IU vs. Kentucky

Place your pre-game, in-game, and post-game comments for the Kentucky game here. Unfortunately, I probably won't be able to update this post until Sunday. But wait, I do at least have one little tidbit for you and it comes from flipsidesports.blogspot.com and talks about the commitment it takes to hate Kentucky: I would like to challenge all the Hoosier fans reading this article to look in the mirror every day and ask yourself, "What have I done to hate Kentucky today?" Hating Kentucky is like raising a child. It is immensely pleasing but it takes a lot of work. Your child can grow to be healthy and happy, but only with proper nourishment and guidance. Similarly, the Hoosiers can only win this game if you have hated Kentucky with all your heart and soul since the last game. Your family, your job, your friends, your mortgage….if you let any of these outside distractions affect the disgust you have for Lexington, then you are letting your university (and God, I may add) down. Don't let this happen. Go Hoosiers!

IU 66 TCU 56

A very impressive win, especially if they could take back the final 2 minutes where IU gave up a 15-2 run with 6 turnovers to end the game. But the 20 minutes prior (the last 1-2 minutes of the 1st half and the first 18 minutes of the 2nd half) was the best basketball this team has played all year.

After being down 23-22 with a minute or two to go in the first half, IU then outscored TCU 42-18 over the next 20 minutes. Impressive.

That deep 3 by Story at the halftime buzzer was outstanding. Stephen Bardo even said he shot that one from Kokomo. After a back and forth 1st half, that shot by Story gave IU a 4-point lead at halftime

Then, IU just came out in the 2nd half and dominated. Pritchard was playing great inside and Dumes got it going outside and the entire team was playing great defense and rebounding. And even though the team still finished with 19 turnovers, that was still good for a couple reasons -- (1) it's below 20 and well below their season average that had them 3rd worst in the nation heading into this game. (2) 6 of those turnovers came in the final 2:01. So, they only had 13 turnovers in the first 38 minutes while they built a 20+ point lead.

I actually thought it was interesting that Crean still had the starters in there with 2 minutes to play and a 22-point lead. But then I was thinking that he probably wanted to use this game as a confidence-booster that they beat TCU by 20+ and held them to under 50 points. Good thought, but it backfired. Nonetheless, it was still a very good performance for this young team.

Overall Team Performance: A-

When this game started, I was impressed by TCU's defensive intensity and I thought we were going to be in for a tough battle. I would not have been surprised at all if this was a game we would lose. Even after the first half, it looked like it would be a close game throughout, but they really came out and played great in the 2nd half. They hit their FTs (16-20), hit enough 3s (6-18), won the battle of the boards (31-25), and won the turnover battle (19-21). So, other than the final 2 minutes, it was a good night.

Tom Pritchard: A-

Started the game horribly with 2 early turnovers and 2 early shots that didn't catch rim, but really played well the rest of the game. Notched another double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. He was all over the offensive glass with 9 of those 11 rebounds coming on the offensive end. Interestingly, all 6 of his rebounds against Gonzaga were offensive, so 15 of his last 17 rebounds have come on the offensive end. Obviously, you would like to see more than 2 defensive rebounds in a 2-game span, but 15 on the offensive end is outstanding. And those offensive rebounds were huge in this game. He was either getting the put-back himself or in one case, he kicked it out to Dumes for a 3.

Kyle Taber: B+

Solid. Did his thing. IU did feed him in the post once and he put in a really nice jump hook. I'm not saying he should be "featured" in the offense, but he might need to look to score a little more. So far this year, he has shown some skills.

Daniel Moore: B+

Another 30 minutes for the walk-on freshman. I really like the way that he always seems to be in motion. You don't ever see him standing still. Again, when he is being asked to handle the ball as much as he is and having the ball in his hands at the end of the shot-clock, I can live with 4 turnovers. Especially when they are offset with 7 assists like he had tonight.

Even though he is not a threat to score, he is definitely the guy on this team that puts pressure on the defense and forces defenses to react. He had the assists on Story's buzzer shot, Pritchard's dunk, and Williams' dunk.

Nick Williams: A-

This is exactly what we need out of Nick Williams -- 11 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals, and a great dunk. He was active and did a little bit of everything. The dunk came in the 2nd half in a half-court set. Moore drove baseline while Williams found an open area in the lane. Moore fed him and he went up off of 2-feet and threw it down with 1-hand and some authority. It was great. If I am not mistaken, he is only the 3rd Hoosier to have a dunk this year -- several by Pritchard, 1 by Story on an all alone fast-break, and now this impressive dunk from Williams.

Devan Dumes: A-

This is also what we need out of Dumes. I just think if Dumes can score, this team gets elevated to another level. He poured in 20 tonight and really helped fuel that big 2nd half with some shots both inside and outside the arc. He also had 3 steals that led to some fast-break points.

Matt Roth: B-

Didn't quite have the shooting touch tonight. Not terrible as he was 1-3 from the arc and 2-6 from the field, but had some pretty good looks that I'd like to think he would usually knock down. His defense has a long way to go. He'll never be the quickest guy, but he still needs to get better on the defensive end.

Malik Story: B+

Not the best shooting night with 2-9 from the field, but I really like what he brings to the table. When he comes in the game, I feel like something good could happen on the offensive end of the floor. I like that he can shoot, he can drive, and he can pass.

Tijan Jobe: F

Tom Crean gave Jobe a 10-second test in tonight's game and Jobe failed it miserably. He came in the game and that Croatian guy drove right around him like he was standing still. Wait, it was not like he was standing still, he actually was standing still. You could hear the buzzer for a substition before the ball even went through the net.

Next up: Kentucky on Saturday at 3pm CT on CBS. Man, I sure do hate me some Kentucky. Those assfaces are 6-3 with losses to VMI (ouch!), North Carolina, and Miami (FL). Their biggest win was at West Virginia (54-43). See poll question.

