down to the last rack, Ferrell pulled out the title with 17 shots made to Hulls’ 13.After freshman forward Lyndsay Leikem and senior guard Taylor Wayer took the two-ball competition with 40 points between them, the focus again turned to the Zeller family.Word had already spread that Cody’s parents, Lorri and Steve, had decided to return to Assembly Hall for Hoosier Hysteria, even without their youngest son. But to Crean’s highest hopes, the Zellers made a much larger appearance Friday than they had in any previous Hoosier Hysteria.As chairs were brought to the court before the dunk contest, they emerged from the stands as two of the judges as the crowd rose for a standing ovation.“I think that was awesome for the crowd to respond to them like that,” Crean said. “It just shows what kind of legacy Cody is going to carry here at Indiana University.”Freshman forward Devin Davis and sophomore forward Hanner Mosquera-Perea set themselves apart from teammates sophomore forward Jeremy Hollowell and freshman guard Stanford Robinson in the first round. The duo each threw down their own versions of the windmill that drew great responses from the crowd.Both added his own flare in the second round.Davis caught a bounce after starting behind the backboard and proceeded to slam it home, while Mosquera-Perea caught a rebound off the glass from Ferrell and dunked his and another ball in a single swoop.But it was Davis who caught a toss from Sheehey, who was seated in the stands, and dunked it through for the victory in the finals.In the team scrimmage, Hollowell got into a scoring rhythm for the White team early, reaching double figures while taking a shot nearly ever time down the court for a span, proving to Crean and fans that he hopes to be ready to play a more significant role this season.Senior forward Will Sheehey added a spark to the Red team while down 19-18. He went on to score the game’s next eight points and ended in double figures as well as his squad of Robinson, graduate student guard Evan Gordon, Davis, sophomore center Peter Jurkin and senior forward Jeff Howard take the victory 40-28.Although Indiana lost yet another freshman to an injury during the final five seconds of the scrimmage – Robinson is out indefinitely with a right knee injury - Crean said that the biggest hurdle to jump during the next several weeks before the start of the season is for his young squad to find out exactly what will define them on the court this year with just two players with major roles returning from last season.“I think the biggest thing for us right now in the first week is we need to get some identity,” Crean said. “We’ve got to develop some personality. Some personality on the floor in the sense of the communication and in the sense of 50-50 balls and in the sense of really showing a competitive spirit and not just when we’re fresh and not just when it’s a scrimmage, but all those times.”Follow reporter Nathan Brown on Twitter @nathan_brown10.
(10/04/13 2:46am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU Coach Tom Crean arrived at his “State of the Hoosier Nation” lecture Wednesday night at the IU Auditorium just after his team’s fifth practice of the 2013-14 season. Though it’s been less than a week, Crean said he’s seen the entire spectrum of success, from signs of a contending team to one that kept him from sleeping Tuesday night.But with Hoosier Hysteria beginning at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Assembly Hall, Hoosier Nation will finally get its first glimpse of a team Crean said shows great promise but lacks the college game experience that had accumulated during his first five years in Bloomington.“Right now, we’re going through a painful process, and not just cause we lost some guys who scored a lot of points,” Crean said. “Those guys got to the point where they weren’t afraid to tell guys when they wanted something done.”Without the vocal chords of Victor Oladipo or the surprise long-shot competition performance from Cody Zeller, it will be largely up to six freshman and a grad student to steal the show and get a likely packed Assembly Hall on its feet.During team introductions, Hoosier fans will get their first glimpses of freshmen Noah Vonleh, Devin Davis, Luke Fischer, Troy Williams, Collin Hartman and Stanford Robinson and graduate student transfer Evan Gordon.But after injuries during team scrimmages last week, Williams, who injured his hand, and Fischer, who injured his shoulder, will likely take a seat and pass up the team skills competitions and scrimmage.Crean said Wednesday that Williams, to some a favorite to win the slam-dunk competition, requested a meeting with him this week to ask to be a part of the judging panel for the competition.Crean gave no indication of his role Friday night, although Williams did say last week during the team’s media day that Crean has helped Robinson brainstorm some moves to take on sophomore forward Hanner Mosquera-Perea and his other competitors.With the favorite out, Robinson simply said he likes his odds of coming out on top.“Just stay tuned,” he said. “Just know I’m going to win it. With Troy being out, it just made it easier for me. Just stay tuned for the dunk contest.”During breaks in the team competition, select students and fans will get a chance to participate in contests of their own.The events on Branch McCracken Court will culminate with the team getting in a public scrimmage to give those in attendance an honest idea of the skill and potential the Hoosiers have for this season.Crean said Wednesday night that one of the biggest strengths of his team this season will likely be its speed, but after a few days of practice, he said it may still take a couple more weeks or even time during the season to get the defensive pressure to where it needs to be in the heat of Big Ten battles.Crean he’s not going to sit around making excuses for the team’s youth, but asked Hoosier to be patient and give his team a chance to prove themselves and show them the team he saw during Wednesday’s practice.“None of us were here to be patient and keep it in perspective, and we aren’t going to now, but we need everybody else to,” Crean said. “The biggest thinkg we can do right now is make sure they’re better than they were when practice started.“You don’t build anything of substance without adversity.”Follow reporter Nathan Brown on Twitter @nathan_brown10.
