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(01/07/08 5:25am)
IU women’s basketball coach Felisha Legette-Jack preached solid, attacking basketball in the wake of a 55-49 home loss to rival Purdue last Thursday. Her players answered Sunday, getting to the basket and the free-throw line – especially late in the game – in their 70-62 win over Illinois in Bloomington.\nThe Hoosiers took 29 free throws, making 24, all the while holding Illinois – the Big Ten’s leading free-throw shooting team – to a mere 5-of-7 from the charity stripe.\n“Our whole motivation,” Legette-Jack said, “is to be in attack mode. In the last game, we saw a zone and were held hostage by a zone. Our thought process today and going forward is we are not going to be held hostage by anything anymore.”\nIU closed the game with a frantic run that saw them using pressure defense and solid rebounding to come from seven down to win by eight. In the last 7:33 of the game, the Hoosiers outscored the Illini 26-11.\nSophomore guard Jamie Braun led IU with 19 points, 14 of them coming in the second half. Braun, who scored just one point against Purdue, said Legette-Jack asked her to attack the basket more Sunday.\n“I think this game was a lot different, because I actually had an attack mentality,” Braun said. “It just opened up a lot of openings for me and my teammates.”\nBraun shot 6-of-14 from the field – including 3-of-5 from behind the arc. The sophomore also made all four of her free throws.\nJunior forward Whitney Thomas filled the stat sheet as well, scoring 16 and grabbing 12 rebounds. She also had four assists and led the Hoosiers in first-half points with 10, scoring on a mix of midrange jumpers and layups.\nThough Illinois out-rebounded the Hoosiers 38-28, IU held an 8-2 advantage during their end-of-game run.\nIllinois sophomore forward Jenna Smith, who scored 20 points and led the Big Ten in scoring at the day’s beginning, said she thought the Hoosiers outhustled her team at the end of the game. She recalled moments in the game when IU players hit the floor for loose balls, and none of her teammates followed suit.\nIllinois coach Jolette Law refused to admit that fatigue played a part in her team’s loss, even though only six Illini saw more than three minutes of action in the contest.\n“I think Indiana played a very intense game,” Law said. “They played 40 minutes. They didn’t let up.”\nIU used a 15-6 run to close out the first half with a 29-21 advantage, but the Illini answered with a 12-2 run to start the second half to pull ahead of the Hoosiers.\nThomas said after the game that Legette-Jack made rebounding a priority for her team to turn the game around. She also said she thought Illinois’ fatigue was a factor toward the end of the game.\n“Coach Jack just said that we have to block out and hold our block out,” Thomas said. “They started getting tired, and in the end, they weren’t going after it as much, and we were able to get the rebounds.”\nIU’s pressure defense bothered the Illini repeatedly in the first half. The visitors turned the ball over nine times in the opening frame, counted among them several shot clock violations. Illinois almost had two more violations at the end of the first half.\nThe Hoosiers defensive tenacity forced Illinois to turn the ball over 17 times to IU’s 11. As a result, IU held a 24-4 advantage in points off turnovers.\n“They just did a lot of team things,” Legette-Jack said, “and one of the team things was taking care of the ball.”
(01/04/08 7:54pm)
Both the weather outside and the shooting inside Assembly Hall were ice-cold Saturday night, as Purdue defeated the IU women’s basketball team 55-49.\nThe game saw both teams shoot poorly from the floor, as Purdue hit just 33 percent and IU just 34 percent for the game. Additionally, Purdue missed all nine of their 3-point attempts, and IU knocked down just 4-of-22 from behind the arc.\nIn the end, it was free-throw shooting – Purdue hit 15-of-17 to IU’s 5-of-9 – that decided the game, at least on the scoreboard.\n“We didn’t attack as well as we needed to,” IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack said after the game.\nThe game hinged on two second-half Purdue runs – 8-0 to start the half and 10-0 midway through. The second stretched Purdue’s lead to as much as 13; IU never led again.\n“A few of our kids were shooting the ball as if they couldn’t believe they were open,” Legette-Jack said.\nJunior forward Amber Jackson featured for the Hoosiers down low, scoring a game-high 17 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Junior guard/forward Kim Roberson also had 12 points and eight rebounds in the loss.\nPurdue coach Sharon Versyp, who led IU during the 2005-2006 season, said her team’s gameplan all along was to force IU into settling for 3-point shots.\n“They’re great one-on-one players and they score well, so we were gonna see if they started knocking down some threes,” Versyp said. “That was the game plan from the beginning.”\nOn the other end of the scorer’s table, Purdue struggled from the outside, and Versyp said in-game adjustments to push the ball inside helped her team. That was evident on the stat sheet, as forward Lakisha Freeman and center Danielle Campbell had 15 and 13 points respectively. The two also combined for 19 of Purdue’s 40 rebounds.\nBoth teams also struggled with turnovers, something the Hoosiers have had problems with on and off this year. IU gave the ball away 20 times, with sophomore guard Jamie Braun committing seven giveaways to just three assists and one point, well below her season average of 13.2 points per game.\n“I don’t know what they were doing to her, but I can tell you’re not going to see that side of Jamie too often,” Legette-Jack said.\nThe game was Versyp’s second back in Bloomington since leaving the Hoosiers after only one year to take the head coaching position at her alma mater. She is 3-0 against the Hoosiers since moving to West Lafayette, and Purdue has taken 13 of the last 15 meetings between the in-state rivals.\nThe Boilermakers nearly missed the game entirely, as mechanical problems forced them to work out different arrangements that included using buses and cars to get to Bloomington and Assembly Hall.\nIn an interesting twist of scheduling, the Hoosiers return trip to Mackey Arena in West Lafayette takes place in just 11 days, on Jan. 14. In between, however, IU will host Illinois and travel to Ohio State, the unanimous preseason pick to win the Big Ten.\n“I’m not looking ahead, I’m looking at Illinois right now,” Jackson said. “That’s what we have to focus on.”