IU 54 Gonzaga 70

I love this team and this coach. The future is extremely bright for Indiana basketball. If you didn't see the game, don't let the final score fool you. That was the largest lead of the entire game. This game was in single-digits throughout, including still a 9-point game with just 3 minutes to play. Similar to the Wake Forest game, this game was tied 10 minutes into the contest. Although I was pleased with that, I just figured it was just a matter of time before the blowout ensued. But that never happened and it was just a 5-point game at halftime. And it wasn't like IU was playing perfect just to stay close to the #5 team in the country. In fact, some of the statistics were atrocious at halftime including 6-25 (24%) field goal shooting and 13 turnovers. In addition, IU's two top scoring threats in Pritchard and Story were both saddled with 3 fouls. Then, the second half started and IU turned it over on their first 4 possessions and I think they had 7 turnovers in the first 4 minutes of the 2nd half. This allowed Gonzaga to quickly build a 13-point lead and this game definitely looked headed for blowout city at this point. But our young Hoosiers kept fighting. Dumes hit a couple 3s to get the lead back into single digits. Then, for most of the 2nd half the lead stayed in the 7-11 point range. Story came off the bench in the 2nd half and hit some 3s and then both Roth and Taber hit 3s at the shot-clock buzzer to keep IU in striking distance. With just 5 minutes to go in this game, IU had a 3 in the air that would have cut the lead to just 4 points. That one didn't drop, but I am still amazed that they were even in a position like that. If that shot drops to cut it to 4 points with 5 minutes to play, they legitimately would have had a chance to knock off the #5 team in the country. Unfortunately, this was about the point where Gonzaga was able to build the lead back into double-digits and eventually IU was forced to go into fouling mode and ultimately lost by 16 points. I was getting pretty pumped up as IU was hitting some of those 3s in the 2nd half to stay close. The two by Roth and Taber at the shot-clock buzzer had me really fired up. By the way, Taber is now 2-2 from the arc in his career. There was also a fun moment after Story had just hit a 3 and then Jobe swatted a Heytvelt shot out of bounds. Jobe started waving his arms and the crowd was going wild. The best part for me was not that this team was fighting hard because they always do that. The best part for me was that they were fighting to win. It was really fun to watch and see it in their eyes. Again, this was the #5 team in the country and a team with 5 guys over 6'11" tall. Now they need to make sure they carry this forward and beat TCU next Wednesday. Overall Team Performance: A- Once again, the turnovers (23) killed them, especially at the start of both halves. And once again, they were so outmatched, it was ridiculous. But their relentless hustle, FT shooting, and timely 3-point shooting kept them within striking distance. Daniel Moore: C+ When talking about being overmatched, it was most evident when Moore would try to drive the lane and pretty much got his shot blocked every time. He either needs to work on some type of pull-up 8-foot teardrop shot or he needs to do a better job of drawing the contact so that he gets the whistle. Today, I personally thought he should have drawn the whistle a couple of times because there was definitely contact and then I got pretty upset when they whistled Moore for a foul on the other end when he barely bumped Heytvelt. Moore really struggled in the early going with 3 turnovers in the first 4 minutes, but then I thought he settled in and did a pretty good job of running the show. Hopefully Verdell will be back soon so that Moore does not have to play 35+ minutes a game. I am still impressed with how Moore is playing overall. In particular, I remember a couple great plays by him today. One was where there was a rebound being tipped and bounced around all over the place, then all of the sudden Moore comes streaking through traffice and out the other side with the ball to start a fast-break for IU. The other was diving into a pile on the floor, grabbing the ball, and getting the timeout. Devan Dumes: B This was more of what I was hoping to see out of Dumes. Even though he was only 4-14 from the field, he was 3-7 from the arc and all 3 were big ones. The first one was in the 1st half when Gonzaga went on a 6-0 run to take a 6-point lead and I thought they were getting ready to run away, but then Dumes hit a 3 to cut the lead back to just 3 points. His other two treys were in the 2nd half after Gonzaga quickly built a 13-point lead and his triples got the lead back into single digits. It was good to see him hit some big shots, now we just need it more consistently. Kyle Taber: B- Taber led the team with 7 rebounds and continues to do a great job with all of the hustle plays. His shot-clock buzzer 3-pointer was so pure that I will be interested to see if he starts launching some more. The main thing lowering his grade was 2 plays where he very lightly fouled a guy that was already scoring a very easy layup. In both cases, he should have just let the guy go. Nick Williams: C Didn't really do too much in this game. Tom Pritchard: C Pritchard was actually pretty horrible most of this game, but there definitely were a couple moments where he was outstanding with some nice post moves and a couple really nice blocked shots. Again, it was a tall (literally) task for Pritchard again and he was in foul trouble the entire game. Unfortunately, his 3rd foul in the 1st half was a stupid one that happened 35 feet from the basket. He is too valuable to have mental errors like that. Then, I thought he kind of got screwed on his 4th foul. After scoring, he was just turning to run to the other end when Heytvelt intentionally through his shoulder into him. Pritchard reacted with a small shove and got whistled for the foul. Tough break for IU on a play that probably could have been a no-call or if the refs would have caught the first guy. But again, Pritchard is too valuable to allow himself to get suckered into a cheap 4th foul like that. Pritchard had 7 turnovers -- I think 6 of those came in the opening minutes of each half. But all in all, he was still able to manage 13 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 blocks in just 20 minutes of play. Matt Roth: C Once again, I don't like how deep every single one of his 3-point attempts are. In one case, IU had great ball movement to get him a wide-open shot and he had spotted up out at 25-feet. He could have just as easily spotted up 3 feet closer and still had an open look. The shot-clock buzzer is a different story and was a great shot, but every shot doesn't have to be so deep. I did think Roth did a pretty good job of helping out with the ball handling today. Tijan Jobe: C I thought Jobe was serviceable. I loved his attitude today. He pulled down a rebound with authority and was yelling. Then, he blocked that shot against Heytvelt and waved his arms in the air to get the crowd going. But other than those 2 plays, he didn't do anything else in 16 minutes of play. Oh wait, he actually scored 4 points for Gonzaga. On one, he was going for a rebound and tipped the ball in for Gonzaga. Then he also clearly goal-tended a shot that he actually deflected into the basket. I continue to be a big Jobe fan and may have to create a blog dedicated to TJ. Malik Story: B+ You have to continue to be impressed with Story. I really feel a big lift when he comes in the game. He was able to knock down a couple big 3s and he is also able to get into the lane and either score or draw a foul. I think he will continue to be a bigger and bigger part of the offense. Kipp Schutz: B Generally, I just skip over the guys that only play a minute or two. But I needed to throw this in here to mainly talk about the horrible officiating on a play Schutz was involved in. Schutz drove in on a fast-break, got fouled, got a shot up on the rim, and a Gonzaga player grabbed the net and pulled the rim down that then catapulted the ball into the air when he let go. The officials said that Schutz was in the act of shooting because they gave him 2 shots (IU was not in the bonus), but they missed the goal-tending call. I have no idea how 3 officials could miss the call because the ball was sitting on the front rim and then went flying 10 feet in the air when the Gonzaga player let go of the net. It's my belief that this cost IU the game and I will be writing a letter. Well, not really, but it still was amazingly bad officiating on that play. Coming Up: TCU next Wednesday. I just hope they can carry forward this effort and get a nice win against TCU because they then have Kentucky next weekend. Go Hoosiers!

IU 58 Wake Forest 83

I really thought I would be able to get in the proper mindset to take this season in stride, but I can't help it, I am still really pissed off right now. Definitely not pissed at how IU played, but I am pissed off that these players, us the fans, and the IU name has to go out there and get embarrassed. It just sucks. I'm pissed off that Wake Forest had their starters in with less than 4 minutes to go with a 27 point lead. IU did a damn fine job to shut down Teague (a freshman out of Indy and one of the best in the country) and hold him to 0 points in the first half. Then, he is still in there when the game is way out of reach and clearly just filling the stat sheet. I'm sorry, but in my world, there is no way in hell that he comes down the lane with 3:52 on the clock in a 27-point game for a high-flying dunk. I'm not looking to hurt anyone, but that's a hard foul waiting to happen in my world. Sorry, I just had to vent. That's just the way I feel and I can't help it that I still get fired up about this. Anyway, on to the game..... You really have to like how this Hoosier team came out and played. The very first road game for these guys and they head into a ranked ACC team's arena. I honestly thought this game would be blow-out city from the outset. I was thinking the game might open with something like 16-2, then be 39-11 at the 10 minute mark and 53-18 at half. That wasn't the case at all. This game was tied at 20-20 right around the 10 minute mark and I think that is incredibly impressive. The scary thing was that in those opening 10 minutes, Dumes had his head 10 feet up his ass with 4 turnovers and IU was 5-10 from the line. Unfortunately, the next 10 minutes were fatal as Wake outscored us 27-11 for a 47-31 halftime lead. Then, as the lead would slowly build in the second half, you could tell a little dejection was setting in for our young Hoosiers which is only natural. But this coaching staff is relentless with keeping the energy up and it showed tonight. This game never got above a 30-point lead, which shocked me especially with the Wake starters playing until 3 minutes to go in the game. To put things in perspective here, we had a walk-on freshman start and play 35 minutes in this game. And then, our first guy off the bench tonight just 2 minutes into the game was a guy from the baseball team who just happened to win a 3-point shooting contest. So, the goal of this year (and especially in games like this) is to try to find the positives. Actually, I think there were a lot of positives out of this game: * As mentioned above, this was the very first road game ever and it was going into a ranked ACC team's arena......were the Hoosiers intimidated? No. Outmatched? Yes. But intimidated? Absolutely not. I touched on it a little bit above, but I think IU actually had Teague rattled in the first half. It wasn't until this game was in blow-out mode and incredibly sloppy that you even heard Teague's name. Also, even after being "posterized" by several monster dunks, the IU players would scrape themselves up off the floor and go play hard at the other end -- no whining to the refs that there should have been a charge, no sulking that their backside will probably be on SportsCenter's top plays, they just kept playing hard. * They proved to themselves that they can hang with a ranked team on the road for 10 minutes. They are nowhere near being able to do it for 40 minutes, they just don't have the talent on the roster to do that. But 10 minutes is a pretty long stretch to play to an even 20-20 tie when you are so severely outmatched. * IU was only outrebounded 34-30 against a team that played 4 players over 6'11" and way, way, way more athletic. There were a couple possessions where IU was crashing the offensive glass and got 3 looks at the basket. * This game prepares them to SHOCK THE WORLD against Gonzaga this weekend at Lucas Oil Field. Just kidding. Unfortunately, we are so young and so overmatched that you can't even make crazy "shock the world" predictions. There is literally a 0.0% chance that we win that game. Let's move on the report card. Overall Team Performance: B It was a lot better than I expected. IU had 26 turnovers, but in all honesty, you have to expect the turnovers on a team that is so young and outmatched so severely in size, strength, and athleticism. I bet you that I use the word "outmatched" over 1,000 times this year on this blog. That's just going to be a fact of life and there isn't a whole helluva lot you can do about that. I think Crean is doing all he can by keeping the energy high, focusing on hustle, and mixing in the zone defense. The good thing on the turnover front was that IU hustled back after a lot of those turnovers and immediately intercepted a pass to get the ball right back. That must have happened close to 10 times. IU was able to force 24 turnovers total. Tom Pritchard: C- Pritchard was just outmatched tonight. Even if he would make a nice move around his defender, there was just another big athletic guy waiting on him. On a normal team, Pritch would have some help from another big guy down low. But when playing a team like Wake and now that other teams know that Pritchard has been our best player, it's going to get really tough on him. He only managed 1-7 from the field, but I still liked some of his moves and his aggressiveness. I think he had two missed dunks, but got fouled on one or maybe both of them. If he continues to improve, he will be tough for some Big Ten teams to handle. Malik Story: C- Story had a really good first half. He opened the game with a trey and did some really good things throughout the first half. But then he absolutely came unglued in the second half with a flurry of turnovers and a couple missed layups. I really like his overall game, but sometimes he gets going too fast. And he sucks on defense. Daniel Moore: B I was actually pretty impressed with Moore's overall performance. With Verdell Jones sitting this one out, Moore was forced into 35 minutes of action. Honestly, I thought we would see a pretty predictable pattern in Moore's play -- I figured he would play good against the likes of IUPUI, Chaminade, and Cornell and then I figured he would look like the ball-boy against the likes of Wake Forest. But he certainly held his own, especially in the first half. Yes, he had some blatant turnovers and yes he got his shot swatted a couple times, but I still thought he definitely made some plays and was able to break down Wake's defense at times. Also, keep in mind that he had the ball in his hands a ton of time in this game. So really, 4 turnovers is not all that bad in my mind. Nick Williams: A- His 3-point shot looked horrible (0-4), but Williams answered my call for him to hit the glass with 10 boards and just missed a double-double with 9 points. This team really needs him to help out on the glass. Also, after being plagued with the turnover bug (like the rest of the team), he only had 1 tonight. Devan Dumes: D Dumes is the guy on this team that drives me crazy. In the opening 10 minutes, he had 4 turnovers and two missed 3s. One of the 3s was a bad shot that was way too deep and the long rebound led to a dunk the other way. I think all 4 turnovers also lead to easy baskets. Again, this was all in the opening 10 minutes when IU played Wake to a 20-20 tie and had a couple leads during that time. If Dumes is playing better, IU actually could have opened a decent lead and made Wake start to sweat a little bit. I should note that Dumes did hit a 3 in that opening 10 minutes, so like I have previously said, there seems to be good, bad, good, bad with Dumes. Unfortunately, tonight was lopsided in the bad direction. I do have to admit that I kind of like the haircut and I think he looks like P Diddy or Puff Daddy or whatever his name his. Dumes finished 7 turnovers, 0 rebounds, and 0 steals in 30 minutes. Matt Roth: A- The box score I am looking at has him at 4-5 from the arc, but I am almost positive that I remember 2 misses. He definitely missed one and made one on a single possession. But I also thought after his first make, he missed one on the very next possession. I have no idea why I am going into this much detail on this.....who the hell cares.....regardless, Roth had a really good shooting night and a couple of steals, so that was good to see. Even though there are some limitations to his game, I like it when Roth is on the floor. I just feel like it gives them a true threat that has to be accounted for on the offensive end, especially from the outside. Dumes has yet to find his shooting touch, Williams and Story look like they will maybe hit the occasional 3, but Roth is a true threat with even a slight opening. I am not a big fan of some of the deep ones that he launches, but he has now hit a couple deep ones and that does provide some additional space for Pritchard to operate. Kipp Schutz: C+ Unbelievable that a guy from the baseball team that won a 3-point shooting contest was the first guy off the bench tonight. But he actually came in the game early and had a steal and a nice assist. But then later in the game, he had a couple turnovers, an ugly 3-point attempt, and 2 very ugly looking FTs. I hate the name Kipp. Tijan Jobe: C+ 2 rebounds in 8 minutes. Pro-rated to 40 minutes, that's 10 boards. I'll take it. And he pulled one of them down with authority. He had 2 turnovers though and clearly is not ready to have the ball in his hands on the offensive end. I am a big Tijan Jobe fan and will go apeshit when he gets his first dunk of the year. And if anyone is thinking about posting a comment that they don't think he will get a dunk this year, I will take that bet right now. The Chief will put it in the basket. Kyle Taber: B+ Taber was very active tonight. He kept a lot of balls alive again, but unfortunately, some of his "tap-backs" were retrieved by the more athletic Wake Forest team and led to some easy baskets. But I definitely like what Taber has to offer with his hustle. He had 3 steals tonight. However, it does make offense a struggle when Taber and Moore are both in the game because neither one is much of a threat. Coming Up: Gonzaga. Ouch. What a tough week. I may just try to get my Christmas shopping done this weekend. Tom Crean will have his work cut out for him to keep these guys holding their heads high and playing with energy. Go Hoosiers!

