We're talking about Indiana University's basketball program, which has gone through one of the most ridiculous weekends since Bob Knight was choking his bench players.
The Good
Friday night's Hoosier Hysteria event was an absolute blast for the fans and players alike. The players on both the men's and women's team were in great spirits and the crowd of 13,000 that showed up was pumped up beyond belief. When the lights died out for the introduction of the men's basketball team, the building shook in a way I haven't felt since the Hoosiers took down the #5 Wisconsin Badgers last season. On top of the amazing atmosphere, we learned some interesting things about the team.
First of all, this team is deep. In fact, it's beyond deep. Even walk-on Brett Finkelmeier showed some promise and he will be useful in the close-out stages of games. One thing that these Hoosiers don't have to worry about this time around is injuries to the front-court players. The list goes as follows: DJ White, Mike White, Lance Stemler, DeAndre Thomas, Eli Holman, Brandon McGee, Jamarcus Ellis, Kyle Taber. All of these guys except maybe Taber could conceivably start. If any of these guys goes down, someone will be there to take his place. The back-court has the same scenario, with Armon Bassett, Jordan Crawford, and Eric Gordon holding down the fort while Ellis, Stemler, and McGee can easily make the plays from the outside. Also, watch out when AJ Ratliff finds his way back onto the court in a couple of months.
Second, the size of that front-court is freakishly good. DJ White is still himself, and he will be backing down defenders and hitting his turnaround jumper all season. Eli Holman, who averaged a quadruple-double during his high school career, has a wingspan of 7'8", which will translate to big blocks and big rebounds. Mike White is still a bowling ball of a forward and he still plays some amazing defense. The highlight is DeAndre Thomas who, even after losing 57 pounds over the summer, still weighs 298. Despite his size, Thomas can dunk the ball and he put up some solid defense on DJ White during the Cream vs. Crimson scrimmage.
Third, "Er-ic Gor-don" (clap clap clapclapclap). I hadn't really gotten a look at Eric Gordon's play before Hoosier Hysteria, but I know now what the big deal was about. Even though his first play in front of an Assembly Hall crowd was a missed dunk, he showed such a great shooting touch and some amazing athleticism while electrifying the crowd. The only downside to all of this is that after this season, he probably won't be wearing an Indiana uniform.
The Bad
Barely a day after they sent his name thundering down from the seats at Assembly Hall, members of the most reactionary fan base this side of Lexington, KY, are calling for Kelvin Sampson's head. Much as it was last summer, the topic du jour is Coach Sampson's telephone. This time around, it was determined that a collection of 10 three-way phone calls between Sampson, one of his assistants, and recruits were made. Sampson has said that he was unaware that nine of the calls were conference calls, but he did know that one of them had two people on the other end of the line. Since three-way calls of this type have been deemed illegal by the NCAA, Sampson got a self-imposed pay cut for next season and an extension of his telephone restrictions by the IU Athletic Department.
The other issue here -- one that doesn't involve Coach Sampson in any way, for the record -- was a collection of 35 phone calls apparently made by assistant coach Rob Senderhoff. Senderhoff was disciplined by the Athletic Department by being put under what is essentially house arrest. He cannot talk to recruits and he cannot go on the road to visit the recruits. If he gets caught breaking these rules again, you would have to expect that he would be fired outright.
What really annoys me about this whole situation is the reaction from the fans and the media around this program. When you look at the evidence, Kelvin Sampson was involved in only a few of the impermissible calls and the Athletic Department reacted properly. Some people around here, under the leadership of The Indianapolis Star's Bob Kravitz (I won't share my opinion of him with you because, in the end, I would like to retain some journalistic integrity), want Sampson and Athletic Director Rick Greenspan fired immediately for these transgressions. These so-called "fans" who just want Bob Knight, who is supposedly a perfect human being, to return to Bloomington cannot accept the fact that there is a different coach in town.
This, of course, is absolutely insane. We went through the same process when Mike Davis, who did better here than Bob Knight would have ever done between 2000 and 2006, was sent packing by fans after two poor seasons. All of these people trumpet the integrity of the program under Knight's stewardship as the reason that we need to return to the good old days (like 1982, a.k.a. the "season on the brink). While there may not have been much in the way of recruiting violations in those days, but I would say that verbally and physically attacking players and coaches on both benches does not do much for the integrity of the program either.