(09/27/13 2:48am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Thursday afternoon, just a day before the first official practice, IU men’s basketball team announced another freshman injury from a workout.Freshman center Luke Fischer will be out “for a few weeks” after suffering a sprained left shoulder during a scrimmage earlier this week.IU Coach Tom Crean said in a press release that Fischer, one of IU’s two listed centers on this season’s roster, had been showing a lot of improvement this off-season before his setback.“Luke has made great strides and was playing with great confidence,” Crean said in the press release. “He was being aggressive in his pursuit for the basketball when it happened.”Earlier this week on Monday, the program announced that fellow freshman Troy Williams would miss the next few weeks after suffering an injury to his right hand during a workout.In Thursday’s release, the athletic department also announced two players hindered by injuries last season, redshirt sophomore Austin Etherington and sophomore Peter Jurkin, would be ready to go for the start of official practice today.Etherington suffered a fractured left patella against Central Connecticut State just seven games into the season last year and said Thursday he’s finally back to 100 percent. Jurkin was plagued last year by a lower leg injury after he sat out the first nine regular season games due to NCAA sanctions.— Nathan Brown
(09/03/13 4:39am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>As members of IU men’s basketball freshman class answered reporters’ questions for the first time Friday, it was clear they were outside their comfort zone.Questions rolled in, and freshmen Luke Fischer, Troy Williams and Devin Davis continued to rattle off three- or four-word answers, or simply agree with their teammates, hastening the 15-minute media session to a close.This Hoosier recruiting class, viewed by many as one of the country’s top-five teams, didn’t garner three top-60 individual rankings from dishing big shots off to teammates all game. It is unclear how the freshmen’s nerves will adjust to playing in Assembly Hall.With just 64 days left until tipoff against Chicago State, forward Collin Hartman said his group of new Hoosiers are still trying to figure out where each of them will factor into IU Coach Tom Crean’s scheme of bringing IU back for another NCAA Tournament run.Hartman said it is a challenge making the transition from high school to college.“It’s a lot of hard work to try and figure out what kind of person you are and how much you can get out of yourself,” he said.“You just have to come in and work hard and know that it’s going to be hard everyday.”Although official team practice with the full squad and Crean’s coaching staff won’t begin until Hoosier Hysteria Oct. 4, the freshmen had time for valuable work with their teammates in Bloomington during the summer.With five of the six freshmen listed at 6-foot-6 on IU’s roster, and with losing post-up players Cody Zeller, Christian Watford and Derek Elston in the offseason, Crean’s incoming class will have some big shoes to fill.But all six freshmen worked with Je’Ney Jackson, IU strength and conditioning coach, to revamp their weightlifting, diet and injury maintenance, ensuring they can work hard every day.“Just playing in the post against big guys — Hanner (Mosquera-Perea), he’s really strong — and when Cody Zeller came up here in the summer when we played against him, he was real strong,” forward Noah Vonleh said. “It was tough playing against him, but I can just tell I finish a lot better.“I noticed when I was at the LeBron James Camp in the summer and the Amar’e Stoudemire Camp, a lot of guys I played high school basketball with and camps were like ‘You’ve gotten a lot bigger and a lot stronger and playing a lot better.’”Vonleh added he’s put on 25 pounds to complete his 240-pound frame, which will likely take a beating from opponents’ big men this season.Some of the players, including the lone guard in the class, Stanford Robinson, have taken a liking to improvements to their bodies off the court, too.“Sometimes I just touch my arms to see how big I got,” Robinson said. “Sometimes I walk around with my shirt off all the time cause I can tell I’ve gotten bigger, and he (Jackson) always tells me to put my shirt back on.”But after the newness of the bigger arms and ripped chests wear off, the newest Hoosiers will have to find a way to become leaders on a team with 10 of its 13 scholarship players listed as sophomores or younger.Robinson said the veteran leaders on the team, senior Will Sheehey and redshirt sophomore Austin Etherington, have taken the reigns during most of the summer workouts, but when necessary, they have taken pieces of advice from their new teammates.“Everybody listens to everybody,” Robinson said. “If Troy was to tell Will Sheehey something on his game and something he should change, Will Sheehey would take it into consideration.“I think that’s what’s special about our team. We all listen to one another. It’s not ‘Oh, I’m older’ or ‘I’ve been here longer.’ I think that’s what’s going to make us special this year.”The Hoosiers enter this season ranked significantly lower than last year’s squad, which earned almost all the preseason accolades.However, the fate of the No. 20 team in the land is in the hands of six of the newest Bloomington residents.Williams thinks they’ll have it under control.“We’ll be seen as young, but we’re going to be really talented this year,” he said.Follow reporter Nathan Brown on Twitter @nathan_brown10.
(09/02/13 8:29pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>As members of IU men’s basketball incoming recruiting class answered news media questions for the first time Friday, it was clear they were outside their comfort zone.Questions rolled in, and freshmen Luke Fischer, Troy Williams and Devin Davis continued to rattle off three or four-word answers, or simply agree with his teammates, hastening the 15-minute media session to a close.This Hoosier recruiting class, viewed by many as a top-five group in the country, didn’t garner three top-60 individual rankings from dishing big shots off to teammates all game, but only time will tell how the freshmen’s nerves in-game will adjust to playing in Assembly Hall.With just 64 days left until tipoff against Chicago State, forward Collin Hartman said his group of new Hoosiers are still trying to figure out where each of them will factor into IU Coach Tom Crean’s scheme of bringing IU back for another NCAA Tournament run.“Transition from high school to college is a big challenge,” Hartman said. “It’s a lot of hard work to try and figure out what kind of person you are and how much you can get out of yourself.“You just have to come in and work hard and know that it’s going to be hard everyday.”Although official team practice with the full squad and Crean’s coaching staff won’t begin until Hoosier Hysteria Oct. 4, the freshmen had time for valuable work with their teammates in Bloomington during the summer.With five of the six freshmen listed at 6-foot-6 on IU’s roster, and with losing post-up players Cody Zeller, Christian Watford and Derek Elston in the offseason, Crean’s incoming class will have some big shoes to fill.But all six freshmen worked with Je’Ney Jackson, IU strength and conditioning coach, to revamp their weightlifting, diet and injury maintenance, ensuring they can work hard every day.Glance at the six freshmen, and it’s easy to see their work this summer paid off.“Just playing in the post against big guys — Hanner (Mosquera-Perea), he’s really strong — and when Cody Zeller came up here in the summer when we played against him, he was real strong,” forward Noah Vonleh said. “It was tough playing against him, but I can just tell I finish a lot better.“I noticed when I was at the LeBron James Camp in the summer and the Amare Stoudemire Camp, a lot of guys I played high school basketball with and camps were like ‘You’ve gotten a lot bigger and a lot stronger and playing a lot better.’”Vonleh added he’s put on 25 pounds to complete his 240-pound frame, which will likely take a beating from opponents’ big men this season.Some of the players, including the lone guard in the class, Stanford Robinson, have taken a liking to improvements to their bodies off the court, too.“Sometimes I just touch my arms to see how big I got,” Robinson said. “Sometimes I walk around with my shirt off all the time cause I can tell I’ve gotten bigger, and he (Jackson) always tells me to put my shirt back on.”But after the newness of the bigger arms and ripped chests wear off, the newest Hoosiers will have to find a way to become leaders on a team with 10 of its 13 scholarship players listed as sophomores or younger.Robinson said the veteran leaders on the team, senior Will Sheehey and redshirt sophomore Austin Etherington, have taken the reigns during most of the summer workouts, but when necessary, they have taken pieces of advice from their new teammates.“Everybody listens to everybody,” Robinson said. “If Troy was to tell Will Sheehey something on his game and something he should change, Will Sheehey would take it into consideration.”“I think that’s what’s special about our team. We all listen to one another. It’s not ‘Oh, I’m older’ or ‘I’ve been here longer.’ I think that’s what’s going to make us special this year.”The Hoosiers enter this season ranked significantly lower than last year’s squad, which earned almost all the preseason accolades.However, the fate of the No. 20 team in the land is in the hands of six of the newest Bloomington residents.Williams thinks they’ll have it under control.“We’ll be seen as young, but we’re going to be really talented this year,” he said.Follow reporter Nathan Brown on Twitter @nathan_brown10.
