170 items found for your search. If no results were found please broaden your search.
(11/05/02 8:14pm)
Iowa began last season as a favorite to win the Big Ten, and was ranked in the top five nationally. But the Hawkeyes fell flat on their face during the conference season, finishing 10th with an underachieving 5-11 record. They were not invited to the NCAA Tournament, and were beaten in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament by Louisiana State.\nThis may prove to be another tough year in Iowa City. \nThe Hawkeyes off-season has included junior center Sean Sonderleiter being charged with possession of marijuana, junior guard Brody Boyd being charged with underage alcohol possession, and sophomore point guard Pierre Pierce awaiting trial for sexual assault. \nPierce has pleaded not guilty but, if convicted, his career at Iowa will be in serious jeopardy.\nAnd that's not all.\nFour players transferred in the off-season, leaving a depleted nine-player roster for coach Steve Alford to work with.\nShooting guard Luke Recker and forward Reggie Evans both graduated and, with their departures, a total of 32.5 points and 14.5 rebounds was lost. Junior forward Glen Worley is now the team leader in both categories, with averages of 7.3 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.\nDespite a dismal outlook, Alford said his team's attitude must remain positive.\n"We still know what our expectation is in that locker room and that's to go out and compete every night, try to get the job done and try to become a better basketball team, weekly," he said. "So regardless of what's being said or written or viewed, I know what's in our locker room and I know what they're thinking about and they better be having high expectations within themselves"
(11/05/02 8:13pm)
Illini coach Bill Self does not agree with the Big Ten preseason media poll -- he said he thinks his team should be ranked lower. \n"I don't think there are many expectations for us this year," he said. "The media picking us third, that's a shock to me because I didn't think we'd be that high."\nWhether he believes that, or is merely trying to psyche up his young squad, is open to speculation. But the fact is that he has an incoming recruiting class ranked No. 5 in the nation by Athlon Sports and an All-America candidate in senior forward Brian Cook.\nCook has battled inconsistency during his career at Illinois, but his numbers have risen each season. Last year he averaged 13.5 points and 6.7 rebounds per game and was a Second-Team All-Big Ten selection\nThe Illini will be without last year's point guard and undisputed team leader, Frank Williams, who was a first-round pick in the NBA draft last summer. The team also lost sharpshooter Corey Bradford and low-post workhorse Robert Archibald to graduation.\nBut highly touted freshman Dee Brown will have a chance to start at the point and explosive sophomore shooting guard Luther Head will see increased playing time. Freshman Deron Williams will also push for minutes in the backcourt. \nSelf also brought in a new crop of big men, headed by forward Aaron Spears who averaged 26 points, 12 rebounds, two blocks and three assists per game as a high school senior.
(11/05/02 8:12pm)
At the beginning of last season Wisconsin was working under a first-year head coach in Bo Ryan and had only nine scholarship players on its roster.\nThe Badgers were considered a program with a long rebuilding process ahead of them. \nBut instead of accepting their role as a second-tier team, the Badgers went 11-5 in the Big Ten, tying IU, Illinois and Ohio State for the conference crown.\nIllinois coach Bill Self said, this year, Wisconsin won't be considered underdogs.\n"I thought that Bo and his staff did a remarkable job last year," Self said. "And if (Wisconsin) did sneak up on anybody last year, it won't happen this year."\nAs for Ryan, he is approaching his second season the same way he approached his inaugural term.\n"Last year I was scared, and this year I'm gonna stay scared," he said. "But you keep looking at film and you keep doing things and you just say, 'alright, we can do this.' It would be nice to have 13 scholarships some day."\nShooting guard Kirk Penney, the sole Wisconsin senior, will pick up some of slack for the lacking depth on the squad this season. He averaged 15.1 points per game as a junior and is a major threat from the perimeter. \nSophomore guard Devin Harris will look to build on his solid freshmen campaign in which he averaged 12.3 points per game and set Wisconsin freshman records for minutes played, 3-pointers made, 3-pointers attempted, free throws made, and free throw percentage.\nJunior center David Mader and sophomore forward Mike Wilkinson are the only experienced big men on the team and will be expected to make the largest contributions in the frontcourt.
(11/05/02 3:44pm)
Last season was a bit out of the ordinary for Michigan State. The Spartans did not win the Big Ten Championship for the first time in five years and then, in the NCAA Tournament, they suffered a first-round loss to North Carolina State. The early exit marked the first time they failed to reach the Final Four since the 1997-98 season. \nBut this season MSU is favored in both the Big Ten coaches and media pre-season polls to retain their position atop the conference. \nChris Hill will be expected to pick up the slack for the loss of All-Big Ten point guard Marcus Taylor, who bolted for the NBA last summer.\nAlthough Hill spent most of last year at shooting guard, coach Tom Izzo moved the sophomore to the point, at least for now. \nJunior college transfer Rashi Johnson is the heir apparent to Taylor, but until he adjusts to life in the Big Ten, the job will belong to Hill.\n"Right now Hill's going to play (point guard) a lot," Izzo said. "Rashi is coming but it's gonna take him a while to adapt to things. I hope to play Hill at both (guard positions) because I don't want to lose out on his incredible shooting ability."\nSophomores Kevin Torbert and Alan Anderson will also see significant minutes in the backcourt this season.\nMcDonalds All-American Paul Davis, a 6'10" freshman center, will join senior forwards Aloysius Anagonye and Adam Ballinger in the frontcourt. He averaged 29.7 points, 13.8 rebounds, 4.1 blocks and 3.8 steals per game as a high school senior, and is expected to make an immediate impact with the Spartans.