I believe that, despite the fact that there definitely needs to be some better book-keeping in the basketball offices, this is an honest mistake on Sampson's part. Sampson made no outgoing calls on his personal phone during this period, and the conference calls were all set up by the assistant coaches. As for Senderhoff's 35 illegal calls, those fall on his head and his alone. One might say that the head coach should be responsible for the actions of his assistants, but how do we know that Senderhoff may not have been doing this in secret himself. If you can look me in the eye and tell me that you haven't done something against the rules at work while the boss wasn't looking, I would call you a liar anyway. The bottom line is that Sampson, after taking a huge pay cut for next season and having his sanctions extended, will come out of this cleanly.
The Ugly
Apart from all of this bunk about phone calls, the ugly part of the 07-08 basketball season will be the scoreboard at the end of a lot of these games. This team is so incredibly strong that there are only a few opponents that can really give them a run for their money. The Hoosiers will need to watch out for Kentucky, Wisconsin, and Michigan State, but I don't think there is anyone out there beyond those three that can really scare this team.
Showing posts with label IU. Show all posts
Showing posts with label IU. Show all posts
Monday, October 15, 2007
Sunday, September 16, 2007
"First Dooooown Hooooosiers!"
I'd like to comment on something that has become (gasp) a football tradition for the fans at Indiana University. From an outside perspective, you might look in at an IU football game (since they ARE 3-0 for the first time in who knows when), see the students and a fair number of the alumni doing this:
And then you might say, "What the hell was that?!"
Well, let me describe all this to you, since I've been in the middle of it a few times. For some amount of time now (I can't really give you an exact timeframe...), IU's Marching Hundred has played a strain from the "National Emblem" march every time the Hoosiers picked up a first down. For the first couple of years I was there, nobody really seemed to know what to do with this song, probably because we weren't very adept at getting first downs back then. However, I believe some of the fans started noticing something that the Hundred's drum majors would do during the song, which was pump their fists out into the air, then point in the direction of the first down. People began to catch on and, lo and behold, Hoosier football fans suddenly have their own ridiculous thing that they get to do at games. As with all football traditions, it may look kinda stupid at first, but when 30,000 or 40,000 people are all doing it at the same time, it looks really cool.
Yesterday afternoon against the Zips from the University of Akron, the Hoosier fans got quite a few opportunities to break out their first down celebration, especially in the second half. If you take a gander back a couple of posts, I said that Akron would keep it interesting for a lot of the game, but the Hoosiers would pull away. After the first quarter, that seemed like a stupid statement on my part, but then someone in the Akron coaching staff read the blog and decided to follow what I said. With under ten minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, in fact, it was a four point game with the score reading 27-23. Then, Kellen Lewis took the game on his back and ran it all over the field.
Kellen Lewis was obviously the player of the game because of this stat: 199 yards. You might say, "199 yards, that doesn't seem like a lot for a quarterback," until you realize that those 199 yards were rushing yards. Coming into this season, many fans were drawing comparisons between Lewis and the last big-time Hoosiers QB, Antwaan Randle-El. On Saturday, Lewis showed us the reason for those comparisons, falling ten yards short of Randle-El's school record of rushing yards in a game. Not only did Lewis run the ball well, but he tossed some great passes (as he always does to a number of different receivers. In light of all of this, I'd like to postulate this little gem: Kellen Lewis will be in some Heisman Trophy discussions before he graduates from Indiana University.
And then you might say, "What the hell was that?!"
Well, let me describe all this to you, since I've been in the middle of it a few times. For some amount of time now (I can't really give you an exact timeframe...), IU's Marching Hundred has played a strain from the "National Emblem" march every time the Hoosiers picked up a first down. For the first couple of years I was there, nobody really seemed to know what to do with this song, probably because we weren't very adept at getting first downs back then. However, I believe some of the fans started noticing something that the Hundred's drum majors would do during the song, which was pump their fists out into the air, then point in the direction of the first down. People began to catch on and, lo and behold, Hoosier football fans suddenly have their own ridiculous thing that they get to do at games. As with all football traditions, it may look kinda stupid at first, but when 30,000 or 40,000 people are all doing it at the same time, it looks really cool.
Yesterday afternoon against the Zips from the University of Akron, the Hoosier fans got quite a few opportunities to break out their first down celebration, especially in the second half. If you take a gander back a couple of posts, I said that Akron would keep it interesting for a lot of the game, but the Hoosiers would pull away. After the first quarter, that seemed like a stupid statement on my part, but then someone in the Akron coaching staff read the blog and decided to follow what I said. With under ten minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, in fact, it was a four point game with the score reading 27-23. Then, Kellen Lewis took the game on his back and ran it all over the field.