(08/29/13 4:44am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>When IU men’s basketball begins its 2013-14 season Nov. 8 against Chicago State, the team will lack the No. 1 ranking and prospective top NBA draft picks who graced the team’s roster just one year ago.With six freshmen and just a single returning starter from last year’s squad, the road will be tough for the Hoosiers to stay seated atop the Big Ten like they finished last season.But with the release of the 2013-14 regular season schedule Wednesday afternoon, it’s now official IU will play almost as many games under the national spotlight.Even without a national title contender in Bloomington, the Hoosiers will still get their chance to shine, something IU Coach Tom Crean said he’s proud of.“We always want as much television exposure as possible, especially at home,” Crean said in a statement. “We have had so many memorable moments the past couple of years. It has been great to be able to share that with as many fans as possible.”Every game during academic session is sold out, though fans can still buy four-game mini-series tickets during winter break.But before fall semester ends, IU will travel to Madison Square Garden to play in the 2K Sports Classic Nov. 21-22 against Washington, and either Boston College or UConn.During Thanksgiving Break, the Hoosiers will play arguably their toughest home non-conference battle of the season against Evansville Nov. 26. After playing host to North Carolina last season for the Big Ten–ACC Challenge, Crean will have to try and devise a better answer to Syracuse’s vaunted 2-3 zone that ended Indiana’s season abruptly in Washington D.C. last season in the Sweet 16.The Hoosiers open Big Ten play again this season on the road New Year’s Eve, this time with a 3 p.m. matchup with Illinois in Champaign, Ill. Four days later, they open the home conference slate with a game against Tom Izzo and Michigan State, where Crean coached as an assistant before his first head-coaching job at Marquette.IU students will get their first look at the Hoosiers in conference play against Wisconsin Jan. 14 in the team’s first ESPN Super Tuesday appearance of the season.This season, though, Hoosier fans won’t get the chance to fill Assembly Hall with boos directed towards Purdue players. The Hoosiers play their in-state rival only once, an away matchup Feb. 15 at Mackey Arena.Seniors Will Sheehey, Jeff Howard and Taylor Wayer and graduate-student transfer Evan Gordon will give their goodbye speeches March 5 on Senior Night after the Hoosiers take on Nebraska in the second-to-last game of the regular season. Conference play will finish up once again in Ann Arbor, Mich. against the Wolverines.Although that game was full of storylines last season — including deciding the Big Ten regular season champion — Crean said he and his players won’t have any time to focus on that game yet.With a tough conference slate and games against Syracuse and Notre Dame as well, Crean said his squad has to give each game its full attention and preparation if they want to have a chance to reach the success levels of the past two seasons.“As far as our conference schedule, there is a reason it is the toughest league in the country,” Crean said in a statement. “You don’t look ahead. Each game takes on its own meaning.”Follow reporter Nathan Brown on Twitter @nathan_brown10.
(08/26/13 4:42am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>After three months away from the city he called home for his college basketball career, former IU men’s basketball player Victor Oladipo returned this past week to Bloomington for one last hurrah.IU students celebrated across social media as the No. 2 pick in the 2013 NBA Draft showed up on the Bloomington bar scene and obliged numerous photo ops with Hoosier fans who had fallen in love with his talent on the court and singing voice off it.Youth from across the state flocked to Assembly Hall this past weekend to take part in a basketball camp led by IU Coach Tom Crean, where former Hoosiers D.J. White and Oladipo assisted along with current IU men’s basketball players.Just a year after Oladipo was voted the camp’s top coach, his name now graced the camp’s promotional signs.Only a year ago, Oladipo had been just an afterthought for the NBA, but even now that he’s been listed as a frontrunner for the 2013-14 Rookie of the Year, Oladipo said he still feels right at home in the small southern Indiana college town.“It’s just a blessing to be here and interact with the kids,” Oladipo said. “Coach Crean said he can hear me throughout the hallways, and it’s just because I feel right at home. It’s what I’m used to, and it’s where I’m comfortable.”Crean said he was honored to have Oladipo back in Bloomington before his protégé continues his journey onto the NBA stage, which began this summer with standout performances in four of the Orlando Magic’s five summer league games where Oladipo saw playing time.The Hoosier star flourished, averaging 19 points per game to go along with 5 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 2.3 steals while playing several different positions on the court and trying to create chemistry with his new teammates.“It was fun going out there and playing a new position,” Oladipo said. “For them to give me the ball and we go out there and run the offense, it was quite a new experience, but I liked it a lot. I learned a lot of things this summer and did a lot of good things. It’s all a learning process, but at the end of the day, that’s just a stepping stone.”Of course, Oladipo was only going up against the best rookies and second-year NBA players. He said even with the progress he’s made so far, there’s much more work to be done.“It was great that I was the No. 2 pick, and I’ve accomplished a lot, but there’s so much more I can do,” he said. “I haven’t reached the pinnacle of how good I can be.“It’s ‘No Boys Allowed.’ That’s why they call it the NBA — no boys allowed. There are no days off, and I’ve got to prepare myself mentally and physically for that.”Last season, the Magic struggled with the NBA’s worst record, going 20-62 to fall to the depths of the Eastern Conference standings – similar to the Hoosiers’ struggles during Oladipo’s freshman season in Bloomington.But Oladipo said he wouldn’t turn down the opportunity to be the cornerstone of another rebuilding process, adding that his time at IU made the uphill battle to turn the Magic around a challenge he would welcome.“The rebuilding process has a lot of downs — a lot of down moments being everyone’s doormat,” he said. “They say it’s a rebuilding process in Orlando, and if it is, I’m well prepared for it, and I guarantee it’s nowhere the rebuilding process we went through here.”