(11/05/02 3:43pm)
Coach Gene Keady had to change some aspects of the Purdue team if he wanted the 2002-2003 season to go differently than last year's disastrous showing.\nThe Boilermakers finished the season 13-18, and were tied for 8th place in the Big Ten. For Keady and his team, the losing record was unacceptable.\nSo Keady signed up his team for a 10-day tour of Europe, playing in London, Paris and Brussels. They played eight games during the trip.\n"I thought the Europe trip was good timing," Keady said. "It got our kids we had coming back on the right track. I thought our reunion was timing to get our fans back on track and let everybody understand this is about family, not individuals and that was something that we lost last year. I don't know why."\nPrior to the trip, the team had 10 days to prepare, and on the first day, Keady and his coaches took a different approach.\n"They walked in and acted like they didn't know any of us," senior guard Willie Deane said. "It was like completely starting from scratch. They acted like they didn't know anything about us."\nDeane is expected to be the leader for the team after experiencing individual success last season. Deane was named to the All-Big Ten second team, after leading the team with an average of 24.5 points per game.\nAlso expected to help the Boilermakers is junior guard Kenneth Lowe, who missed last season because of injury, and sophomore Brandon McKnight, who missed the second semester of last season. But the youngsters will also be contributors.\n"I couldn't be happier with our new people," Keady said. "They have shown up with the right attitude. They've shown up with the sense that they have to be in a stance. They know that they have to get back on defense"
(11/05/02 3:42pm)
The OSU men's team lost two key players, and all of sudden has dropped off everyone's radar. After winning a share of the Big Ten title and the Big Ten Tournament title, the Buckeyes aren't even expected to finish in the top three of the Big Ten this year.\nBut with the loss of Brian Brown and Boban Savovic, two important parts to the OSU team last year, the Buckeyes have gained experience in another area.\n"I think our best player is (senior) Brent Darby, and he's a guard but I think overall our strength is in our front court," OSU coach Jim O'Brien said. "It's a little bit of a change for how it's been the past couple of years, although we seemingly have had jumped around."\nWith Darby leading the youngsters in the backcourt, O'Brien named four players he expects to create depth for the Buckeyes.\nO'Brien said junior forward Zach Williams has become a large factor in the Buckeye offense. Williams started all but one game for OSU, where he contributed almost 10 points per game and just over five rebounds. \nAnother forward O'Brien expects to step up is junior center Velimir Radinovic, who will share playing time with sophomore Terence Dials, who came of age last year.\n"I do think our strength is in the front court even though our best player is Brent," O'Brien said. "But we need to have our other guards step up and make some significant contributions, because we need to replace the numbers Savovic and Brian Brown put up for us"
(11/05/02 3:42pm)
Last year, Minnesota played the upset kings and busted onto the Big Ten basketball scene. After consecutive wins against Ohio State, Penn State, Indiana and Iowa, the Golden Gophers had the attention of the media and their Big Ten opponents.\nThe attention hasn't ceased this year, as Minnesota was picked to finish the Big Ten tied for second place with IU.\n"I'm pretty excited, but I've been around for a while, so I know that's a lot of press work," senior guard Kevin Burleson said. "So we have to prove it. There's pressure on us, but it's a good pressure because before we were always fighting for a little respect and now we've got it."\nThe Golden Gophers lost two key players in Dusty Rychart and Travarus Bennett, but bring back three starters. One of the main reasons the Gophers are getting respect is the return of Big Ten Freshman of the Year Rick Rickert, who is a preseason All-American candidate. Rickert was the team's leading scorer, averaging 14.2 points per game while setting a record for most points scored by a freshman at Minnesota with 441 points.\n"Rick is obviously a valuable part of what we are trying to do," coach Dan Monson said. "He's so skilled offensively that he creates matchup situations for people because he's very good with his back to his basket. He can also face up out at the three. Our challenge is to get him good touches and quality catches in both areas and try to exploit people with his abilities"
(11/05/02 3:41pm)
The Michigan men's basketball team starts its season in style. By traveling to the Virgin Islands in a non-conference tournament, the Wolverines are kicking off their season the same way they hope to end. In style, with a winning record.\nThe Michigan team is past the first year awkwardness with second year coach Tommy Amaker. Amaker has settled into his position, and the Wolverines have grown accustomed to his coaching style and mannerisms.\n"We know what to expect now," senior LaVell Blanchard said. "Last year, everybody was new to the system, new to his scheme and his discipline, his ideas. Now the upperclassmen have a grasp on what he wants, I think we'll really improve."\nMichigan looks to rebuild on a season that had more losses than wins, with a few upsets thrown in the mix.\nBut in order to come up with a strong, resilient team, the Wolverines expect good plays and shots from Blanchard, who Amaker names their team leader.\n"We're looking at Blanchard being our best player," Amaker said. "His role for us is being our best worker and best player. We think our leadership is very important, and both Blanchard and (senior guard Gavin) Groninger have to bring different things to the table, specifically Blanchard being the things on the floor, and certainly with Gavin being an older guy." \nThe Wolverines are young experience-wise, after losing three of their starters to graduation. Blanchard and junior Bernard Robinson Jr. are the only two starters left, with six returning players and six newcomers.\nDespite the youth of the team, the Wolverines expect to make waves in the Big Ten this season.\n"This year, I would look at us as a team striving to become a competitive team in our league," Amaker said. "Striving to become a team that can put ourselves in a position to try to finish in the upper part of the conference"
(11/05/02 3:40pm)
Last season, the IU men's basketball team made an improbable run at the NCAA championship. This year, the Hoosiers aim to do the same.\nBut for a team that lost its best defender and best all-around force, the path to its second consecutive title game is not going to be easy. Especially when everyone but themselves is expecting the Hoosiers to flop.\n"That's good," said senior forward Jeff Newton, after finding IU was picked to finish tied for second in the Big Ten. "I wasn't expecting us to be rated that high, just judging from past years. It just gives us something to push for even more. We are up for the challenge."\nBeing picked to finish runner-up in the Big Ten tied with Minnesota isn't the only challenge the Hoosiers are facing. IU was picked by ESPN to start the season at No. 23, and in a variety of magazines, the Hoosiers aren't predicted any higher than No. 20.\nThe concern stems from the loss of All-American Jared Jeffries who opted for the NBA, and the graduation of guard Dane Fife and forward Jarrad Odle.\nIU expects the loss of these contributing players to be made up for by their guards, and most especially, their two big men, Newton and junior center George Leach.\n"Both are really big keys for us because if they don't play good post defense then we are not going to do anything," senior guard and preseason All-American candidate Tom Coverdale said. "They are probably our best two guys right now from an experience standpoint, and they know what they are doing. They are going to have to play really well this year if we are going to do anything."\nIU also expects Coverdale, senior guard Kyle Hornsby, junior guard A.J. Moye and freshman guard Bracey Wright to make large contributions.