Kellen Lewis was obviously the player of the game because of this stat: 199 yards. You might say, "199 yards, that doesn't seem like a lot for a quarterback," until you realize that those 199 yards were rushing yards. Coming into this season, many fans were drawing comparisons between Lewis and the last big-time Hoosiers QB, Antwaan Randle-El. On Saturday, Lewis showed us the reason for those comparisons, falling ten yards short of Randle-El's school record of rushing yards in a game. Not only did Lewis run the ball well, but he tossed some great passes (as he always does to a number of different receivers. In light of all of this, I'd like to postulate this little gem: Kellen Lewis will be in some Heisman Trophy discussions before he graduates from Indiana University.
Friday, September 14, 2007
What on Earth is a Zip?!
As it turns out, Indiana is not the only school in this world that has an identity crisis. It turns out that the best answer we have here for the question, "What is a Hoosier?" is still, "a person from Indiana." However, as I looked ahead to tomorrows showdown in Memorial Stadium, I looked at the opposing team and said, "What on Earth is a Zip?"
Well, thanks to our good friends at Wikipedia, the most trusted source for any sort of information ever (/sarcasm), we have an answer. Despite the fact that their mascot is a kangaroo (huh?!), the name "Zips" actually comes from "Zippers," which was the old name of Akron's athletic teams. You might think that "Zippers" is some sort of slang for kangaroos and that the kangaroo is actually a cool animal to use, since it's original, it moves fast, and it punches its rivals like a heavyweight boxer -- a perfect image to convey with your team.
Unfortunately, it's not nearly that complicated or cool. The name "Zippers" is, in fact, derived from that useful little thing that's on the front of your jacket or the back of your dress. For today's history lesson, we learn that one of the steps in the invention of the zipper took place in a town called Elyria, Ohio, which sits somewhere between Cleveland and Akron. As such, someone decided that the local university's athletic teams should take the name. Eventually, since "Zips" is easier to say, the teams took on that name
I can't really tell you where the kangaroo comes into all of this, but I actually do like the unique nature of using that animal as a mascot. Also, get this: Zippy the kangaroo is one of six female mascots in college sports.
As for the game, I think the great defense Akron displayed last week will keep the game interesting. However, their total lack of offense will translate to them losing on the Hoosiers' home ground Saturday afternoon. Watch for some fireworks out of Tracy Porter and Mitchell Evans in the Hoosier secondary and Will Patterson in the linebacker corps. Kellen Lewis and the offense will probably put two or three scores on the board and will look pretty solid as we get ready to hit the Big Ten schedule.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
A Glance Back, and A Look Ahead
Ok, so I didn't blog immediately after the Indiana-Western Michigan game. First of all, I was completely zombie-fied by watching that game for over 4 hours. Then I went and sprained my ankle on Sunday, which has kept me completely distracted for the past couple days. But here I am, finally.
First of all, let's have ourselves a look at the good that came out of this 37-27 victory in front of a wet and wild crowd of over 32,000 at WMU's Waldo Stadium. What is becoming entirely clear is that, even if the offensive line is still rather average, Kellen Lewis can make a something out of nothing with relative ease. When the defense finds Lewis, he runs away from them until he either tucks the ball and runs, or one of his receivers gets into the open. The ability to run away from defenses will be very useful when the tough defenses of the Big Ten come knockin'.
Another thing Lewis did well in this weekend's game was spread the ball around to different receivers. Five different men pooled together to pull in 20 passes for 221 yards and three touchdowns. The stud of the receiving corps this time around was Ray Fisher, who caught nine of those passes for 77 key yards.
One other big bright spot in this game was the play of the defense, most notably true freshman Mitchell Evans. Evans stepped in front of two Bronco passes, taking away two key Western Michigan drives and becoming the first IU freshman in three years to pick off two passes in a game. The line also played impressively, holding the Broncos to a grand total of 30...yes, 30 yards rushsing. That number comes from WMU's positive yardage of 80 and an incredible negative yardage of 50. 39 of those negative yards are on the stat line of QB Tim Hiller, meaning the defensive line was putting tremendous pressure on passing plays.
