194 items found for your search. If no results were found please broaden your search.
(01/27/03 5:26am)
WEST LAFAYETTE -- The IU men's basketball team had long since left the Mackey Arena floor, but the Purdue team and its fans were still celebrating.\nThe Boilermakers upset the No. 14 Hoosiers 69-47, and were at half court afterwards congratulating each other. Similar to the atmosphere the entire game, the crowd was roaring with approval.\nBefore, during and after the routing of the ranked IU team, the Purdue fans made their presence known, motivating the Boilermakers (12-4, 4-1) while relentlessly cheering against the Hoosiers (14-4, 4-2).\n"I thought the energy from the crowd was great," Purdue coach Gene Keady said. "It was nice to see we had it. The crowd really helped us today. It was a good, fun victory."\nThe Purdue student section, placed directly behind and on the side of the Hoosiers' bench, taunted IU from the beginning. Clad in matching gold shirts, the students cheered for Purdue during the announcing of the players, but held up "Beat Indiana" signs when the Hoosiers were introduced.\nBut it wasn't just the "Beat Indiana" signs that the student section displayed. "We still have Dane Fife" read one sign, while another read "Cover-Girl," in reference to senior guard Tom Coverdale. \n"They were really into the game. They were like the sixth man out there," freshman guard Marshall Strickland said. "It made it a really tough place to play. It is such a big game for us because of the rivalry, (and the crowd) really was a factor."\nThe Hoosiers didn't just fall prey to being teased by signs, they were the subject of many less-than-favorable cheers.\nWhen IU was down by eight with just under 12 minutes left in the first half, the student section started in on Hoosier coach Mike Davis. "We want Knight," and "Bring back Bobby," became two favorite cheers of the crowd as Purdue took and held onto a favorable lead.\nBut the crowd also used chants that were arguably tasteless. When Coverdale picked up his third foul with just over 10 minutes left to play in the game, the crowd started yelling "Alcoholic." One of the fans held up a sign that read "Absolut Coverdale," linking the guard to the alcoholic beverage.\n"The only thing I have to say about that is that I don't think you would see our crowd doing that," Coverdale said. "(The crowd) had nothing to do with (the loss.) They didn't score a point. We just didn't come out and play hard.\n"Basically the only thing I have to say is that we have to find a way to play harder or we are not going to be able to compete."\nThe merciless Purdue fans are only the beginning of what the Hoosiers face. The next two of the three road games anticipate crowds similar to Saturday's.\nThe Michigan State student section includes the "Iz-Zone," known for its rowdy students, and the Louisville fans are enjoying the success of its top 10-ranked team. \nAfter being embarrassed by Purdue and its fans, the Hoosiers admitted they have to find a way to take out the crowd as a factor and play with the same focus they have in Bloomington.\n"(Purdue) is probably the loudest place to play in the Big Ten as far as the atmosphere and the acoustics in the gym," freshman forward Sean Kline said. "The way we play at home, we have to find out how to play the same way, with the same intensity from within ourselves on the road"
(01/24/03 5:51am)
Over the past three games, the IU men's basketball team found it could protect its home court. Now, facing four tough teams on the road, they have to find a way to overcome home court advantage. The last time the Hoosiers tried this feat, the 81-69 loss at Ohio State, it proved disastrous. But the Hoosiers had three games to regroup. This time, there is no break.\nThe No. 14 Hoosiers start their tour this Saturday against Purdue in Mackey Arena. The game is set for 4:37 p.m., and airs on ESPN-Plus. From there, the Hoosiers travel north to Michigan State, south to Louisville and back up again to Northwestern.\nA daunting task, but according to the Hoosiers, not impossible.\n"I didn't know we had four in a row, but we got to win, I guess," junior guard A.J. Moye said. "Man, that's tough. If we tough it out and play with greediness and determination, it's going to be very hard for teams to beat us. If we fight, we shouldn't lose."\nWith intra-state rival Purdue (11-4, 3-1 Big Ten) up first, the Hoosiers goal is to play harder than the first meeting between the two teams this season. In a non-conference game on neutral ground, IU barely escaped with a victory in the RCA Dome on Dec. 14. \nIn the 66-63 Hoosier win, Purdue held the lead going into the half, and off-and-on during the game. Following the break, however, the teams would go back and forth until just over eight minutes was left in the game when IU took and held the lead.\n"No, I'm not surprised (on Purdue's Big Ten play)," IU coach Mike Davis said. "After the way they played us in Indianapolis at the RCA Dome, I said that was a very good basketball team. I'm not sure if they have lost a game since we played them. They are playing well."\nPurdue dropped its first Big Ten game Wednesday night to No. 18 Illinois in Champaign, Ill. The Boilermakers lost 75-62 to the Fighting Illini.\nPrior to Wednesday's loss, Purdue had been on a six-game win streak that had put them atop the conference. The Boilermakers had solidly beat Northwestern and Michigan State in Mackey Arena and barely got past Penn State in State College, Pa.\nPurdue's senior guard Willie Deane earned Big Ten Player of the Week honors last week after he averaged more than 19 points and eight rebounds during the first two Big Ten wins. Against IU the first time, Deane scored a team-high 21 points.\n"At the beginning of the year, I would have been surprised (about Purdue)," senior guard Tom Coverdale said. "But after watching them play and seeing how hard they play, I'm not surprised at all. They play harder than any team in the league and whenever you do that you are going to win some games."\nRecently, the Hoosiers have proved they can play tough as well. After Davis' biting remarks following the loss at Ohio State, IU proved they weren't the "soft" team they were being made out to be. This was exemplified last Tuesday night in the rematch with Ohio State.\nFresh off victories over Northwestern and Illinois, the Hoosiers jumped out to an early lead and hung on for the decisive 69-51 win over the Buckeyes. Not backing down to the toughness Ohio State brought, the Hoosiers saw Coverdale receive stitches and warnings following confrontations with Ohio State's Brent Darby. Senior forward Jeff Newton received a technical foul and later fouled out, and junior center George Leach racked up five as well.\n"It's just the whole mentality and mindset of the team that has changed," Coverdale said. "We knew we had to change or we knew we weren't going to win any games."\nFreshman guard Bracey Wright, the team's leading scorer, has watched the team change from the bench where he is sidelined because of an irritated nerve in his back. Prior to and after the Hoosiers practice on Wednesday, Wright rode a stationary bike and took jumps shots in his first steps toward returning to the court.\n"We are hoping to have him back, but you don't want to push it and have him be out for the whole year," Coverdale said. "The sooner he gets back the better. But if he's not there, we just have to keep the frame of mind we've had and keep playing well without him"
(01/22/03 5:29am)
This is what the IU men's basketball team wanted to happen 10 days ago. \nShutting down the Ohio State leading scorers, taking care of their own basket and getting rebounds was the Hoosiers' intent. Well, two out of three isn't bad.\nIU may have been out-rebounded by the Buckeyes, but they did shut down Ohio State's leading scorers and they did pound the ball inside to pick up their third-straight victory. \nThe No. 14 Hoosiers (14-3, 4-1 Big Ten) got their revenge, beating the Buckeyes (8-8, 1-4), 69-51.\n"We just played them 10 days ago and remember how it felt to lose at their place," freshman guard Marshall Strickland said. "We came with that in our minds, and we wanted to knock them out."\nAll the emotion that built inside the two teams over the past 10 days and during the first half came to a head and exploded in the second half. In between a waterfall of technical fouls, warnings and three players fouling out, the Hoosiers managed to maintain the lead they had built in the first half.\nIt appeared, however, that IU left its intensity in the locker room to start the second half. The Hoosiers allowed the Buckeyes to score on back-to-back possessions, drawing within six.\nBut the Ohio State run was interrupted by a scuffle between senior guard Tom Coverdale and the Buckeyes' Brent Darby. Coverdale got tangled up with Darby, and prior to a timeout, the two had to be separated by teammates and coaches.\n"I thought we had a lot of emotion; there was a lot of bumping and grinding," senior forward Kyle Hornsby said. "It causes a lot of people to get emotional. I got pretty emotional; I wanted to bop a couple of them too."