(12/06/07 4:23am)
Yes. You are correct. This is a “let’s look back with great nostalgia at the semester that was” kind of column. \nBut after spending the better part of the last five months bringing you everything IU sports, we at the Indiana Daily Student sports desk feel we are more than qualified to write just such a piece. \nIt’s been a crazy semester, but I’ll bet it’s not that different from any other. \nIU has had All-Big Ten selections in too many sports for me to count, and has sent teams to competition beyond Big Ten play in four different sports. \nThe football team, playing in memory of their beloved head coach Terry Hoeppner, qualified for a bowl game for the first time since I was in first grade. \nThe Hoosiers put a receiver and a defensive end – James Hardy and Greg Middleton – on the All-Big Ten team picked by the coaches, and added a cornerback and a kicker – Tracy Porter and now-legendary Austin Starr – on the media team. In addition, the Hoosiers had a quarterback who was an All-Big Ten second team selection in Kellen Lewis. In comparison, Purdue only had three players selected by the coaches and two by the media – and all of them were second-teamers. \nIt goes without saying that the top moment of the year came when that oblong brown ball fluttered over the upright of the south goalposts and the Hoosier nation flooded onto the field to celebrate a win at the Bucket game. Who didn’t rush the field that night? I know I did. \nIU also got two soccer teams into their respective NCAA tournaments for the first time since 1998. The men earned a No. 4 seed before falling on penalty kicks to Bradley. \nDespite not advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, the Hoosiers notched another stellar season during which they defeated then No. 1-ranked UCLA and captured their 12th Big Ten regular season title. \nBut it was the women, led by indefatigable coach Mick Lyon and the prolific Kristin Arnold, who advanced to the round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament, defeating along the way a Purdue team that had flattened them 7-0 during the regular season.\nFinally, the men’s cross country team made it to nationals this year, hosted in nearby Terre Haute. The team got there on the back of a fourth-place finish in the Big Ten Tournament. \nThe men’s cross country team ended up finishing 28th overall at the competition, but the future is bright. The team’s top two runners toward the end of the year were sophomore Jordan Kyle and freshman Cole Hardacre, and the team will not graduate a single runner from their nationals team. \nThere is, of course, a world outside of IU athletics, (erroneous, I know). \nIt’s been a year of change – we’ve seen more No. 1s in college football this year than we did shots of Brady Quinn’s sister two years ago in the Fiesta Bowl. \nBut some things stay the same – the Yankees again disappeared in the playoffs. Maybe Steinbrenner’s money is no good after September. \nThere has been tragedy, too. Sean Taylor now stands at the top of a far-too-long list of young black athletes who have died from gunshot wounds. \nJemele Hill of espn.com and others have reported that the leading cause of death among black men ages 15-24 is homicide, and that is a statistic that should open all of our eyes. \nThis column could go on, but I’ve passed my word limit. In a few days, I’ll pass my chair as sports editor here at the IDS. It’s been stressful and it’s been rewarding, but most of all it’s been fun. My guys Matt Dollinger and Lee Hurwitz will do you just fine next semester, so stick with them. Until then, have a good break, and we’ll see you in the new year.
(12/05/07 4:27am)
The IU women’s basketball team will take its 4-3 record on the road Wednesday afternoon to face a stiff test from the Dayton Flyers at UD Arena in Dayton, Ohio. The team is coming off a tough home loss to then-No. 21 Florida State in the inaugural Big Ten/ACC Women’s Basketball Challenge.\nThe Hoosiers kept the game close throughout the contest Nov. 30 against the Seminoles, leading for a good portion of the game and losing by only seven. \nDayton presents another challenge for IU. The Flyers (6-2) are currently riding a six-game winning streak, and senior forward Nikki Oakland was named Atlantic 10 Women’s Basketball Player of the Week this week after averaging 23.5 points and 10 rebounds per game in a pair of contests last week. \nIU coach Felisha Legette-Jack called Dayton “a seasoned team” and said she is aware of some of the Flyers’ strengths, including their inside game. But she said her team is more focused on playing their game and not worrying about specific players on the other side of the scorer’s table. \n“It’s about us, we can’t focus on their kids,” Legette-Jack said. \nSenior guard Nikki Smith echoed her coach’s comments. She said she and her teammates want to focus on playing together and adapting to their opponent as the game progresses. \n“It’s never really about the other team,” Smith said. “In the end, it’s really about just playing Indiana basketball.”\nSophomore guard Jamie Braun has come on strong lately. She brought home all-tournament honors from the Paradise Jam Tournament over Thanksgiving break in the Virgin Islands, and then followed that with her first double-double of the season against Florida State. Braun leads the team in scoring with an average of 15.3 points per game. She’s also averaging 5.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists. \nBraun, who moved to the role of starting point guard this year, said she is feeling much more comfortable as the weeks progress. She also said, as one of four returning players from last year and the starter in an on-court role often nicknamed “the floor general,” her teammates look to her as a leader. Braun said she didn’t struggle too much stepping into the role, partially because of the play of IU’s freshmen. \n“I don’t think it was harder at all,” Braun said. “The freshmen came in and really started stepping up.”\nThis game will be the second road game for the Hoosiers this season, but the fifth in their last six played away from Assembly Hall. After opening their schedule with two home games, the Hoosiers traveled to Ball State and the Virgin Islands – a neutral site – for their next four games. The team will also visit Kansas on Sunday. \nSmith, the lone senior on the team, said she thinks the early road trips will help the team – especially the six freshmen – as the season progresses. She said the decreased distractions of road games can help players focus, and teaching young players how to handle hostile environments will be key to success down the road. \n“I think it’s definitely a learning experience,” Smith said. “I think playing away from home is hard to do.”
(12/04/07 6:17am)
A day after finally learning where he will be taking his team this holiday season, Bill Lynch took questions of a different variety at his weekly press conference. Instead of talking about offseason plans and recruiting, Lynch has a postseason to discuss, and a long one at that. The total layoff for the Hoosiers between their dramatic win over Purdue and the program’s first bowl game in 14 years will be 44 days, from Nov. 18 – the day after beating Purdue – all the way to kickoff at the Insight Bowl on Dec. 31. \nLynch said he and his staff are focused primarily on recruiting right now, and his players are getting some weight-lifting and conditioning in before finals. The players will get finals week off to concentrate on schoolwork. They can also go home if they finish finals early, but they must return to campus after finals to practice before a short break for Christmas. Then the team heads to Arizona. \n“In some ways, it’s a little bit like a preseason, in the sense that you can really work on fundamental things, you can work on developing players, ... even experiment with some players a little bit,” Lynch said. “Once we get back after finals, then we’ll bring in the real game plan and the preparation for \nOklahoma State.”