(11/05/02 3:36pm)
One kicks the scorers table, slams a basketball and makes it clear to everyone in the stadium that he is frustrated. The other one silently drops and shakes his head, clenching his fist, berating himself, but not letting anyone else see it or hear it.\nOne has tattoos adorning his arms and legs and has gained a reputation for his emotionally-charged play. The other has a buzz cut, and a look of seriousness mixed with business on the court.\nMeet junior guard A.J. Moye and senior guard Kyle Hornsby. As different as they may seem, they are both working toward a common goal of improving themselves and the team for a shot at another NCAA title run.\n"A.J. is going to get more time this year, but whose time that is who knows," Hornsby said. "But A.J. is definitely going to his minutes up, and I hope mine would get up. Then again my minutes could go way down ,you just never know .But they're definitely not heading in that direction, but we'll see how it goes."\nThe two worked hard over the summer to assure maximum playing time. Moye stayed in Bloomington for the summer, losing weight like he concentrated on last summer. Moye also spent the break running sprints and stairs, and spending what he estimates to be over an hour on the stationary bike or the Stairmaster each day.\nHornsby worked on his quickness as well, and spent his summer running in preparation for the preseason conditioning.\n"I just wanted to stay in shape," Hornsby said. "I remember what it felt like to come in the first two years and really not have a solid foundation. It's extremely painful to come in, not have a foundation and not be at the weight you want to play at. A lot of people get hurt that way."\nBut Moye, free from the shoulder pain that plagued him last year, and Hornsby both have individual agendas they are working towards for the season. For the pair of guards who were played off each other last year, each has different goals.\nFor Moye, with the block over Duke's Carlos Boozer in the front court fresh in his mind, he would like to see more time in a position under the basket. With IU being as guard heavy as it is, Moye could see more playing minutes in the front court.\n"We'll probably play Moye inside some," IU coach Mike Davis said. "He made that suggestion to me, so that he could be on the court. So I'll listen to him. He's worked hard and he understands. He tasted success last year and he told me he wanted to go to the Final Four three years in a row."\nHornsby's goal is to prove that he's more than just a three-point shooter. Best known for his long-range shooting, Hornsby concentrated on his speed and different types of shots. One shot in particular he is working on is the "runner," where a player shoots the ball immediately after catching it.\n"I'm experimenting with that," Hornsby said. "If I make it, they'll let me shoot it, but if I start missing it they will cut me off. But I wanted to add something."\nHornsby also admits that his role as a defensive player will be increased.\n"I think more than last year," Hornsby said. "I think I did a pretty good job last year, but they really didn't need me to step into that role as a defensive stopper because we had Dane (Fife)."\nThis year, both Moye and Hornsby are thrown into the leadership roles. And despite being guard-heavy, the Hoosiers will rely on this duo's experience during the season, especially if IU wants to repeat last season.\nAnd that is exactly what Moye and Hornsby intend to do.\n"We are really focusing on us," Hornsby said. "Because if we do what we are supposed to do, then everything will work out. Everyone needs a little luck during the season, but some people say you make your own luck by just preparing. That's what we are doing"
(11/05/02 3:03pm)
Four years ago, senior guard Tom Coverdale arrived at IU to play basketball, and promptly found himself on the bench. For the 1998 Mr. Basketball of Indiana and a player who averaged 25 points per game in high school, warming the bench was not good enough.\nAnd ask Coverdale what is the most embarrassing moment he's experienced during his entire career, and it's his first year at IU that is brought up.\n"Every team I played on I had been a starter, and then my freshman year I didn't play at all," Coverdale said. "I think every freshman goes through it, but when you are in that situation you always think the worst things of what people are thinking of you because you are not playing. It's just a real hard time to go through, and I think it's like that for everyone."\nHow things have changed since those early days on the bench. Coverdale has transformed himself from a freshman that played in a mere 10 games and scored just 10 points to a First Team All-Big Ten preseason selection. \nAs for the 10 points total his first year, Coverdale has evolved into a shooter that averages more than that per game. His sophomore season was his first chance to show exactly what he could do once he got into the game, but it was his performances last year that thrust him into the national spotlight.\n"If he's 90 percent, it's a different game because he's able to hit shots and play," IU coach Mike Davis said. "In that (NCAA) Championship game he wasn't himself because of the injury. If we had him it would have opened things up."\nAs the Hoosiers made their Cinderella run to the NCAA Championship game against Maryland, Coverdale was battling two ankle injuries. But this time, he didn't sit on the bench.\nThe first ankle injury occurred in the first-round game against Utah, and despite the injury to his left ankle, Coverdale played and scored a team-high 19 points.