Teams ready for 'Action' on the court

Even after a rough practice, IU coach Mike Davis says he loves his team. And while Davis said he thinks the team's offense may be struggling, the defensive part of their game is actually ahead of schedule. \nBoth coaches and players say they hope to have things together for tonight's 7 p.m. game with Athletes in Action.\n"They (AIA) are a good team," Davis said. "They always compete, and they beat a lot of people because they play a lot of games."\nJunior guard Donald Perry remembers his first exhibition game, also against AIA, and said he was pretty nervous before that first game.\n"You just want to go out there and play hard and come back and see what we need to improve on," Perry said. "For a lot of guys, this will be their first game so they might be a little nervous like I was."\nOne of the nervous first-timers will be freshman guard and Bloomington native Errek Suhr. Suhr said he remembers being a fan all of his life and that being a part of the team now is a dream come true.\n"When I was a fan last year, it was expected that Indiana would be good and come out firing," Suhr said. "Now I'm on the other side of it and as a player, I can see that it's still really early to tell what kind of a team this will be."\nThe health of its players will be a huge impact on what kind of team fans can expect. Davis said senior center George Leach had three amazing practices before injuring his shoulder, and senior guard A.J. Moye has injured his toe.\nDavis said it will take Moye a week or so to fully recover and he might play him in tonight's game, but as of Tuesday afternoon he wasn't sure. Whether Leach plays has not been decided. \nIU has played AIA for the last 12 years and has won five straight games against the team. AIA is currently 2-1 in its exhibition tour, with its only defeat coming to Saint Louis, 68-58. \nAIA's lineup will contain former Penn State guard Joe Crispin. He ranks second on the Nittany Lions' career scoring list with 1,986 points. Crispin is a player Davis said he doesn't want his players to know or worry about when it comes to tonight's game.\n"I'm not even going to tell them about Joe Crispin," Davis laughed.\nBut players like Perry seem confident in the direction the team is taking and said he hopes to come out tonight and show the fans a good basketball team.\n"I think we're a more athletic team," Perry said. "Lots of good things this year, and we're in better condition, too."\nIn a crucial time when coaches have to decide about red shirting, Davis said he isn't going to red shirt anyone this year.\n"I'm going to let them play," Davis said. "We've got some guys coming in next year we might have to red shirt." \nWith IU taking on AIA tonight at Assembly Hall, fans will get their first glimpse of this year's basketball team in action for a full game. Davis says games like this are important for the start of the season.\n"Exhibition games give you a point of reference," Davis said. "They give you that because they'll help us know even more what we need to improve on."\n-- Contact staff writer Natalie A. Trout at natrout@indiana.edu.