\nThe battle between the two teams continued as senior forward Jeff Newton picked up a technical foul less than five minutes into the second half. Darby shot two free throws to bring the gap to eight, and following two additional foul shots by Ohio State forward Zach Williams, the Buckeyes were within six.\nThe intense exchange of words continued between Coverdale and Darby until just over eight minutes left in the game. Prior to Darby shooting two free throws, the players and coaches received warnings about the situation from the officials.\nBut the fouls kept coming, and for IU, it meant two of their starters sitting out for the last three minutes of the game. Newton, who finished with 12 points, received his last foul after being called for hooking under the IU basket with just over six minutes left, and not long after, junior center George Leach, who totaled 11 points for the night, joined Newton following a defensive foul. Ohio State center Velimir Radinovic was already out with five.\n"(Sean) Kline came in and did a great job, and A.J. (Moye) is playing well in the post," Hornsby said. "We just kept blocking out. I think overall I thought our guards did a good job of rebounding."\nThe Hoosiers let the Buckeyes draw within six in the second half, but behind Strickland, who finished with a team-high of 15, IU pulled away and hung on.\nThe game got off to a sloppy start as both teams picked up a combined 18 turnovers in the first half. The Hoosiers got the first strike after Newton found Leach under the basket less than 20 seconds into the game.\nTurnover fever set in as IU turned the ball over on three straight possessions, with two bad passes and a traveling call. Hornsby broke the streak for the Hoosiers by drilling a jump shot. That kicked off an 11-4 IU scoring run that built the lead to nine with just over 10 minutes left in the game.\nThe Buckeyes closed the gap to five with just over seven minutes left in the first half, but the Hoosiers, who were led by Leach in the first with 10 points and four rebounds, doubled the lead going into the break, and enjoyed a 27-17 cushion.\n"We got embarrassed last game," Moye said. "We had to dig deep and do what we could do. Man, it was fun. I loved every minute of it"
(01/21/03 5:23am)
What a time for a rematch.\nThe IU men's basketball team is in the midst of enjoying a two-game win streak, including an upset last Saturday against then-No. 8 Illinois.\nNow, 10 days after the Hoosiers dropped their first real road test at Ohio State, they face the Buckeyes again. And this time, it's on their court, in front of their fans, and the No. 14 Hoosiers are ready for the challenge.\n"(It's) good. We have confidence, and we want revenge," junior center George Leach said. "Right now, we need to come out intense and fight for 40 minutes."\nThe Hoosiers, who take the court at 7 p.m. tonight in Assembly Hall, could possibly be without freshman guard Bracey Wright once again. Wright has missed the past two games because of a back injury and is listed as day-to-day. Wright's injury is a result of an irritated nerve.\nEven without it's leading scorer, the team has enjoyed other players stepping up in his absence. Big men Leach and senior forward Jeff Newton were huge in the Illinois game, with Newton collecting a career-high 28 points and eight rebounds, while Leach added eight points and grabbed 11 rebounds. \n"We're playing harder, having a better defense and rebounding better," senior guard Kyle Hornsby said. "We've said that's what we have to do. We did a good job of that against Illinois."\nAs fresh in IU's minds as the Illinois game is, so is the game they dropped Jan. 11.\nThe Hoosiers traveled to Columbus, and were upset by the Buckeyes, 81-69. IU shot less than 40 percent from the field, and connected with a mere nine of 34 three-point attempts. They led only once in the game, building a small lead in the early minutes.\nIn their last meeting, Ohio State senior guard Brent Darby and junior forward Shun Jenkins were unstoppable, scoring 28 and 22 points, respectively. While the Hoosiers struggled with the zone defense the Buckeyes threw at them, Ohio State built a lead as high as 18 points in the win.\n"I don't think anyone has forgotten the way we played in that game," senior guard Tom Coverdale said. "The only word to describe it is embarrassing. We remember that, and we know they have to come in here this time, so hopefully we play with the same amount of heart and intensity that we did (against Illinois)."\nThe Hoosiers were the first ranked team the Buckeyes defeated this season, but have since suffered two setbacks. Four days after the win over IU, Ohio State lost at home to the Michigan Wolverines, 61-50. Following that loss, the Buckeyes took their home court once again three days later, only to be defeated by Wisconsin, 53-52.\nWith two tough home losses, Ohio State faces an IU team intent on protecting its home court. The Hoosiers, who have a nine-game home win streak to defend, are ready to guard its win-streak and its home court.\n"We can't let up. Every game is big game, no matter who you are playing in the Big Ten," Coverdale said. "To have any chance to win (the Big Ten championship) is protect your home court, and that's what we are doing right now. We just feel more together. This is more of a team now, and we have to have that and we have to stay together"
(01/16/03 3:39pm)
Mike Davis may hate Kentucky, but he should appreciate when Northwestern comes to town.\nBecause in each of the five times the IU men's basketball coach faced the Wildcats, he has walked away with a victory.\nWednesday night was no exception, as the No. 18 Hoosiers routed Northwestern, 71-57. The team extended its winning streak against the Wildcats to 29 in Assembly Hall, and improved its record to 12-3, 2-1 in the Big Ten. Northwestern's record falls to 8-6, 0-3.\n"We came out a lot tougher from the start today," freshman guard Marshall Strickland said. "We jumped on them early and got a big lead. We had to knock some shots down, but we came out sharp from the start."\nDavis criticized his team in the days prior to the Northwestern game, questioning their heart and motivation.\nWhatever he said clicked, as the Hoosiers came out with a vengeance. Freshman guard Bracey Wright is listed as day-to-day and did not play against the Wildcats, but the Hoosiers filled his void. IU built a 12-point lead going into the half and continued to capitalize on its revitalized offense in the second. \nSeniors Kyle Hornsby and Jeff Newton traded jump shots to start the second half, but it was senior guard Tom Coverdale who took charge. \nCoverdale ended the first half with just three points but scored an additional 16 in the second, including 6-of-10 from beyond the arc. Coverdale, who reached his 1,000 career point mark, was four rebounds shy of a triple-double. He finished with 10 assists and six rebounds.\n"We knew with Bracey out we needed someone to step up in that position, and we didn't have a drop off when (Hornsby and Coverdale) came in," Newton said. "It's a plus when they can come in and give us those numbers."\nHornsby and Coverdale led the team by scoring 19 each.\nNorthwestern closed a 19-point gap to 12 with just over six minutes to go. But in the next three possessions, Coverdale sank three 3's to extend the lead to 16 with 4:08 left in the game. Even with a last-ditch scoring run, the Wildcats couldn't break the 14-point barrier.\n"Tonight we played with passion," Davis said. "I thought we've played hard in games but not with passion."\nThe team quickly let Davis and the packed Assembly Hall know that their recent trend of less-than-impressive play was short-lived as they jumped out to an 11-0 lead in the first half. \nHornsby led the early offensive attack hitting four out of five field goal attempts in the first half. Hornsby, who went 0-for-9 against Ohio State, was perfect from beyond the arc in the first half, including a trey from the top of the key to start the Hoosier shooting streak. \n"We knew he would bounce right back," Newton said of Hornsby. "He's a shooter. He works hard all the time, and there was no doubt he was on tonight."\nNorthwestern didn't find the basket until just under 15 minutes in the game when senior guard Jason Burke had a three-point play, after drawing a foul on Strickland. \nIU let Northwestern inch its way into the game but not much. After allowing the Wildcats to get within seven with 8:42 left in the game, the Hoosiers finished the first half on a 14-8 scoring run for a double-digit lead.\nCoverdale dished out seven assists prior to the half, as the Hoosiers shot 50 percent from beyond the arc and for total field goal percentage.\n"Tonight, we stuck with it. We had runs, and it felt natural again," junior guard A.J. Moye said. "We're so quick to take the three-point shot; we like it, and everyone can knock it down, or feel we can knock it down, and sometimes we forsake guys like Jeff (Newton) or George (Leach) when they have good position. Tonight we looked at all the options"
(01/13/03 5:18am)