(03/29/13 5:24am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>WASHINGTON, D.C. — With 14 of his team’s first 16 points to open the 2013 NCAA Tournament run against James Madison in Dayton a week ago, it looked as though freshman guard Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell may have been the extra spark that could power the Hoosiers all the way to Atlanta.Ferrell appeared confident, and said after the game that he was just excited to get his March Madness experience off to a great start.But since the first 5:26 of IU’s tournament run, where he had 14 points, three rebounds and one assist with zero turnovers, Ferrell’s numbers took a turn for the worse.He scored just one bucket the rest of the game against JMU, and in the Hoosiers’ come-from-behind thriller against Temple, the freshman managed just two rebounds and three assists partnered with three turnovers and zero points.Coming into Thursday’s 61-50 loss to Syracuse in the Sweet 16 at the Verizon Center, Ferrell had not lost a postseason tournament game since his sophomore year of high school, when he lost in the Indiana Class 2A title game. He won state titles each of his next two high school seasons, but after another scoreless performance Thursday, Ferrell learned again what defeat in the postseason felt like.Syracuse’s zone defense seemed to frustrate the Hoosier offense early, but no Hoosier seemed more out-of-sync than Ferrell.The freshman managed just four turnovers and a single missed bucket for zero points during the first half. After his third turnover with 10:21 left in the first half and IU down 14-5, he was visibly upset, kicking his feet at mid-court as he’d thrown another pass away.The Hoosiers went into the locker room down 12 points off their lowest first-half total of the season.IU Coach Tom Crean walked off the court with his arm around Ferrell’s shoulder, but even he could tell his freshman was flustered.“I’m sure the strength and size of Syracuse had something to do with it,” Crean said. “We prepared for it, there’s no doubt about it, but it just wasn’t meant to be.”And though Crean would give Ferrell more opportunities to turn his slump around, he didn’t throw Ferrell back into the fire right away.Ferrell started Thursday night’s second half on the bench — the first time this season he had done so. Junior forward Will Sheehey replaced Ferrell, and for a moment, it appeared that the lineup change was just what the Hoosiers needed.Within less than 90 seconds of the start of the half, IU was down just seven points.The Hoosiers would inch within six, but they couldn’t manage to break through Syracuse’s famed zone defense enough times to mount a big enough charge.Ferrell himself took just one more shot during the game’s final 20 minutes, but he also saw more than five fewer minutes Thursday night — 23 — than his season average of 28.3 coming into the game.After Ferrell had two years of nearly flawless post seasons to end his high school career, Crean said his point guard ran into a zone defense he simply wasn’t ready for.“Yogi’s going to be a great player,” Crean said. “This is the first time Yogi has seen that kind of length.“He’ll learn from it. He’ll be a great learner from it.”
(03/28/13 4:05am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>After falling to IU in the 1987 national championship game off of Keith Smart’s buzzer-beater, Syracuse Coach Jim Boeheim said that loss stayed with him for a long time.Although the Hoosiers were favored coming into the game, until Smart made 10 of IU’s last 13 points, Boeheim said he thought Syracuse might just pull off the upset.Smart had been benched earlier in the game by former IU Coach Bob Knight, but Boeheim said after he came back into the game, he took over and defeated the Orange almost all himself.“He was one of the guys that I was worried about in that game,” Boeheim said. “He came back in, and he was the guy that beat us. We played very well in the game. When you lose a game like that, you really almost never get over it.”Knight said to Boeheim after the game that one day he would have his chance.Boeheim didn’t realize it would take as long as it did, but after 16 years, he returned to New Orleans, the site of the devastating 1987 title game loss, and took down Kansas for his first national championship, a memory that was finally able to replace the nightmares of Smart’s shot.“You can talk about it all you like and say you don’t need it or you don’t have to have it, but it’s the biggest thing that can happen to a college coach,” Boeheim said.But since the Hoosiers’ fifth banner they clinched that night in New Orleans, IU fans are still waiting on when the sixth banner will be hung in Assembly Hall.Although the IU players have likely seen Smart’s shot several times, IU Coach Tom Crean said his players aren’t taking the 1987 win, or anything really, with much weight.After falling to last year’s eventual national champion Kentucky last season in the Sweet 16, Crean said his players came into this season with a bit of a chip on their shoulders, even with a preseason No. 1 ranking to their name.The hype of a No. 1 seed this year or playing Boeheim and Syracuse on Thursday against the backdrop of a previous national championship victory hasn’t phased the Hoosiers, junior guard Victor Oladipo said last week.After narrowly beating No. 9 seed Temple in the Round of 32 in a game that came down to his own 3-pointer with just 15 seconds left, Oladipo said the win was important to get his team to their ultimate goal, but until Atlanta, everything is just a business trip.Crean said that type of mentality is something he values in his players. Without that chip on their shoulders, whether it be from the Kentucky loss, IU’s national championship drought or the struggles the program has had to go through during Crean’s first three years in Bloomington, he said he’s not sure they’d be in Washington, D.C.“When you get entitled and enabled type of guys, they’re not going to go the extra mile,” Crean said. “They’ll buy in for a while on talent, and they’ll get things done for you, but they’re not going to win big for you, and there has to be intangibles and the edge.”
