The last time I picked up a baseball bat in competition, I was 7 years old. We had all moved past hitting off a tee, but we still weren’t allowed more than one base at a time. So when IU coach Tracy Smith asked earlier in the fall if my fellow beat writer Ryan Gregg and I wanted to manage one of his team’s intrasquad Cream against Crimson fall games, the words “natural fit” came to mind. After all, those who can’t do, coach, right? Maybe not.
Thanks to six months of preparation, Tom Crean is ready. The problem is, he’s not sure what for. “I think, probably like every other program in the country, we’re excited about getting started,” he said, pausing for effect. “Unlike most every other program in the country, we have no idea what to expect.” After spending the past two evenings answering students’ questions, Crean sat down Wednesday with national and local media for the program’s media day. His usual self, Crean tackled every question with his trademark enthusiasm.VIDEO: IU Basketball Media Day
If Tom Crean likes some tradition in his basketball – a little fundamental, old-school panache to add to his high-octane style – then he must love Roshown McLeod. Try this out: A candidate for the Hoosiers’ last assistant position slides his resume across the desk. A few names jump off the page. Bob Hurley. Mike Krzyzewski. Lenny Wilkens. Larry Brown. Those are a few of the high-profile coaches for which McLeod has played during a career that began at Hurley’s storied St. Anthony High School in Jersey City, N.J., and included stops with Duke, the Atlanta Hawks, Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics. You tend to pick up a few tips along the way. But in which of those storied programs did McLeod learn the most?
Thanks to two red-flag periods for two large crashes, Sunday’s four-and-a-half-hour Amp Energy 500 at Talladega Superspeedway took forever to complete. But fans were treated to high-energy suspense all the way to the checkered flag, and then they got some more. NASCAR officials declared Indiana native Tony Stewart the race winner – his first win at the 2.66-mile track – after they determined rookie Regan Smith violated a rule in place that forbids drivers from driving under a yellow out-of-bounds line to make a pass on the track’s inside. Smith actually made a last-lap pass on Stewart just before the start/finish line and appeared to have pulled an extremely surprising victory until NASCAR named Stewart as the winner, saying Smith had intentionally gone below the designated line, though Stewart attempted to block Smith’s move.
In most scenarios, people 6-foot-4 to 6-foot-5 are considered tall. Not the case in college basketball. The IU men’s basketball team has just three players on the team taller than 6-foot-6, making the Hoosiers an undersized Big Ten basketball team. By contrast. Purdue has five players taller than 6-foot-6, while Michigan State and Wisconsin have eight. In order to combat teams with taller personnel, freshmen Malik Story and Nick Williams are expected to play some power forward rather than their natural guard positions despite being 6-foot-5 and 6-foot-4, respectively. Their roles on the team might not be what they expected coming to Bloomington, but IU coach Tom Crean said almost every player entering college goes through a change from what his role in high school was. Williams said the possibility of getting playing time as a forward wasn’t expected, but he’s still prepared to play there.
In most scenarios, people 6-foot-4 to 6-foot-5 are considered tall. Not the case in college basketball. The IU men’s basketball team has just three players on the team taller than 6-foot-6, making the Hoosiers an undersized Big Ten basketball team. By contrast. Purdue has five players taller than 6-foot-6, while Michigan State and Wisconsin have eight. In order to combat teams with taller personnel, freshmen Malik Story and Nick Williams are expected to play some power forward rather than their natural guard positions despite being 6-foot-5 and 6-foot-4, respectively. Their roles on the team might not be what they expected coming to Bloomington, but IU coach Tom Crean said almost every player entering college goes through a change from what his role in high school was. Williams said the possibility of getting playing time as a forward wasn’t expected, but he’s still prepared to play there.
From pre-schoolers in strollers to high schoolers, hundreds of students in the Monroe County Community School Corporation participated in International Walk to School Day on Wednesday morning.
MUNCIE – Ball State receiver Dante Love has made great progress in his recovery from a career-ending spinal injury and might be released from a rehabilitation center this week, coach Brady Hoke said.Love, who took a head-on hit during the Cardinals’ 42-20 win against IU on Sept. 20, underwent surgery one day after the game.
It’s time for the IU men’s soccer team to live up to its potential.After opening the Big Ten campaign with an exciting 3-2 overtime win against Wisconsin, the Hoosiers dropped two of three games before getting back on track with a 2-0 victory against Butler on Tuesday night.Soccer can be a fickle game because no matter how dominant a team is, unless that team can finish its scoring opportunities, the opponent will always be one goal away from pulling an upset.For the Hoosiers, it’s been the type of season where good play has not always translated to wins.
This past weekend against unranked Michigan, the IU men’s soccer team was upset 1-0 after the lone Wolverine goal came less than two minutes into the match. But come Tuesday night, it was IU sophomore forward Daniel Kelly providing the early spark for the Hoosiers in their 2-0 win at Butler.Kelly scored his second goal of the season just 11 seconds after the opening whistle was blown, when a pass back to Butler junior goalkeeper Nick Hegeman was misplayed on the wet field. Kelly rushed in on the loose ball to put it in the back of the net and give his team a one-goal advantage.
The two presidential candidates weren’t the only ones doing a bit of politicking Tuesday night.IU coach Tom Crean shook hands, signed autographs and took pictures with students Tuesday night, all after sending a message similar to one laid out the night before when he spoke at the IU Auditorium.Crean pleaded with IU students at the Hoosier Den in Foster Quad to purchase season basketball tickets. PODCAST: Hoosier Sidelines“Get your things in order, you don’t want to miss this,” Crean told those in attendance. “I don’t know where it’s going, but you don’t want to miss this.”On Monday, Crean spoke in a more formal setting. In a more laid-back scene Tuesday, a projector screen replaced the red curtain of the auditorium stage, and a montage replaced Crean’s lecture.The montage showed highlights and images of former Hoosier greats, ranging from the 1976 championship team all the way to the 2002 Final Four squad. Intertwined in the highlights of Hoosier basketball were images of enthusiastic IU fans from last year, prompting Crean to say those are the fans needed back this season.