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Mental toughness, effort, and the desire to win are three key factors that contribute to a victory.\nThe IU men's basketball team lacked all three as the No.15 Hoosiers (11-3, 1-1) fell to the Buckeyes (8-5, 1-1), 81-69 Saturday night.\nIU coach Mike Davis and senior guard Tom Coverdale both noticed early warning signs apparent earlier in the day at the pre-game shoot-around. The IU team lacked concentration then, and it carried over to the game. With dismal defense, poor rebounding and an disastrous offensive attack, the Hoosiers first real road test was a bust.\n"It comes down to wanting it more than the other team, and it's pretty obvious who wanted to win more (Saturday night)," Coverdale said. "We just need to figure out how to play harder or we are going to get beat every game."\nWhile Coverdale, who finished with 18 points, dismissed the notion that the size of the Ohio State players was an advantage, the Buckeyes were able to grab nine more boards than the Hoosiers, and capitalized on assignment mismatches. \nWhile the Hoosiers have previously faced and beat larger-sized teams, the Buckeyes held the upper-hand, especially when the Hoosiers put 6-foot-3-inch freshman guard Bracey Wright on 6-foot-6-inch forward Shun Jenkins for a majority of the second half.\nJenkins, who finished with 22 points, scored six of the Buckeyes first eight points in the second half with Wright guarding him. This stretched the Buckeyes 10-point halftime lead to 15 within five minutes into the second half.\nBut with Wright under the basket, he was able to pick up a team-high eight rebounds, six of which were defensive boards. Wright was also the leading scorer for the Hoosiers with 20 points.\n"(Jenkins) weighs way more than I do," Wright said. "But I tried to keep him off the glass as much as I could. I got switched on him in the second half. I did an okay job on him; he had two or three baskets on me, and I had a couple of the rebounds. But for the most part I was able to keep him under control a little bit."\nBut with the defense not stopping Jenkins or Buckeye guard Brent Darby, who finished with 28 points, the Hoosiers were not getting any breaks on the offensive end.\nThe most disastrous part of the Hoosiers game, aside from the lack of rebounding, was the offense. IU put up 34 three-point shots, but saw only nine connect. The Hoosiers also attempted 63 field goals, but a mere 24 fell for them. By averaging just 26.5 percent from beyond the arc, and 38.1 percent from the field, the Hoosiers were completely taken out of the game by Ohio State.\n"We didn't dig in this game like we needed to," said senior guard Kyle Hornsby, who finished with 0 points after going 0-for-8 from the three-point range. "I don't know if we were ever in the game here. There's got to be some changes as far as what we are doing. Shooting's going to come; we shoot the ball too well. I'm not worried about that. Just defense and rebounding. They got so many second shots; it's ridiculous."\nCoverdale, Hornsby and Wright are all confident that the strong offense will return, and the defensive breakdowns can be fixed. But what is of most concern is the mentality of the team which appears to lack the passion to play hard against any given team on any given night.\n"It just seems like last year, (the mentality) was life or death, and that's not the same feeling we have with this team right now," Coverdale said. "We have to change it, or I think that if it doesn't mean that to you, then you aren't going to be on the floor from here on out"
(01/10/03 7:15pm)
Once again, IU men's basketball coach Mike Davis had his holidays ruined by the Kentucky Wildcats.\nBut it wasn't just the loss that gave him the heartache, it was the threat of a six-game suspension, and ultimate one-game suspension that loomed over his head in the days following the game. Davis missed the IU game against Ball State on New Year's Eve.\n"I have a 17-year-old son and I feel like every one of these basketball players are my boys and if something ever happened to them, I'm going to step up and fight for them," Davis said, following the suspension. "At the same time though, if they do something wrong, there is a process and punishment that you have to accept."\nDavis was reprimanded by the Big Ten over the holiday break for his tirade against a Kentucky game official in the final seconds of the match-up. Davis thought freshman guard Bracey Wright was fouled on his drive to the basket for a shot that would have given IU the lead with 10 seconds left in the game.\nDavis was given two technical fouls for going out on the court and berating the official. For the first time in his career at IU, Davis was thrown out of the game. And Kentucky sealed a victory with five free throw shots, including four from the technical fouls. IU lost its first game of the season 70-64.\n"I think this matter has gotten a lot of press and has some way affected our team," interim athletics director Terry Clapacs said. "I think our team's play at Temple at some degree was a result of the fact that there had been a lot of attention paid to this matter. For us at Indiana, the matter is now closed and certainly closed following the game at Ball State tomorrow."
(12/16/02 4:54pm)
INDIANAPOLIS - It appeared as if the IU men's basketball team had the game under control. After scary moments of lost leads, waning offensive moments and blown game plans, the Hoosiers seemed to be in the clear against Purdue. \nBut the theme of Saturday's "Duel in the Dome" was fighting, and the Boilermakers intended to do that to the final buzzer.\nLuck was on IU's side, though, and the Hoosiers avoided an upset by beating the Boilermakers 66-63 at the RCA Dome.\n"We knew they weren't going to give up," freshman guard Bracey Wright said. "They weren't going to quit. This is a big rivalry game for them, and would have been a big win for them, so we just had to stay on our A-game and slide them off every time."\nBut Purdue (4-2) kept pressuring the undefeated Hoosiers (8-0).\nThe Hoosiers had a five-point lead with 10 seconds left in the game when freshman guard Marshall Strickland took the ball down the court, and attempted to end the game with a little flash by alley-ooping the ball to Wright.\nThe ball landed out-of-bounds, giving the Boilers a slim chance. But that chance widened when Purdue's freshman guard David Teague drained a three-point shot with four seconds left, making the score 65-63.\n"It was just a freshman mistake," assistant coach John Treloar said of Strickland's late-game turnover. "It was a time when he should have run the clock down, but it won't happen again."\nFollowing Teague's three-point basket, Purdue immediately called a timeout. When play resumed, the Boilermakers fouled Wright, giving him a chance to give the Hoosiers a comfortable four-point lead.\nBut in an uncharacteristic fashion, Wright's first free throw bounced around the rim, and then out. Looking at the Hoosier bench and shaking his head, Wright, who finished with 13 points, stepped back to the line, and made his second shot.\nWith one second left on the clock, Purdue had one last shot at a tie. But on the in-bound toss to half court, senior forward Jeff Newton snatched the ball out of the air, securing the win for the Hoosiers.\n"Yeah man, you know I like that feeling," Newton said smiling after the game about having the ball. \nNewton's steal was the grande finale for the forward. After a disappointing first half in which Newton had a mere two rebounds and zero points, he regrouped in the second. Using the lack of Purdue pressure, which focused on the IU backcourt, Newton had all of his 16 points in the last 14 minutes of the game.\nComplimented by going 10-for-12 from the free throw line, Newton also grabbed 10 additional rebounds in the second half, making the Purdue game the fifth consecutive double-double for him. The Hoosiers' other big man, junior center George Leach, also had a double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds in 24 minutes of play.\n"I just wasn't taking advantage of how they were pressuring me in the first half," Newton said. "In the second half, they were pressuring me the same way, so I just went around them and went to the basket."\nDespite bouncing back in the second, IU experienced a weak first half, letting Purdue have the upper-hand in the beginning. After jumping out to a quick lead, the Hoosiers let the Boilermakers go on a 10-0 scoring run which gave them a lead that they didn't relinquish in the first half.\nThe game, viewed live by over 32,000 fans split evenly between Purdue and IU, was an aggressive battle between the two teams. The Hoosiers and Boilermakers combined for 43 total fouls, including a flagrant foul by senior guard Tom Coverdale, and the fouling out by Purdue's junior forward Chris Booker.\n"The whole game, it was just a fight," junior guard/forward A.J. Moye said. "We were prepared, but they really brought it. In the past couple years, we'd beat them and they'd lay down, but they brought it tonight"
(12/13/02 5:27am)