(12/03/07 5:23am)
INDIANAPOLIS – Two quarterbacks put on a clinic at the RCA Dome on Sunday, and it was the likely future Hall-of-Famer who came out on top. \nPeyton Manning and David Garrard went a combined 44-of-58 for 545 yards and six touchdowns in the Colts’ 28-25 victory over the visiting Jaguars. Manning had four of the touchdowns and 288 yards while marshalling his team to victory in a key late-season matchup that pitted the No. 1 and 2 teams in the AFC South against one another. \nThe Colts held a slender one-game lead over the Jags in the division coming into Sunday, and a win would double that advantage with only four games left to play. Colts coach Tony Dungy said after the game that Sunday’s win was important, not just to the division race but to the playoff picture as well. \n“It will help us in a lot of ways,” Dungy said. “We’ve got to stay ahead of Pittsburgh, that is our goal right now, and to continue to win and get this division locked up.”\nThe game started anything but smoothly, with a first quarter that saw three different challenges – two of them from Dungy – and spanned nearly an hour. Both of Dungy’s challenges went the Colts’ way and helped the home team jump out to a 14-0 lead. \nColts tight end Dallas Clark said he thought the quick start benefited Indianapolis. \n“I think us getting out early really helped us, and really kind of put them in a bind,” Clark said.\nColts wide receiver Reggie Wayne said after the game that the stoppages in play didn’t disrupt his team’s offensive rhythm.\nWayne himself had a big game, grabbing eight passes for 158 yards and a key 48-yard touchdown on a third-and-16 play. The score was Wayne’s first against Jacksonville. \n“That’s my first one against the Jags? Have to make sure I keep that football,” Wayne joked after the game, which was his 21st career 100-yard performance. \nThe Colts were again without the services of prolific wide receiver Marvin Harrison, who is still out with a knee injury. Wayne and Clark – who grabbed seven passes for 60 yards and two scores – helped pick up the slack. \nWayne said Indianapolis expected a tough game from the Jaguars on Sunday\n“They never quit,” Wayne said. “This division is getting better and better each year, so whenever we play these guys, we have to put our best foot forward.”\nThe Jaguars certainly did not go away quietly. \nAfter falling behind 14-0 and seeing kicker Josh Scobee miss a field goal, Jacksonville traded touchdowns with Indianapolis and went into the locker room down two scores. \nThe visitors then added another touchdown in the third quarter, riding Garrard’s accuracy and the combined rushing of Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew. \nA Scobee field goal brought the game within four before Manning dropped a short pass to running back Luke Lawton, just signed this week, for what turned out to be the game-winning touchdown. \nPerhaps the key play of the game came midway through the fourth quarter, when Garrard – who had not thrown an interception all year – slung a pass across the middle that was tipped by Colts linebacker Gary Brackett and picked off in the end zone by cornerback Antoine Bethea. \nGarrard would throw another touchdown pass late in the game to Dennis Northcutt and scramble for a two-point conversion, but the Colts were able to move the ball well enough to run out the clock and end the game.
(11/30/07 5:38am)
Assembly Hall certainly isn’t the Virgin Islands, but there’s no place like home. \nThe IU women’s basketball team will play its first game in Bloomington in over two weeks Friday when they take on No. 21 Florida State in the first year of the Big Ten/ACC Women’s Basketball Challenge. \nThe Hoosiers just returned from the Paradise Jam Tournament in the Virgin Islands, where they went 1-2. \nIU coach Felisha Legette-Jack said she and her team enjoyed their trip to the Caribbean, and she said her team continued to mature throughout the trip. She said she was particularly happy with her team’s defense during the tournament, but that the offense left something to be desired. \n“Every game, we’ve gotten better,” Legette-Jack said. “Defensively, we looked good all three days. Offensively, we’ve got to find our way again.”\nSophomore guard Jamie Braun called the Hoosiers’ trip to the islands “an experience,” and said she and her teammates enjoyed seeing the beach and visiting a more exotic destination. \nBraun took home all-tournament honors after averaging 18.5 points per game throughout the tournament. But the Wisconsin native said she’d rather have nabbed honors of a different kind.\n“To bring home any honor is always nice,” Braun said, “but it would have been better if we came out on top, first place.”\nBraun said poor shooting from the outside hurt the Hoosiers over the break. She said she thinks they need to work on getting the ball inside more, and then kicking it back out. \nFreshman guard/forward Jori Davis agreed, adding that she thought the Hoosiers’ defense, which never let an opponent score more than 60 points in the tournament, was a highlight of the trip. \n“On defense, there were some things where we slipped,” Davis said, “but we still did a good job on defense because we kept most of the teams under 59 points.”\nBraun said both losses over break stung, but the loss to Wake Forest – which saw IU surrender an 11-point halftime lead – hurt a little worse. \n“A loss is a loss; it’s really hard to take,” Braun said. “But with the Wake Forest one, we should have had that one.”\nHowever, Braun said playing two good teams close helped IU’s confidence going forward. \nLegette-Jack said playing three games in three days also helped her team’s maturity. \n“Oh absolutely, it revealed character, and our kids are really stepping up every day,” Legette-Jack said. \nLegette-Jack said Florida State presents a tough challenge, but she said she isn’t fazed by national rankings. Rather, she said she sees the game as another chance to grade her team’s growth this season. \nShe said she expects the Seminoles to get up and down the court quick Friday. \n“Florida State is a running team,” Jack said. “That’s how they play, and they’re very good at it.”\nThe Seminoles are anchored by three different players who average double digit points. Six-foot-4 sophomore forward/center Jacinta Moore, who averages 14 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, leads the way, and junior guard Tanae Davis-Cain adds 13.5 points and 4.5 rebounds a contest. \nDavis-Cain also shoots 41 percent from behind the arc, and in her last game against rival-Florida, the 5-foot-11 wing player hit five 3-pointers on her way to a career-high 27 points. \nThe game comes with an added bonus: It will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network. This marks the first time this season the team has played on the new network. \nThe Hoosiers will appear on the network at least eight times this year. \n“That’s always a plus,” Legette-Jack said.
(11/19/07 4:51am)
INDIANAPOLIS – The Indianapolis Colts’ high-flying offense stayed low to the ground Sunday, but came alive when it counted to defeat the visiting Kansas City Chiefs. \nTheir 13-10 victory over the Chiefs (4-6) came on a 24-yard field goal by Adam Vinatieri with three seconds left and snapped a two-game losing streak. \nVinatieri had already missed field goals of 38 and 49 yards, and was mercilessly booed by the blue-clad crowd of 57,294 before he made his first field goal from 27 yards in the first half. The former New England Patriot, widely considered one of the best clutch kickers of all time, had missed four field goals in a row prior to hitting his third of four attempts Sunday. \n“Every time you step out there and something bad happens, you’ve got to be able to shrug it off and go back out there and forget about it,” Vinatieri said.\nFans were left to wonder for a time if Vinatieri would even get a chance to kick the game winner. \nOn the Colts’ final possession, facing fourth and short in the Kansas City red zone, Colts coach Tony Dungy elected to sneak quarterback Peyton Manning over center for the conversion. \nOnly after that first down, which forced the Chiefs to use their final time out and allowed the Colts to run the clock down inside of two minutes, did Vinatieri come on for what turned out to be a chip-shot winner. He missed a 29-yard field goal in a nearly identical situation on Nov. 11 in San Diego. \n“It was coach (Dungy’s) call,” Manning said, “but that’s what we were gonna do last week.” \nManning and the offense struggled mightily at times against the 14th-ranked Kansas City defense. Manning himself went 16-of-32 for 163 yards and an interception. \nThe Colts as a team were held to only 216 yards, well below their season average of 270 yards per game. Reggie Wayne had four catches for 75 yards, and running back Joseph Addai added 34 yards on four catches to supplement 72 yards rushing on 21 carries. Addai also scored the Colts’ lone touchdown. \n“Everybody in the league is tough, so every week, you don’t know how it’s going to be,” Addai said. “I felt like we kept stopping ourselves, but that’s football. There’s a lot of great players on the other side of the football too.”\nBoth teams could have blamed missed field goals for the loss. Chiefs kicker Dave Rayner missed from 43 and 45 yards, though he hit from 47. \nKansas City’s only touchdown came on a 19-yard touchdown pass from Brodie Croyle to Dwayne Bowe. \nThe Colts pass rush struggled to get to Croyle without Pro Bowl defensive end Dwight Freeney – who sat out with an injured foot – sacking Croyle just twice. The former Alabama signal caller, making his first professional start, finished 19-of-27 for 169 with the one touchdown. He also fumbled away the ball in the first half, leading to the Colts’ first field goal. \nBut in the end, it was the Colts offense that won the day, as Manning marshaled a 14-play, 64-yard drive to take Indianapolis from its own 33-yard line to the Kansas City 6-yard line to set Vinatieri up for the game-winning kick. \nManning commended the Colts defense, which limited the Chiefs to just 234 total yards and kept Priest Holmes in check all game, for their role in Sunday’s win. He just said the offense needs to hold up their end. \n“Our defense did a great job holding their offense down do we didn’t have to score a lot of points,” Manning said. “We need to start playing a little better offensively and being more efficient.”