Despite all of those positives, there was one glaring negative: Western Michigan outscored the Hoosiers 20-6 in the second half. Luckily, IU had put up 31 points to WMU's 7 in the first half. However, things suddenly felt a little tense as the game progressed through the fourth quarter and WMU closed the gap. A fair part of WMU's rally can be attributed to a less-than-stellar performance by the Hoosier secondary, despite the two interceptions earlier in the game. When all was said and done, the Broncos had managed to pick up 354 yards through the air, which will be something IU's defensive coaches will want to look at in preparation for the Akron Zips.
Speaking of Akron, I am actually a little worried about how they will do against the Hoosiers. The Zips played a very strong first half against Ohio State at the Horseshoe, holding the Buckeyes to 3 first half points while forcing a safety in the first quarter. Even when Ohio State found its groove in the second half, Akron's defense only allowed 17 more points to a team that is supposed to vie for the Big Ten title. Thankfully, IU's spread-out offense differs quite a bit from Ohio State's more traditional run-first mentality. Hopefully that use of the spread will keep the Akron secondary on their heels.
On offense, Akron was completely inept this past Saturday. That bodes well for the Hoosiers who, as previously mentioned, have gotten a lot better at putting pressure on the quarterback and the running game. Look for an interesting game for two or three quarters, but a Hoosier victory when all is said and done and the clock reads 0:00.
First of all, let's have ourselves a look at the good that came out of this 37-27 victory in front of a wet and wild crowd of over 32,000 at WMU's Waldo Stadium. What is becoming entirely clear is that, even if the offensive line is still rather average, Kellen Lewis can make a something out of nothing with relative ease. When the defense finds Lewis, he runs away from them until he either tucks the ball and runs, or one of his receivers gets into the open. The ability to run away from defenses will be very useful when the tough defenses of the Big Ten come knockin'.
Another thing Lewis did well in this weekend's game was spread the ball around to different receivers. Five different men pooled together to pull in 20 passes for 221 yards and three touchdowns. The stud of the receiving corps this time around was Ray Fisher, who caught nine of those passes for 77 key yards.
One other big bright spot in this game was the play of the defense, most notably true freshman Mitchell Evans. Evans stepped in front of two Bronco passes, taking away two key Western Michigan drives and becoming the first IU freshman in three years to pick off two passes in a game. The line also played impressively, holding the Broncos to a grand total of 30...yes, 30 yards rushsing. That number comes from WMU's positive yardage of 80 and an incredible negative yardage of 50. 39 of those negative yards are on the stat line of QB Tim Hiller, meaning the defensive line was putting tremendous pressure on passing plays.
Despite all of those positives, there was one glaring negative: Western Michigan outscored the Hoosiers 20-6 in the second half. Luckily, IU had put up 31 points to WMU's 7 in the first half. However, things suddenly felt a little tense as the game progressed through the fourth quarter and WMU closed the gap. A fair part of WMU's rally can be attributed to a less-than-stellar performance by the Hoosier secondary, despite the two interceptions earlier in the game. When all was said and done, the Broncos had managed to pick up 354 yards through the air, which will be something IU's defensive coaches will want to look at in preparation for the Akron Zips.
Speaking of Akron, I am actually a little worried about how they will do against the Hoosiers. The Zips played a very strong first half against Ohio State at the Horseshoe, holding the Buckeyes to 3 first half points while forcing a safety in the first quarter. Even when Ohio State found its groove in the second half, Akron's defense only allowed 17 more points to a team that is supposed to vie for the Big Ten title. Thankfully, IU's spread-out offense differs quite a bit from Ohio State's more traditional run-first mentality. Hopefully that use of the spread will keep the Akron secondary on their heels.
On offense, Akron was completely inept this past Saturday. That bodes well for the Hoosiers who, as previously mentioned, have gotten a lot better at putting pressure on the quarterback and the running game. Look for an interesting game for two or three quarters, but a Hoosier victory when all is said and done and the clock reads 0:00.
Monday, September 3, 2007
Indiana 55, Indiana State 7
No interesting or clever title needed for this one. That score right there says it all. The Indiana Football Hoosiers came out andIn absolutely dominated in front of an official crowd of about 34,000 (it was closer to 40,000 because freshmen got free tickets).
Lets start with what I think is one of the most impressive stat lines I have ever seen: 3 catches, 153 yards, 2 TDs. The name next to that line was James Hardy, who put on a dominating show against ISU's secondary. In fact, this line should have been even bigger because it does not include a long pass on which ISU's Warren English-Malone was forced to put the hammer down on Hardy and pick up a pass interference penalty. That pass, plus another pass interference call in the second quarter, would've put Hardy over 200 yards on 5 catches. Hardy looks good at this point in the season, and his improved speed and footwork will come in handy when it's time to go up against the big defenses in the Big Ten.
