Indiana lost at Michigan State not long ago 84-83 in OT. I say are you kidding me because of the officiating. IU should have won that game in regulation, but the refs blew it. Jordan Hulls got the ball in a tie game with just over two seconds to go and gets knocked over with a hip. No call. The game gos to OT, and IU loses by one. Let's get to some stats.
Watford and Hulls continued their Diesel ways with Watford going for twenty-one and five and Hulls going for seventeen points, four assists, and four rebounds. Jeremiah Rivers had ten points including a three (what?!?!?!?!). Matt Roth went for twelve points on four of five from three and Oladipo scored eleven points.
Kalin Lucas scored twenty-six and had for assists. Draymond Green went for nine-teen and thirteen and was clutch in sending the game to OT with free throws and scoring the winning points in OT. Durrell Summers also added seven-teen.
I thought IU showed a lot going on the road and putting up this performance and it just gos to show that no team should ever take a game and think they will win automatically. IU played like a good team without Verdell Jones III for the second straight game. Was he the reason why the Hoosiers struggled before? Probably not. But you guys probably have other opinions on that topic and that is not to be judged until Verdell is back, one-hundred percent and healthy for a while.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
GO HOOSIERS!!!
Sorry I am late on this (too late) but as I'm sure probably all of you know, last night IU beat the number twenty-one team in the nation 52-49 without Verdell Jones III. This is, by far, the best win of the Tom Crean era with only the Pitt win last year even coming in the same galaxy of this. This is the first win versus a ranked opponent in the Tom Crean era. Now let's get to some stats.
Jordan Hulls was, statistically, the MVP of the game with eight-teen points on six of nine shooting and four of five from deep. Christian Watford scored sixteen points and ripped down five rebound and had an amazing block to save the game coming up behind the seven-foot-one Mike Tisdale when he was open and about to dunk that probably would have gotten rid of IU for the game. The MVP of this game though was Jeremiah Rivers. The numbers in the box score aren't pretty but he absolutely locked down Demitri McCamey. He held him to six points on two of eleven shooting and two of seven from three for six points and McCamey had five turnovers.
The defense this game was terrific. I mean, holding Illinois to forty-nine points is unheard of. In fact, that is there lowest point total since February 18th, 2009 against Penn State. Mike Davis was their only scorer in double figures on the night with fourteen points.
The three best things all night, though, was that one: Gus Johnson was calling the game on the Big Ten Network two: Tom Crean's reaction after the game and three: it was against Illinois.
UPDATE: PTI just tlaked about IU on their show and Tony Kornheiser says there is a sixty-five percent chance that Indiana has turned the corner... Mike Wilbon said twenty percent but said that they will turn the corner.
Jordan Hulls was, statistically, the MVP of the game with eight-teen points on six of nine shooting and four of five from deep. Christian Watford scored sixteen points and ripped down five rebound and had an amazing block to save the game coming up behind the seven-foot-one Mike Tisdale when he was open and about to dunk that probably would have gotten rid of IU for the game. The MVP of this game though was Jeremiah Rivers. The numbers in the box score aren't pretty but he absolutely locked down Demitri McCamey. He held him to six points on two of eleven shooting and two of seven from three for six points and McCamey had five turnovers.
The defense this game was terrific. I mean, holding Illinois to forty-nine points is unheard of. In fact, that is there lowest point total since February 18th, 2009 against Penn State. Mike Davis was their only scorer in double figures on the night with fourteen points.
The three best things all night, though, was that one: Gus Johnson was calling the game on the Big Ten Network two: Tom Crean's reaction after the game and three: it was against Illinois.
UPDATE: PTI just tlaked about IU on their show and Tony Kornheiser says there is a sixty-five percent chance that Indiana has turned the corner... Mike Wilbon said twenty percent but said that they will turn the corner.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Recruiting class preview: 2011
To try to make the time of this year try to go by quicker, I want to do a preview of all of the recruiting classes for the enjoyment of you and I. Today I will do the 2011 class.
The 2011 class consists of Cody Zeller and Austin Etherington as most of you should know. There is a possibility that the Hoosiers add another player (most likely Walter Pitchford) but there is probably under a fifty percent chance of that happening. Here's the scouting report.