(11/15/07 12:12am)
Mix six college freshmen, six pounds of sugar and a basketball together. Let them condition from June to October, rising as early as 6 a.m. to run stairs at Memorial Stadium. Then give them a chance to compete for as much playing time as they can, and what will they do? \nEarn it.\n“I think we’ve got a couple of kids on our team that are really pushing the envelope to make that argument (for playing time),” IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack said. \nThose “kids” are six freshmen who joined a team that returns only four players from last year’s 19-14 squad. Legette-Jack said her freshmen know she needs exceptional effort from each of them this year, and she said they have so far shown a willingness to do anything they can to get better. \n“I always tease them and say, ‘I need you guys to be sophomores by November,’” Legette-Jack said with a smile. “They’re not going to sit back long. … They’re gonna want to be out there.”\nLegette-Jack said she and her staff looked for the best student-athletes as possible when they recruited this class without worrying about specific roles each would play. \n“We’re going to get the players first, and put them in positions when they get here,” Legette-Jack said. \nFreshman guard Haylie Linn said she was attracted to IU both by the coaching staff and the tradition of the sport. \n“I really liked the coaching staff and the direction they were taking the program,” Linn said. “It’s Indiana basketball and it’s the Big Ten, one of the best conferences in the country.”\nLinn is joined by guards Jori Davis, Whitney Lindsay, Andrea McGuirt and Lydia Serfling – a junior who walked on this fall and has freshman eligibility status – as well as forwards Ebony Jackson and Georgia Follmer. \nMcGuirt, who hails from Atlanta, said having such a large freshman class has helped her settle into a school so far from home.\n“It’s great to be able to rely on each other,” McGuirt said. “I’m far from home, and I know I can lean on them. It’s like a second family.”\nLegette-Jack said she expects her freshmen to contribute, and she said the best players will play, whether they are freshmen or not. \n“I’ve always been that kind of a coach,” she said. \nMcGuirt said she already recognizes how hard it will be to crack the starting rotation, and how big of a change college basketball is from high school basketball.\n“It’s a lot more intense,” McGuirt said. “You have to bring it every day, and you can’t have an off day. You have to bring your A-plus game, because everyone else is going to have their \nA game.”\nSo far, it would seem the freshmen have. All saw significant playing time in the team’s short exhibition season, and several notched strong performances.\nJackson netted 11 points, six rebounds and three steals against the Showtime Skins, and Lindsay tallied six assists and three steals while spelling sophomore guard Jamie Braun at point. Davis had two strong preseason performances, and Follmer pulled down 10 rebounds in two exhibition games. \nLegette-Jack has been high on the class since the season started, however. She praised their energy from day one.\n“I never thought that we could recruit kids that have the same kind of energy that I have,” Legette-Jack said at Hoosier Hysteria. “Well, I really think my six freshmen take a pound of sugar and just pour it back. They have so much energy and passion.”\n-IDS staff writer Brian Buckey contributed to this report.
(11/15/07 12:10am)
There might not be enough words in the English language to describe Felisha Legette-Jack. But that doesn’t stop people from trying.\nIntensity. Passion. Energy. Dedication. Inspiration. Enthusiasm. Pride. \nThese are just a few of the words assistant coaches, players and even Legette-Jack herself used to describe the personality and attitude of the second-year head coach of the IU women’s basketball team.\nThere is one word, however, separate from all the rest, that assistant coach Marc Wilson used to describe the woman who led IU to a 19-14 record in her first season in Bloomington: \nGiving.\n“I think she is very, very giving,” Wilson said. “Good, bad or indifferent. Because she gives a lot, I think she gives a lot back.”\nWilson said that kind of attitude reflects on the program, not just Legette-Jack’s character. \n“People probably won’t understand how much time she put in with the program, and then outside of it,” Wilson said. “She wants this program, the women’s side of it, to just fly.”\nBut those other words certainly apply, too. \n“She’s dedicated to the game,” Wilson said. “I think sometimes these kids don’t understand what she’s trying to give them, because she’s giving back knowledge and wisdom. And not only just in basketball, but in life.”\nLegette-Jack herself said that is what she’s trying to give to her team. \nShe said she learned much of what she tries to pass on from her mother, who had a profound influence on her life. \n“Basketball is a microcosm of life,” Legette-Jack said from her office just feet from Branch McCracken Court. “You coach the game, you develop the kids, so that they can go out there and empower others through what they learned here and become whatever they gotta become out there.\n“My mom always taught me that what you give out is necessary, because that’s what’s on your spirit. When they get it, and if they ever get it, that’s just the icing on the cake. But you can’t do it because you want them to get it. You do it because it’s on your spirit.”\nFreshman guard Andrea McGuirt said she understands that what Legette-Jack teaches her players extends beyond the court. \n“I was drawn to the program by coach Jack,” McGuirt said. “She is a real inspiration and has a love for the game. She develops people beyond the court and has a real vision for the program.”\nIU Director of Athletics Rick Greenspan has yet another word to describe Legette-Jack: \nFeisty.\n“I use ‘feisty’ in the best terms,” he said. “She views herself as a winner. I think she sees winning as a byproduct of really hard work.”\nGreenspan said Legette-Jack’s passion is not limited to what she does on the basketball court.\n“She’s a very talented person,” Greenspan said. “She has a very dynamic way about her. I think she’s demonstrated a very high energy level, both in terms of her work and her lifestyle.”\nInspiration and passion are trademarks for Legette-Jack, who has taken those qualities with her to stops as a player or assistant coach at Syracuse, Michigan State and even the U.S. National Team. \nIn the Hoosiers 2007-2008 media guide, Duke head coach Joanne P. McCallie – under whom Legette-Jack worked at Michigan State – called her former assistant dynamic, passionate and “a tremendous addition” to IU. Legette-Jack herself admitted her competitive fire has been burning throughout her entire career, beginning as a player at Syracuse. \n“I was a freshman who desired to start, and I’d be angry if I didn’t,” she said. Her Big East Rookie of the Year award in 1985 seems to corroborate that statement. So do the 1,526 points and 927 rebounds she tallied while at Syracuse, good for second and first in Orange women’s basketball history, respectively. \nLegette-Jack’s attitude has not wavered. \nHer practices are high-energy, to say the least. She constantly pushes her players to get better, challenging them both physically and mentally. She demands hard work and dedication. \nBut when practice is over, she turns back on the infectious smile. Greenspan said there is a running joke in the Athletics office that Legette-Jack “never has a bad day.” \nAnd through it all, she never stops teaching. \nIt reflects on her players, who say her passion bleeds off easily on them.\n“I’m a warrior for coach Jack,” freshman guard Jori Davis said. “That’s what I’m here for. So whatever she wants me to do, I’m going to go out and do it to the best of my ability.”\nMcGuirt agreed. \n“We see that in her and it inspires that same level of passion in us,” McGuirt said. \nBut it isn’t just about coaching for Legette-Jack. It’s about respecting something that has had a profound impact on her life. \n“This little round thing has done something for my family and me to help us get to a position we’ve never dreamt of,” Legette-Jack said. “So I’ve got to respect it enough to care with all of me. And when you care with all of you, it reduces you to an emotion. And my emotion is enthusiasm.”\nDespite the varied places – Syracuse, Michigan State, Croatia – the game of basketball has taken Legette-Jack, she said she still gets goosebumps when she walks onto a court. \n“Does it ever stop? Is it supposed to stop?”\nAnd that attitude is just part of what makes the eighth head coach in IU women’s basketball history all those words her colleagues and players use to describe her. But there is perhaps one more that Legette-Jack herself used that should be included: \nLove. \n“I love life,” she said. “I love waking up in the morning. I love kissing my son and husband good morning. I love being in that gym, and empowering, hopefully inspiring kids to be something better than themselves.”\n-Staff writer Brian Buckey contributed to this report.