(03/25/13 4:27am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>DAYTON, Ohio — They had trailed nearly the entire second half to a 9-seed, once by as many as six points. One of their opponents had gone off for 20 points in the first half. He had single-handedly kept his team in contention to possibly take down the second 1-seed is this year’s NCAA Tournament.But after a 63-61 win last year in the Round of 32 against VCU after falling behind late in the second half, the IU men’s basketball team learned pretty wins do nothing in March.No more polls, no more analysts to win over.“You have to survive and advance this time of year,” sophomore forward Cody Zeller said.Friday, the Hoosiers watched as Temple’s Khalif Wyatt torched N.C. State with a 31-point performance, even when he shot just 40.9 percent from the floor. Going into Sunday’s game, junior guard Victor Oladipo knew he’d have his hands full with Wyatt.And until the second half, not even Oladipo, one of the nation’s top defenders, had an answer to Wyatt’s performance.In the first half, Wyatt scored 20 of Temple’s 29 points, once digging the Owls out of a 20-11 deficit all on his own.Other than Wyatt, the Owls shot just 4-of-20 from the field in the first half, including a dismal 0-of-6 line from beyond the arc. The Owls continued to put up bricks from 3-point land, but their seven offensive rebounds kept them in the game as they took eight more shots than IU in the first half.Zeller and Oladipo each had six early points, and after freshman forward Jeremy Hollowell hit a 3-pointer and junior forward Will Sheehey scored three consecutive points, the Hoosiers held a nine-point lead, 18-9, with 11:08 left in the half.But Wyatt outscored the Hoosiers 13-4 during a 6:44 stretch during the latter end of the half, and IU managed to shoot just 2-of-12 during the last 10 minutes.Wyatt’s teammates scored the final five points in the half, grabbing the team’s first lead of the game off a dunk by Anthony Lee with 2:35 remaining, and they held onto at least a tie for the remainder of the half, going into the locker room ahead 29-26.But luckily for his team, Crean said playing in tough battles night in and night out in the Big Ten this season had prepared his players to keep fighting, and after the VCU win last season, Crean knew it certainly wasn’t over.“You’re never sitting over there talking about if we’re going to win the game,” Crean said. “It’s ‘this is what we had to do’ and you keep all doubts out of their heads and keep them focused.”Sophomore guard Remy Abell, who started the second half in place of starting senior guard Jordan Hulls after Hulls injured his shoulder in the first half, was matched up with Wyatt.Whether matched with him or not, Oladipo said the Hoosiers were determined to stop Wyatt and force his teammates to earn the win.“He did a phenomenal job scoring the basketball, so I was just trying to limit his touches and tried to make it hard for him to even move.”After Wyatt shot 8-of-14 in the first half, the Hoosiers managed to frustrate him a bit, slowing down Temple’s offensive production as well, but, even then, the Hoosiers couldn’t quite take advantage.The Hoosiers pulled within a single point at 35-34 after a 6-2 run with 13:52 to play, but Wyatt still managed a couple buckets against Oladipo’s in-your-face defense, and Temple’s lead grew to as much as six.Hulls and Sheehey hit 3-pointers within a span of 2:03 to erase the deficit, but the Owls continued to hit just enough shots to keep the lead.That was, until 3:09 left in regulation, when Wyatt hit the Owls’ last points for the afternoon, two free throws, that boosted their lead to four.The Hoosiers would finish the game on a 10-0 run, including a 3-pointer from Oladipo at the top of the key with 15 seconds left to grab IU’s first lead of the second half.Wyatt threw up a desperation 3-pointer the next possession to counter, but his “March Madness” magic had finally run out.“It was fun while it lasted,” Wyatt said. “We just didn’t come out on top. Really disappointing, but just proud of our year we had and just try to keep our heads up.”After the game, Crean went up to Wyatt and the rest of the Temple squad to congratulate them as one of the toughest opponents Crean said his team had faced all season.But against their tough foe, the Hoosiers managed to clinch a berth to Washington, D.C. in the Sweet 16 Thursday against Syracuse, the dream of an NCAA title still alive.
(03/23/13 12:38am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>DAYTON, Ohio - It had been nearly a month since IU’s trusted shooter, senior guard Jordan Hulls, had scored in the double figures.Against Illinois in the first game of the Big Ten Tournament, Hulls managed to impact the game in ways other than scoring while he scored just a single point to go along with three rebounds, seven assists and three steals.Although in the Hoosiers’ loss to Wisconsin, the Bloomington native shot just 2-of-9 from the floor, including 1-of-7 on 3-pointer attempts, normally where Hulls is at his strongest.Maybe it was the NBA-style gym in Chicago, as some questioned, but it was clear Thursday during IU’s open practice at the University of Dayton Arena that Hulls was back in his characteristic grove, stepping into 3-pointers that barely moved the net as they went in.Friday, in the Hoosiers’ NCAA first round victory against James Madison, Hulls may not have been the star of IU’s offense - a role that freshman guard Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell took on in the game’s opening minutes – but it was clear that the senior was back in a grove to make his final NCAA Tournament run.Hulls shot 3-of-6 from the field, including 2-of-5 from beyond the arc, to go along with two free throws, giving him 10 points for the first time since IU’s loss at Minnesota on Feb. 26.After returning to Bloomington after IU’s upset loss, as his shooting woes lingered, Hulls said he didn’t worry too much about changing anything in his shot in preparation for the NCAA Tournament. IU Coach Tom Crean has said all season that Hulls is one of several players who never takes a day off in the gym, and Hulls said it just took putting up some more shots to find his rhythm again.“I was able to knock down shots that actually went in the basket this time,” Hulls said. “I didn’t let my confidence get down or anything like that, and my teammates were able to find me when I was open.”Often, Hulls is the IU guard opponents have to key in on, but after fellow starting guard Ferrell scored 14 of IU’s first 16 points Friday, the Dukes realized that Hulls may not be IU’s biggest shooting threat for that day.As the defense focused on Ferrell, the freshman took notice, as he drove to the bucket before dishing it out to his open teammates on numerous occasions for a couple of his six assists.During the opening minutes of the second half, Ferrell drove down the left side of the lane – a move which started a couple of his early buckets – and the Dukes defense bit on Ferrell’s drive to the bucket.Hulls stood unguarded on the right wing, and Ferrell was able to find him, and Hulls knocked down the open trey.Although Hulls had struggled to find his normal rhythm the last several games, Ferrell said he was never afraid to dish the ball to Hulls when he saw his teammate had an open look.“I was never worried about him,” Ferrell said. “I know he struggled a little bit, but I know Jordan has confidence, and he can knock it down. He’s the best 3-point shooter on our team by far. We know if we game him the ball, open or not, he’s going to knock down the three.”Because the Hoosiers jumped out to an early lead on 16-seeded James Madison, neither Hulls or any of his teammates had to face a pressure-packed 3-pointer to pull off a close victory. But as some teams in the tournament have already found, having a clutch player who can be trusted to knock down a key trey when it matters most can mean the difference in a longer tournament run or a premature exit.Even before Hulls’s shooting performance Friday, Ferrell said he and his teammates have known that Hulls can be trusted with the game on the line. Seeing him get back into the groove Friday gave Ferrell more confidence that if he has to dish the ball out for a last-second shot, Hulls is the guy to look for.“We know in late situations, we can go to him, and he can knock it down,” Ferrell said. “If he knocks down that shot, it’s going to get everyone pumped up as well to get a stop or get the ball back so we can score again.”
