Cream defeats Crimson in scrimmage as top recruits watch

As the possible future of IU men’s basketball watched, the current crop of Hoosiers showed a bit of what the present holds.

The Cream squad, led by junior guard Daniel Moore’s 18 points, defeated its Crimson clad counterparts 65-51 in the “Night of the Living Red” scrimmage Friday night at Assembly Hall.

“I thought we did some good things,” IU coach Tom Crean said. “I thought we moved the basketball pretty well and our energy was good.”

And while the 7,847 in attendance voiced their appreciation for players such as Guy-Marc Michel (14 points, 10 rebounds), the majority of the chants included the names Cody Zeller and Hanner Perea.

Zeller, the No. 4 ranked forward by Rivals.com in the 2011 class, is taking his official visit to IU this weekend. He and Perea were joined in attendance by guard Austin Etherington, currently the only IU commit in the 2011 class.

Junior guard Verdell Jones (ankle) and senior guard Jeremiah Rivers (concussion) missed the action, but sophomore guard Maurice Creek played in front of the IU faithful for the first time since his season-ending knee injury early last season.

Creek, playing for Crimson, finished the game with 4 points on 2-for-8 shooting, 0-for-5 from the 3-point line.

“I think it’s very apparent this was Maurice Creek’s first time under the lights since December,” Crean said. “He wants to be right back to where he left off, and that doesn’t work that way.”

Sophomore forward Christian Watford led all Crimson scorers with 24 points.

Assistant coaches oversaw the action for both teams, as Crean watched from a lone chair on the opposite sideline. Steve McClain led the Crimson team, with Bennie Seltzer manning the Cream sidelines.

The 2010 IU basketball season starts Nov. 3, when the Hoosiers take on Franklin College at 7p.m. at Assembly Hall. The Hoosiers will play Florida Gulf Coast in the regular season opener Nov. 12.