The man on the other end of those passes was also quite impressive for the Hoosiers. Kellen Lewis seems to have his mind and concentration in the right place at this point in the year. There were only two or three passes that didn't look all that great, including one toss under pressure into double coverage that became an interception. The rest of his stuff was spot-on, and he would tuck the ball and take to the ground at all the right times.
When combined with a little bit of shutdown defense, the Hoosiers easily knocked over the Sycamores and looked quite impressive in the process. The next test comes in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in what will be the one trap game in IU's non-conference schedule. The Western Michigan Broncos, despite the beatdown they received in West Virginia this weekend, are one of the tougher teams in the Mid-America Conference. Given that it will be a night game on the road in Kalamazoo, the crowd will be there in force and will give IU a tough time. I believe that this game will be the one that shows us exactly what IU will do this season and we will have a much better idea of whether or not Terry Hoeppner's dreams will be fulfilled.
Random, Off-Topic Note:
A stadium-record 7,240 rowdy fans showed up to Jerry Yeagley Field at Armstrong Stadium on Sunday to watch IU Soccer take out #1/#2 UCLA 1-0. Can this soccer team make it back to the College Cup and bring IU it's 8th soccer championship? We'll find out come December.
Lets start with what I think is one of the most impressive stat lines I have ever seen: 3 catches, 153 yards, 2 TDs. The name next to that line was James Hardy, who put on a dominating show against ISU's secondary. In fact, this line should have been even bigger because it does not include a long pass on which ISU's Warren English-Malone was forced to put the hammer down on Hardy and pick up a pass interference penalty. That pass, plus another pass interference call in the second quarter, would've put Hardy over 200 yards on 5 catches. Hardy looks good at this point in the season, and his improved speed and footwork will come in handy when it's time to go up against the big defenses in the Big Ten.
The man on the other end of those passes was also quite impressive for the Hoosiers. Kellen Lewis seems to have his mind and concentration in the right place at this point in the year. There were only two or three passes that didn't look all that great, including one toss under pressure into double coverage that became an interception. The rest of his stuff was spot-on, and he would tuck the ball and take to the ground at all the right times.
When combined with a little bit of shutdown defense, the Hoosiers easily knocked over the Sycamores and looked quite impressive in the process. The next test comes in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in what will be the one trap game in IU's non-conference schedule. The Western Michigan Broncos, despite the beatdown they received in West Virginia this weekend, are one of the tougher teams in the Mid-America Conference. Given that it will be a night game on the road in Kalamazoo, the crowd will be there in force and will give IU a tough time. I believe that this game will be the one that shows us exactly what IU will do this season and we will have a much better idea of whether or not Terry Hoeppner's dreams will be fulfilled.
Random, Off-Topic Note:
A stadium-record 7,240 rowdy fans showed up to Jerry Yeagley Field at Armstrong Stadium on Sunday to watch IU Soccer take out #1/#2 UCLA 1-0. Can this soccer team make it back to the College Cup and bring IU it's 8th soccer championship? We'll find out come December.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Back to School!
Sitting in the food hall at the Herman B. Wells Library at Indiana University and seeing all the folks come through with piles of books and notes in their hands can only mean one thing: school is back in session! As such, here is the short story on my bold predictions for this year in IU sports:
IU Football: 7-5, bowl victory of some sort
IU Basketball: Final Four
IU Soccer: I don't care how they do, I'm still going to love it
So, for the long story of it, we first turn to the wonderful story that is IU Football. Sometimes, you need a very large negative to occur to bring about positives. Of course, the last 14 years of Hoosier Football have been full of negatives (Cam Cameron, anyone?). Still, all of those negatives pale in comparison to the one suffered this summer, as head coach Terry Hoeppner succumbed to complications from a brain tumor. While this is a great tragedy for all involved, it is also a great opportunity to galvanize the fan base, pump up the team, and win games for the man who was just starting to get IU back on the football map. Normally, I would predict a crowd of maybe 25-30,000 at the opening game versus Indiana State, but with the emotion surrounding this season (and new coach Bill Lynch's offer of free tickets for freshmen for the ISU game), I wouldnt be shocked to see 40-45,000. My earlier prediction of 7-5...that too could easily be an underestimation.