(11/14/07 6:36am)
Jori Davis came a rebound shy of a double-double in her first collegiate start and Whitney Thomas poured in 21 points as the IU women’s basketball team defeated Arkansas-Pine Bluff 74-56 Tuesday night at Assembly Hall. Thomas, a junior forward, also grabbed nine rebounds and dished out five assists. \n“I feel like my teammates opened that up,” Thomas said after the game, referring to the Hoosiers’ first-half shooting performance.\nThe early minutes of the first half saw the Hoosiers break out of an early season shooting slump to shoot 61 percent from the floor in the frame. Senior guard Nikki Smith hit three quick three-pointers to push IU’s lead to 22-12 midway through the first half. \nSmith had 11 points in the first half and 14 total on 5-of-7 shooting, including 3-of-5 from behind the arc. \n“I did the easy part,” Smith said. “Jamie (Braun) and the post players really kicked the ball out, and I think that we just moved the ball really well, and it created a lot of open shots for me.”\nA key stat for the Hoosiers on Tuesday was rebounding. Though the team was muscled off the boards 49-42 in its season opener Friday against Albany, the Hoosiers commanded the glass Tuesday, grabbing 49 rebounds – 19 on the offensive end – to the Golden Lions’ 38. \n“That’s important,” IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack said. “That’s called effort.”\nLegette-Jack singled out Thomas after the game for her rebounding. \n“She never looked at another team,” Legette-Jack said. “She saw an opportunity to play Indiana basketball, and she went after a lot of those rebounds.”\nTurnovers were again a problem for the Hoosiers – they gave up the ball 22 times Tuesday night – and Legette-Jack said holding onto the basketball is something the team will work on in practice. She said part of her problem with her team’s turnovers was that her team displayed a lack of urgency in trying to get the ball back off turnovers. \nLegette-Jack said she was happy with her team’s willingness to play team basketball and create shots for each other on offense, as indicated by the Hoosiers’ 15 assists. Legette-Jack did say she thought there were moments when her team could have scored more points had it not passed up good shot opportunities to try to feed teammates. \n“We were playing unselfish basketball today,” Legette-Jack said. “But sometimes they’ve gotta play selfish in order to play unselfish, and we’re going to show them how to do that.”\nLegette-Jack said she thinks her team is starting to gel early in the season, and she singled out Davis as “a catalyst” to that team growth. \nDavis, a freshman guard, said she was pleased with her first start, which came in the place of injured junior guard Kim Roberson. \n“It was exciting, but I kept my composure, and I think I did pretty well,” said Davis, who finished with 11 points, nine rebounds and three assists while playing a team-high 32 minutes. \nLegette-Jack used the second half of Tuesday’s game to get her freshmen some playing time, and there were even moments when all five Hoosiers on the floor were rookies. Legette-Jack said her freshmen players’ performances pleased her, and she is excited for the possibilities that lie ahead for her team. \n“It’s difficult, but we’re challenging (the freshmen) because we think this is a very intelligent group of young women we’ve brought in, and we’re gonna push them and stretch them, and they’re gonna get it,” Legette-Jack said. “They are our future, and I’ll tell you what, the future’s bright here at Indiana.”
(11/12/07 4:49am)
If her first game as a Hoosier is any indication, Amber Jackson is just as good as advertised. \nThe junior forward – who transferred to IU after two years at San Jose State – led all scorers with 22 points in the IU women’s basketball team’s season-opening 67-59 win over Albany on Friday night at Assembly Hall.\nJackson, who led the Western Athletic Conference in scoring and rebounding her sophomore year, also grabbed nine rebounds and four blocks.\n“It felt really good to be out there and playing again, feeling like myself and just playing hard, just doing what I can to help the team,” Jackson said.\nThe Hoosiers as a team struggled at times against the Great Danes, especially when facing the visitors’ defensive pressure. \nIU notched 17 turnovers – 13 in the first half – and were edged in total rebounding 49-42.\nBut in the end, the Hoosiers’ own defense forced 20 turnovers and held a 24-11 edge in points off giveaways. Additionally, the Hoosiers were 23-of-34 from the free-throw line, while Albany was just 7-of-9.\n“The big difference in the game is who goes to the free-throw line the most,” Albany coach Trina Patterson said. “That was the difference in the game.”\nIU struggled mightily from the field, shooting 22-59 for the game and a startling 0-14 from beyond the arc. Other than Jackson and junior forward Whitney Thomas, the team shot 8-37, just 21.6 percent from the field. \nHowever, IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack said she knows her team will shoot the ball better this season.\n“I know that we’re a good shooting team,” Legette-Jack said. “We are a fantastic shooting team. Once we get our nerves down and get our legs underneath us, we’re going to be just fine.”\nIU’s poor shooting and turnovers, as well as early foul trouble for some starters, contributed to the nine-point deficit the Hoosiers faced at halftime. Legette-Jack said Albany’s intensity and pressure led to IU’s first-half struggles. \n“They punched us in the face,” Legette-Jack said. “And we staggered, and we almost fell. … We came back and we played Indiana basketball.”\nLegette-Jack mentioned the play of two freshmen – Whitney Lindsay and Jori Davis – as key to keeping IU in the game, even as Albany stretched the lead to 14 early in the second half.\nLindsay said she felt “tired” at halftime, but thought the Hoosiers really got things rolling in the second half, something their 42-25 second-half advantage on the scoreboard would suggest. \n“That’s usually how you feel when you’re down at half,” Lindsay said. “But the second half, I felt great the whole half. I felt like the intensity was just up to another level.”\nLegette-Jack also said her team’s conditioning played a factor down the stretch, and the Great Danes began to look winded and their press started to falter late in the second half. \n“No one’s going to be in better shape than our team,” Legette-Jack said.\nEven Patterson admitted her team tired toward the end of the game, and Jackson’s play in the paint was perhaps her team’s greatest defensive weakness. She compared Jackson to Oklahoma’s Courtney Paris, who set the women’s NCAA record for rebounds in a season with 539 in 2005-2006.\n“She’s hard to guard,” Patterson said. “… When you’ve got somebody with that size, it’s like guarding Shaq in the paint. She can do a lot of damage.”