Cody Zeller: He is highly regarded as a top twenty, five star, and blue chip player. He is a 6'11" power forward that gos to Washington High School in Washington, Indiana. I'm sure. 99.99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999% of you have heard of him. He runs well for his size and has a nice jumper that extends out to the three-point line. He has an excellent mid-range shot and is a true post player. He will step into IU and become their tallest player (thanks a lot NCAA). He should be a pretty good upgrade over Indiana's post defenders. He is a MASSIVE upgrade offensively in the post and will push Christian Watford back to his natural position of the small forward. He should come in to Bloomington in the fall of 2011 and instantly make an impact and probably start. He is looked at as Indiana's program changer right now and he is (basically) all that is ever talked about when Indiana plays on ESPN. He pretty much is the reason Yogi Ferrell comitted. He is the brother of UNC standout, Tyler Zeller and former Notre Dame player Luke Zeller.
Austin Etherington: He is regarded as a three or four star prospect. He is a sharp-shooting small forward out of Hamilton Heights High School. As I said before he is a sharp-shooter, especially from three, who's battled a couple injuries and has sort of fallen off the map of recruiting boards. The injuries aren't anything to be worried about if you are concerned with that statement. He really may be the most underrated player in his class. His coach described him as a John Diebler type of player who could really contribute for four years at IU. He is brothers with 2013 target Alex Etherington.
The 2011 class consists of Cody Zeller and Austin Etherington as most of you should know. There is a possibility that the Hoosiers add another player (most likely Walter Pitchford) but there is probably under a fifty percent chance of that happening. Here's the scouting report.
Cody Zeller: He is highly regarded as a top twenty, five star, and blue chip player. He is a 6'11" power forward that gos to Washington High School in Washington, Indiana. I'm sure. 99.99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999% of you have heard of him. He runs well for his size and has a nice jumper that extends out to the three-point line. He has an excellent mid-range shot and is a true post player. He will step into IU and become their tallest player (thanks a lot NCAA). He should be a pretty good upgrade over Indiana's post defenders. He is a MASSIVE upgrade offensively in the post and will push Christian Watford back to his natural position of the small forward. He should come in to Bloomington in the fall of 2011 and instantly make an impact and probably start. He is looked at as Indiana's program changer right now and he is (basically) all that is ever talked about when Indiana plays on ESPN. He pretty much is the reason Yogi Ferrell comitted. He is the brother of UNC standout, Tyler Zeller and former Notre Dame player Luke Zeller.
Austin Etherington: He is regarded as a three or four star prospect. He is a sharp-shooting small forward out of Hamilton Heights High School. As I said before he is a sharp-shooter, especially from three, who's battled a couple injuries and has sort of fallen off the map of recruiting boards. The injuries aren't anything to be worried about if you are concerned with that statement. He really may be the most underrated player in his class. His coach described him as a John Diebler type of player who could really contribute for four years at IU. He is brothers with 2013 target Alex Etherington.
Pathetic
Indiana got crushed by IOWA 91-77 and it wasn't that close. The defense sucked, The offense (until it didn't count) sucked, Hulls couldn't get anything going, Jones didn't play due to knee issues, just as predicted IU got torched by Basabe, Watford dropped thirty. That's all you need to know except that this is an absolutely pathetic loss.
UPDATE: Crean said Jordan Hulls had been sick all week and was throwing up at halftime according to a tweet by Greg Rosenstein. I also forgot to add that Watford also had eight rebounds and Matt Roth had fourteen points. Jones' injury is inflammation in his knee. That is, likely, the end of the update.
UPDATE: Crean said Jordan Hulls had been sick all week and was throwing up at halftime according to a tweet by Greg Rosenstein. I also forgot to add that Watford also had eight rebounds and Matt Roth had fourteen points. Jones' injury is inflammation in his knee. That is, likely, the end of the update.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Hoosiers have a great chance to win first road game of the year
Yes, Indiana has not won a road game this year. Most of you probably knew that though. As a matter of fact, Indiana has only won one, yes, one road game under Tom Crean despite finishing oh-so-close a bunch of times. That was at Penn State on January 21st last year. Indiana has a great chance to win their second under Crean tomorrow at Iowa. Here's a scouting report on Iowa.
