Archive for the 'Basketball' Category

IU survives against IUPUI

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Taco John
on November 19, 2008
in Basketball
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After blowing out a cupcake, IU let one hung around, finally besting IUPUI 60-57. Tom Pritchard led the way with 19 points and 10 boards, and paced three other Hoosiers in double figures. Once again, IU went down early, but came back and took the lead by 11 at the half. Despite not trailing in the second half, this game was much different as IUPUI hung around after starting the second half on an 18-7 run that tied the game. The rest of the game was nip and tuck as IU would build little three, four, or five point leads, then allow IUPUI to erase those leads. The Hoosiers could never build the definitive run that would break open the game.

As can be expected, play was somewhat inconsistent vs. last game. Devan Dumes had a much worse night, scoring 10 points but needing 3-12 shooting to do so. Nick Williams had a much better game, shooting just under 50% and grabbing nine boards as well, something IU need desperately if they’re going to compete against Big Ten teams. Matt Roth also showed his range going 4-9 from deep for all 12 of his points and some of those threes were from Eric Gordon’s neighborhood. Daniel Moore had another nice game with 6 assists and only two turnovers, but more on him later this week. And Tijan Jobe was…Tijan Jobe, picking up two fouls and a turnover in just three minutes.

As a team, free throw shooting improved significantly, getting up near 80%. Shooting was especially good in the second half as IU went 10-20. Doing that over the course of a game is what’s going to be necessary to win games against any competition better than IUPUI or Northwestern State. IU cannot afford to have even a really bad shooting half or a really bad defensive half and hope to beat a Big Ten team.

The Hoosiers are now off until November 24th, when they face Notre Dame in the first round of the Maui Invitational.

The Class of 2009: The Bad

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Taco John
on November 18, 2008
in Basketball
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Recruiting 14 scholarship players in two years is very unusual. In fact, it’s basically impossible since you’re only allowed 13 scholarships. More on that tomorrow. And while it remains to be seen how all these new players will shake out, there was one consequence of the massive classes in 2008 and 2009: IU has virtually no scholarships to offer in 2010 and 2011. And the reason that’s bad (maybe) is because those classes are loaded in the state of Indiana.

In 2010, where IU is behind, most of the big guns are committed. Dominque Ferguson and Deshaun Thomas are the headliners, and are headed to Kentucky and Ohio State respectively. Justin Martin is also in the top 50 and will head to Louisville. Travis Carroll is in the top 70 and committed to Purdue. Russell Byrd is a prototypical Crean-type player but will head to Michigan State. Terone Johnson is also on his way to Purdue. That leaves Donnie Hale as the only uncommitted Rivals Top 150 player in the state of Indiana.

2011 has a number of talented players. While 2011 hasn’t been rated and picked over like 2009 and 2010 have, there is a nice list of talented players, many with familiar names, from the state, including:

  • PG Marquis Teague- 6′1″ Pike
  • PG/SG Jeremiah Davis- 6′2″ Muncie Central
  • PF Ryan Taylor- 6′6″ Lawrence North
  • PF Cody Zeller- 6′7″ Washington
  • C Michael Chandler-6′10 Lawrence North
  • PF Marshall Plumlee- 6′10″ (Hoosier by birth) Christ School, NC
So does Crean need to make room for these guys?

Continue reading ‘The Class of 2009: The Bad’

The Class of 2009: The Good

Published
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Taco John
on November 17, 2008
in Basketball
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IU’s class of 2009 is signed, sealed and delivered. All six prospects are ranked in the top 150 players by one ranking service or another. After the guard heavy 2008 class that was cobbled together, Tom Crean got went for forwards, signing four forwards, all of whom are 6′7″ or taller. He got two classic “Tom Crean” big men in Derek Elston and Bobby Capobianco who can bang in the post but also step out and shoot with touch. He got an imposing presence in the post with Bawa Muniru. And the prize of the class is 6′7″ forward Christian Watford who can play at either the three or the four. Add in Jordan Hulls, who is not only going to be a local fan favorite but is also pretty good, and Maurice Creek who will add to the scoring punch, and you have a very nice class.

So let’s take an entirely too premature look at the 2009 Hoosiers and how they will line up.