(11/10/07 8:27pm)
If her first game as a Hoosier is any indication, Amber Jackson is just as good as advertised. \nThe junior forward – who transferred to IU after two years at San Jose State – led all scorers with 22 points in the women's basketball team's season-opening 67-59 win over Albany on Friday night at Assembly Hall.\nJackson, who led the Western Athletic Conference in scoring and rebounding in the 2005-06 season, also grabbed nine rebounds and blocked four shots. \nJackson said she had fun playing regular season basketball for the first time in two years. \n“It felt really good to be out there and playing again, feeling like myself and just playing hard, just doing what I can to help the team,” Jackson said.\nPlease see Monday's edition of the Indiana Daily Student for complete coverage.
(11/06/07 3:54am)
The IU women’s basketball team rounds out its short exhibition season tonight at 7 p.m. at Assembly Hall with a game against the Showtime Skins, an Australian touring team. IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack acknowledged that she has a young team this year, but she said she will be looking for improvement against the Skins. \n“I’d like to see us play with a certain type of intensity and passion,” Legette-Jack said. “I think we have pretty good players. I think we’re young, but I think we’re good.”\nLegette-Jack said she doesn’t know what to expect from the Skins, since the Hoosiers don’t have tape on Tuesday’s opponent. She said she expects them to be a shooting team, similar to the Hoosier Lady Stars, who scored 36 of their 49 points from 3-pointers. \nLegette-Jack said she liked the different perspective the Hoosier Lady Stars gave her team Saturday, because they gave the Hoosiers some looks that the team wasn’t ready for. She said it gave the team something to work on in practice. \nLegette-Jack said overall she was happy with her team’s play Saturday in their victory over the Hoosier Lady Stars. Leading the way for the Hoosiers that night was sophomore guard Jamie Braun, who led all Hoosiers with 17 points in her first game at the point for IU. Legette-Jack said she was “very pleased” with Braun’s performance. \n“(Braun) hadn’t played the point guard here yet,” Legette-Jack said. “She could be great.”\nBraun was slightly more critical about her performance after Saturday’s game, but overall, she said she thought things went well in her debut at the point. \n“I don’t think I did too bad in the first half, but in the second half, I got a little lackadaisical and turned the ball over,” Braun said. “But otherwise, I thought things went pretty well for the first game.”\nSaturday was also the debut for IU’s six freshmen, as well as Lydia Serfling , a junior walk-on from Bloomington. Guard Nikki Smith, the team’s lone senior and top returning scorer, said after Saturday’s game she was glad all the freshmen got a chance to play.\n“They absolutely will do anything to get better, and they just love it, and this is what they came here for – to play,” Smith said. \nSaturday was also the first appearance in an IU uniform for junior forward Amber Jackson, who transferred from San Jose State. Jackson finished with six points and five rebounds, and Legette-Jack said she knows those numbers will go up as the season progresses. \n“It’s been a long time since Amber played competitive basketball,” she said. “I think that the exhibitions are going to help her too. She’s going to have to let the game come to her a little bit.”\nLegette-Jack said she looks forward to coaching her team this season, and she challenged IU fans to come out and support the Hoosiers, “because eventually, this is the team that’s going to put a banner up.”\n“We’ve got a good group of kids, I tell you,” Legette-Jack said. “They play hard, and I said this before and I’m going to say this all season: Through the good times and bad times, this is a team that really will snatch your heart out of your chest and take it away. ... I hope this community can latch on now, and help us grow this great team. These are great kids.”
(11/05/07 4:27am)
The IU women’s basketball team began the first exhibition game of the new season on a 17-0 run and never looked back, defeating the Hoosier Lady Stars 77-49 Saturday night at Assembly Hall. The visitors didn’t score until five minutes into the game. \nLeading the way for the Hoosiers was sophomore guard Jamie Braun with 17 points and three assists. The Hoosier Lady Stars, a traveling team made up of former college players, were led by Kia Hayes, formerly of IU-Purdue University Indianapolis, who scored 16 points on 5-13 shooting.\nThe Hoosiers deployed a three-guard lineup to begin the game, with senior Nikki Smith, junior Kim Roberson and Braun at the guard spots. Juniors Whitney Thomas and Amber Jackson started at the two forward positions. \nIU sprang to an early lead off seven quick points from Smith, who finished the game with 13. Smith took a hard fall on a charging call late in the game and did not return, but didn’t seem worried after the game. \n“You have to go full tilt the whole entire time and (you get) just the little bumps and bruises here and there,” Smith said. \nThe exhibition was also a debut for eight Hoosiers, including six freshmen and junior walk-on Lydia Serfling. All eight – Amber Jackson transferred from San Jose State – saw playing time during the game, and Smith said she liked what she saw, especially from the freshmen. \n“I thought they handled themselves really well for this being their first game,” Smith said. “They’ve been ready since June.”\nIU coach Felisha Legette-Jack said she was happy with her freshmen class’ performance, joking that they aren’t afraid to shoot the ball. \n“I think one time, one of the freshmen was taking the ball out of bounds and looking at the rim to see if she can shoot it,” she said. \nLegette-Jack said she saw some things she liked out of her young squad. \n“I thought our kids played youthful,” Legette-Jack said. “And what I mean by that I think they played just free. And if we can keep them continuing to play free throughout the season, we’re going to have an exciting team to watch.”\nThe Hoosier Lady Stars certainly didn’t leave IU guessing – they lived from behind the 3-point line all night. The visitors shot 36 3-pointers for the game, making 12. Every point the Lady Stars scored in the first half came from behind the arc, as they shot 8-20 from 3-point range. They cooled in the second half, however, shooting only 4-16. \nPlay got sloppy at times for the Hoosiers, but two key runs – the first to open the game and then a 13-0 run late in the second half – iced the contest after the Lady Stars pulled within 14 at the 7:38 mark. \nBraun said she felt comfortable settling into her role as point guard, and her play suggested as much. She attacked the basket numerous times in the first half, and ended the game 6-9 from the field, including 2-4 from beyond the arc. \n“I thought things went pretty smooth for the first game,” Braun said. \nFreshman guard Jori Davis, who finished with eight points and seven rebounds, called her first collegiate game “exciting.” She said the time the freshman class spent in Bloomington over the summer prepared them well for Saturday.\n“This is what we came here for,” Davis said. “This is Division I basketball. It’s what we came to play, and we love the game.”