IU 72 Cornell 57

I have to say that I am pretty excited by that performance. That was by far IU's best game of the year. This is a Cornell team that went 14-0 in the Ivy League last year and is returning 9 of their 10 top scorers. However, 2 of their top 3 players are currently injured. Even so, this Cornell team is a much better team than IUPUI or Chaminade that IU barely beat. This Cornell team also featured Randy Wittman's son, Ryan, who was definitely the real deal as a shooter. IU jumped out to an early 14-4 lead and they never relinquished the lead even though most of the game was played in the 4-8 point lead range. Several things really impressed me about our young Hoosiers today: * There was a very scary moment where Verdell Jones took a hard mid-court screen from Cornell's 7-footer. He laid on the floor for about 10 minutes before being carted off on a stretcher. As of the latest report from the hospital, it sounds like he is going to be OK. But it was a very scary moment and the looks of shock on his teammates' faces made me wonder how they would respond. But Tom Crean did a great job by huddling the team up and he was yelling in that huddle to try to get the energy back in the team. Then, Crean was literally waving to the crowd to get up and the Hoosiers responded by continuing to play well. * Late in this game, I just had this feeling that Cornell was going to make a run and bring this game back to even. But not only did that not happen, IU actually put them away in the final 6 minutes by building their lead up to 15 points. * They flat out played their ass off today. This team has hustled all year, but they took it to another level today and fought on every single possession. * As far as individual performances, Nick Williams and Tom Pritchard were outstanding. Sure, a couple poor decisions that led to turnovers, but other than that, they carried the team today. Daniel Moore also had a very good game. * IU built their lead early in the game with 3-pointers. However, when they stopped falling in the 2nd half, they didn't fall apart. Instead, they either drove into the lane to get better looks or worked through Pritchard. * FT shooting was much improved. As a team, they were 15-19 with Pritchard going a respectable 9-13 and the rest of the team was perfect (Moore 4-4 and Dumes 2-2). * They outrebounded Cornell 37-24 and a lot of those were pure hustle. It was Kyle Taber keeping a ball alive by tipping it or Daniel Moore chasing down long rebounds in the corner. Overall Team Performance: A Easily their best performance of the year. Tom Pritchard: A- Another very impressive performance from Pritchard. This time, he was going up against a 7-footer. He finished with 23 points on a perfect 7-7 from the field and 9-13 from the line. He also added 7 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 blocks. The only downside was the 4 turnovers. His post moves and finishes were great today and I believe he had 3 traditional 3-point plays. Daniel Moore: A- 8 points on perfect 2-2 FG and 4-4 FT shooting and an impressive 6 rebounds. He also hit a key 10-footer with about 5 minutes to play when the lead was still only 6 points. Also led the team with 4 assists. Nick Williams: A- I think Cook already noted in his halftime comments that this was Nick Williams' coming out party and it sure was. He finished with 18 points, but 14 of them were in the first half where he was the key factor in IU building the early lead. He hit a pair of 3s, some mid-range jumpers, and also drove a couple all the way to the rack. He was also very active defensively. He did have 5 turnovers, but with the nice win today and Williams stepping up his overall game in a big way, we can look the other way today. One of his turnovers actually triggered what I thought was the play of the game. With 4 minutes to go and a 9 point lead, Williams lost the handle out front and it looked like a Cornell dunk would cut the lead to 7 points. But Williams hustled back and got a piece of the ball as the Cornell player went up for the dunk and the Hoosiers were off and running the other way. Moore did a nice job to find Story in transition and Story pulled up and drained the 3-pointer to build the lead up to 12 points. Assembly Hall went wild and this one was over. Verdell Jones: DNF Sounds like he will be OK, hopefully that will be the case. Devan Dumes: B Dumes continues his up and down play. Good play, followed by turnover, nice drive and bucket, followed by airball, and so it goes. I really thought Dumes did a pretty good job on Wittman defensively. Even though Wittman set a career high with 28 points, I thought Dumes made him work for it. And when Dumes was out of the game, I noticed it on the defensive end of the court. I still think we will see better things out of Dumes. He just needs some consistency and he'll be fine. Nice job with 6 rebounds. Matt Roth: B I thought I would probably just grade Roth on his 3-point shooting all year. So, in today's case, his 1-5 from the arc would generally get a lower grade. However, I thought Roth was making a difference in other areas with some deflections, steals, and rebounds. It was good to see. Malik Story: B Interestingly, Story was asked to play some point guard even before Jones went down with the injury. It certainly gives the team a different look and I thought he did a pretty good job. He was only 2-7 from the field, but I remember both of his makes clearly. The first was an impressive drive and a high-arching mid-range jumper that he softly kissed off the glass (Dumes made a nearly identical shot a couple minutes later). And then the other big shot from Story was the 3-pointer mentioned above. Kyle Taber: B+ Taber did exactly what we need him to -- hustle and get rebounds. He hustled his ass off and grabbed 8 rebounds. Nice job. Coming up: Well, it's not going to be a fun week for our Hoosiers. They play Wake Forest and Gonzaga this week. But, all we are looking for are positive signs for the future of IU basketball and there were plenty of them today. Go Hoosiers!

IU 81 Chaminade 79

It was good to see the Hoosiers leave Maui with a win, even it was a close win against a D-II school. It was nice to see them knock down some 3-balls, but as Cook and Tom already commented, the FT shooting nearly cost them the game. Pritchard, Story, Jones, and Moore all had good games. It was good to finally see Moore contribute in the scoring column (10 points). Unfortunately, it is pretty clear already in this season that he will probably be overmatched whenever the competition is good. IU led this game from the outset and would build the lead up to 15 points but they could never put Chaminade away. The Hoosiers continue to struggle to defend the 3-point shot and then their FT shooting in the 2nd half was especially bad. Those two things allowed Chaminade to keep clawing back into the game. But after a lot of back and forth, I was never really worried about this game until the final minute. In the final minute, IU missed several free throws and eventually Chaminade had a buzzer-beating 3-pointer that would have won the game. Luckily, it fell short and the Hoosiers left Maui with a victory and improved their record to 3-2. Next up is Cornell on Sunday at 3pm CT on the Big Ten Network. Cornell has a 4-2 record with wins over South Dakota, Loyala (Maryland), Loyala (Chicago), and Eastern Michigan. Their losses were to St John's and Siena. Go Hoosiers!