(03/22/13 2:13am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>DAYTON, Ohio — In the 75 years of the NCAA Tournament, a 16 seed has never taken down a 1 seed, but the IU men’s basketball team is no stranger to surprises.From the “Wat Shot” that took down No. 1 Kentucky in 2011, to earning a No. 1 ranking four years after winning just six games during the 2008-09 season, the Hoosiers have done their share of exceeding expectations.But coming into their first game of the 2013 NCAA Tournament run, the Hoosiers have no desire to end up on the wrong side of history.IU’s opponent in the first round of the tournament, James Madison, comes in on a five-game winning streak — including a three-game run during the Colonial Athletic Association postseason tournament just to clinch a bid for the Big Dance.The Dukes finished 11-7 in the CAA, three games back of regular season champion Northeastern, and they needed nothing short of a conference title in the postseason to earn the right to face one of the top teams in the country Friday in Dayton.But James Madison took down No. 2 seed Delaware by a single point in the semifinals of the CAA tournament before a convincing win in the finals against Northeastern, earning a spot in Wednesday’s play-in game against LIU Brooklyn.With a one-point lead at halftime, the Dukes ran away with the win, outscoring the Blackbirds by 12 in the second half. With that win, junior forward Will Sheehey said James Madison solidified its bid to be in Dayton.“Any team that can string together that many wins is a good team,” Sheehey said Thursday. “To win your conference tournament means a lot. They’re obviously a team that earned a right to be here. They won last night, so they obviously proved they’re for real.”IU Coach Tom Crean said in preparing for the Dukes, he and his coaching staff put very little stock into the seed next to James Madison on the bracket.As the saying hints, during March Madness, seeding means very little, Crean said. “When you’re looking at James Madison, you’re looking at a battle-tested team,” Crean said. “You’re looking at a team that can score inside and outside, certainly with great experience, and freshmen that are getting better inside of their group. They know how they want to play. They know how to win. “And with IU’s string of losses late in the season — the Hoosiers finished 3-3, including a home loss to Ohio State and an upset in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament to Wisconsin — IU may look like a team with as good a shot as any No. 1 seed to be the first to lose in the first round.But junior guard Victor Oladipo said the late-season losses helped strengthen the Hoosiers, showing them what needed to be fixed before trying to make a postseason run.“We definitely had a fun ride, but like every basketball team, we’ve had our share of ups and downs, but our downs made us stronger as a team,” Oladipo said. “We’ve got to keep getting better.”Oladipo and Sheehey echoed that the Hoosiers had had a solid week of practice after watching the tape from the Wisconsin loss. After that loss, Oladipo wavered a bit when asked if his team was playing its best basketball heading into the NCAA Tournament. But Thursday, Oladipo was confident the Hoosiers were ready for the Dukes, as well as any team that may follow.But freshman guard Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell, one of just a few Hoosiers without any NCAA experience, said after watching years of basketball in March growing up, anything can happen once the Big Dance gets underway. It’s IU’s responsibility, he said, to play just like they have all season and avoid Friday’s game from becoming too historically significant.“I wouldn’t say it’s any pressure, but it is cause it’s the NCAA Tournament,” Ferrell said. “Pretty much anything can happen. Growing up watching these games, I’ve seen some crazy things happen, so anything can happen, but I just feel like we’re going to go out and play our game.”
(03/21/13 3:03am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>As the IU faithful said goodbye to one of its most storied recruiting classes in Hoosier history on March 5, something did not seem complete. Three players stood at center court, reliving their four years on Bloomington’s campus, talking about the experience of rebuilding a team that won just 10 games in its first season to one of the best in the country this year.The seniors, Jordan Hulls, Christian Watford and Derek Elston, stood alongside their families shedding a tear here and there, reminiscing about the long hours and hard work it had taken to get to their senior night. But one of their teammates was meant to be with them, too.No, not Bawa Muniru and Bobby Capobianco, who both left IU as transfers before their IU careers were complete. Maurice Creek stood on the sidelines with the rest of his teammates, his senior night still one year away.Creek had entered the IU program and started all 12 of his first games as a Hoosier, but season-ending injuries had plagued his once-promising career, giving him another season to finish what he started.Last year, Creek was left sitting on the bench as IU made it back to the “Big Dance” for the first time since 2008. But finally, after a slew of surgeries, days in rehab and missed games, Creek will have a chance Friday to take the court in his first NCAA Tournament game and get a taste of what he and his senior teammates had been working toward since their freshman season.***Creek came to Bloomington in August 2009 as just one player of six who hoped to turn a once-storied IU men’s basketball program around. He came in as a top-15 shooting guard prospect and would make an immediate impression as a freshman.After scoring 17 points to lead the team against Howard in his first collegiate game, Creek would go on to score in double digits for the first seven games of his career.Though he amassed just eight points in a victory against Pittsburgh in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden in his eighth game, Creek was primed to break out onto the NCAA scene.In a 90-73 loss to Kentucky at Assembly Hall, Creek exploded with a season-high 31 points on 9-of-14 shooting from the floor, including 5-of-8 made shots from beyond the arc.Creek was now the leading freshman scorer in the country, averaging 17.3 points through his first nine games. He followed his performance against the Wildcats with one nearly as impressive, scoring 29 on 5-of-10 shooting from beyond the arc in an 81-58 win against North Carolina Central.For Creek, it seemed like everything was falling into place.“I was surprised I was having a great season, and it felt great to come out here and surprise yourself with how well you’re playing to begin your college career,” Creek said. “Most people don’t get that, and I did, I was feeling really good.”After a close loss to Loyola (Md.), IU was 5-6 with just one game left before the conference slate began, but even before the rigors of the Big Ten, Creek and the Hoosiers were hit with a devastating blow, one that would become all too common during Creek’s time in Bloomington.