(10/16/07 4:21am)
As word swept across campus and the country Monday that IU men’s basketball coach Kelvin Sampson was again sanctioned for impermissible phone calls, pundits and fans alike voiced a diverse array of opinions on the issue. IU students were no different, offering views ranging from support to forgiveness, and warning against repeating such violations again. \n“I hope he learned his lesson for good this time,” senior Ryan Moore said. \nMoore said he thought it would be in Sampson’s best interest to toe the line with regard to following the rules, since this is the second time the embattled coach has received sanctions of this nature.\nIU sanctioned Sampson and his staff for making 45 impermissible phone calls, including 10 three-way calls Sampson participated in. Thirty-five of those calls – made by assistants – were found to be against the rules because they exceeded the amount of allowed phone calls during recruiting, according to NCAA rules. Sampson will not receive a scheduled $500,000 raise this year, IU will voluntarily forfeit one scholarship for the 2008-09 season and assistant coach Rob Senderoff is suspended from recruiting off campus or making recruiting phone calls for one year.\nFreshman Tyler Conaway of Madison, Ind., said he believes Sampson is harshly criticized in part because of the legacy of Bob Knight, the legendary former Hoosier now at Texas Tech. \n“Any of the Bobby Knight players or supporters, they’re never going to be happy with the coach,” Conaway said. “It’s Bobby Knight or bust.”\nSophomore Josh Layne of West Bloomfield, Mich., said he believes IU should have known what they were getting when they hired Sampson, though he said he doesn’t see these new sanctions as a real black eye on the men’s basketball program.\n“Bringing in Sampson was a liability in the first place,” Layne said. He added that he thinks other schools might question IU’s commitment to playing by the rules following these new sanctions. \nSophomore Dustin Pugh of Indianapolis disagreed, saying he thinks the new sanctions could hurt the University’s reputation. \n“Overall, I think it would hurt Indiana University as a whole,” Pugh said. \nConaway said he thinks the program can live through these new sanctions, so long as they do not again repeat themselves. He said he thought Sampson should get another chance because he has the program “going in a good direction.”\n“I think they’ll overcome (the sanctions), just as long as nothing else happens like this,” Conaway said. “If it happens again, I’d say something needs to be done about Sampson, maybe as far as firing, because he’s hurting the program with it.”\nConaway said he was “pretty upset” to hear about the new sanctions, and said he worries about recruiting in the immediate future, pointing to the loss of a scholarship as a potential concern.\n“It might affect some of the recruits for this upcoming recruiting session, like Tyler Zeller and Kevin Jones,” Conaway said. “I hope it doesn’t affect their decision.”\nZeller told the Indiana Daily Student on Monday night that the sanctions will not affect his college choice.\nMoore said he thinks that, if Sampson and the team are successful going forward, people will stop calling for harsher penalties. \n“Winning cures all ails,” Moore said.
(10/16/07 3:33am)
IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack never stopped smiling Friday night as members of the IU women’s basketball team danced their way into the 2007-08 season, showing off their moves as each was introduced at Hoosier Hysteria. Even Legette-Jack gave the crowd something to cheer about as she took the floor before taking the microphone and firing up the crowd, asking for fans’ support this season. \n“Will you stay with us?” Legette-Jack asked the crowd of several thousand, many of whom came even before women’s practice started. \nJunior forward Whitney Thomas said the team is ready to move from early morning offseason conditioning to full-out practice.\n“It’s great,” Thomas said. “We’re ready to get started. We had a long preseason getting in shape, getting ready, and we’re excited to finally start playing basketball.”\nJunior forward Kim Roberson agreed and said the team believes Friday night was the start of “becoming great.” \nLegette-Jack said she is excited to begin the season. Basketball “brings out the best of everybody,” she said.\n“This is our passion, and it takes us to a whole other level,” Legette-Jack said. \nA feature of this year’s \nwomen’s basketball team will be new faces. The team has six freshmen, one walk-on, one sophomore and a transfer on this year’s roster. Guard Nikki Smith is the lone senior on the team. \nHowever, the team’s veterans don’t seem worried about this youth movement. \nRoberson compared introducing the new players – especially the freshmen – to IU basketball to “taking a child to a candy store,” and Thomas said all the newcomers are settling in well.\n“They’re acting like they’ve been here forever,” Thomas said.\nLegette-Jack said she is especially excited about the freshmen.\n“I never thought that we could recruit kids that have the same kind of energy that I have,” Legette-Jack said. “Well, I really think my six freshmen take a pound of sugar and just pour it back. They have so much energy and passion.”\nLegette-Jack said the team’s new players worked with the team in the summer to develop chemistry and bond. \n“They’re sisters,” Legette-Jack said. \nThomas, Roberson and Smith all said the team thrives on constant energy, something they said comes from Legette-Jack. \n“She’s fun to be around because she’s just so passionate about the game,” Smith said. “And she just wants us all to enjoy it because she’s been there and she’s been through what we’ve been through.”\nDuring Hoosier Hysteria, the team worked on layups, went through weave drills and practiced 3-point shooting – something the team seemed to excel at Friday night. \nIn the highlight event of the night, sophomore guard Jamie Braun defeated Smith in a 3-point contest. Braun eventually faced sophomore guard Armon Bassett, the men’s champion, and lost to him by just one point. \nAs for the dancing, Smith joked that the players had nothing to do with Legette-Jack’s dancing show, while Legette-Jack said she teaches her players dance moves in practice. \n“That is from her Syracuse days,” Smith said, to which Legette-Jack later responded with an exuberant smile: “I’m the best dancer on the team ... That’s how we warm up. I warm the team up.”\nLegette-Jack said the team is working to build a tradition at the University, and Friday night was just another step in that direction. \n“We have a legacy that we need to create here,” she said. “We’re on a mission to create some (history).”