Junior guard/forward A.J. Moye hadn't even made an appearance in last Saturday's game, but the all-too-familiar cheers began anyway.\n"AJ MO-YE!" Clap-clap ... clap-clap-clap.\nAll Moye could do was shake his head at the packed Assembly Hall as he watched the IU men's basketball team win their seventh straight game against the Vanderbilt Commodores.\n"It freaks you out, because you haven't even done anything yet, but they'll start it before the game; start sometimes before I get in the game," Moye said of his fan following. "It's like added pressure, but you know, pressure's healthy. It's cool, and I appreciate it. I'm glad the fans like the way I play. "\nDuring last year's NCAA tournament run, it was Moye that drew fan attention and approval. With his overflowing emotion, both on and off the court, Moye built up a fan base that didn't cease over the summer months.\nThis much was apparent from the beginning of this season, starting with last October's Midnight Madness. When Moye's name was announced, Assembly Hall was rocked with loud roars and the trademark cheer.\nBut even though his fans remain unfailing, Moye has seen changes in his role on the Hoosier team. With a talented and stacked backcourt, and senior forward Jeff Newton and junior center George Leach stepping up in the frontcourt, the 6-foot-2-inch Moye is trying to find where he fits in on this team.\n"The thing is, I've got to find my groove at that spot," Moye said of the forward position. "I've never played it before, and the thing is once I find my groove, I may pick up and be out there a little more. But it doesn't matter."\nWhat matters to Moye is that the undefeated Hoosiers keep winning. And if this means that Moye is going to be watching from the bench, he said that he is fine with that.\nWhat Moye sees as his bigger role on the team is being a motivator and an inspirational leader, he said. In the huddle prior to games, Moye sees to it that he is getting the team pumped up. When the starting lineups are announced, Moye is always the last one in line to give the starters a word of encouragement as they run out to the floor. When timeouts are called, he's the first of the bench to offer a word of advice.\n"He gives us a spark," said Roderick Wilmont, redshirted freshman guard and Moye's roommate. "When he does get in the game, A.J. comes in and gets the crowd in it, and does the little stuff that people don't do. He does whatever he can to help the team win. When I got here, he let me know what the ropes are and what to do to get ready for the season. He's been a real positive roommate."\nLast year, despite being hindered by a now-healed shoulder injury, Moye played in all 37 games and during the NCAA tournament averaged eight points per game.\nBut arguably no moment was bigger for Moye than his block against former Duke player Carlos Boozer in IU's upset win over the Blue Devils. Moye lists that as his favorite basketball memory.\nBut this season has created upheaval in Moye's basketball world. With the addition of freshman phenoms Bracey Wright and Marshall Strickland, Moye has had to adjust to the power forward position, where it is expected he will get most of his playing minutes.\nDespite seeing action in every game, Moye's minutes in seven games average just over 12, with an average of 3.4 points per game.\nBut even with his current situation, teammates said not to expect Moye to fade into the background.\n"He's the type of person to bounce back," senior guard Tom Coverdale said. "Everybody knows we need him to be a good team. He hasn't had his best games, and has been in kind of a slump, but I think if anyone can bounce out of it, it's A.J"
(12/10/02 5:32am)
IU men's basketball coach Mike Davis described Bracey Wright's double digit scoring as "quiet" in last Saturday's win over University of Illinois-Chicago. The freshman guard managed to score 16 points with little fanfare as teammate Jeff Newton grabbed his third double-double.\nMonday night, the packed Assembly Hall couldn't help but notice Wright, who came out firing in the first half to help the No. 7 Hoosiers pick up their seventh straight victory.\nThe Hoosiers defeated Vanderbilt 73-56.\nThe Hoosier fans expressed their pleasure in Wright's game with a standing ovation as he headed to the sidelines for a rest. Wright had 18 points when he took a break.\nAnd there were still more than 25 minutes left in the game.\n"I couldn't miss," Wright said. "A lot of plays were collapsing in the post, and they were just kick-outs. I was wide open on the backside a lot, and I was able to backdoor cut my man because they were playing tight."\nWright, who finished with a season- and career-best 31 points, came out firing almost immediately, draining a three-point bucket just under a minute into the game. His trey was the first of his next three consecutive shots as he solely built the Hoosier lead to eight.\nThe Commodores watched as Wright made his way inside for his second score of the game. Off a pass from junior center George Leach, Wright reversed and hit the shot under the basket. Wright continued to punish Vanderbilt with a pull-up three-point jump shot.\n"He's an incredible player," senior guard Kyle Hornsby said. "To come out and score our first eight points, I'm sure it sent Vanderbilt into a shellshock at the beginning. They tried to really focus on him for the rest of the game, but he already got his feel, and you weren't going to slow him down much."\nThe Dec. 1 Big Ten Player of the Week has drawn rave reviews from coaches, teammates and outsiders alike. ESPN commentator Dick Vitale listed Wright as one of his "Diaper Dandies." Davis constantly expresses his love for the freshman's game. Hornsby has praised Wright for his ability to make his shots and overall playmaking appear effortless.\nWhile Newton, who had his fourth double-double against the Commodores, and senior guard Tom Coverdale, who was named Big Ten Player of the Week Monday following his 30-point performance against Maryland, have been drawing more noise, Wright has managed to score in double digits since the start of the season.\nUntil Monday night's performance, Wright's previous season and career highs stood at 21 points. Wright scored his previous best in back-to-back games, first against Virginia in the Maui Invitational, and then at home against North Texas. Wright has also had at least one assist in each of the games, and more than three rebounds.\n"We knew it was coming tonight," freshman guard Marshall Strickland said after the game. "The way Bracey looked out there; he looked so smooth. He was on his game tonight, and when he gets like that, not many people can play with him. He's real smooth, he gets his shots and he makes it look easy"\nAfter his initial eight consecutive points, Wright was quiet for about four minutes before continuing to hit the three-point jump shot. Finishing 11-for-20, including 5-for-9 from beyond the arc, Wright hit back-to-back three-point shots to extend the Hoosiers lead to 15 in the first half.\nWright finished the first 20 minutes with 20 points, but wasn't quite done. Even with fatigue setting in -- he played in all but two minutes in the game -- Wright started the second half where he ended the first.\nPulling up to shoot a three-pointer at a spot that appeared to be at least six-feet away from the three-point line, Wright's shot hit nothing but net.\n"He took one shot, I thought he was at half court," Davis said, smiling after the game. "It takes a lot of nerve to take that shot. That was a really big shot, but he's made plays like that over and over again in practice."\nBut even with a career-best game, Wright continues to take it all in stride with his "laidback, nonchalant" attitude.\n"That's just how I am, both on and off the court," Wright said. "I don't really get excited about anything. I am excited (about this), but as a player, it's what you want to expect of yourself"
(12/09/02 3:27am)
Last Thursday and Friday, senior forward Jeff Newton was sidelined in practice because of illness.\nSaturday afternoon, Newton led the IU men's basketball team with 25 points and 12 rebounds in the 91-62 victory over the University of Illinois-Chicago (2-2).\nIllness or constant injury aside, Newton stepped up for the No. 10 Hoosiers yesterday, recording his third straight double-double, while helping IU stay undefeated at 6-0.\n"I didn't realize it, but it's good," Newton said smiling, about his scoring in double figures in every game this season. "I'll take it. I probably am more focused. Coach told me he would run the first five plays for me, so I just wanted to come out aggressive and take it to the hole and convert."\nHaving a mere eight points going into the locker room at the half, Newton was sent to the free throw line after being fouled on a dunk attempt just 12 seconds following the break. Perfect with the shots, he went on to score three of the next four Hoosier baskets, and helped extend IU's lead to 18.\nThe Hoosiers had the height advantage against the Flames, who started four players under 6-5, and with IU's backcourt being pressured by the UIC guards, it was Newton and junior center George Leach who were the go-to guys on Saturday.\n"We knew we were going to look to (Newton) more coming into this game," senior guard Tom Coverdale said. "(UIC) weren't as tall as some of the other teams we've played against and we wanted to take advantage of that. I thought we did a better job in the second half of getting him the ball more."\nBut UIC continued to battle back. The Flames had closed the 16-point halftime gap to 12 with just over 15 minutes left in the game.