\nHe rolled the ankle again against Kent State, and still managed to score 14 points. But with the questions surrounding his ability to play on the ankle, Coverdale played in the Final Four game against Oklahoma and in the title game, but his game was limited because of the heavily wrapped ankle.\nBut ankle worries now behind him, a healthy Coverdale looks to step up his role on the team, and lead by example. \n"(Coverdale) has a lot of strengths," freshman guard Marshall Strickland said. "He's a real smart player, and that's what he uses most. Coverdale is consistent all the time, he works hard all the time, and he's really business-like on the court."\nBut even as a senior, Coverdale still needs to work hard at practice because of a guard-heavy team. He will be fighting to keep his substantial playing minutes.\nAnd Coverdale, a John R. Wooden Preseason All-American candidate, doesn't have amnesty from Davis' critiques. Prior to Midnight Madness, Davis expressed his unhappiness at Coverdale's alleged 11-pound weight gain. And what did Coverdale have to say about this?\n"As soon as it happened I went into his locker room and he was just laughing already because he knew why I was going in there," Coverdale said. "I weighed myself, and I'm at 199, so I got one more pound to go. I never weighed 207, I don't know where he got that. He just likes to kid around, and you have to take it the right way and not take it personal."\nWith his weight in check, his ankle feeling normal and a successful 2001-2002 season, Coverdale is ready to build on the past season's accomplishments. And he believes that the Hoosiers can make it back again, even if none of the preseason polls show that they believe it.\n"Last year, a lot of people didn't think we were very good, and we had to prove a lot of people wrong," Coverdale said. "So we are going to have to do the same this year. It is frustrating but preseason doesn't mean anything and we've learned that"
(11/05/02 2:56pm)
The bad news is that the IU basketball team has zero agreements with any recruits. The good news is that two of the top high school players were in Bloomington during Homecoming weekend, and received a boisterous welcome from IU fans.\nThe pair, forwards Luol Deng and Charlie Villanueva, both of Blair Academy in New Jersey, watched while the Hoosiers held a scrimmage against each other. With the fans touting signs, and cheering them on, the pair acknowledged the crowd as they walked out of the Hoosiers' second scrimmage.\nDeng is also considering Duke, Missouri and Virginia, while Villanueva has looked at Villanova, Illinois and Seton Hall. At this time, neither the recruits nor the Hoosiers can comment on the recruiting status.\nPolling the season\nIt's that time again. Let the poll explosion begin, as polls about the projected top 25 teams in the nation begin rolling in. The Hoosiers are projected to finish the Big Ten season tied with Minnesota for second place, and a short while ago, ESPN/USA Today named IU as No. 21.\nBut facing a doubtful press is nothing new for the Hoosiers.\n"When you put people up like that, it puts pressure on you," IU coach Mike Davis said. "I think Michigan State and Minnesota are definitively the teams to beat. Look at every team in this conference, all of them have five players that are really good basketball players. When you have five players that are really good, all you need is two-or-three players off your bench to step up and play well. That's why the conference is wide open."\nIndividual awards\nIU's Tom Coverdale is the lone Hoosier who has been recognized in the preseason. The senior guard is a candidate for two awards. The first award Coverdale is on the watch list for is the Senior CLASS award. This award is for a male and a female college basketball player that decides to stay in college rather than opt for a professional league.\nThe second award Coverdale is a candidate for is the John Wooden Preseason All-American Award. Coverdale is one of 50 candidates for the award.\n"I just want to be a leader," Coverdale said. "In the games when we aren't doing as well, I just have to pick up the slack and get everyone together."\nHere to stay, for now\nFollowing the Hoosiers' memorable run to the NCAA title run, Davis was given a six-year contract by the University. The contract extends through the 2007-2008 season, and gives Davis a base salary of $225,000 per year, plus $25,000 in deferred compensation and $550,000 in marketing and promotional income.\nThe contract also includes bonuses depending on Big Ten Championship performances, NCAA Tournament performance and the academic performance of the team.\n"My wife feels good," Davis joked about the contract. "It's really good to have one. It's nice to be able to focus on basketball. This is the first season that I can just focus on basketball and that's good."\nTurning pro\nFollowing the run to the NCAA title game, then IU forward Jared Jeffries opted out of his final two years of college to turn pro. In the June draft, Jeffries was taken as the Washington Wizards top pick, 11th overall. Jeffries was the leading scorer for IU during the 2001-2002 season, and was named the 2002 Big Ten Most Valuable Player.\nJeffries has seen a considerable amount of playing time for the Wizards as the NBA season gets underway. \nAnother Hoosier that is taking a shot at the professional level is former guard Dane Fife. Fife was drafted second overall in the CBA Draft by the Gary Steelheads.