(10/15/07 4:48am)
IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack never stopped smiling Friday night as members of the IU women’s basketball team danced their way into the 2007-08 season, showing off their moves as each was introduced at Hoosier Hysteria. Even Legette-Jack gave the crowd something to cheer about as she took the floor before taking the microphone and firing up the crowd, asking for fans’ support this season. \n“Will you stay with us?” Legette-Jack asked the crowd of several thousand, many of whom came even before women’s practice started. \nJunior forward Whitney Thomas said the team is ready to move from early morning offseason conditioning to full-out practice.\n“It’s great,” Thomas said. “We’re ready to get started. We had a long preseason getting in shape, getting ready, and we’re excited to finally start playing basketball.”\nJunior forward Kim Roberson agreed and said the team believes Friday night was the start of “becoming great.” \nLegette-Jack said she is excited to begin the season. Basketball “brings out the best of everybody,” she said.\n“This is our passion, and it takes us to a whole other level,” Legette-Jack said. \nA feature of this year’s \nwomen’s basketball team will be new faces. The team has six freshmen, one walk-on, one sophomore and a transfer on this year’s roster. Guard Nikki Smith is the lone senior on the team. \nHowever, the team’s veterans don’t seem worried about this youth movement. \nRoberson compared introducing the new players – especially the freshmen – to IU basketball to “taking a child to a candy store,” and Thomas said all the newcomers are settling in well.\n“They’re acting like they’ve been here forever,” Thomas said.\nLegette-Jack said she is especially excited about the freshmen.\n“I never thought that we could recruit kids that have the same kind of energy that I have,” Legette-Jack said. “Well, I really think my six freshmen take a pound of sugar and just pour it back. They have so much energy and passion.”\nLegette-Jack said the team’s new players worked with the team in the summer to develop chemistry and bond. \n“They’re sisters,” Legette-Jack said. \nThomas, Roberson and Smith all said the team thrives on constant energy, something they said comes from Legette-Jack. \n“She’s fun to be around because she’s just so passionate about the game,” Smith said. “And she just wants us all to enjoy it because she’s been there and she’s been through what we’ve been through.”\nDuring Hoosier Hysteria, the team worked on layups, went through weave drills and practiced 3-point shooting – something the team seemed to excel at Friday night. \nIn the highlight event of the night, sophomore guard Jamie Braun defeated Smith in a 3-point contest. Braun eventually faced sophomore guard Armon Bassett, the men’s champion, and lost to him by just one point. \nAs for the dancing, Smith joked that the players had nothing to do with Legette-Jack’s dancing show, while Legette-Jack said she teaches her players dance moves in practice. \n“That is from her Syracuse days,” Smith said, to which Legette-Jack later responded with an exuberant smile: “I’m the best dancer on the team ... That’s how we warm up. I warm the team up.”\nLegette-Jack said the team is working to build a tradition at the University, and Friday night was just another step in that direction. \n“We have a legacy that we need to create here,” she said. “We’re on a mission to create some (history).”
(09/27/07 4:00am)
I didn't own my first turntables until after I hit the age of 20. I don't even remember having turntables in my house as a child. The only record I really remember putting on was a Mickey Mouse 45. Most people in my peer group have had similar experiences. We were raised in the digital age with CDs and, more recently, MP3s. So how is it that vinyl has not only survived all of these years, but gained increased interest?\nJason Nickey from Landlocked Music said, "We wouldn't be in business if we didn't sell vinyl." \nLandlocked Music, 314 S. Washington St., is less than two years old and has been a local favorite for music fans who are interested in vinyl. The shop survives because of a diverse clientele that enjoys music of varying styles on multiple formats. Is this interest in vinyl due to aesthetics, audio or other factors?\nOne factor is that the experience is entirely different from other ways of listening to music. With an iPod or CD, changing tracks requires nothing more than the push of a button. Turntables don't have a skip button. If you want to hear a different track, you must physically put the needle on the track you desire. Vinyl allows for a more personal and calculated musical experience. \nSome people also stress that vinyl has inherent qualities that make it superior to other formats. CDs can't duplicate the "warmth" of vinyl, and some argue that the hiss or pop of an old record is more bearable than a skipping CD. However, vinyl is still a niche medium, and recent interest in crate-digging is probably not enough to bring vinyl back into the forefront. \nTo sum it up, Nickey said, "I don't have delusions that it will become the dominant medium. It's growing, but I don't think it will ever be what it was like in the '70s." \nAll methods of delivery have advantages and disadvantages, and after this brief look into vinyl, I hope you may be encouraged to get some dust on your knuckles, take out your earbuds and give it a chance.
(09/26/07 11:49pm)
Golf is not traditionally a fall sport in terms of Big Ten play. But that doesn’t deter the IU men’s and women’s golf teams from thinking about preparing for the Big Ten Championships in April. The fall is generally a time for players to work on their games and improve against the best competition possible, both in and out of the Big Ten. \nIU women’s golf coach Clint Wallman said his team looks to try to improve whenever possible. \n“Golf is a such a game that there’s always stuff to do,” Wallman said. “And for us, what we need to do is try to just get better each day, each event (and) look at where we need help.”\nSophomore Kellye Belcher said the team is looking good as the fall tournament schedule gets into full swing. \n“The team’s looking good,” Belcher said. “We have everybody back this year that we had last year, and we’re doing good.”\nThe women’s squad returns all its top golfers from last year’s team who made an appearance at nationals in the spring. Belcher said the team is focused on trying to repeat such a performance again this year. \n“We’ve proven to ourselves ... that we can compete and that we can beat a lot of the teams out there that no one expects us to,” Belcher said. “We know what it takes to get to nationals, and we’re going to work harder this year and get back there, hopefully.”\nSenior Elaine Harris said playing against Big Ten competition helps ready the squad for clutch moments and important matches. \n“Looking at the Big Ten, Purdue finished in the top five at nationals. Also Michigan State did well,” Harris said. “There are a couple of ... really good teams in our league, and playing with them always gets us ready for a fight.”\nWallman said he sees a lot of parity in the Big Ten this year. \n“I think the Big Ten is very balanced,” Wallman said. “I think the Big Ten championship in April is going to be anyone’s tournament. I think one of five or six teams could wind up winning the Big Ten.”\nWallman said he believes that, if his team prepares well and handles key situations correctly, it stands a good chance of repeating last year’s feat of going to nationals. From there, he said, anything is possible. \n“If we take care of our business, if we take care of our details, I’m fairly confident that we will have an opportunity to play in the post-season, and once you have the opportunity to play in the postseason, it’s a brand new game,” Wallman said. \nIU men’s golf coach Mike Mayer said he believes his team can improve its game by playing on varying types of courses to gain more experience. \nMayer also said he believes his team can compete with the best teams in the Big Ten, partially due to the Hoosiers’ depth.\n“I feel that we stack up very well with the (Big Ten) competition,” Mayer said. “I feel we have one of the best golfers in the conference in Jorge Campillo. I also feel that we have a deep rotation, and that makes us strong.”\nCampillo was IU’s lone representative at the NCAA Central Regionals last spring, where he tied for 72nd place. \nMayer said his team needs to worry about its own game without troubling itself with other teams, since golf is a game where teams cannot control each other’s play. \n“We definitely need to control the controllables,” Mayer said. “In golf, you can’t control how well your competition plays, so your focus is solely on your own game.”\nJunior Drew Allenspach said the team needs to learn to capitalize on chances when they present themselves if IU wants to be successful in the Big Ten. \n“I think we need to work on making better decisions in difficult situations,” Allenspach said. “We also need to convert opportunities when given the chance.”\nAllenspach said the team’s fall schedule is preparing its members well, and said he thinks this is one of the strongest fall schedules he’s played since coming to campus. \n “We are getting great exposure by playing strong teams in the fall,” Allenspach said. \n– Staff writer Kevin Luchansky contributed to this article.