\nBut emotion got the best of UIC, who fouled sloppily, and sent the Hoosiers to the free-throw line 25 times in the second 20 minutes of play. IU took advantage of the free shots, averaging 88 percent in the second half.\nUIC's Martell Bailey, a 5-10 junior guard, exchanged words with Coverdale and Leach during the tense second half, and was booed by the sold-out Assembly Hall crowd for the remainder of the game.\n"I don't understand guys like that, who still talk when they are down 25-30 points," Coverdale said, who finished with 14 points and five assists. "He was just talking, but that's just part of the game. He was obviously frustrated about getting beat."\nIU shot 45.3 percent from the field, a much improved percentage from the 29 percent against Maryland Tuesday night.\nThe Hoosiers were helped by freshman guard Bracey Wright, who scored 16 points in 24 minutes of play, and by freshman guard Marshall Strickland who came off the bench to go 3-for-6 from the field, and was a perfect 5-for-5 on the line. Strickland ended with 13 points.\nThe Hoosiers quickly used the inside game to get an early lead thanks to consecutive jump shots by Newton. IU extended its lead by going on a 12-0 scoring run in the first half. The Hoosiers led by as much as 19 points, but went into the locker room with a 16-point lead.\nIU looks to extend their win streak to seven when they take on the Vanderbilt Commodores at 7 p.m. in Assembly Hall.\n"It's good," Wright said, of the win. "We have to learn to put teams away, and when we get teams down, we've got to keep them down. So hopefully this is a start to something we can get going"
(12/06/02 5:09am)
The No. 10 IU men's basketball team came close to putting a mark on the dreaded loss side Tuesday night in the victory over No. 9 Maryland.\nBut the Hoosiers pulled it out in the 80-74 overtime victory, remaining undefeated at 5-0. They hope to add to the left side once again 1 p.m. Saturday when they face University of Illinois-Chicago at Assembly Hall. \nThe Flames hope to keep a two-game winning streak alive when they roll into Bloomington this weekend, while the Hoosiers face the task of bouncing back from the emotional win against the Terps.\nBut don't think the Hoosiers will have any problem preparing for this game.\n"We shouldn't have a problem getting excited about the game," freshman guard Bracey Wright said. "It's not hard to get hyped about basketball. We have a lot of confidence; as well we should, since we have been playing well."\nThe Hoosiers are are enjoying their highest ranking in six years and off to a perfect 5-0 start for the fourth time in the past seven seasons.\nBut they are facing the UIC Flames for the first time in school history, and are facing a Horizon League team hungry for its first win against a Big Ten school in five years.\nThe Flames last picked up a victory against a Big Ten team in 1997, after beating Michigan State at home. The last time the Flames faced a Big Ten foe was last year in a loss to Purdue.\nBut now that the Hoosiers have put the demons of last season's NCAA Championship loss behind them, they can focus on the games ahead.\n"For our confidence, I think it will probably relax our guys," IU coach Mike Davis said, following the Maryland win. "We were so tight when the game started. If I would have called all the timeouts for how we played the first half, I probably would have had to borrow some from the next game. This should relax us for Saturday's game.''\nThe Hoosiers took Wednesday off, and returned to the court Thursday in a more subdued manner. Senior guard Tom Coverdale and senior forward Jeff Newton watched from the sidelines because of illness, and Wright and junior center George Leach shot around on the sidelines while other members of the team practiced.\nBoth teams look to keep their respective win streaks going. The Flames are fresh off a victory against Illinois State, in which they shot 70 percent en route to a 78-65 win. Junior guard Martell Bailey scored a season-high 20 points with nine rebounds and seven assists. He leads the team in scoring, averaging 67 percent from the field.\n"The coaches told us UIC probably won't be as physical as Maryland, but we didn't shoot particularly well either," Wright said. "We just have to make sure we've got energy, and the efforts got to be there."\nEspecially coming off a game in which the Hoosiers shot a dismal 29.9 percent in overall field goals, including going 7-for-39 beyond the arc.\nBut don't think IU is down about the uncharacteristic offensive performance.\n"I hope everybody knows how good of a team we can be and how good of a team we are," Coverdale said.
(12/04/02 6:48am)
INDIANAPOLIS -- The IU men's basketball team needed all its big men.\nCoach Mike Davis made that quite clear after Sunday's win against North Texas. In addition to senior forward Jeff Newton and freshman forward Sean Kline, junior center George Leach needed to get over his rotator cuff injury that kept him on the bench Sunday, and quick.\nBecause if No. 10 IU was going to contend with No. 9 Maryland Tuesday night, the frontcourt had to be ready to play.\nAlthough Leach experienced the same slow start as the rest of the team, Newton emerged after the break, and Kline was clutch in the stretch as the Hoosiers emerged with an overtime win, 80-74. The Hoosiers remain undefeated in five games, as the Terps fall to 3-1.\n"Leach hadn't played in three or four practices, and he didn't play against North Texas," Davis said. "I didn't think he was impressive on the boards. But they had 30 rebounds at the half, we had 19. Then we ended up with 49, and they had 46. That tells you a lot about our guys. They rebounded the ball in the second half."\nDespite mild overall success, Leach made his return to the court known after his one-game absence. In a packed Conseco Fieldhouse, Leach made his first of five first half blocks against Maryland's senior Ryan Randle with less than two minutes after the start. \nWith fearsome holler, Leach knocked the ball out-of-bounds preventing a Terrapin score. Less than two minutes later, Leach again punished Maryland with a block that was diminished after a Hoosier foul away from the ball.\nBut Leach's biggest dunk was yet to come. With just over 10 minutes left in the first half, Leach punished Maryland guard senior Steve Blake by swatting Blake's lay-up shot well into the first few rows of fans, bringing the crowd to their feet.\nBut even with Leach's blocks, the Terrapins had the edge in the frontcourt in the first half. Randle, a 255-pound senior center, and senior forward Tahj Holden were huge under the basket in the first half picking up 14 of Maryland's 30 rebounds.\nHolden found himself in foul trouble early in the second half, picking up three within the first seven minutes. Holden picked up his fifth with a foul away from the ball, sending him to the bench for good.\n"Whenever you play against two guys that outweigh you by 50 or 60 pounds, it wears on you," senior guard Tom Coverdale said. \nBut with Holden forced to watch, the Hoosiers and Newton took charge of the game. Kline replaced Leach with less than 10 minutes into the half, but after Leach's first half defense, it was Newton's turn to take over.\nNewton had zero shooting success in the first half, going 0-for-7, with zero points. That changed in the second as IU clawed its way back from a four-point halftime deficit. Newton's first attempts at the basket in the half were blocked and mishandled, but as IU started to take over, Newton came up with key plays.\nHis first was a one-handed dunk after driving to the basket, and on the next possession, he made a jump shot under pressure, but missed the following free throw. \nNewton continued his offensive contributions by feeding senior guard Kyle Hornsby for a jump shot. To finish off his emergence, Newton brought the crowd to its feet with a huge open dunk.\n"It was tough under the basket," Holden said. "The Indiana big guys are pretty athletic, and they block a lot of shots. Newton is an athletic player. He gets up and down the floor really well."\nNewton completed the game, and his turnaround, with a double-double of 13 points and 14 rebounds.\nBut it was Kline's entrance into the game that helped complete the Hoosier rally. As Leach returned to the bench for a rest, Kline stepped in. Finishing with 10 points and five rebounds, arguably none of his shots mattered more than his free throw shot with seven seconds left in regulation. Going one-for-one, Kline sent the game into overtime, and added five points in the extra five minutes.\n"It was tight," Kline said. "I was nervous up there, but I just tried to calm myself by thinking about practice, staying the same. It wasn't the same because I never made two in a row, but I hit the big one to tie it. I was mad at myself, but we came out on top"
(12/03/02 5:09am)