As for this campus' favorite sport, things look very promising. Assembly Hall will no doubt be sold out for every game and the Hoosier Hysteria event so that fans will be able to catch a glimpse of a roster that could make up a significant portion of the All-Big Ten list at the end of the season. DJ White will be coming back for his fourth year on the roster and his third year of playing (broken foot in '05-'06), and he looks set t be more dominant than ever. Complimenting him down low will most likely be either Mike White, a powerful and energetic bundle of pure muscle down low, or Lance Stemler, who presents the added threat of a pretty good 3-point shot. The first shooting guard position will be up for grabs during the first half of the season beacuse senior AJ Ratliff was declared academically inelegible, but I predict that his spot will be filled by sophomore Armon Bassett, who showed that he can shoot and distribute the ball pretty well last year. Taking Bassett's spot at the point will be Jordan Crawford, who has impressed just about everyone he can impress during the summer with his hot point guard play. Finally, the crown jewel of the lineup, Kelvin Sampson's dream recruit, and a name that will be echoing through the rafters all season: guard Eric Gordon. As if that weren't enough, the bench is stacked with a great lineup of star recruits and veteran players. Barring a major disaster, this team is definitely Final Four-capable and should bring home at least a share of their 21st Big Ten title.
The other sport I'm excited about? IU Soccer! I don't even care how many games they win or if they make it to the College Cup this year. I just want to go to Armstrong Stadium and act ridiculous for a couple of hours while watching that other form of football.
Well, it's time for me to run off with my own books to class. If you're lucky enough to have the Big Ten Network by the end of this week, be on the lookout for IU vs. Indiana State at 8 PM on Saturday. I'll try to bring a little preview of that on Friday.
IU Football: 7-5, bowl victory of some sort
IU Basketball: Final Four
IU Soccer: I don't care how they do, I'm still going to love it
So, for the long story of it, we first turn to the wonderful story that is IU Football. Sometimes, you need a very large negative to occur to bring about positives. Of course, the last 14 years of Hoosier Football have been full of negatives (Cam Cameron, anyone?). Still, all of those negatives pale in comparison to the one suffered this summer, as head coach Terry Hoeppner succumbed to complications from a brain tumor. While this is a great tragedy for all involved, it is also a great opportunity to galvanize the fan base, pump up the team, and win games for the man who was just starting to get IU back on the football map. Normally, I would predict a crowd of maybe 25-30,000 at the opening game versus Indiana State, but with the emotion surrounding this season (and new coach Bill Lynch's offer of free tickets for freshmen for the ISU game), I wouldnt be shocked to see 40-45,000. My earlier prediction of 7-5...that too could easily be an underestimation.
As for this campus' favorite sport, things look very promising. Assembly Hall will no doubt be sold out for every game and the Hoosier Hysteria event so that fans will be able to catch a glimpse of a roster that could make up a significant portion of the All-Big Ten list at the end of the season. DJ White will be coming back for his fourth year on the roster and his third year of playing (broken foot in '05-'06), and he looks set t be more dominant than ever. Complimenting him down low will most likely be either Mike White, a powerful and energetic bundle of pure muscle down low, or Lance Stemler, who presents the added threat of a pretty good 3-point shot. The first shooting guard position will be up for grabs during the first half of the season beacuse senior AJ Ratliff was declared academically inelegible, but I predict that his spot will be filled by sophomore Armon Bassett, who showed that he can shoot and distribute the ball pretty well last year. Taking Bassett's spot at the point will be Jordan Crawford, who has impressed just about everyone he can impress during the summer with his hot point guard play. Finally, the crown jewel of the lineup, Kelvin Sampson's dream recruit, and a name that will be echoing through the rafters all season: guard Eric Gordon. As if that weren't enough, the bench is stacked with a great lineup of star recruits and veteran players. Barring a major disaster, this team is definitely Final Four-capable and should bring home at least a share of their 21st Big Ten title.
The other sport I'm excited about? IU Soccer! I don't even care how many games they win or if they make it to the College Cup this year. I just want to go to Armstrong Stadium and act ridiculous for a couple of hours while watching that other form of football.
Well, it's time for me to run off with my own books to class. If you're lucky enough to have the Big Ten Network by the end of this week, be on the lookout for IU vs. Indiana State at 8 PM on Saturday. I'll try to bring a little preview of that on Friday.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