(11/05/02 5:11am)
Saturday, my brother and I were probably the only two people in the state of Michigan who didn't care about the Michigan-Michigan State game. Well, actually, it was about as good and competitive a game as the IU-Northwestern game, which the Hoosiers lost. That's right. The Hoosiers lost to the Wildcats. IU has single-handedly managed to go backwards football-wise. I wasn't there, but from what I hear, I didn't miss much.\nIt's unexplainable how the Hoosiers, who looked so strong, and sounded so confident starting the season, could actually lose talent and the ability to work as a team with three games left in the season.\nBut it could be worse. It could be much worse. \nLet's look at the current state of the Michigan State football team. One football player is in drug-rehabilitation for his alleged cocaine habit. Oh yeah, it's Jeff Smoker, who was only the starting quarterback until his habit got in the way of his playing ability. Then the coaches decided to step in. Good timing. It's nice to see the coaches care more about their players than their on-the-field product.\nThen the star tailback, and the team captain, Dawan Moss was arrested Saturday night following the Michigan game after being pulled over for drunk driving. But he didn't stop there. He thought it would be a brilliant idea to speed off, and in the process, drag a police officer with him.\nBut it keeps getting better.\nEight members of the Spartan team are rumored to be involved in a huge gambling ring. And the coach, Bobby Williams, is seeing the light at the end of the tunnel of his career at Michigan State.\nI have no feelings toward the Michigan State team, but good riddance to Williams and his cronies. Anyone who has so little control over his football team deserves to leave. He's making a mockery of the Spartan program.\nThat is, if you can call what they have a program.\nBut anyway. Despite the ridiculous showing on the field, it's nice to know that the only thing the Hoosiers have to be concerned about is the win-loss record.\nAnd the lack of rush defense.\nAnd the steady decline of the kicking game.\nAnd the disappearance of the offense.\nAnd the overall bad coaching from the field.\nBut other than that…
(10/31/02 6:12am)
True story.\nEight years ago, I thought college football was quite possibly the worst sport ever invented. And this is with soccer in the running.\nMind you, my only real exposure was to the early 1990s Northwestern Wildcats. My brother went to school there from 1993-1997, and let me tell you, the first two years were atrocious.\nNot that I could really get into detail about how bad it was, but I read a book through the games that my family attended. You would have too, had you been forced to sit through the Northwestern-Air Force game in 1994. Competitive game it was not.\nBut it was also Northwestern that changed my mind about college football. In 1996, the year after the Wildcats completed their fateful Cinderella season, they were making a valiant effort to repeat. One Saturday afternoon, I started watching a game by default; I had nothing better to do.\nAnd in some odd twist of fate, I found myself in a rant of screams and foot-thumping.\nNorthwestern was losing to Wisconsin late in the fourth quarter at Madison. All the Badgers needed to do was protect the ball. Instead, Wisconsin running back Ron Dayne fumbled the ball, and Northwestern scored the winning touchdown on the next play.\nAt this point, I was seizuring from excitement, and my poor dad, who was trying to nap, woke up all confused.\n"You hate football," he said. "Why are you yelling?"\nI had no idea, but from that moment on, I was hooked.\nBut being a Northwestern fan is like being a Chicago Cubs fan. You never really get full satisfaction from rooting for the team. As a colleague of mine put it, your life is full of "almost there's," and "doh's!"\nSo at the beginning of this Big Ten season, my brother Derek and I were comparing notes about Northwestern and IU.\nAs he put it, the game was shaping up to be the battle of the worst two teams in the Big Ten.\nBut hey, there is a bright side to that. Replace "battle" with "bowl," and the Hoosiers can boast that they made it to a bowl game this season.\nI can see it now. "2002 Big Ten Worst Team Bowl Champions."\nI vowed I would make no more predictions about the Hoosiers after I said they could upset Iowa and Illinois would be a cake walk.\n0-2, and I'm done.\nWell, after reading ESPN.com, and noticing that Northwestern was listed as No. 5 in the Top 10 bottom teams in the college football, I'm thinking of reconsidering.\nEspecially since the Wildcats grace from above seems to have disappeared in a plethora of losses that last year, they would have miraculously pulled out.\nUnfortunately for IU, which has the talent to be five million times better than Northwestern, the two teams are comparable on paper. That may mean nothing, but Illinois was better on paper, and we all know what happened there.\nEven worse, Northwestern averages more rushing yards than they do passing yards. Yikes for the Hoosiers, who forgot to integrate a single rush defense play into the playbook this season.\nBut luckily for IU, its passing game is way stronger than Northwestern's, and an even bigger positive is that head coach Gerry DiNardo didn't screw things up by replacing starting quarterback Gibran Hamdan with back-up Tommy Jones. \nUnfortunately, I won't be at this "bowl" game on Saturday. My brother and I both are going to be in a wedding this Saturday.\nBut I can just see us once again comparing notes. Me, about IU not understanding the importance of scoring in the red zone. Derek, about how the Wildcats get over 400 yards, and still don't win ... wait a second, that's the Hoosiers forte. Oh man, here comes trouble.