U football coach Gerry DiNardo came in the 2002 season with high hopes for his team. Wins, a post-season and a strong graduation record were what he promised to anyone who would listen.\nWell, I guess one out of three isn't bad. \nNo, I lied, it's horrible. Congratulations, your players are going to get their degrees. But what about the wins you promised? Cake wins against William & Mary and Central Michigan, and an upset of Wisconsin is hardly something to call home about. I mean, even Cam Cameron's team beat the Badgers.\nAnd a post-season? Ha. That one comes when you close your eyes at night, and hope your dream includes scenes from inside the Rose Bowl.\nBecause that's about as close to a bowl as DiNardo and his squad is going to get.\nSo what went wrong this year? Transitional seasons aren't always smooth, but in DiNardo's first season at LSU, he went 7-4-1. At Vanderbilt, he took a team that was 1-10, and helped them earn a 5-6 record.\nAt Vanderbilt no less! IU may not be known for its powerhouse football team, and yes, the Hoosiers lost a plethora of key players last year, but it doesn't matter. DiNardo was working in the Big Ten, and his team should have showed more improvement.\nSo where was the problem?\nPerhaps it was how DiNardo handled his adopted squad. Kid gloves were definitely not used with the team. DiNardo kicked players off the team, lost players to other schools and had kids just quit the team.\nIn his defense, DiNardo made it clear that second chances were not in his vocabulary, but when you take over a team that has been under a coach who was a rumored softy, you have to allow for a grace period. Even if DiNardo was used to taking over a coaching position, the IU players hadn't had to adjust to a new coach before.\nEspecially not one that appeared to make it a weekly goal to get one player off the team. Especially a scholarship player. What better way to enhance recruiting then to have a large number of scholarships waiting to be filled?\nWhich brings up another question: How far into the future was DiNardo looking when he took over? He got many of his recruits numerous playing time this year. Not only does DiNardo have all those open scholarships to offer his recruiting prospects, he can use the playing time of the true freshmen to lure them to the University.\nAn important rule in sports is never to look past the next opponent. Looking past any team is the ingredient for a loss.\nBut was DiNardo breaking this rule, looking ahead and seeing a team that consisted of his recruits, of his way of playing, of players that competed with the attitude he could drive into them from the beginning?\nOf players who bought into his coaching style without those nagging thoughts of where their head coached loyalties stood?\nMaybe DiNardo's overlooking of the present season wasn't entirely to blame, maybe it had to do with players finding themselves in new positions at any given moment.\nOr the yo-yoing of the quarterback. Hopefully behind close doors DiNardo sounded more confident than he did in press conferences with who was playing where and when, because it always seemed like even he didn't believe in what he was saying.\nOr maybe that it was just not the Hoosiers' year. Again.\nI wanted them to win this year, and for a couple hours into this season, I thought they could maybe even do it. \nBut that didn't happen. Neither did any of DiNardo's empty promises.\nSo to all you disheartened Hoosier fans, the only advice I can offer you comes from a saying by the old Brooklyn Dodgers fans.\n"Wait 'till next year"
(12/02/02 4:08am)
It looked as if the IU men's basketball team left its sharp-shooting offense in Maui after going 0-5 in a two-minute span against North Texas Sunday at Assembly Hall. \nOr not.\nThe Hoosiers went into halftime with a small lead, but exploded in the second half en route to an 84-58 win. IU is 4-0 for the third time in the last five years.\n"We knew they were going to be a tough team," senior forward Jeff Newton said. "They put up a lot of shots, like in their last game, they shot 73 shots. We knew they were athletic, and we knew coming in they were a good team. We just started off slow."\nAfter a disappointing first half, IU started the second half with two quick three-point shots from senior guard Tom Coverdale and freshman guard Bracey Wright.\nHolding on to a 10-point lead, the Hoosiers continued to showcase their improved shooting by going on a 12-2 run to take a 20-point lead with just under nine minutes in the game.\nThe Hoosiers improvement was largely due to Wright's shooting, which was 5-for-7 from beyond the arc. Wright finished with a team-high 21 points, making it the fourth game that he shot in double digits.\nWright's three-point shooting ability was magnified in the second half when he hit two threes from the exact same spot at the top of the arc during a Hoosier scoring run. Freshman guard Marshall Strickland was also successful there, knocking down a three from the same spot less than 30 seconds after Wright.\n"He's an exceptional player on this team," North Texas coach Johnny Jones said of Wright. "Bracey will be an impact player for (IU's) program."\nIU's resurgence was also a result of Newton, who finished with 15 points and a team-high 14 rebounds. With senior center George Leach out with a rotator cuff injury, Newton took over under the basket. Also contributing to the win was Coverdale, who finished with 17 points in 31 minutes.\nBut it was a whole different game in the first half.\nDespite early shooting efforts from Coverdale and Wright, the Mean Green jumped out to an early lead.\nAfter Coverdale put the first points on the board with an under-the-basket shot and free throw, North Texas capitalized on a follow-up jump shot and a steal to grab a two-point lead.\n"Just taking them lightly," Wright said of the Hoosiers slow start. "That's what we did. We didn't focus that hard in the beginning of the game, and they came out and hit a lot of open shots."\nThe Hoosiers followed with two consecutive scores from drives by Coverdale and Wright, but North Texas' Preseason All-American candidate, guard Chris Davis, responded with a three-point jump shot giving the Mean Green a one-point lead. \nNorth Texas continued to capitalize on IU's uncharacteristically weak offense by building a five-point lead. \nThe Hoosiers, plagued by poor shot selection and turnovers, didn't start hitting shots until there was 11:41 left in the first half.\nStarting with two free throws from Wright, the Hoosiers first score in four minutes, Newton followed it up with a two-point jump shot. Newton's score sent IU on a 8-0 run, giving the Hoosiers an 18-12 lead with just under ten minutes left in the first half. The two teams went into the locker room separated by six points with a 33-27 score.\nIU next takes the court Tuesday in Indianapolis against Maryland.\n"We needed a game today, just to get it out of us," IU coach Mike Davis said. "We'll leave late tomorrow night for the game, and I'm sure it's going to be a tight contest"
(11/26/02 5:16am)
Purdue 34, IU 10. Just like that, the Hoosiers closed the door on another rough rebuilding season. In the week prior to the intrastate rival game against Purdue, it seemed that the Hoosiers were so pumped up, so excited and so ready to win the finale.\nInstead, the Old Oaken Bucket ends its brief stay in Bloomington, and IU has to reply to Boilermaker taunts with the usual, "Wait until basketball starts."\nIU should take pride though in the fact that its campus is prettier, better-smelling and has fans that don't feel the need to pelt opposing coaches with styrofoam.\nSo there were highlights to the otherwise forgettable football Saturday, so let's take a look back at events that transpired both on and off the field in West Lafayette.\n• In a surprise move to start out Saturday, the IU offense didn't go three and out on the first series of the game. Instead, it made it all the way to 38-yard line, until senior quarterback Tommy Jones was sacked for a loss, and the Hoosiers were forced to punt from the 33-yard line. It set up a nice 5-play, 81-yard series that ended in a touchdown for the Boilermakers.\n• IU coach Gerry DiNardo made an incredibly classy move by deciding to play both Jones and senior quarterback Gibran Hamdan. It was very nice of DiNardo to let both seniors play in their final game, although one wonders where this niceness was at last week's final home game against Purdue. Hamdan saw action only as the team's holder on kicks in his last time in Memorial Stadium. Perhaps DiNardo was sending a subliminal message that he was already looking forward to his sophomore season when he gets to play more of his recruits, while giving former coach Cam Cameron's the shaft? Hmmmm....\n• This next highlight was probably the best and most unbelievable play of the game. Purdue's quarterback had completed a pass to his wide receiver who came into contact with IU's freshman linebacker John Kerr. Kerr put one of the most unbelievable hits on this wide receiver. When Kerr reached the receiver, he didn't just tackle him. He lifted him completely of the ground and then slammed him onto the field as if this receiver was a rag doll instead of a 6-foot 2-inch 176-pound athlete. Even the Purdue side was so in awe that it showed the replay a couple times.