***Early in the second half of the following game against Bryant, Creek suffered a fractured left kneecap that would end his freshman season prematurely. He entered the game as the country’s third-leading freshman scorer, but he would never get a chance to see what the storied start to his first year at IU could have held.Instead, he sat out the entirety of IU’s conference schedule, where the Hoosiers struggled, going just 3-15 to finish the season 10-21.Creek said he did whatever he could to get back to where he was in the middle of his freshman year, and at the start of his sophomore season, things seemed to be looking up.Although he wasn’t always in the starting lineup his sophomore season, Creek still managed to make an impact on the court, averaging 8.3 points and still proving to be a threat from the 3-point line.But less than 13 months after a knee injury stole his freshman season, Creek would go down once again, this time with a fractured right knee on Jan. 15, 2011, against Michigan.He had surgery just five days later and sat out the rest of the season, again rehabbing and trying to be certain he could come back for his junior year just as strong.But this time, Creek wouldn’t make a return to competition for quite some time.Days before the start of practice in October 2011, Creek ruptured his Achilles tendon walking up the stairs of his apartment building. He would be forced to undergo yet another season-ending surgery. This time, it was before his season had even begun.Creek’s teammates were left to wonder why their friend and teammate, who showed so much promise as a freshman, had to suffer blow after blow.“Anybody on this team goes down, you hate to see it because of all the work we’ve put in, but especially with Mo,” Elston said. “When he goes down, you have to wonder why it happens to Mo.”Creek continued to work with IU’s strength and condition staff, particularly athletic trainer Tim Garl and strength and conditioning coach Je’Ney Jackson, but even Creek couldn’t figure out why his body kept giving out on him.But he said he gained a new appreciation for the game and realized he had to take advantage of every opportunity he had to make an impact on the court, because he never knew when it might be his last.“I grew a lot,” Creek said. “As a freshman, when I was playing a lot, I didn’t think the game could be taken away from me at any time, and I appreciated the game, but now I appreciate it even more ‘cause I know that any time, any day, it could be your day.“You want to give it your all every day and make sure your guys are making sure you give it your all every day, cause when the game is lost, it’s lost.”Creek continued to work with Garl and Jackson throughout the 2011-12 season as the Hoosiers met and exceeded expectations — taking down No. 1 Kentucky and making it back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2008.He wished he could be out on the court, but Creek said he took to a new role, both in practice and during games: to help his teammates see what they might otherwise miss during games.Though he was down, he was never out.“I tried to be a player-coach, knowing that I couldn’t play, but I could motivate my guys to do better,” Creek said. “I could show them stuff that I see on the court, stuff that they can’t see on the court that I can see off the court. Just telling them where they need to be, just telling them to keep going, push harder, do better, and those motivating words got them to where they were.“Sweet Sixteen, and we could have gone to the Elite Eight. Just to have that, and just for me to be there was a great feeling.”***At the start of this season, Creek finally was able to make it out onto the court without the aid of crutches. During Hoosier Hysteria, IU’s exhibition game against Indiana Wesleyan and the team’s first regular season game against Bryant, Creek’s first appearance on the court was greeted with thunderous applause and a standing ovation from the IU crowd.Although the fans couldn’t go through any of his surgeries or countless rehab sessions for him, Creek was certain they appreciated the work he had put in. For Creek, those were some of his best moments as a Hoosier, he said.“It’s the best feeling in the world,” Creek said. “Not only do I know what it took to get there, to get back on the floor, but they showed that they knew what it took for me to get back on the floor.“They appreciated every bit of work that I did. By having that standing ovation and having them welcome me back in Hoosier Hysteria and the first regular season game, it was just a great feeling to have.”But it was clear that with IU’s freshman class, led by guard Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell, along with the emergence of junior guard Victor Oladipo, Creek wouldn’t be as close to the focal point of the offense as he once was just three years ago.Playing less than 10 minutes per game this season while scoring two points per game, Creek said he knows now that he won’t be the star that goes and drops 20 or 30 points in a single game, but his role in IU’s success is just as important as ever.“It’s just a different path, just a different path, and you’ve got to embrace it,” Creek said. “Sometimes, you can’t be the spotlight. This is what I have to go through. This is what happens when you get injuries and stuff like that. You have to take a different role and a different path and get used to it.”His return to the game this season hit a minor setback when he hurt his right foot in practice Dec. 16, forcing him to miss eight games, including the first five of the Big Ten season. Since returning, Creek has scored just five buckets.But this time, with IU’s NCAA Tournament run to begin Friday, Creek is finally healthy, and he’s ready to experience what all the rehab, surgeries and time in the gym were for.Hulls said this time around in the NCAA Tournament will certainly be different for Creek, as he hopes to grab his first minutes ever in the “Big Dance.” But Hulls said he knows that through all Creek has gone through, the pressure he will face of playing in an NCAA Tournament game will be nothing.“It will be a little different, but he was with us and was able to see the atmosphere and how intense it is and how prepared we really have to be,” Hulls said. “Mo is a veteran. He’s smart, and he’s been around all us guys. I think he’ll be alright as long as he just stays mentally focused and keeps his head up.”Keeping his head up is one thing Creek said he’s learned to do better than anything since first taking steps onto Branch McCracken Court as a freshman. No matter what this NCAA Tournament brings, he said he’s very poised and excited to have one more season next year to continue on his Hoosier legacy, hopefully this time with a full season slate.“I didn’t have the mental toughness back then, and I have it,” Creek said. “I know it’s going to come and go, and when it comes and goes, you’ve got to be ready to go the next day.”