IU 54 St Joe's 80

Hey look! It's our very own Greg on TV!!!! (upper left corner of the screen, clapping). This was BY FAR the most exciting part of the game for me for 3 reasons: (1) I think it was pretty damn cool to see Greg on TV. (2) There wasn't a whole hell of a lot to be excited about this game. (3) This actually was the most exciting part of the game -- Roth had just hit a 3 to give IU a 19-18 lead mid-way through the first half. And I just noticed another really cool thing about this photo -- not only is it a shot of Greg on TV, it also captures IU leading the game 19-18 (which will be rare this year), but another cool thing is that it includes the bottom line update of Kelvin Sampson receiving a 5-year "show-cause" penalty. This freeze-frame is definitely a keeper. Greg - I actually spotted you and Vicki about four times throughout the game. Thanks for the comments on yesterday's game, please drop us another comment with your thoughts on today's debacle. I hope you are enjoying the scenery outside the arena! As for my thoughts on today's game....oh brother, this is going to be a much harder season to endure than I anticipated. I thought I would be mentally prepared for this season, but it really sucks to watch your team get embarrassed out there. Chris nailed it earlier today when he said we are on the national humiliation tour. I am really glad to see that the NCAA got it right by basically banning Sampson for 5 years and not issuing any further sanctions against IU. Why it took them so long to come to that conclusion, I have no idea. The good news is that we can finally move past all that bullshit and move on with our rebuilding process. Unfortunately, after watching today's game, it became perfectly clear that this rebuilding process is going to take at least into year three of the Crean era. Yes, we have a Top 10 class coming in next year, but I think next year will still be a struggle with all freshmen and sophomores. Also, I think part of our Top 10 class is based somewhat on sheer numbers. I think the fact that we have 6 players coming influences our overall ranking. A class like that is not necessarily better than a 3 player class that has one 5-star, one 4-star, and one 3-star. That 5-star player can generally make an immediate and significant impact. Don't get me wrong, a class with 6 solid players is exactly what IU needs right now -- we just need to be able to field a full team of true scholarship players so that you have some depth and some options. But at the same time, I'm not sure that this class has that player or two that can come in and dominate. One key to next year will be how good is Jeremiah Rivers going to be as a 4th-year Junior? Anyway, back to today's game, we'll have plenty of time to talk about the future. It's hard not to think about the future when the immediate past and the present make you want to puke. Overall Team Performance: D They played much worse than they did against Notre Dame. If you didn't see today's game, the Hoosiers actually started pretty good. It was a close game with lead changes in the first half, but then IU got outscored 7-0 in the final 2-3 minutes to close out the first half and they went into halftime trailing by 5. Not the way you want to finish the half, but all in all, a pretty good first half. But then it got ugly in a hurry. To follow-up that 7-0 run to end the first half, IU then gave up a 19-0 run in the early going of the second half. IU did score a couple quick buckets out of halftime, but then that 19-0 run happened and this thing was a laugher. And it didn't just end with the 19-0 run, I think there was a whole stretch that had to be something like 34-5. IU's turnovers during the 19-0 run were horrible -- completely unforced turnovers. We did not have a single player score in double-digits. There are just no answers when this team starts to struggle. Things start to get rough and your only option is to go to the bench and bring in more freshmen and walk-ons. So, I just don't know how this team is going to be able to weather any storms. Crean did the right thing and took 3 timeouts during the 19-0 run, but they would come out of the timeout with yet another unforced turnover. Also, the defensive awareness was a joke. IU played mostly zone in the first half for a few reasons. One, St Joe's best player was a big man so the zone was collapsing around him (this actually worked very well). Two, St Joe's came into the game shooting 25% from the arc. And three, Tom Pritchard was in foul trouble. Unfortunately, one of the St Joe's players (Govens) got hot. I think he hit his first 6 treys. But they were all wide open. After he hit two or three, I was yelling at the TV that they have to stay with that guy, but they would continue to leave him wide open. Crean even said in the postgame that this guy was at the top of the scouting report, but the guys just didn't stay aware of where he was. And finally, another poor shooting performance by the Hoosiers from the line (15-23) and the arc (3-14). Nick Williams: C+ He was OK. I noticed him with some hustle plays, etc., but nothing special. Tom Pritchard: C- Only 7 minutes in the first half due to 2 fouls and only 17 minutes overall. Definitely his worst performance to date, but still showed some of the things we liked about him in the first 3 games. Daniel Moore: D- Moore was horrible today. 7 turnovers and 0-2 from the line. Some really, really bad passes today. I guess he did have 3 assists and 3 steals, both of which led the team. But I really expected to see double-digit turnovers when I checked the box score. I was also surprised that Crean played him 29 minutes even though he was struggling so much. But I guess that just goes back to the point of nobody else to turn to. Verdell Jones: B- His lack of strength continues to be a problem when he drives the ball, although he was able to convert on a couple crafty moves. He was 4-8 from the field and only 1 turnover, so there are a couple positives. Devan Dumes: D+ Dumes needs to be better. Period. He has some experience, so he needs to be the one that can take the ball and make something positive happen. Unfortunately, he can't seem to get his shots to fall on both his drives to the basket and his 3-point shot. Another 0-3 from the arc today makes him 0-7 in Maui and 2-16 in the last 3 games from downtown. Also went 2-4 from the line which makes him 2-6 from the line in Maui. He has to do better than that. Tack on 5 turnovers and it just wasn't a good day. Matt Roth: B Hit 2-3 from the arc. That's what we need. Brett Finkelmeier: D- Tough day for the walk-ons from Carmel. Finkelmeier had 2 turnovers in just 5 minutes of play. Malik Story: B I'm liking what I see out of Story. He was today's leading scorer with 9 points and added 4 rebounds and 2 steals. I was a little surprised that he didn't get more than 17 minutes with the way that most of the team was struggling. However, it's been hard to really notice because the whole team defense is so bad, but I do suspect that defense is his weak spot with this coaching staff and that is why he is not seeing more minutes. On the offensive end, he is active, he can shoot the 3-ball (1-4 today, but at least he made one), and he can get in the lane. It's not always a positive result, but at least it's something. This guy really, really reminds me of Robert Vaden. Tijan Jobe: B 2 points on 1-1 FG shooting and 3 rebounds.....hey, it was a career day! And maybe now that expectations are so low, anything positive is a bonus. But in all honesty, Jobe came in and was serviceable today. He went after a couple rebounds aggressively. Unfortunately, he is a non-factor defensively and simply does not know how to use his size effectively. I will tell you one thing, I am fascinated by Tijan Jobe. I wonder if Crean would hire me as an assistant to work solely with Jobe. Heck, that one baseball player is on the team because he won a 3-point shooting contest, so anything is possible this year. If I were to be given the opportunity to coach Jobe, I would simply kick him in the nuts repeatedly until he ripped my head off, dunked it, and tore down the entire basketball goal. At that point, he would finally be ready. Kyle Taber: B 7 points, 6 rebounds, 3-3 from the line, and an impressive post move. Pretty good, but he did miss one wide open layup. Tomorrow's Game: IU plays Chaminade at 6pm CT on ESPNU. This will probably be a close game. I'll be traveling to the Hoosier state tomorrow and I'm not sure that I will have access to ESPNU, so I don't know when I will get around to posting about that game. I will be recording the game at home for viewing at a later date. Stephen Curry: I also just wanted to make note about Stephen Curry in case you have not seen the insane start to his season and then the bizarre twist in today's game. First, check out these first 5 games from Curry: Game 1 - 29 points, 10 assists, 9 steals Game 2 - 33 points, 9 assists, 4 steals Game 3 - 44 points, 3 assists, 2 steals Game 4 - 30 points, 13 assists, 3 steals Game 5 - 39 points, 4 assists, 0 steals Heading into today's game, he was averaging 35.0 points, just under 8 assists, 3.5 steals, 53% FG, 45% 3-pt FG, and 91% FT. In today's game, he was held scoreless. But here's the kicker, he was held scoreless while Davidson cruised to an easy 78-48 win over Loyala (Md). The reason it was so easy was because Loyola was double-teaming Curry no matter where he went. So, Curry just went and stood in the corner, 2 defenders went and stood with him, and then the rest of the Davidson team played 4-on-3 for the whole game. Here is the full article: http://www.sportsline.com/collegebasketball/gamecenter/recap/NCAAB_20081125_LOYMD@DAVID