(10/29/02 5:25am)
I should have known Saturday was going to be bad. By 8:30 a.m., it was apparent that it wasn't going to be a good day.\nMy alarm went off at 6:45 a.m., which on a Saturday is just cruel and unusual punishment. But the real problem came when the clock had a snooze button, and the meeting time for the trip was 8 a.m. Something had to give, and when the phone was blowing up at 8:05 a.m., 8:08 a.m., and 8:12 a.m., I think you know which one won.\nSo the trip to exciting Urbana-Champaign got off to a late start, adding to the chipperness of five extremely tired sportswriters.\nIt was about to get worse. Thinking it would be a good idea to take a different route to I-74 to avoid the hellish construction on State Route 37, we headed up 67 instead. It would have been a good idea if we had any sense of direction. But no, we start going east when we wanted to go west, making it the first of three times our navigational skills were in the toilet.\nNow the caravan, really just two cars, of IDS writers were stuck in traffic for no apparent reason, and by the time we got moving again, the two cars were separated. I, driving one car, thought it would be a good idea to get on the cell phone while looking for the next exit. \nTranslation: Missed exit, complete loss of other car and serious consideration of turning back and crawling back into bed. Had I been able to look into the future, I would have.\nFinally, the trip appeared to calm down. Except when I tried to catch up with the other IU car. While attempting to pass a car going slower than Anna Nicole Smith having a conversation, I almost clipped a car that was in my blind spot. He didn't seem too angry; he just flailed his arms and used a choice finger a couple times. \nMy bad.\nFrom 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., the five of us managed to avoid ticking people off and getting lost. Then the game started.\nBut by the end of the second quarter Saturday, the IU-Illinois football game was unwatchable. The Hoosiers were getting their derrieres handed to them, and a second-half comeback was obviously not going to happen.\nIrritated by the trying trip to Champaign, then with the deplorable play by the Hoosiers, I took out my laptop, and wrote my column. I'd never been so happy with a laptop before in my life. The screen blocked out a majority of the third quarter, which wasn't worth watching anyway.\nSo I wrote my column. And it was scathing. It was insulting. It condemned the team's play that day.\nAnd I was ready to send it in. That is, until the post-game interviews. Sympathy set in for the team, and not being one to kick someone when they are down, I refrained from running the original column.\nFor a team that showed little emotion during the game Saturday, there was enough in the locker room afterwards to share with the entire IU community. A disheartened quiet filled the room as the team prepared to board the buses for the three hour trip back to Bloomington with nothing to think about except how the game went terribly wrong.\nCoach Gerry DiNardo looked like he was in a daze Saturday following the game. He had no answers for the IU team that was picked by even the Champaign local paper to beat Illinois. He was reaching when he blamed the cold weather as a reason for the Hoosiers defeat.\nSomebody better tell him that the weather is not about to get better. Neither is the Hoosiers bowl hopes if they play the next four games like they did against the Fighting Illini.\nIt's unexplainable how the Hoosiers looked so lost, so unemotional and so unprepared. This was their game to win, and next up is Northwestern. The Wildcats are also a team IU should beat.\nLord help us all next Saturday.
(10/21/02 5:07am)
For the second week in a row, the IU men's basketball team opened its practice to the public. Not long after the end of the IU football team's loss to Iowa did the fans make the short trek from Memorial Stadium to Assembly Hall to enjoy a sports fan's dream day: A football game followed by an open scrimmage by the NCAA runners-up.\n"It's pretty cool," senior guard Tom Coverdale said after the scrimmage. "It's exciting to get out and play in front of the fans again. It's only been a week, and it feels like three weeks."\nUnder the direction of legit officials, the team, evenly split, played a 30-minute scrimmage. In front of six-to-seven thousand riled up fans, it was the Crimson squad that narrowly pulled out a 64-62 win.\nThe starters for the Crimson team were Coverdale, freshman forward Sean Kline, freshman guard Bracey Wright, junior center George Leach and senior guard Kyle Hornsby.\nStarting for the Cream team was junior guard A.J. Moye, senior forward Jeff Newton, sophomore guard Donald Perry, sophomore forward Mike Roberts and freshman guard Marshall Strickland.\nNot that the teams were set in stone. At various points throughout the scrimmage, players would switch jerseys and jump in for the other team.\nThe Crimson team leaped out to an early lead on the Cream players, going on a 14-1 run in the first three minutes of the scrimmage. But led by scrappy play from Moye and Newton, the Cream team was slowly able to lessen the gap in the score.\n"I thought (the scrimmage) was good," coach Mike Davis said. "Moye played well; Leach, Newton, Perry, all those guys had a good game. It gives the players an opportunity to play for a day and have fun. They worked hard. They worked real hard."\nThe big player of the game was Leach, who showed off what his hard work over the summer accomplished. Leach made his presence felt under the basket on both sides of the court.\n"I am more aggressive," Leach said. "I worked hard over the summer by lifting weights and shooting." \nBut what excited Leach more was his ability to stay out of foul trouble, he said. \n"I had four fouls today," Leach said. "My freshman year I had about twelve. Last year, I had eight or nine, and this year I had four. That's good for me. Four is the target for a game."\nWhile intended to be a serious practice, the team showed off some of their basketball prowess.\nLeach had more than one dunk on the basket, including a one-handed dunk after getting the ball from an out-of-bounds, possession-saving toss from Strickland.\nNewton also drew cheers from the crowd when he dunked over big-man Leach as the Cream team was making its comeback. On the following play, Coverdale tossed an alley-oop to Wright who put up the dunk.\n"It was nice," Kline said. "It was just like Midnight Madness. It was nice to get out there, and you get the adrenaline flowing. It's nice to be in front of a big crowd again"
(10/17/02 5:31am)