Iowa, the youngest team in the Big Ten, (Indiana's the ninth youngest in in front of Michigan along with of course, Iowa) is led by junior point guard Bryce Cartwright. They are on a six game losing streak, so they are in a tough stretch currently. They are ranked near the bottom of the Big Ten in nearly every offensive category. They are a decent defensive team lead defensively in the post by freshman Melsahn Basabe with his 1.4 blocks per game. They have been competitive in many of their games including taking Ohio State to the very end and losing a mere by five points. Iowa beat Northern Iowa (who we lost to) handily so that could be something that could be worrying to us as they only allowed thirty-nine points.
I don't know what to expect from Indiana after that close loss to at Wisconsin, although I do think the Hoosiers have a pretty good shot to nail this one down as the eleventh win of the season which would surpass last year win total of ten.
One player I would be afraid could hurt IU is the aforementioned Melsahn Basabe as stated before get 1.4 blocks per game and IU is a block happy team. Tom Pritchard, along with all of the other IU big men, may have their hands full with Basabe and his 54.6 percent. One of the main Iowa weaknesses plays right into one of the Hoosiers' main weaknesses. IU sends way, way, way to many people to the line, and Iowa only shoots 65.2 percent from the line which should help. Who do you think will win, because I don't know.
Iowa, the youngest team in the Big Ten, (Indiana's the ninth youngest in in front of Michigan along with of course, Iowa) is led by junior point guard Bryce Cartwright. They are on a six game losing streak, so they are in a tough stretch currently. They are ranked near the bottom of the Big Ten in nearly every offensive category. They are a decent defensive team lead defensively in the post by freshman Melsahn Basabe with his 1.4 blocks per game. They have been competitive in many of their games including taking Ohio State to the very end and losing a mere by five points. Iowa beat Northern Iowa (who we lost to) handily so that could be something that could be worrying to us as they only allowed thirty-nine points.
I don't know what to expect from Indiana after that close loss to at Wisconsin, although I do think the Hoosiers have a pretty good shot to nail this one down as the eleventh win of the season which would surpass last year win total of ten.
One player I would be afraid could hurt IU is the aforementioned Melsahn Basabe as stated before get 1.4 blocks per game and IU is a block happy team. Tom Pritchard, along with all of the other IU big men, may have their hands full with Basabe and his 54.6 percent. One of the main Iowa weaknesses plays right into one of the Hoosiers' main weaknesses. IU sends way, way, way to many people to the line, and Iowa only shoots 65.2 percent from the line which should help. Who do you think will win, because I don't know.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Hoosiers fall to Wisconsin
Sorry I am late on this but I will have a recap on every game that IU plays. I will point out the positives and negatives of each and every game. Well, here's the recap.
Indiana lost to #17 Wisconsin last night at the Kohl Center. Usual, considering Wisconsin is 146-11 there under head coach Bo Ryan. The best part is that Indiana was in it the whole game and only lost by nine points. Most Indiana fans, like myself, will take that any day. You know why? Because every good team starts off by being competitive, and that's what Indiana's learning to do.
Another positive sign of this game is Jordan Hulls was aggressive. This is the the moment we've been waiting for people! He scored sixteen points. This is what we should be expecting from him. He shot a season high twelve shots. He made seven of them. You have to shoot at least ten a game if you consistently put up numbers like that like he does.
Congratulations to Verdell for passing the one thousand point mark last night in his IU career. Just thought I'd point that out. He played pretty well last night too. He had fifth-teen points n six of twelve shooting I believe with six rebounds. He also had two assists and as many turnovers.
The refereeing was just awful and gave Wiconsin tons of momentum. IU could have have won this game with good calls (I did say could, not would). Elston played well offensively but terribly defensively. Watford had a so-so type of night. Rivers really attacked the basket and as usual played good defense. IU could not stop Jordan Taylor to save the life last night as he had a career high twenty-eight points. Pritchard did a good job on John Lueur. He may have scored twenty points but it took him loads of shots to get there. The worst part of the game was getting dunked on by a red-head with a fro and a name I can't pronounce (nothing against him). I will never hear the end of that from my brother, I guarantee that.
After all is said and done, I really appreciated IU's performance and effort tonight and think this is a step in the right direction.