IU 50 ND 88

Well, the good news is that is exactly what I expected. I fully expected a 30-40 point loss and that's what happened. The bad news is that we are going to have to endure these types of games all season long. There's just no way around it. We are going to have to look (and sometimes look hard) for any positives out of this team that will hopefully carry forward to the next few years. Even though I was fully expecting a loss of this nature, it was still painful to watch. This young and small team is going to struggle on the boards all year long. It's also clear that they are going to really struggle on the defensive end -- not only are they often outmatched physically and athletically, but it is very common for freshmen to struggle defensively. And finally, they are struggling on the offensive end because most of these guys are used to high school where they can get into the lane and then finish with a clear shot at the basket. Now at the college level, every shot is contested and you are often getting pushed and bumped in the process. So, the result has been a lot of nice moves by the Hoosiers but then they end up just chucking something off the backboard after their shot is altered. And finally, young players are always going to struggle with turnovers. So, if you are a team that is a young team without any size that is going to struggle rebounding, struggle on the defensive end, struggle on the offensive end, and have a lot of turnovers.....well then, you are going to have a lot of games like tonight. There are two areas where I think this team can improve and that is FT shooting and 3-pt shooting. They were just 1-12 from the arc tonight and only 7-13 from the line. Other than those two things, it is what it is. To put all of this into perspective, let's take a look at some of the roles on this team. We will look at this 3 ways -- their current role on this team, what I think their role would be in a normal year, and what I think their role will be next year and future years. Kyle Taber (this year) - Senior leader of this team that will likely start most of the year and will see significant minutes. Kyle Taber (normal year) - Well, last year as a junior, he did not even see the floor until last year's team completely imploded. Even then, when he did play and get an offensive rebound, he was under strict orders to dribble it back out and give the ball to Eric Gordon. So, if this was a normal year, Taber would likely be sitting on the end of the bench and we wouldn't hear his name until Senior night. Kyle Taber (next year and future years) - N/A Verdell Jones (this year) - Starting point guard. Verdell Jones (normal year) - I think he would be a candidate for a redshirt year. He is just not strong enough to be ready for big-time college basketball. Verdell Jones (next year and future years) - The point guard position gets really interesting next year. You will have Jones who will have a full year with a lot of minutes under his belt. Jeremiah Rivers who was on the Big East All-Defensive team will enter the mix. Jordan Hulls looks to be a really nice point guard recruit out of Bloomington. And Daniel Moore looks like he could continue to compete for time. So, it will be really interesting how it all shakes out, but that will hopefully be a good problem to have. I do think Jones could be a good player if he can get stronger and improve his jump-shot. Devan Dumes (this year) - The number one scoring option on the perimeter. Devan Dumes (normal year) - I would see him as the first guard coming off the bench. Devan Dumes (next year) - I'm hoping we will see better things from Dumes this year. I feel like he has been struggling to find his groove in these first 3 games. If he can improve all year, then I would think he would start and be a key scorer as a senior on next year's team. Tom Pritchard (this year) - The number one (and only) scoring option inside. In the early going, he looks to be the "go-to guy". Tom Pritchard (normal year) - Probably the first big man off the bench and would see significant minutes. Tom Pritchard (next year and future years) - I think Tom Pritchard is going to be a great Hoosier. Even if IU brings in a couple big-time scorers (and let's hope there are a couple on the way), I think Pritchard will be a major contributor throughout his career. Nick Williams (this year) - Starter with major minutes. Emotional leader. Nick Williams (normal year) - Maybe see some minutes off the bench but not many. Seems like he just needs some time to learn and become more polished. Nick Williams (next year and future years) - He won't ever be the leading scorer, but I think he will be able to do a little bit of everything. I think he might end up being a fan-favorite. Matt Roth (this year) - Will play significant minutes. Matt Roth (normal year) - Probably wouldn't see the floor much as a freshman. Looks to be a pure shooter, but has to improve in other areas, especially on the defensive end. Matt Roth (next year and future years) - I think Roth will normally come off the bench and will be a Kyle Hornsby type of player. Malik Story (this year) - Will play significant minutes. Malik Story (normal year) - Probably wouldn't see the floor much as a freshman. Needs more polishing. Malik Story (next year and future years) - Not sure. Looks like he potentially has a lot to offer -- he has good size, he can shoot, and it looks like he could potentially be a good passer and someone you could give the ball to on the wing to either feed the post, drive the lane, or shoot the 3. He's not there yet, but I do see that potential in him. Daniel Moore (this year) - Significant point guard minutes and maybe even the starter. Daniel Moore (normal year) - In all honesty, a walk-on freshman at IU normally wouldn't ever see the floor (whether he deserves it or not). Daniel Moore (next year and future years) - As noted above, the point guard position gets a lot more crowded next year. However, I see Moore as the type of guy that is going to make it hard on Crean not to play him. He will be ready if any of those other guys have their head up their ass. Tijan Jobe (this year) - He's going to have to play. Tijan Jobe (normal year) - Would not be on the roster of a major D-1 school. Tijan Jobe (next year) - Will be used in practice to "uncurl" the net. Brett Finkelmeier (this year) - Going to see some minutes. Brett Finkelmeier (next year and future years) - Back to the end of the bench. Other walk-ons (next year and future years) - Grab some water bottles because being a manager is going to be the best you can do. So, when you add it all up, you really only have Pritchard and Dumes and maybe Williams that I would see significantly contributing in a normal year. That makes it very difficult on all these guys because they are all being asked to play roles that are much larger than they are capable of. And that can make a big difference. I think Devan Dumes could be much more effective as a 2nd or 3rd option on the perimeter than he will be as the 1st scoring option on the perimeter. Well, that is basically what I typed up the other night before my internet connection went down and I lost my whole post. So, I hope that was worthwhile. Now, back to today's game. With all of the above having been said, we will do our best to try to find some positives. Overall Team Performance: B- What can you say, that was what we expected and you certainly can't blame these guys. So, I give the team a B- and Kelvin Sampson gets an F- for putting us in this situation. Sure, you can analyze that the got outrebounded by 10, they had 20 turnovers while only forcing 10, and they were often out of position time and again on the defensive end. But again, that is where you expect this team to be against a very good and experienced Notre Dame team. Tom Pritchard: A- I wanted to start with Pritchard because he really impressed me again today. He was going up against last year's Big East Player of the Year and a national Player of the Year candidate this year and he held his own. After a solid first two games, I really thought that Pritchard was going to end up looking foolish in this one. Although he did look foolish on a couple possessions, he also had some really nice moves and more than held his own against Harongody. In fact, statistically, it was pretty much a dead heat with Pritchard having 14 & 6 and Harongody having 14 & 5. Of course, Notre Dame had this game in hand and didn't really need to rely on Harongody, but I was still impressed with Pritchard. Malik Story: B- Hit IU's only 3, but didn't do much else. Like many of the Hoosiers, he will make a nice move, but then seems to be in unfamiliar territory when a 6' 10" dude slides over and he'll end up with a poor shot or a turnover. Matt Roth: D Ok, wise guy, let's step in to 21 feet or less and start making those before you continue to launch from 26 feet and beyond. Daniel Moore: C+ I thought he started really good by running down loose balls and running the offense, but as the game went on, he was completely outmatched on the defensive end and also ended up having 4 turnovers. Devan Dumes: C+ Need some consistency. He would make a few really nice drives and pull-up jumpers, but then would make a bad play. This team really needs him to be hitting from downtown (0-4 tonight). Also, coming in as a junior and quoted as "loving to play defense", I think I was hoping for more on the defensive end. He really looked bad on several plays on defense, but then again, when your team defense is that bad, it's often hard to tell who screwed up. Dumes was also 0-2 from the line, that just can't happen. Verdell Jones: C Played a little better late in the game. There were several times that he just looked foolish trying to drive into the teeth of the defense. He better work on his Reggie Miller flops so that he starts getting more foul calls or else he just gets pounded to the floor and turns it over or throws up a bad shot. He did go 4-4 from the line, so there's a positive. Nick Williams: B Williams had a good night on the offensive end by going 5-9 from the field. He had a nice mid-range jumper going today. Only 2 boards though. Even though he is only 6' 4", he has to use his energy to be all over the boards. Kyle Taber: C- Only played 11 minutes, which was a little surprising. Didn't even attempt a shot. Tijan Jobe: C- Well, I thought it was going to be Jobe's night. He pulled down 2 rebounds within the first minute of being in the game. But then he played another 8 minutes and did absolutely nothing. At 7-feet tall, he was a total non-factor on defense even as Notre Dame drove right down the lane. The term "project" would be an understatement and the fact that IU only has 2 years on this project probably won't yield much in results. Tom Crean: A I have absolutely no complaints of what Crean has done since becoming IU's head coach. By the way, tomorrow's game is at 12:30 CT on ESPNU, so I'm not sure how many people will be able to catch that one. I don't think that game will be as ugly as today's, but I still expect it to end up in the 'L' column. Hopefully, I'm wrong. Go Hoosiers!