(03/18/13 7:53am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>CHICAGO — Throughout their careers in Bloomington, Jordan Hulls, Christian Watford and Derek Elston, have taken down nearly every obstacle in their way.The trio of seniors started its freshman season with 10 wins and has now clinched a No. 1 seed in the 2013 NCAA Tournament.Yet, the Hoosier seniors left the United Center Saturday afternoon with one task that most likely will never be completed.After losing to Wisconsin 68-56 in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals, IU’s three seniors never have experienced a win against the Badgers, going 0-8 against Wisconsin Coach Bo Ryan.Through the years, Ryan and the Badgers have been known as a physical, methodical team, running down the shot clock in attempt to find the perfect shot. IU Coach Tom Crean has said all season that his program is built around speed and scoring.Saturday, though, the Badgers were able to execute their own game plan while beating IU at its own game.Wisconsin started the game off by scoring its first 18 points from inside the 3-point line.The Hoosiers managed to hold Wisconsin’s big man Jared Berggren at bay on the offensive end for much of the half, but he proved tough to deal with for sophomore forward Cody Zeller. Zeller got off just four shots in the first half as Berrgren made it tough for Zeller to get to the hoop.On the two shots Zeller missed, Berggren was charged with fouls each time, sending him to the bench with 7:55 left in the first half, but Zeller went just 2-of-4 from the charity stripe from both trips.As Berggren went to the bench, IU had amassed a 22-16 lead despite the Badgers’ success in the paint. Without Berggren for the rest of the half, though, Wisconsin moved behind the arc to work its way back into the game and build a three-point halftime lead.The Badgers went on a 10-0 run in just 2:37, putting up shots at a much quicker pace than normal, a style much more characteristic of the Hoosiers.Wisconsin’s Ben Brust hit a 3-pointer with 6:24 left in the half to take the lead at 23-22, and then Mike Bruesewitz followed to cap off the 10-point surge.Crean said one of the things his team had been succeeding at lately was defending the long shot, but he said it was one of several key things his players got away from Saturday.“We’ve been defending the three the last six, seven games at an incredibly high level, and today we didn’t,” Crean said. “They got some kick-out threes and things of that nature, but we got away from what had been making us better. We started to over-help again, and tried to cover for one another when there was no need to do it.”Zeller managed a tough layup inside to stop the bleeding for a moment, but Wisconsin’s George Marshall followed with the first of his two 3-pointers.Zeller and junior guard Victor Oladipo grabbed a few late buckets, and Watford hit a fade-away 3-pointer from the left wing to pull the Hoosiers within just three at the half.But after the Hoosiers pulled close, the Badgers began the second half on a 6-0 run to force Crean into an early timeout just three minutes in.Zeller and freshman guard Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell came out of the timeout and brought IU right back. Zeller fought hard for a dunk while drawing a foul on Bruesewitz, completing the 3-point play. He then tipped in a miss from junior forward Will Sheehey on the next possession, and as Ferrell drove to the bucket with an off-hand layup, the Hoosiers were tied.Crean would take out the pair just moments later, though, with the game tied 43-43, and Wisconsin’s Sam Dekker would go on a 7-0 run on his own to pull the Badgers back ahead 50-43.“The biggest disappointment is every time we had something working, like I said, we had to come back in, and we didn’t stick with it enough,” Crean said.IU would get within a single point, 50-49, but the Hoosiers never seemed to have quite the same energy. Once again, they fell behind by six during the start of another scoring drought which would last the remainder of the game, finishing the final 9:45 shooting just 3-of-15 from the field.The Hoosiers now enter the NCAA Tournament on a 3-3 skid after the team’s come-from-behind victory on the road against Michigan State. Crean said after the game that on the tail of Friday’s 80-64 revenge victory against Illinois in the second round, he felt his team was right back on track playing some of its best basketball.After Saturday, he wasn’t sure.“It doesn’t undo what we have done to this point,” Crean said. “We have had an excellent season. There’s room for growth, there’s no doubt about that, but we would have liked to have played better today, no question.”
(03/17/13 8:26pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>CHICAGO — Throughout their careers in Bloomington, Jordan Hulls, Christian Watford and Derek Elston, have taken down nearly every obstacle in their way.The trio of seniors started its freshman season with 10 wins and has now clinched a No. 1 seed in the 2013 NCAA Tournament.Yet, the Hoosier seniors left the United Center Saturday afternoon with one task that will never be completed. After losing to Wisconsin 68-56 in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals, IU’s three seniors will never have experienced a win against the Badgers, going 0-8 against Wisconsin Coach Bo Ryan.Through the years, Ryan and the Badgers have been known as a physical, methodical team, running down the shot clock in attempt to find the perfect shot. IU Coach Tom Crean has said all season that his program is built around speed and scoring as much as possible.Saturday, though, the Badgers were able to execute their own game plan while beating IU at its own game.Wisconsin started the game off by scoring its first 18 points from the paint.The Hoosiers managed to hold Wisconsin’s big man Jared Berggren at bay on the offensive end for much of the half, but he proved tough to deal with for sophomore forward Cody Zeller. Zeller got off just four shots in the first half as Berrgren was able to tip balls away intended for Zeller or make it tough for Zeller to get to the hoop.On the two shots Zeller missed, Berggren was charged with fouls each time, sending him to the bench with 7:55 left in the first half, but Zeller went just 2-of-4 from the charity stripe from both trips.As Berggren went to the bench, IU had amassed a 22-16 lead despite the Badgers’ success in the paint. Without Berggren for the rest of the half, though, Wisconsin moved outside the 3-point line to work its way back into the game and build a three-point halftime lead.The Badgers went on a 10-0 run in just 2:37, putting up shots at a much quicker pace than normal, a style much more characteristic of the Hoosiers.Wisconsin’s Ben Brust hit a 3-pointer with 6:24 left in the half to take the lead at 23-22, and then Mike Bruesewitz followed to cap off the 10-point surge.Crean said one of the things his team had been succeeding at lately was defending the long shot, but he said it was one of several key things his players got away from Saturday.“We’ve been defending the three the last six, seven games at an incredibly high level, and today we didn’t,” Crean said. “They got some kick-out threes and things of that nature, but we got away from what had been making us better. We started to over-help again, and tried to cover for one another when there was no need to do it.”Zeller managed a tough layup inside to stop the bleeding for a moment, but Wisconsin’s George Marshall followed with the first of his two 3-pointers.Zeller and junior guard Victor Oladipo grabbed a few late buckets, and Watford hit a fade-away 3-pointer from the left wing to pull the Hoosiers within just three at the half. But after the Hoosiers pulled close, the Badgers began the second half on a 6-0 run to force Crean into an early timeout just three minutes in.Zeller and freshman guard Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell came out of the timeout and brought IU right back. Zeller fought hard for a dunk while drawing a foul on Bruesewitz, completing the 3-point play. He then tipped in a miss from junior forward Will Sheehey on the next possession, and as Ferrell drove to the bucket with an off-hand layup, the Hoosiers were tied.Crean would take out the pair just moments later, though, with the game tied 43-43, and Wisconsin’s Sam Dekker would go on a 7-0 run on his own to pull the Badgers back ahead 50-43. “The biggest disappointment is every time we had something working, like I said, we had to come back in, and we didn’t stick with it enough,” Crean said.IU would get within a single point, 50-49, but the Hoosiers never seemed to have quite the same energy. Once again, they fell behind by six during the start of another scoring drought which would last the remainder of the game, finishing the final 9:45 shooting just 3-of-15 from the field.The Hoosiers now enter the NCAA Tournament on a 3-3 skid after the team’s come-from-behind victory on the road against Michigan State. Crean said after the game that on the tail of Friday’s 80-64 revenge victory against Illinois in the second round, he felt his team was right back on track playing some of its best basketball.After Saturday, he wasn’t sure.“It doesn’t undo what we have done to this point,” Crean said. “We have had an excellent season. There’s room for growth, there’s no doubt about that, but we would have liked to have played better today, no question.”