Continue reading ‘The Class of 2009: The Good’

IU starts Crean Era with win

Published
by
Taco John
on November 16, 2008
in Basketball
. 5 Comments

IU won the first game of the Tom Crean Era. Incidentally IU also won the first games of the Dan Dakich, Kelvin Sampson, Mike Davis, and Bob Knight eras. As a matter of fact, nine straight IU coaches have won their opener dating back to Branch McCracken in 1938.

IU started out slow and was down 12-5 early. But IU took the lead and kept it beginning with a Malik Story free throw to go up 19-18. IU was not seriously challenged in the second half after a 5-0 run pushed a nine-point halftime lead to a 14-point lead. IU led by as much as 26, but gave it a bit of it back in garbage time, for the final score of 83-65.

Devan Dumes proved once again what it means to have some significant Division I experience under your belt. Dumes had 21 points on 6-10 shooting, including four three-pointers. Verdell Jones struggled with his shot, hitting only 4-11, but lived at the free throw line going 10-13 from the stripe. And Tom Pritchard notched a double-double with 13 points and 10 boards.

The long term story of this game is told in one stat: five personal fouls for Daniel Moore. Daniel Moore is a nice player. He was very surprising in some highlights in his ability to break the press, handle the ball, and even get to the rim. But if Daniel Moore is playing enough minutes to foul out, this team is not going to win too many games.

But even though IU won’t win too many games, this was a good sign. With almost the entire team playing their first significant minutes of Division I basketball, this was a prime game for IU to lose against a cupcake. And considering that a Kentucky team that was supposed to be better than last year lost to a similarly talented VMI squad, we can consider it to be a victory if IU can avoid a home loss to a mid major.

2008 Basketball Season Kicks off tonight

Published
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Taco John
on November 15, 2008
in Basketball
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IU takes on Northwestern State in the first game of the season. Tip is at 7:00 Eastern on the Big Ten Network. Last year Northwestern State went 15-18, 9-7 in the Southland Conference. The Demons did however advance to the Southland Conference final for the fourth straight year. Northwestern State is almost as inexperienced as IU, with 11 freshmen, sophomores, or transfers on the roster. That said, NWSU did return 5 of their top 8 scorers while IU returned two guys who scored last year. Period.

Head over to the game thread for comments, and discussion.

Hoosiers beat Bemidji

Published
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Taco John
on November 12, 2008
in Basketball
. 1 Comment

This game had a certain “this is as good as its going to get feel” to it. I mean that in the sense that if IU can regularly win games when the starting backcourt shoots this poorly (6-24) and the whole team shoots this poorly from the line (17-29 for 58 percent), then I would absolutely thrilled. I would have guaranteed you that IU would win few games with out getting hot from beyond the arc, and now IU has won two, even against lower division opponents, and one game where the team shot poorly in general.

Malik Story led the way with 15 points and seven boards off the bench. According to the Scoop, Crean is still (at least for the time being) in throwing stuff at the wall to see if it sticks. Especially according to this quote:

“It’s hard for me to look and think, let’s pay through this,” Crean said. “We don’t have any demonstrated ability to play through it yet.”
That quote reminds of one of the first games in Mighty Ducks where Gordon Bombay is constantly sending in new lines with shouts of “Conway, change it!” I would expect to see a couple of games where Crean is just sending in waves, either to get over some hump and maybe win, or to try and get a group out there that will make it look respectable.

Indiana finally had big men out there, as in more than one. Kyle Taber made his triumphant return and pulled down nine boards in just 15 minutes. Tom Pritchard had another nice game, with 12 points and nine boards, although you would like better than 3-10 shooting from a guy who is doing his damage around the basket. And Tijan Jobe only had 2 fouls in 10 minutes, so that’s hopefully improving.

It will be interesting when Taber is back at full strength because Crean will have some big decisions to make. Does he roll out a more traditional line up of say Devan Dumes, Matt Roth, Nick Williams, Pritchard, and Taber? Or does he stick with the four-guard line up around Taber or Prtichard, and keep two big guys in reserve on the bench? I think if one of two things happens (one of which is really unlikely) then Crean won’t have to put both of his useful big guys on the floor at once.

The more likely scenario is that a combination of Nick Williams and Malik Story can slow down opposing forwards and spread the fouls out while still maintaining a high level of offense. The less likely scenario is that a guy like Broderick Lewis is able to give IU something, giving IU a bigger, stronger player to give significant minutes to.