IU 60 IUPUI 57

I don't want to send mixed signals out of the gate here, so I will first say that I am really happy that they won. However, I am extremely pissed off right now because I just spent a lot of time typing a very lengthy post and as I was finishing it, my Internet Explorer just crashed and I lost the entire post. I had included a full section with a paragraph on each player that described their role on this team and then I included what I thought their role would be on a team in a normal year. Unfortunately, I will have to postpone re-typing that whole section for another time. I had also included a few other random thoughts on this year's team and had finished up a pretty detailed report card. Since it is now almost 1am, I will now just go into a quick report card: Overall Team Performance: C I was really happy that they won and it was probably a really good experience for this team to play and win a game where every possession was important and it came down to the final few seconds. Of course, that doesn't necessarily mean they played well -- they started the game out really bad again, they struggled shooting, and their defense was horrible in the 2nd half. What I did like is that they were better on the boards and they had 17 assists on 21 field goals, which is really impressive. Should we be happy that we beat IUPUI in a close game? Hell yes! This season is going to be a struggle, so we need to enjoy every single win. This season and some of these guys are going to be the foundation of IU's return to glory in the years to come. So, we need to enjoy every positive step that we see this year. Tom Pritchard: A Pritchard played really well tonight. He had a stretch where he had 7 points and 2 rebounds in just one minute. These 7 points started a 16-0 run that eventually resulted in a 19-2 run to finish out the half. Not too bad to start your college career with a double-double in your first two games and tonight's was with 19 points on 7-8 FG shooting. Kyle Taber: C+ Taber did absolutely nothing in the 1st half, but then hit that huge 3 in the 2nd half after IUPUI had stormed back to tie the game. That 3-pointer moved Kyle Taber into at least a tie for first place in the NCAA record books for career 3-point shooting percentage at 100%. I noticed Taber still favoring that knee at times, so he definitely does not look fully healthy yet. In addition, he has missed a lot of valuable practice time with a new coach and an entirely new team. So, I am hopeful that Taber will continue to get healthier and improve. Verdell Jones: C- Verdell is going to be one of those guys who will make a really bad play, then a great play, then a whole stretch of bad plays, then a whole stretch of good plays, and so on. I think the whole team will be like that, but I think we will notice it the most out of Jones. He took two 3-point shots tonight and both missed horribly, so I am hoping he is able to find the range. Nick Williams: B+ I thought Williams played much better than he did on Saturday. He was active, had a couple nice conversions in the lane, and rebounded well. Just missed a double-double with 10 points and 9 rebounds. I love his attitude and energy. Devan Dumes: D He is being asked to be the scorer on this team, so I think he has the green light any time he has an opening. However, he needs to convert. His jumper was off tonight and he was just 2-9 from the arc. He also had some bad turnovers and some questionable decisions. Matt Roth: B+ His specialty is shooting and he was able to go 4-9 from the arc tonight. He launched one from at least 7-8 feet behind the line and it bounced around the rim a couple times before bouncing out. That shows you that he has a nice touch on his shot because you usually don't see 27-footers bounce around on the rim. The ones he did hit were pure and a couple came at key moments in the game. He did miss an easy layup though. Dan Moore: A Andy hates the name Daniel, therefore he shall be known as Dan. Clearly becoming an early fan-favorite and deservedly so. He is gritty, tenacious, a good-ball handler, and a great passer. He had 6 assists and 1 turnover (box score shows 2 turnovers but one was the baseball pass just before halftime with 1 second left). He could have easily had more than 10 assists if the other guys would have hit their layups and a few wide-open jumpers. He also came through in the clutch by knocking down 2 free throws in the final seconds. Malik Story: C+ Of all the guys that are seeing any minutes, Story is probably the one guy that I am having the toughest time getting a good read on. He has had a few boards and assists in each of the games, so I think he could be a nice all-around player, but my sense is that he still needs some polishing. Tijan Jobe: D 3 minutes, 2 fouls, 1 turnover, 0 points, 0 rebounds, 0 assists, 0 steals, 0 blocks. A word of warning before you sit down to watch our Hoosiers in the upcoming Maui Invitational, have some Pepto Bismol or alcohol available because we are going to get our ass kicked all over that island. Go Hoosiers!

IU 83 NW St 65

Was I impressed? No. Was I happy they won? Yes. Was I happy they won by more than a handful over Northwestern State? Yes. Did I expect to be impressed? No. I actually think this was a HUGE win for this Hoosier team. Not because they won, but just because of what the psyche would have been if they lost. This game started with NW St taking an 8-2 lead and I actually thought we were going to lose this game. Seriously, how were we to expect that a bunch of freshmen, JuCo's, and Kyle Taber would respond. It's actually a ridiculous question to even be asking yourself when you think about it. We don't even know who these guys are. But as they game went on, I think we started to see who these guys and Tom Crean are. And not only that, we started to see who they can be. I'm really excited. I think we got the right guy as our coach and I think these freshmen are going to be the foundation of some great teams in years 3 & 4 of the Crean N Crimson era. However, as Hoosier fans, we don't want to live in the future, nor do we want to rely on our storied past. It's college basketball season and I think we have plenty to talk about in the now. So, let's get started with our first report card of the year. Overall Team Performance: B- Hey, they won a game that I actually thought they might lose. So, that's good. I thought the rebounding was atrocious. When you only have 3 guys on the team over 6'6" and those 3 guys are two 6'8" un-athletic white guys and a 7-footer who has never seen a basketball, you are going to expect a poor rebounding team. That said, tonight's rebounding was still horrific. Yet another thing I like about Tom Crean.....the first thing out of his mouth was how bad the rebounding was. If you rebound like that against NW St, imagine what will happen against MSU and WI. Crean is going to have to coach all 5 guys to hit the glass. The other disturbing thing was the turnovers. Yet again, this is expected with an extremely young team. I did like that they played hard throughout the game. They could have folded like a card table when they went down 8-2 in the early going, but they didn't. They hung in there and eventually turned this thing into an easy victory in the 2nd half. Tom Pritchard: B+ A double-double (13 & 10) in your first game as a Hooiser.....not too bad. Probably didn't "Wow" too many people tonight, but I was overall pretty impressed with Pritchard. Let's just put it this way, I don't think we are going to have to resort to "Pritcheville" or "Lindetard". Kyle Taber: C Wow, what a tough role for Kyle Taber. To go from a guy that came on late last year for some effective spot minutes on a dysfunctional team....to being the leader of the first ever 17 & Under Division I college basketball team. And then, to boot, he injures his knee and this is the first full action he sees. So, a grade of a C is tough. But I do think we will see much better games out of Taber. I am a big fan, I thank him for sticking with us, and I look forward to what he has to offer this team. As for tonight, it was a little all over the place. We saw some bright spots that showed us why we started to like this guy late last year. Then we saw some other plays that showed us why he rarely saw the light of day on a legitimate contending team. Verdell Jones: C Looking at his stat line of 18 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 steals, and 3 blocks....you wouldn't think that worthy of a C grade. However, I think the stat of 3 turnovers has to be a misprint. I thought Jones had about 8 turnovers and made some extremely poor decisions. When you play the point guard position, these things are magnified. If your turn it over out front, it often leads to a fast break. And then other things that don't show up in the stat line....a great pass is an easy dunk, but I think we saw some lazy passes tonight that caused guys to chase the ball down in the corner. Do you see what I mean -- big difference between an easy 2 versus a bad pass that we have to chase down and re-set. Even though it's not a turnover, it's a missed opportunity. Don't get me wrong, I like Verdell's game and love the fact that he is a 6'5" point guard, but he didn't look strong enough or quick enough to play against a low major much less the Big Ten. That said, he did not give up. Even after a couple rough plays, he kept attacking. And I love that! I love that attitude. He could have folded, but he kept at it and still found a way to finish with 18, 5, 4, 3, & 3. That's a pretty damn good stat line for a true freshman who appeared to "struggle". Nick Williams: C Hey, the fact is that these true freshmen are going to have to play whether they are ready or not. I think Nick Williams is ready, but he had 6 TOs tonight and got schooled on some back-door cuts. That said, I REALLY like this guy. I think he is an AJ Moye type of player. I don't think he will lead the team in scoring, but I do think he will hustle his ass off and do whatever it takes to help this team win. Devan Dumes: A- To be honest, this is what I expect out of Dumes. He led the team tonight with 21 points and I do expect him to lead this team in scoring. I think his experience of playing collegiate ball already clearly showed over the true freshmen tonight. He looked like he belonged out there. His back-to-back treys in the first half helped the Hoosiers get this game to double-digits and they really never looked back. Matt Roth: B+ From reading articles, some people expect Matt Roth to be one of the stars of this class. I just don't see that. I see him as a sharp-shooter and not much else. I picture Kyle Hornsby. From what I saw tonight, I stand by my thinking. I thought his shot looked great - he nailed his first trey and then the other three that he shot all looked good and had a chance to go in. When you talk great shooters, their misses are generally "in-and-out" or "half-way down". Think back to Steve Alford -- that guy never missed badly. It either went in or it damn near went in. That is what I saw out of Matt Roth tonight. However, I didn't see much else. For example, I don't think he will ever be a great defender or a great ball-handler, but if he can truly be a pure shooter, then he will definitely find his place on this team and the teams of the next 3 years. By the way, Roth was 4-4 from the line. Nice. Daniel Moore: A- I was incredibly impressed with Daniel Moore (walk-on freshman out of Carmel). I thought the team ran better with him at the point than it did with Verdell Jones. I actually think it will be interesting how the point guard position pans out this year. Verdell's upside is a million times that of Moore; however, Moore may give them a better chance to win and compete this year. I thought Moore's ball-handling and decision-making were pretty impressive. You kind of feel like he is the type of guy that is going to make it very difficult for Crean to keep him off the floor and that is exactly what you want to see. Brett Finkelmeier: B- He was out there, he was hustling, but he didn't leave me with the same feeling as Daniel Moore. But he was ready to play defensively and came away with 3 steals. Malik Story: B+ I was pretty impressed with Story. He's got a body like Robert Vaden and his game might turn out to be similar. I thought he came in tonight and made some really nice plays and think he could be the sleeper in this freshman class. (Note: that might mean sleeping through class). Tijan Jobe: D I've never seen someone that looks like him in an IU uniform. One problem.....he sucks. This is going to sound crazy, but here's what I think you do with Jobe. I think you red-shirt him next year. Here's why. He has an excellent basketball body, but it's pretty clear that he is still learning the game and learning how to use his body to his advantage. You can't redshirt him this year because you have absolutely no size on this year's team. Next year, you have another player coming in from Africa in Bawa Maniru. At the very least, Jobe gives other big men some size to deal with in practice. But I really think if you can give Jobe an extra year, he might be able to contribute in the following year. And that might be contributing to a team where it actually means something. My fear is that this guy will get things figured out around the end of next year and then our time will be done with him. Anyway, I wouldn't expect too much this year. This guy has a long way to go. Tom Crean: A This grade is not so much for tonight, but just recognition for the job he has done since stepping in. He stepped into an absolute shit-storm and I think he has done a great job thus far. Keep up the good work, Tom. Go Hoosiers!