Iowa is 6-1, losing only to Iowa State. IU is 3-3. The Hoosiers this season have been outscored by 25 points in the first quarter, while Iowa outscores its opponents by 81 more points in the first quarter.\nThere are a few circumstances that would be nice when IU takes on the Hawkeyes this Saturday:\n• That Iowa doesn't score 81 points in the first minute of the game. \n• That the Hoosier offense has 405 yards again...in the first half. \n• That the IU students would realize they go to a Big Ten school, and actually show up for the game. There's a student section, a free tailgate and plenty of good seating to go around. Plus, it's Homecoming. If you don't show up for the Homecoming game of your own school, transfer. Now. We don't want you here. \nBut there are also some things that we don't want to happen. So take a trip around the stadium with me, while we examine what needs to be exempt from Saturday's showdown.\nTHINGS WE DON'T WANT TO SEE HAPPENING AT THE STADIUM:\n• IU coach Gerry DiNardo reading "Football for Dummies." And looking confused.\n• The cheerleading squad, giggling like school girls every time the announcer says "tight end."\n• Wide receivers Glenn Johnson and Courtney Roby both wearing signs that read, "Randy Moss is my hero."\n• Myles Brand sticking his face in every ESPN-Plus camera, all the while advocating the necessity for less attention to college sports and its personalities.\n• The assistant coaches playing Pictionary with the drawing board on the field.\n• Taking a cue from Terrell Owens, the Hoosiers start signing everything in sight then throwing it into the crowd. Helmets, cleats, benches, kicker Bryan Robertson. The mascot would definitely get tossed into section three, but in case you didn't know, we still don't have one. \n• The Hoosiers, wanting to be as beloved as the Chicago Bears are at this school, provide the halftime entertainment show by doing the "Super Bowl Shuffle." And singing it a capella.\n• The band, still bitter about having to wear those silly hats, go wild and crazy by playing Footloose repeatedly.\n• Any of the male cheerleaders wanting to see what it would be like to cheer with his eyes closed. With his partner twisting in mid-air.\n• A first-time football spectator covering the field with quarters after hearing the IU coaches screaming, "Get the quarterback," because she (or he!) wanted them to stop yelling about a measly 25 cents.\n• Pete Rose, deciding that his luck might be better with football, exchanging stuffed white envelopes with the Hoosier managers.\n• The IU athletics director wearing a suit to the football games. It's your day off, and why did you change the colors if you weren't going to wear them?\n• Quarterback Gibran Hamdan, deciding to throw off the Hawkeyes a bit, starts throwing the football like a frisbee, and not understanding why he's 0-for-49, with 33 interceptions.\n• The timekeeper be a former Michigan State graduate, especially if IU is up late in the fourth quarter, and Iowa is going for it. \n• The punter and kicker (recovered from his trip into the crowd) chaining themselves to a goal post in protest, because they still don't think Adam Sandler's song about the "Lonesome Kicker" was very funny.\n• Pee-wee league players, there to play on the field at halftime, get recruited to play because IU's depth chart is so thin. Next on the list, the Red Steppers. Hey, they could kick!\n• The athletic department giving the parking lot attendants the 40,000 left over tickets, and telling them to walk in and out of the stadium so it could be considered a sellout.\n• The Hoosiers complaining about grass stains on their nice white uniforms. Right after crying about the helmets messing up their hair.\n• Iowa not showing up, because the Hoosiers are ready to prove last week was not a fluke. One ranked team down, next please.
(10/15/02 4:41am)
We're taking a break from the usual weekly awards. Instead, we're going to take a cue from ESPN, and countdown the top 10 plays of Saturday's most improbable win against Wisconsin.\n10. Sports Illustrated, look no further for next week's Sign of the Apocalypse, it has to be the IU kicking team. Seriously. Because sophomore Bryan Robertson made every single PAT, and then he went crazy and made a...sit down...field goal. It's true! And mad props to junior Ryan Hamre, who punted four times for 189 yards. Very good, gentlemen.\n9. Freshman cornerback Damien Jones was all over his man like tattoos on Dennis Rodman. This was especially apparent early in the second quarter when Wisconsin quarterback Brooks Bollinger attempted a long pass up the field. But Jones was right with the intended receiver, and just as the ball came down, Jones snatched it out of the air. He ended the game with the team second-best eight tackles, and one broken up pass.\n8. This is not the last time that sophomore wide receiver Courtney Roby will be mentioned in this article, but this one involves him cutting back, then up the field to score IU's first touchdown in the comeback. With just over a minute left in the third quarter, Roby caught a pass from senior quarterback Gibran Hamdan, and then tore up 31 yards for the touchdown. But the best was still yet to come.\n7. The Badgers needed to score and IU needed to maintain the lead late in the fourth quarter. With every IU fan holding their breath, Wisconsin went for it on fourth-and-seven on their 39-yard line. Prior to this play, the Badgers had three incomplete passes, and senior safety A.C. Carter made sure they had a fourth. When Bollinger went to the air, Carter swatted it away, and secured a win for IU.\n6. Technically, this next one really isn't a single play, but it counts as a nice recovery. Near the end of the first quarter, Wisconsin was marching down the field when sophomore linebacker Herana-Daze Jones was called for a personal foul, giving the Badgers nice field position. Jones backed up the miscue by making two tackles on the next consecutive plays. The overall series ended with just a field goal for Wisconsin. Somebody got lucky.\n5. The Hoosiers have been way too conservative this year, and, finally, they decided to take a gamble. Not that they had a choice this time though. But with just over two minutes left in the third quarter, IU found itself fourth-and-seven on Wisconsin's 45-yard line. Having to go for it, Hamdan found, who else, Roby, who picked up eight yards, and a first down. Look how taking risks turned out.\n4. The IU team has the best celebration dance since Rod Tidwell in "Jerry Maguire." For the last minutes of the game, the team showed off their moves. And what a sight it was.\n3. Gibran Hamdan was 24-for-36 passing. He totaled 310 yards. Hamdan led the Hoosiers to four touchdowns. Enough said. Oh wait, and he was named Big Ten co-Offensive Player of the Week. Because he's Gibran. And he's Hamdan. He's Gibran Hamdan.\nTIE - 1. It's a tough call between Roby and junior wide receiver Glenn Johnson for who deserves the MVP award for the game. But Johnson made a strong case for his side all through the game, most notably in the fourth quarter. In the series before he scored the game-winning touchdown, Johnson made two plays of 25 yards and 24 yards to bring the Hoosiers down the field. Not too shabby.\nTIE - 1. The game was in its final minutes, and IU trailed by five points. The Hoosier offense was moving down the field, but kept getting held up by the offensive line playing the invisible game. IU was third-and-17 on their 33-yard line, when Hamdan found Roby, who went to the air. Roby flew, and we're talking flew, through the air to pick up the first down. He got it, saved the drive and the game, and one minute later, IU was in the lead. What a series. What a game.