Two exhibition games, two wins, which is more than some teams can say at this point in the season. So at the very least, IU has already avoided one of the ultimate indignities that some people might have thought was possible: a Michigan/App State or Michigan State/Grand Valley-esque loss to a lower division team.

2008 Basketball Preview

Published
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Taco John
on November 11, 2008
in Basketball
. 6 Comments

So here we are. A little over 7 months ago IU’s much ballyhooed season combining Eric Gordon and DJ White came to an abrupt and disappointing end. Then the bad news hit. Everyone but Kyle Taber left the ship. A couple took the lifeboats. A couple were forced to walk the plank. Somewhere in the middle there Tom Crean was hired and started the rebuilding process, partially by forcing those guys to walk the plank. He brought in some new players, kept some that were already coming in, and started working hard on lowering expectations and laying out something of a roadmap for IU fans. Along the way he put together a top 5 class for 2009, a class that might become the best in the country still. All while IU fans cower in fear of the big, bad NCAA. With that being the case, let’s preview.

Last year’s record: 25-8, lost in first round of Big Ten tournament, lost in first round of NCAA tournament.

Key Losses: Kelvin Sampson, DJ White, Eric Gordon, Armon Bassett, Jordan Crawford, Lance Stemler, DeAndre Thomas, Jamarcus Ellis, and a few other guys who didn’t contribute that much.

Key Additions: Tom Crean, Nick Williams, Verdell Jones III, Devan Dumes, Tom Pritchard, Matt Roth, Malik Story, Tijan Jobe

1. Significant developments in the offseason

Wow, where to begin. Kelvin Sampson is out, Tom Crean is in. Eric Gordon and DJ White left for the NBA. Lance Stemler and Mike White graduated. Armon Bassett and Jamarcus Ellis were kicked off the team, a decision that Tom Crean supported. Eli Holman transferred to Detroit-Mercy where Ray McCallum was hired. DeAndre Thomas was shown the door, as was Brandon McGee. And Jordan Crawford decided he didn’t want to hang around for this, and turned out the proverbial lights on the way to Xavier.

Somewhere in the middle, the recruiting class was jumbled around. Devin Ebanks decided he didn’t want to play for Crean and went to West Virginia. Terrell Holloway agreed and went to Xavier. Matt Roth and Tom Prtichard decided to stick it out and come to IU. Crean nabbed junior college transfers Devan Dumes and Tijan Jobe. Nick Williams sought and obtained a release of his NLI from Marquette and followed Crean to Indiana. IU fought off Minnesota for the services of Verdell Jones. Jeremiah Rivers transferred from Georgetown and will sit out a year. And mysterious California recruit Malik Story signed up. Oh yeah, and a bunch of walk-ons were added.

2. What are the team’s biggest strengths?

Contrary to what you might be reading (even here), this is still Indiana. There’s a lot of work to do before the luster is returned to the program, but it’s still a diamond. Which means a couple of things. There will always be a lot of people there. There will always be a significant home court advantage. There will be oodles of support even for a team that some people are suggesting could go winless in the Big Ten.

The other biggest strength is that this team, as presently composed, plays to the strengths of the coach involved. When IU had a small team under Mike Davis, his NBA-esque isolation/spacing offense really suffered because athletically the team matched up poorly, not to mention the perils of running a man-to-man defense when you have matchup issues. Crean will be more likely to get the maximum out of these players than Davis or even Sampson would have.

3. What are the team’s biggest weaknesses?

Size, experience, and depth. IU has none of any of those. Walk-ons are being brought in just to have enough players to scrimmage. There are two guys bigger than 6’6” with scholarships, one of whom is an ex-walk-on who is recovering from knee surgery. Kyle Taber and Devan Dumes (who went to Eastern Michigan for a year) are the only players with any significant Division I basketball experience. And the drop-off from the starters to about the 9th man is a chasm.

Let me throw in one more weakness, or maybe more like a threat or challenge: the schedule. Last year, IU was brutalized (wrongly so) for playing an extremely weak schedule. This year, IU is playing a significantly more difficult schedule (based on the swing of about 7 games, my point last year). After playing in a weak tournament, a down opponent in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, and IU’s signature true non-conference road game being a down Southern Illinois Team, not to mention Kentucky’s struggles, things are different this year. IU will go to Maui, and its much stronger field. IU will play true road games against Wake Forest and an improved Kentucky team. And IU will take on Gonzaga at Lucas Oil Stadium. And IU only plays Michigan and Northwestern once, both of whom are expected to be right there with the Hoosiers near the bottom of the conference.