\n• So this really isn't a highlight from the game, but it was still unforgettable. For some reason the Purdue press box, which is brand new and incredibly nice, smelled like a bad mix of 'BO' and smelly feet. And the IDS crew was stuck in the middle of it. But just when we thought the stench couldn't get any worse, the man next to me decided to mark his territory. This man, who had an odd resemblance to Fat Bastard from the Austin Powers movie, had been squirming in his seat for about a minute until finally he leaned to his left and passed the loudest and smelliest gas on the planet. For the next five minutes, my fellow reporters and I were stuck gagging and giggling while the man pretended nothing happened. It was almost unbelievable as seeing male Purdue students walking around dressed up in full bunny costumes. Something is definitely a little off on that campus.\n• For Purdue, a highlight would be that the Boilermaker defense held IU to negative rushing yards until 1:07 was left in the third quarter. THIRD QUARTER. No wonder the Hoosiers lost. Between the yo-yoing of quarterbacks and the negative rushing yards, IU didn't have a chance. And at the end of the third, when the Purdue announcer was going over the most recent game stats, I feel he had a huge smile on his face when he read that IU had 18 rushes for 26 yards, while Purdue's total yardage was 391 yards.\n• It was nice to see that Purdue fans were as classless as Ohio State fans were on Saturday. By the way, watching Buckeye fans jump over huge fire piles trying to outdo each other just proves the point that Buckeye fans lack a plethora of brain cells. But in any case, Purdue fans stopped short of flipping over cars or burning anything, but they did take the opportunity to throw stuff on the field, including styrofoam cups and plastic bottles. So not only did your team line up on the wrong side to kick off just before this event, but you feel the need to throw objects that did nothing but heed an officials warning and make you all look like donkey's behinds. Very nice, indeed.
(11/25/02 4:46am)
The IU men's basketball team starts their season in paradise tonight. The No. 21 Hoosiers traveled to Hawaii Saturday morning to prepare for tonight's game against Massachusetts. The two teams meet in the first round of the EA Sports Maui Invitational.\nThe game, which will be aired on ESPN2 at 5 p.m. tonight, marks the fourth time that IU has played in the Maui Invitational. The last time the Hoosiers were in Hawaii was 1998, when the team fell in the championship game. Overall, IU is 5-4 in the tournament.\n"We're trying to prepare for a higher intensity as far as the other team is concerned," senior guard Kyle Hornsby said. "In Maui, the Big Ten or any other game, there is going to be a lot more pressure defense. We're going to have to get back because they are going to want to push it down the court as fast as they can and that's something we're trying to prepare for."\nIn addition to preparing for a more difficult challenge than the Hoosiers faced in the first two exhibition games, IU spent the week prior to leaving adjusting to the experimental rules that the Hoosiers will see in Maui. IU has to adjust to a wider free throw lane, which had been expanded by two feet. The three-point line has been moved back by nine inches, making the experimental length 20 feet, six inches. The third change is moving the free throw lane block farther back.\nIU played with these new rules in the Nike Elite exhibition game, and went 13-for-24 from the new three-point arc.\nFollowing the Nike Elite win, IU coach Mike Davis made his intentions in Maui clear.\n"Our main focus right now is to work on Maui, to go over there and make a good showing and try to win it," Davis said. "But it's tough when you're playing three straight games."\nThis is the first time the Hoosiers have faced the UMass Minutemen. Last year, UMass finished 13-16 under first-year coach Steve Lappas. Should the Hoosiers beat UMass tonight, they would be facing the winner of the No. 22 Gonzaga-Utah game. \nOne advantage the Hoosiers have going into the tournament was the benefits from the summer conditioning. The IU team has described the six-week intensive workouts as being similar to "boot camp." But these warm weather workouts will make adjusting to the steamy Maui climate easier.\n"The Maui Invite was quite a motivation throughout summer and preseason conditioning," assistant strength and conditioning coordinator Geoff Eliason said. "We had discussed the need to push beyond our limits this summer and preseason in our running to prepare for the adversity that we will face in Hawaii. It was to our advantage that this summer was uncommonly hot for days on end."\nProbable starters for the UMass game are Hornsby, senior guard Tom Coverdale, freshman guard Bracey Wright, senior forward Jeff Newton and junior center George Leach. Junior guard A.J. Moye and freshman guard Marshall Strickland are expected to make early entrances into the game.\nBut the Hoosiers aren't expecting Maui to be all work and no play. The team hopes to get a chance to enjoy the weather and the scenery.\n"I'm bringing two cameras," Strickland said. "I can't wait to see palm trees again, and I'm looking forward to the warm weather"
(11/22/02 4:49pm)
My respect for Purdue is now non-existent, and my opinion of Hoosiers fans has drastically declined.\nHere's why.\nWhile looking on Peegs.com, the IU fan Web site, I read an interesting posting on the football board.\nThe first post of this conversation was a link to a Sally Jenkins article on The Washington Post Web site. Ms. Jenkins is a sports columnist for the Post, and her column covers a wide variety of sports and other related issues. She is also the daughter of Dan Jenkins, one of the best sportswriters ever.\nIn her most recent column, Ms. Jenkins discussed the BCS standings, and how "quality wins" may not be so quality. She mentions Ohio State missing Iowa, making the Buckeyes perhaps a bit overrated. As a whole, Ms. Jenkins said that the Big Ten conference "doesn't look so great."\nWhich is true. The Big Ten just isn't that strong this year.\nBut the men who responded were offended. One man, a Purdue fan, even said "this is what happens when you let a woman write about football. It's like a guy writing about the experience of pregnancy." The worst was the silence of Hoosier fans to this sexist post.\nNow, I'm offended. As should Alexander Tsiaras, Barry Werth, Robert V. Johnson and Ian Davis. All men, and all have written books on pregnancy.\nCan those stuck with 19th century thoughts on gender roles please catch up to the 21st century. \nWomen can write about men's sports, and men can write about pregnancy. Sure, each side has its disadvantages to having full knowledge of those respective experiences. But it's not impossible.\nAside from Ms. Jenkins, women all across the country write sports for major newspapers. Jackie MacMullan is a lead columnist for the Boston Globe, and has worked for Sports Illustrated. Chris McKendry is a regular columnist on . Melissa Isaacson is the lone female of the Chicago Tribune sports columnists.\nAnd females aren't just columnists either. They are covering men's amateur and professional sports for major newspapers all over the nation. They do the play-by-play and color commentary on television and radio. Women in sports media isn't a new concept. In fact, it's become a regular career choice for females.\nUnfortunately, this is not the first time that I've heard rude comments about women and sports. When I wrote about my dislike for Ohio State, a Buckeye fan wrote me and said that I should put my apron on and get back to the kitchen.\nWell, I can tell you one thing, you definitely don't want me in the kitchen. Last year, I almost burned down a friend's apartment trying to make a frozen pizza. And that's one of the easiest things to make.\nThe real problem is that these two ignorant men's views aren't isolated. Gender roles, in sports and in life, are ridiculously skewed. \nNow I'm not asking for unisex bathrooms or men's professional sports to integrate women. I don't believe Augusta National should change its history, especially when all-female golf courses exist. Certain areas of life for men and women should be separate to keep a little identity for both sexes.\nBut as for sportswriting or the right to play sports -- no way. Title IX was a great law, because it gave women the ability to play sports and compete just like men. Sure, the level of competition is different, but that doesn't make females the weaker sex.\nAnd when a woman writes about sports, it doesn't mean she doesn't understand what's going on.\nMs. Jenkins has traveled to a variety of sporting events. Plus sports was likely a huge part of her childhood because her father covered sports. I know from personal experience. My dad was a sportswriter, and while my classmates' families went to Disney World, our family vacations were to Iowa for the CBA championships, or to Toledo for PGA tournaments. \nI grew up around sports, just like many females today. I love them, and I love writing about them. That's what makes a good sportswriter. Passion, ability, knowledge. Not their gender.\nSo next time, hopefully the men who disagree with what's been written don't consider the sex of the writer, but rather the content and the validity of the argument. Because really, that's all that matters.