Indiana lost to #17 Wisconsin last night at the Kohl Center. Usual, considering Wisconsin is 146-11 there under head coach Bo Ryan. The best part is that Indiana was in it the whole game and only lost by nine points. Most Indiana fans, like myself, will take that any day. You know why? Because every good team starts off by being competitive, and that's what Indiana's learning to do.
Another positive sign of this game is Jordan Hulls was aggressive. This is the the moment we've been waiting for people! He scored sixteen points. This is what we should be expecting from him. He shot a season high twelve shots. He made seven of them. You have to shoot at least ten a game if you consistently put up numbers like that like he does.
Congratulations to Verdell for passing the one thousand point mark last night in his IU career. Just thought I'd point that out. He played pretty well last night too. He had fifth-teen points n six of twelve shooting I believe with six rebounds. He also had two assists and as many turnovers.
The refereeing was just awful and gave Wiconsin tons of momentum. IU could have have won this game with good calls (I did say could, not would). Elston played well offensively but terribly defensively. Watford had a so-so type of night. Rivers really attacked the basket and as usual played good defense. IU could not stop Jordan Taylor to save the life last night as he had a career high twenty-eight points. Pritchard did a good job on John Lueur. He may have scored twenty points but it took him loads of shots to get there. The worst part of the game was getting dunked on by a red-head with a fro and a name I can't pronounce (nothing against him). I will never hear the end of that from my brother, I guarantee that.
After all is said and done, I really appreciated IU's performance and effort tonight and think this is a step in the right direction.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Who will benefit most from Creeks injury?
As most (if not all) of you know Maurice Creek went down last Saturday against Michigan in the final two minutes in a nine-teen point victory over the Wolverines. Some people question him being in the game that long but you can't fault Crean for that. First off, heres fractured his other knee last year, not this one. Second Crean said Creeks left knee was 100%. That discussion is now over, and I won't write any further about it. The one question I'm trying to lead you up to is who will benefit most from Creeks injury?
Would it be Victor Oladipo? Would this open up playing time for Will Sheehey? Would Matt Roth (a wild card pick) get something out of this? There's one guy who I think will step up and help Indiana more in the long run (hint: he is now too). It's Jordan Hulls. That kid needs to shoot the ball more. This is how this injury could help him.
Since Creek is out, Jordy has one fewer option to pass it to. If he has fewer people to pass the ball to, (the way he does virtually every time he gets in a spot where he probably should take a shot) maybe he shoots more and becomes Indiana's leading scorer by the end of the B10 season. I mean, just look at these stats and tell me whether this kid should shoot more . Jordan shoots 51.5% from behind the ark, 56.7% overall, 84.4% from the line, he leads the whole dang NCAA in effective field-goal percentage and true shooting percentage. This kid averages at least about twenty-three points right? Wait, only ten? Your joking right? Oh, well. Of course it should be noted that if he did shoot a lot more, his numbers might take a little beating, but there is no reason why this kid shouldn't be averaging at least fifth-teen or sixteen points a game. No reason.
If anyone reads this, tell me who you think should benefit most from this and you think will benefit the most from this in the comments.
Would it be Victor Oladipo? Would this open up playing time for Will Sheehey? Would Matt Roth (a wild card pick) get something out of this? There's one guy who I think will step up and help Indiana more in the long run (hint: he is now too). It's Jordan Hulls. That kid needs to shoot the ball more. This is how this injury could help him.
Since Creek is out, Jordy has one fewer option to pass it to. If he has fewer people to pass the ball to, (the way he does virtually every time he gets in a spot where he probably should take a shot) maybe he shoots more and becomes Indiana's leading scorer by the end of the B10 season. I mean, just look at these stats and tell me whether this kid should shoot more . Jordan shoots 51.5% from behind the ark, 56.7% overall, 84.4% from the line, he leads the whole dang NCAA in effective field-goal percentage and true shooting percentage. This kid averages at least about twenty-three points right? Wait, only ten? Your joking right? Oh, well. Of course it should be noted that if he did shoot a lot more, his numbers might take a little beating, but there is no reason why this kid shouldn't be averaging at least fifth-teen or sixteen points a game. No reason.