Cook's Recruiting Hotboard

Hey everybody! Long time, no speak. As you know, I am as die-hard as they get when it comes to IU basketball. And because every season takes a couple years off my life, I enjoy the off-season and tend to take a break from this blog. In addition, I usually don't follow recruiting that closely because recruiting ends in disappointment more times than not. Once a player commits to IU, then I definitely go check them out and learn as much as I can. But even then, so many things changes these days -- see the recruiting class of Devin Ebanks, Terrell Holloway, Eshaunte Jones, and Bud Mackey. This is why the IU Hoops blog has hired a recruiting specialist -- Ryun Cook. He has been on top of everything this off-season and has put together the following Hotboard that will get you completely up to speed on IU's recruiting efforts. Thanks Cookster! Goodbye to: Roger Franklin-this one is tough, but we have plenty to be excited for. Really weird how it cooled off so quickly. I think it sounded like Roger wanted too much attention and was being too wishy-washy with us, but who knows? Hello:Bawa Maniru-read below (#9) SVT? Stephan Van Treese-his name is resurfacing as a possible walk-on. Look at all the solid 2010’s and 2011’s who really have interest in IU at this point. 1. PF/C-Derrick Favors-6’9’’-Rivals-5 stars, #4 overall. Scout-5 stars, #1 overall. ESPN- #2, Scout’s Grade 92 We’ll keep him here, but I haven’t heard anything lately. This is an absolute long-shot, but is atleast worth listing. IU wasn’t on the board until the hiring of Roshown McLoed. He has given his list of 10 teams and IU wasn’t even on it, but supposedly his connection with McLeod atleast gets us in the conversation. As I said, definite long shot, but would turn us into an immediate dangerous team in ’09-’10. His list: Florida, FSU, NC St., UNC, GA, GT, Kansas, KY, UConn, Memphis, UCLA, IU? Likelihood he’ll be a Hoosier: Very Low 2. SG-Dominic Cheek-6’5’’-Rivals-5 stars, #16 overall. Scout-5 stars, #15 overall. ESPN-#11, Scout’s Grade 92 This seemed a long-shot until he was quoted as saying he guaranteed IU would be one of his 5 official visits. This too comes completely from the McLeod hire. He’s known him since he was a little kid. Crean has an established relationship with him as well. Some say we need big men too badly and that we already have Williams, Creek, etc, but this guy is big time. He also says he can play the 1,2, or 3. Once again, add a scorer like this to the 4 commitments we already have and Rivers, and ’09-’10 looks really exciting! Most recent update is that rumors are hot and heavy he’ll end up at Villanova. His list: UConn, FL, GTown, IU, Kansas, Rutgers, Seton Hall, Tenn, TX, Villanova, Wake Likelihood he’ll be a Hoosier: Medium/Low 3. SG-Maurice Creek-6’5’’-Rivals-4 stars, #59 overall. Scout-4 stars, #45 overall. ESPN-#62, Scout’s Grade 84 I wanted to include the guys who are already committed for comparison sake and excitement. Creek was around #75, then didn’t play for awhile and missed some big tourneys. His rankings plummeted. Then he went out to AAU nationals and tore it up! He had games in the mid 20s and 30s. He really impressed scouts out there and is drawing IU comparisons of Robert Vaden and Rod Wilmont. I really think he’ll start and possibly be our leading scorer in ’09-’10. Picked us over Texas, Pitt, and Maryland. Likelihood he’ll be a Hoosier: Committed 4. SF-Christian Watford-6’7’’-Rivals-4 stars, #34 overall. Scout-4 stars, #72 overall. ESPN-#26, Scout’s Grade 91 He has been dubbed our #1 priority. He has seemed to be our highest rated realistic recruit for awhile. He had consistently been ranked ahead of Franklin and Creek, but for some reason has slipped a little. Rumor had Memphis and Louisville as front runners, then backing off some. Supposedly it is just due to other higher ranked recruits taking priority. Seems like he would be a stud and would make our class special. Maybe like a young, poor man’s Jamal Mashburn? Common consensus is that he could play as a 4 in Crean’s system and really create match-up problems. I really look for him to be a Hoosier in ’09 and possibly our leading scorer as a freshman. Most recent rumors still say IU, and that a commitment could be coming very soon! His list: Memphis, IU, Louisville, Alabama, Missouri Likelihood he’ll be a Hoosier: Very High 5. PG-Jordan Hulls-6’0’’-Scout-4 stars, #91 overall. Rivals-3 stars, #106 overall. ESPN-NR Jordy’s (as Capo calls him) stock has sky-rocketed this summer! He went from unranked in Rivals and Scout to getting major respect. Duke, Stanford, and Purdue were interested until he committed to us. Sounds like he is a natural leader and a competitor. Everyone says he is a true PG and can shoot the 3. Sounds very clutch and an excellent free throw shooter. Maybe the build and skill set of Neil Reed with the attitude and intangibles of Tom Coverdale? I think this also will be a 4 year Hoosier favorite and compete for the starting PG spot with Jeremiah Rivers as a freshman. Likelihood he’ll be a Hoosier: Committed 6. C-Angus Brandt-6’10’’-Scout-4 stars, #86 overall. Rivals-3 stars, #146 overall. ESPN-NR Talk about storming onto the scene! This guy came from unknown Aussie to tearing it up so much in AAU that everyone is talking about him. Now if you’re like me and still get nauseated thinking about our last Aussie, Ben Allen, you might be skeptical. Supposedly this kid is a true post player, but has range as well. There was talk he’d be in the ’08 class and that IU has offered. He has decided to play at a prep school and be ’09, but we have offered. Sounds like we’re the favorites right now, and he could be the inside size and presence we need! Still sounds like IU is the leader, but more and more schools are showing interest. His list: IU, Oregon St., Gonzaga Likelihood he’ll be a Hoosier: Very Likely 7. SF-Derek Elston-6’8’’-Scout-4 stars, #90 overall. Rivals-4 stars, #98 overall. ESPN-PF #47, Scout’s Grade 70 They say he’ll run through a brick wall if asked to do so. They say he has the best attitude and is extremely competitive. His knee surgery kept him out of AAU and most think kept his rankings lower than they would have been. Sounds like he’s a tall 3, but in Crean’s system could be a very versatile 4. Once again I think a 4 year Hoosier we’ll love as long as the knee doesn’t linger. He picked us over Purdue, Georgetown, UNC, and Illinois. Most recent update is that recovery from knee surgery is going very well, and that he’s grown to 6’9’’ at this point. Likelihood he’ll be a Hoosier: Committed 8. C-Chris Braswell-6’8’’-Rivals-4 stars, #78 overall. Scout-4 star, #18 PF. ESPN-Scout’s Grade 89 Had committed to Georgetown as a ’08, then decided to re-classify and play prep school ball with Maurice Creek and be a ’09. He also played AAU with Creek. Sounds like we started a solid relationship with him this summer, and sounds very realistic that we have a chance. He sounds like he’s tough and strong inside and would really fill a need we’d have. He’s considering IU, Georgetown, WV, Pitt, Syracuse, and UConn. He named his 5 official visits and we’re one of them. Likelihood he’ll be a Hoosier: Medium/High 9. PF/C-Bawa Maniru-6’9’’-Rivals-3 stars #111 overall Scout-3 stars #32 center ESPN-Scout’s Grade 73 This came out of nowhere for me, but he’s listed as big as 6’11’’ on some sites. Sounds like he’s quite the athlete. Solid rebounder and shot-blocker, but raw offensively. He runs the floor well, so he could be Crean’s-type center. A handful of big programs are said to be interested including some SEC schools. Don’t know how serious the interest is with him or us. Likelihood he’ll be a Hoosier: Medium/Low 10. PF/C-Bobby Capobianco-6’8’’-Rivals-3 stars Scout-3 stars ESPN-#100, Scout’s Grade 79 Capo picked us over West Virginia and Marquette. Averaged 21 ppg and 11rpg as a junior. Had a solid AAU season and climbed in and out of the rankings. Once again, comments include things like how hard he works and his great attitude. He has also been recruiting hard for us. Credit him with helping to get Hulls for sure. This kid is Mr. IU and he hasn’t played a game yet. He may not be one of our most talented kids ever, but I have a feeling we’ll love him. They say he’s a bull under the basket. He says he can step out and hit the 3. I’m not as excited about that, but he has hit some in tourneys this summer. I think he can contend to start at center as a freshman. Likelihood he'll be a Hoosier: Committed 11. Stephan Van Treese-6’9’’-most of you may know that his stock has plummeted over the summer. He was once highly recruited and listed IU, Kansas, Ohio St, UCLA as possibilities. Now he has dropped out of the rankings and seemingly has no big offers left. Rumors have it that he’ll end up at ND or walking on at IU as a ’09 and earn a scholly for his final 3 years. Many doubt this, but there seems to be foundation here. His brother goes to IU, his best friend is Capo, and he wants to go to a big program. This would be awesome to get a kid like this as a walk-on, but don’t count on it! Likelihood he’ll be a Hoosier: Low In order of likelihood: 1. Watford 2. Brandt 3. Braswell 4. Cheek We land any one of those guys and we’re a top 10 class in my opinion. We land any 2 and I think we’re very close to top 5. A look at 2010: SF-Harrison Barnes-6’5’’-5 stars-#3 prospect-Seems to have serious interest in IU, but has a very long list C-Josh Smith-6’9’’-5 stars-#4 prospect-Seems to have very serious interest in IU, but has almost as long of a list C-Adreian Payne-6’8’’-5 stars-#11 prospect-lists IU with many others SG-Daniel Bejarano-6’4’’-5 stars-#20 prospect-seems very interested in IU-lists us with 7 others. AZ kid-maybe signing of Carlino helps? PF-Tobias Harris-6’7’’-4 stars-#34 prospect-Thought he was really serious about IU, but not sure now. He has a huge list. SF-Justin Martin-6’6’’-4 stars-#36 prospect-Like most, he has a big list, but I think we have made some progress with him this summer. I really think we’re in the hunt. (Indiana kid) SG-Jordan McRae-6’5’’-4 stars-#41 prospect-Said he almost committed to IU after elite camp, and that we are currently his #1. PG-Kyrie Irving-6’1’’-4 stars-#44 prospect-We’re in his list of 8. SG-Anthony Brown-6’5’’-4 stars-#51-No idea how serious, but we’re on his long list. SG-Russell Byrd-6’5’’-4 stars-#69-He has a pretty long list, but he’s an Indiana boy and we made some major progress with his relationship this summer. PG-Lenzelle Smith-6’3’’-4 stars-#75-We’re on his long list. A look at 2011: PG-Marques Teague-6’1’’-5 stars, #1 PG-lists IU in top 7 G-Matt Carlino-6’2’’-High 4 stars-Committed PG-Jeremiah Davis-6’2’’-3 stars-lists IU in top 7 PG-Stevie Taylor-5’9’’-attended IU elite camp G-Spencer Turner-6’4’’-attended IU elite camp PG-Chasson Randle-6’2’’-lists IU in top 3 at this point GO HOOSIERS!