4. What are the goals for this team?

I’m not going to give you some “I just hope we see some hustle and heart” spiel. This team is going to lose a lot of game. This team is not going to the tournament. This team is probably not going to the CBI even. This team might lose 20 games. So you also can’t use a lot of the traditional measures of what a good team is. And I’m not going to add to the continuing little brotherfication of IU by saying “I just hope we beat Illinois twice.”

So here’s what I ask: don’t get blown out too much. IU is going to get waxed early in the season. At Maui, at Wake, at Kentucky, against Gonazaga, IU will probably lost badly. And IU is going to lose a few games to some of the cupcake non-conference teams. But by the middle or end of the Big Ten season, IU should be at least putting up a fight at home. Against some of these midlevel Big Ten teams, or even some of the bigger ones, IU should not be getting blown out. Illinois, Minnesota, Penn State, Northwestern, Iowa, and Michigan should not be rolling into Assembly Hall and laying the wood to the Hoosiers, even this iteration of the Hoosiers. And try and knock off a big team or two or even make a little run in the Big Ten Tourney so people can all go crazy about next year.

5. Will Tom Crean be on the Hot Seat?

That’s an excellent question. We know that big-time, basketball-crazed fan bases can put a coach on a hot seat long before you might expect. There were whispers about Billy Gillispie in his first year at Kentucky. If he has another disappointing year, those whispers might get pretty loud. On the other hand, some fan bases, although not as obsessed with their team, seem to give their coaches a lot of leinency. I find it somewhat amazing that Bruce Weber isn’t on the hot seat considering the precipitous fall that team has suffered and the fact that his rebuilding project is probably two years away. Oh yeah, and his players aren’t exactly model citizens either.

Tom Crean will be on the hot seat. Rightly or wrongly, he will be. I think the fact that Bill Lynch is on the hot seat now says a lot. But we know this team is going to lose a lot of games. We know this team will be uncompetitive in some. And I’m willing to bet this team will give up 100 points and fail to score 60 (hopefully not in the same game). It’s one thing to say after a very disappointing season with a very talented group and in the middle of the total dismantling of that group that all you want is a bunch of guys who go to class, keep their noses clean, and are proud to wear the jersey. It’s a whole ‘nother thing to say that when those guys are losing 20 games. The same sort of whispers will arise around Crean that came up around Gillispie. Good thing Crean built lots of political capital, he’s going to spend a bit of it this year.

Predictions: 11-20 (5-13 Big Ten), first round loss in the Big Ten Tournament

IU defeats Anderson in exhibition

Published
by
Taco John
on November 9, 2008
in Basketball
. 2 Comments

The Hoosiers won the first “game” of the Tom Crean era although to steal from ItH, remember that this is what it is, “a glorified practice against a Division III opponent.” But IU played well and won the game, and considering Michigan State’s debacle against Grand Valley State last year or Northwestern losing to Robert Morris “Don’t call me University” College (new home of DeAndre Thomas), it is a tiny something to hang your hat on. But all it really tells us is that IU is better than a Division III team.

A couple of things stood out though. Devan Dumes did in fact look like a guy who had played Division I college basketball before. He was aggressive, he was got out on the break well, he only turned it over once, and he was perfect from the free throw line. Might like a better than 5-14 shooting night, but otherwise he was great.

The real revelation was Tom Pritchard, who had a double-double in his first collegiate action. With Taber out for a couple more weeks with his knee injury, Pritchard and Tijan Jobe are all IU has in terms of size, forcing Malik Story and Nick Williams to line up at the 4 for much of the game. Pritchard looked much more athletic and active than expected. He ran the break well and he was aggressive going to the hoop. While he had a size advantage he won’t have in most Division I games (Anderson also didn’t really roll out more than one really big guy at a time), he still had a nose for the ball.