(11/22/02 5:09am)
For 45 agonizing minutes, freshman Joe Haarman sat outside IU men's basketball coach John Treloar's office waiting for the news of whether or not he would be the next walk-on to join the team.\nHaarmon watched two other players walk in the office and get the news, including junior Jason Stewart, who got his good news right before Haarmon.\n"I didn't react really," Stewart said. "Joe hadn't gotten his news yet, so when I came out of the office, I just kept it to myself. I was kind of calm because I didn't want him to know that I had made it before he knew his news."\nSo Haarman saw the first person, a senior, receive word that he hadn't made the team, and watched as a calm Stewart walked out of Treloar's office.\nBut Haarman went in, sat down across from Treloar and was told that Haarmon's decision to bypass the chance to play at Div. 2 or Div. 3 schools was worth it.\nHaarman and Stewart were accepted as the newest members of the Hoosier squad.\n"It's just amazing, and a dream come true to be out here with these guys everyday," Stewart said. "It's not that I didn't think I had the ability to bang with this guys, it's just that I didn't know they were taking anybody, and if they were, they didn't tell me there were two spots. It was one of the best days of my life."\nFor three weeks prior to being added to the team, Haarman and Stewart endured practice with the better conditioned and more seasoned scholarship players.\nThe two forwards were in the front court, battling with senior forward Jeff Newton and junior center George Leach.\nThe hard work underneath earned them the right to wear the cream-and-crimson candy-striped pants and run out of the tunnel in front of the Assembly Hall crowd.\n"I just want to be part of the program and work these guys out in practice as much as I can," Stewart said. "Hopefully over the years, if I'm fortunate to make it over the years until I'm a senior, I'd love to be able to contribute to the team on the floor during a game. I know my minutes are limited as it is, if not zero."\nBoth Haarman and Stewart took different paths attempting to get on the team. Haarman, an Ohio-native, had a variety of different schools he could have attended, including Ohio, Clemson or South Carolina. But he wanted to take his chances at IU.\nFor Stewart, the idea of being a walk-on never left his mind. During his first two years at IU, Stewart spent his time playing basketball at the SRSC and HPER, all the while dreaming of his shot on the team.\nStewart had originally called the men's team during his sophomore year, but he didn't get a call to try-out until this past summer.\n"I came in and just started working out," Stewart said. "The first couple weeks were the hardest time I have had in my life, coming out here and adjusting from being a student to a student-athlete."\nDespite having to adjust to new class, sleep and eating schedules, the pair has been adjusting to the intensity of college-level basketball.\nEven though Stewart is a junior, he describes himself as a freshman on the basketball court. But both Haarman and Stewart have been welcomed on the team, and have established their roles as being the "practice players who work the big guys out."\n"They're doing a great job as far as being able to push guys in practice," coach Mike Davis said. "They're really working hard. They are playing hard and working hard."\nBoth understand that playing minutes are going to be few and far between, and that it is in practice where they really have to execute.\nBut just being part of the storied IU basketball history is enough for them.\n"The best thing is just knowing that I'm part of the tradition of IU basketball and the great history that it has," Stewart said. "Knowing that I'll be a part of it forever, and when people talk about IU basketball, I can relate to it and I know I am a part of it"
(11/19/02 4:40am)
I was running a little behind Saturday, so instead of watching the IU-Penn State kickoff from the press box, I watched it on television from home.\nI left after the first offensive play of the game, an IU freshman running back Yamar Washington carry for four yards. In the five minutes it took to get from my house to the stadium, the IU football team had gone three and out and Penn State had already scored.\nNot a good sign.\nBut let's be reasonable. The IU football team was not going to win this game, especially if the first two scores of the game were both set up by the defense. In fact, the first one was scored by freshman safety Buster Larkins who intercepted Penn State quarterback Zach Mills at the 41-yard line. The second score was set up by freshman linebacker John Kerr who returned an interception to the seven yards to the 21-yard line.\nIt took the offense five plays to move the ball 21 yards.\nAnd for the second time in the game, the point-after attempt failed. IU had the lead, but the offense only had 17 yards.\nSad, pathetic, disheartening. Take your pick. The Hoosiers were only down 14-12 going into the second quarter, but with no working offense, the Hoosiers were not going to win.\nEspecially not with the IU defense having to figure out how exactly they were supposed to stop Penn State's amazing running back, Larry Johnson, and how they were supposed to help out an offense that couldn't move the ball.\nThe defense couldn't carry the game, and after halftime, they didn't. But it's not like Johnson really helped the cause at all.\nSo let's talk about Larry Johnson. For the second week in a row, I was envious of how the opposing crowd got to watch such talented players week in and week out. First it was Michigan State's Charles Rogers. This week, it was Johnson.\nBottom line, he was amazing. For the entire game, he rushed for 327 yards.\nIU's total offense had 275 yards.\nYes, those statistics are correct. Johnson rushed for more yards than the IU team had total. In fact, by the end of the first quarter, which Johnson closed out with a 69-yard touchdown run, he already had 100 yards. For Hoosiers fans, that's just embarrassing. But come on, IU does have the second worst rush defense in the Big Ten.\nThe worst is Northwestern. And the Hoosiers couldn't even beat them.\nBut back to Johnson, because, well, he's awesome, fun and just plain gifted. Sure, he was against a defense that definitely was not going to provide much difficulty for him to run around, but that doesn't jade the fact that he is a premier back.\nHe managed to break or put his name on just about every record imaginable. Johnson broke the Nittany Lions single game rushing record with his 327 yards on 28 carries. But get this, it wasn't just the first time he broke it, it was the third. Johnson is the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week. For the third time.\nThe four touchdowns he scored were a career-high for the player who put his numbers in Big Ten history books when his 327 yards were the fifth-highest. Ever. \nShould I continue? Because I can.\nJohnson's 327 yards were the second-highest rush yards grossed in the country this year, and not since 1996 has a Big Ten player run for more than 300 yards. Of course the last time that happened, it was against a Mid-American Conference team, not a fellow Big Ten school, but whatever. \nThe list goes on, but for the sake of saving IU a little humiliation, I'll stop. Bottom line is, Johnson has a fantastic running ability, and if anyone should be an out-of-nowhere candidate for the Heisman Trophy, it should be him.\nEven if it all happened against the Hoosiers.