Status of Jordan Crawford

I'm not sure how much each of you gets caught up in the rumor mill......if you do, then you have probably been hearing many rumors that it is only a matter of days until Jordan Crawford is the next (and last full scholarship player) to get booted off the team or leave the program. Ever since Brandon McGee's dismissal, the Crawford rumors have really been heating up. Then, when Rivers signed, many crazed fans jumped to the immediate conclusion that Rivers was taking the scholarship soon to be vacated by Crawford.

Then, last night, I was browsing the peegs premium forum and peegs himself said he has been hearing things that Crawford's days may be numbered.

All of this had me worried because the exact same type of rumors were present in the days leading up to McGee's dismissal.

However, the latest news appears to be good news on the Jordan Crawford front. The Hoosier Scoop has posted the following from Crean's speaking event at Huber's Winery:

– Crean said that there is no change in Jordan Crawford’s status. Crawford, who will be the only returning player who came to IU on scholarship, is back in Detroit right now and will not attend summer school. “He doesn’t need to, and I think it’s good for him to get home,” Crean said. “It’s important to remember that those guys have been through a whole lot.”

Click here for other tidbits from Crean's speech at The Hoosier Scoop.

Jeremiah Rivers

Jeremiah Rivers (the son of Doc Rivers) has committed to IU this past weekend. A few weeks ago, the Washington Post had reported this as a done deal, but then that turned out to be premature. But it does appear to be a done deal now.

Jeremiah is 6-4 and 210 pounds.

Rivers will sit out this upcoming season and then join the Hoosiers as a Junior with the class of Hulls, Creek, Elston, and Capobianco. For that season, Crawford will be the only other Junior on the team.

His numbers from this past season at Georgetown are not that impressive. He averaged 18 minutes, 2.6 points, 2.4 rebounds, 0.7 steals, 1.0 assists, and 1.0 turnover per game. His season shooting stats were 32.5 FG%, 30.6 3PT% , and 57.6 FT%.

Crean has been playing in the same conference as Rivers for the past 2 seasons, so he obviously knows Rivers very well. From what I have read, he is a great defender. I sure hope he's a great defender because those offensive numbers are pretty bad. I checked out his freshman numbers as well and they were similar, but worse. Anyway, he does fit the Crean mold of being high character. And if he really is a great defender, then I think it is a smart move. It is important to have a lock-down perimeter defender in college basketball. Especially since the Hoosiers will be a very young team and younger players often struggle on the defensive end. So, he fills a need and is a different type of player than Crawford, Hulls, and Jones.

I have to admit that I have watched some Georgetown games over the past two years and I don't remember Rivers at all. Do any of you recall seeing him play for the Hoyas?

Jobe, Hulls, McGee, & Gladness

The Book on Jobe:
He big. He tall. He never seen basketball.

This has to be the most interesting signings so far. 7 feet tall, 255 pounds. Yet, in JuCo ball, he was only able to average 3 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 block. I guess the good news is that he only played 13 minutes per game.

Of course, his JuCo coach said that the JuCo game is up and down and Tijan will be better suited for D-1 ball. But that's what coaches say, they always stick up for their guys. Let's not kid ourselves, this is a big-time project.

But I still like the signing. IU desperately needed size and Jobe provides size even if he provides almost nothing else. Crean is big on player development, so maybe he can turn him into a contributing player. At the very least, you hope he can get some rebounds and block some shots. And with next year's team, who cares, just throw him out there for the entertainment value.

This will be interesting to watch. Generally speaking, you expect a JuCo player's numbers to go down when moving to D-1, but I actually think Jobe will contribute and put up some better numbers than 3 & 3. Like some of the emails today, at 7-0 tall, it's hard to be out there and not get rebounds or blocks or the occasional basket.

Another good thing about this signing is that it sounds like it is another high character guy, so that's been a constant theme for the Crean recruits and that's exactly what we need.

Another nice thing is that he is coming in as a junior. So, if he is an unsuccessful project, his scholarship will open up in 2 years and it balances out the classes a little bit.

Ok, this just came to me and I think it paints the perfect picture.....I think of Jobe in the same way that "The Chief" played basketball in the motion picture classic "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest".




Jordan Hulls:
Hulls is a 6-0 point guard out of Bloomington South for the '09 class. I think this is a great signing. He looks like a Hoosier basketball player. He was also being recruited heavily by Purdue and had interest from Duke and Stanford as well. His offensive skills look very good -- dribbling, passing, and shooting. The question will be his quickness, strength, and whether he can hold his own on the defensive end.

Again, a very high character kid. I think I read he has a 4.0 grade point average. A few weeks ago, IU was in desperate need of a point guard. Now, suddenly that position looks pretty good with Verdell Jones in the '08 class and Hulls in the '09 class.

Click here to follow a link to some highlights of Hulls at Jam Fest.

Note: the last IU player out of Bloomington South was Chris Lawson. Yuck.

Brandon McGee:
I think this is another good move by Crean. The message is crystal clear -- there will be guidelines and rules to follow both on and off the court, if you choose not to follow those guidelines and rules, you will no longer play basketball and Indiana University. In this case, it even sounded like Crean was working with McGee's high school coach and family, but it still didn't work out.

I tell you what, if Jordan Crawford survives all of this, I will have a lot of respect for him. If he survives, it will prove that he was doing the right things.

At this point, IU has lost approximately 85-90% of last year's production in almost every statistical category.

William Gladness:
On a sad note, William Gladness died this past week at 34 years of age. He died from a bacterial infection that was made worse because his spleen was removed after he was shot in high school. Gladness was a JuCo transfer into IU and averaged 8.2 ppg and 5.3 rpg in his 2 seasons in the cream and crimson.

Rest in peace, William.

Indiana Jones!

Yes! All the news and rumors pointed to Jones going to Minnesota as a done deal. But Crean pulled it off and we have our point guard.

Verdell Jones is a 6-4, 165 pound point guard out of Champaign, Illinois. He is an '08 recruit, so he joins Nick Williams, Devan Dumes (juco), Matt Roth, and Tom Pritchard for the '08 recruiting class.

Verdell is a 3-star recruit, rated #127 overall, and the 26th rated point guard.

Everything I read is that he is a true point guard, which fills a huge need for the Hoosiers. At 165 pounds, it is no surprise that his biggest question mark is his strength.

The other top 2 schools after Jones were Minnesota and Kentucky. Additional schools that were recruiting him included Oklahoma, Arizona, Virginia, and Tennessee.

Ok, so everything I read WAS that he is a true point guard. That is, until I just went to see if espn.com had an evaluation on him. They call him more of a shooting guard. Here is that evaluation:

Jones really came on this summer. He really knows how to score in various ways; a prolific scoring guard. He is a deep outside shooter, excellent scoring shot from anywhere on the court and gets to the rim at will. He's quick, but needs a lot of strength; weak up top. He is not a great defender but is capable of playing defense but loves offense a lot more. More of a 2 guard than point; not a playmaker; looks to score.

I'm hoping he turns out to be more of a point guard though. First, that is our bigger need. And second, I think his lack of strength would not be quite as big of an issue at the point.

Regardless, I think this is really good for IU. He is now the top-rated recruit for IU in the '08 class.

Go Hoosiers!