Now the bad news: this team did not pass the eyeball test. And while it’s entirely possible it was the Big Ten Network’s poor streaming quality, this looked like a high school team. Which is probably closer to truth than a lot of fans would care to admit. All of them looked like Division I caliber players, but none of the guys is imposing, or physically mature. Aside from Tijan Jobe, this team will not look good getting off the bus. But, on the bright side, this showed one of the two ways that IU is going to win games this year: play swarming D, force turnovers, and get out on the break (although better defensive rebounding would be nice). The other way is to get hot from three. The Hoosiers were OK in that respect, but not great, shooting 4-11.

Next the Hoosiers take on Bemidji State on Tuesday at 7:00pm. Hopefully the team looks almost the same and the streaming looks totally different.

ItH follows up with L. Jon Wertheim

Published
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Taco John
on October 31, 2008
in Basketball and Commentary
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I toyed with the idea of sussing more quotes out of L. Jon Wertheim’s article as a follow up to what I wrote yesterday, but then the boys at Inside the Hall tracked down the man himself and asked him a few questions. There’s even more great information in the Q&A. I don’t want to steal too much thunder, but one question and answer stood out as confirming what a lot of people have expected about Sampson’s hiring:

ITH: You talk a bit about how fond former IU President Adam Herbert was of Sampson. There seems to be a debate on Herbert’s involvement in hiring Sampson. Some believe he was the main person responsible yet ultimately Rick Greenspan lost his job over this debacle. From what you gather, was it Herbert’s decision to hire Sampson and what role did Greenspan have in the decision?

Wertheim: I had been told by multiple sources that Herbert took an active role in the hiring of Sampson. Let’s put it that way. I asked a variation of this question to Herbert via email and was not extended the courtesy of a response. I know that Bob Kravitz raised this issue as well but I thought the lack of accountability and candor was pretty galling. For the high-minded “light and truth” talk (at a publicly funded university, no less), you’d like to think the leaders would have been significantly more answerable to the students/constituents when scandal hit.

As for Rick Greenspan this didn’t make the SI story, but I emailed him a question about Dr. Herbert and whether he felt betrayed or thrown under the proverbial bus. His response: “On these type of questions, I have and will continue to take the high road. I have seen the low road and there is too much traffic.”

I think Greenspan told us all we need to know without saying much at all.

The Definitive History of the Sampson Era

Published
by
Taco John
on October 30, 2008
in Basketball and Commentary
. 2 Comments

I agree with Ryan over at Inside the Hall 100% on this. L. Jon Wertheim’s Sports Illustrated article on how Kelvin Sampson brought down IU Basketball and what Tom Crean is doing to build it back up is a must read. I don’t know if must read is strong enough, if it’s not, let’s say required reading. If you are a Hoosier fan, you owe it to yourself to read this. It is the most complete and balanced record of events you will find, and paints a picture about the period of March 2006 to the present. It’s a picture that is a lot different than the one most fans have in their head, and really makes me think twice about one of my strongest held beliefs about the Sampson Era.

I want to start by pointing out the exact same quote that Ryan did, but for different reasons:

There were other signs that the program was coming apart. Reserve forward DeAndre Thomas was arrested for driving without a valid license and paid a fine. Guards Jordan Crawford and Armon Bassett and forward Jamarcus Ellis were each suspended by the program for undisclosed reasons. Multiple sources close to the team assert that marijuana use was common among a group of players, some of whom were made to take part in a drug counseling program set up by the athletic department. Despite a wealth of academic support, the team’s collective grade-point average plummeted from 2.89 in the fall semester to 2.13 in the spring, when players were cutting classes.

According to Eric Gordon Sr., his son “didn’t get involved in the smoking and partying” and, as a result, felt alienated from some of his teammates. Likewise senior co-captain D.J. White rarely spent time around his fellow players away from the court. “The kids weren’t on the same page,” says Gordon Sr. “They didn’t have similar backgrounds or experiences or goals, and basically all hell broke loose.”

This to me tells the entire story of the struggles the team had during the season and the complete collapse once Sampson left. Both the vocal senior leader and the talented freshmen who were expected to steady and guide the team were isolated and withdrawn from the rest of the team. Maybe you could argue that DJ, as an experienced senior, and Gordon, who always projected an air of seriousness and professionalism, could have done more, but with the coaching staff involved in their own problems and the problem children having such little buy-in to the team concept, their peer pressure wasn’t going to measure up.

Continue reading ‘The Definitive History of the Sampson Era’