If anyone reads this, tell me who you think should benefit most from this and you think will benefit the most from this in the comments.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Report: Crean looking to get an extra year of eligability for Creek
I don't have any info on this, but I have heard this around a couple times. I'll try to get more on this later. This would be terrific if he could succeed in this then there wouldn't be any point in red-shirting Creek. That would also mean he would be able to play on that 2013 team and help make a deep tournament run, and still play in 2011 if he can which I think he will be able to. If Creek does play in 2011 and is also granted an extra year of eligibility, that would give him a lot of experience that he missed his freshman year and this year.
UPDATE: 6:39 PM I have found the audio to the press conference where Crean does say he's trying to get Creek an extra year of eligibility. Take a listen.
UPDATE: 6:39 PM I have found the audio to the press conference where Crean does say he's trying to get Creek an extra year of eligibility. Take a listen.
Creek likely done for the year
Shooting guard, Mo Creek, should miss the rest of the year as yesterday we found out he is to have surgery tomorrow on a stress fracture in his right knee. This report is per a tweet from Tom Crean yesterday. This is not only bad news for the Hoosiers but devastating news for Creek. I'm sure all of you remember Creek's awful knee injury last year, and this only adds to it, unfortunately. This is his right knee he injured which is good news for the Hoosiers, because the knee he fractured last year was his left knee. His knee was still not 100% from last years injury, so he will have time to restore his strength in that knee.
On another positive note, this injury probably isn't near the load last year's was. This may be a good thing for the Hoosiers and possibly Creek in the future. You see, this should give Creek a lot more time to heal up his left knee and regain strength there which has been a serious issue for him this year. Creek would be around until 2013 if the Hoosiers decided to red shirt him for the 2011-12 season. That means in 2012 and 2013 years, when the Hoosiers are supposed to be one of the power-houses in the B10, they would be that much better with Maurice at full strength.
Tom Crean says that this is a very disappointing injury because he thought he was just about to "turn a corner" offensively which is what all IU fans have been yearning for this whole year.
This is not as big of a loss for IU basketball as it was last year, because Creek was just simply not the factor he had been last year since the left knee injury. I personally think that this is a bigger blow to Creek than it is for the Hoosiers themselves. Just think about it, this opens up a more playing time for players such as Victor Oladipo, Will Sheehey, and one name not mentioned much who should benefit from this, Matt Roth. This should help their future. Also if the Hoosiers do indeed red-shirt Creek, as mentioned before, this could help Austin Etherington also. I hope I just shed some light on Creeks situation. We are all with you Mo. We always will be.
On another positive note, this injury probably isn't near the load last year's was. This may be a good thing for the Hoosiers and possibly Creek in the future. You see, this should give Creek a lot more time to heal up his left knee and regain strength there which has been a serious issue for him this year. Creek would be around until 2013 if the Hoosiers decided to red shirt him for the 2011-12 season. That means in 2012 and 2013 years, when the Hoosiers are supposed to be one of the power-houses in the B10, they would be that much better with Maurice at full strength.
Tom Crean says that this is a very disappointing injury because he thought he was just about to "turn a corner" offensively which is what all IU fans have been yearning for this whole year.
This is not as big of a loss for IU basketball as it was last year, because Creek was just simply not the factor he had been last year since the left knee injury. I personally think that this is a bigger blow to Creek than it is for the Hoosiers themselves. Just think about it, this opens up a more playing time for players such as Victor Oladipo, Will Sheehey, and one name not mentioned much who should benefit from this, Matt Roth. This should help their future. Also if the Hoosiers do indeed red-shirt Creek, as mentioned before, this could help Austin Etherington also. I hope I just shed some light on Creeks situation. We are all with you Mo. We always will be.
Hello, Friends
I just want to say hi to anyone who happens to start reading this blog and becomes interested. I also just wanted to say the meaning of this blog has been made to give you the inside scoop of everything Indiana Hoosiers basketball. I will be keeping up with things such as: recruiting, player news, press conferences, etc. I just want to apologize in advance for typing errors such as spelling mistakes and punctuation in advance. I have been inspired to write this blog by websites such as Inside The Hall and The Hoosier Scoop. If you have any comments, thoughts, or anything else, you can email me personally at windycityshowdown@gmail.com if you like. I will try my best to get a Twitter and/or a Facebook page for this site. I will try to enhance the site as often as possible (it will mostly be inspired by things I read or see on other websites). I would appreciate all of the support I can get and tell your friends, if you wish, that I'm out here.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)