(10/14/02 6:08am)
IU President Myles Brand acknowledged last week he plans to continue to pursue his idea of "purifying" college athletics once he takes the helm of the NCAA.\nBut he said he doesn't want to deny sports fans or athletes the chance to enjoy the games. He would just like to see a bigger emphasis on providing good academics.\n"I've had a lot of experience running large complex organizations," Brand said Friday. "I believe I can carry that experience over to the NCAA. While I have not been active in the NCAA itself, I certainly have been active in presidential associations, and I've certainly been involved in sports on my campus and in the conference."\nSome say Brand's outsider status was one of the reasons he was hired. Brand fired Coach Bob Knight and fought for tighter regulation of college sports.\nSoon after firing Knight, Brand called for reforms in college athletics, pitching his "academics first" initiative in a speech to the National Press Club.\nBrand's opinions on athletics gave some people the wrong idea, IU board of trustees president Frederick Eichhorn said.\n"He has been misinterpreted on the subject of athletics," Eichhorn said. "He is not anti-athletics, but he thinks that athletics needs to come more under the overall umbrella of the university and be part of the university community rather than an island unto itself."\nAnd that's a concept the NCAA embraces. In April, the NCAA board of directors adopted reforms aimed at curtailing the trend of student-athletes forgoing college or leaving school early for the pros.\nDave Frohnmayer, an NCAA Executive Committee member and president of the University of Oregon, said it's appropriate for an NCAA president to be an advocate of the academic world. \n"He has the knowledge of athletics and an impressive academic background," Frohnmayer said. "He's been a good administrator in a complex organization, and is recognized as a national leader."\nBrand said he believes academics can coexist with athletics.\n"The collegiate game must be distinguished from the pro game, which is good in its own right, but different," Brand said. "It's important to make sure to maintain the integrity of intercollegiate athletics, and most especially integrate intercollegiate athletes with the academic missions of colleges and universities."\nThe Associated Press contributed to this story.
(10/11/02 3:26pm)
The man who fired Bob Knight and advocated academics over athletics is set to run the nation's college sports machine.\nYesterday in a surprising announcement, the NCAA unanimously named Myles Brand its president-elect. His five-year contract begins on the first day of the new year. Brand's new position will force him to resign IU's top job.\nBrand's acceptance of this position leaves a void in IU's highest leadership position. Just hours after his resignation, the board of trustees announced that they will hold a press conference at 1:30 p.m. today to discuss IU's administrative future.\nBrand said the process happened quickly. The new NCAA president barely had time to personally inform the IU board of trustees before announcing his resignation.\n"Well, at first it was a very difficult decision, and when I finish in December, it will be with great regret," Brand said late Thursday night from Indianapolis. "I enjoyed working with the faculty, the administrative staff and the students at IU. This is an opportunity to have an impact on a national level. It's an opportunity I could not pass by."\nOne of three finalists interviewed early Thursday afternoon, Brand was unanimously voted to the position by early evening.\nHe becomes the fourth president in the history of the association, and follows Cedric Dempsey into office. Dempsey announced his retirement from the position, where he spent eight years. The NCAA Executive Committee started its seven-month search for a new president soon after Dempsey's announcement that he would leave.\nThe committee accepted 118 nominations for possible candidates, before narrowing the field to 11 finalists in September.\nThe group cut the finalists to three and the subsequent announcement of an appointee took only a short time.\n"My understanding is that has developed fairly recently," IU spokesman Bill Stephan said. "He was contacted by the NCAA officials whether he might be interested. This was an extraordinary opportunity on a national scale. He will take on the responsibility that will go along with the job."\nThis announcement came as a surprise to many at IU as well. Because of the nomination and voting process that the NCAA follows, the screening process is kept under wraps.\nIn this case, the time period between an offer and an acceptance was short.\n"From the beginning it was an important consideration to not at all speak about the candidates," IU Athletics Director Michael McNeely said. "I'm not surprised, because it is a very prestigious role. It provides great opportunity and great challenges."\nBrand, 60, has been IU's president since 1994, but arguably will be best remembered for imposing a "zero tolerance" policy on former men's basketball coach Bob Knight. Brand later fired Knight for breaking the agreement.\nDuring his tenure as president, IU private donations led all public universities, and Time magazine named IU "College of the Year" among research universities in September 2001. Brand also helped unify the IU Medical Center Hospital and Riley Hospital for Children with Methodist Hospital to form Clarian Health.\nIU also enjoyed record enrollment numbers under Brand.\n"I personally can attest through the things that the rest of student body doesn't see," said IUSA President Bill Gray. "This man has done everything in his power to better IU and help its students in any way"