i am in complete agreement that ej is amazing defensively and offensively (or should i just say, he's really good...he does make freshman/human mistakes), but according to l. rubes basset went to the hospital tonight. i've been talking armon up on his offensive proficiency, but he is truly the glue to this team. everyone wants to talk gordon up, and i understand and see why, but without basset, this team is COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. i just hope all is well with basset.

early in the game, thomas made an amazing turn-a-round pass to gordon for an easy lay-up (commentators, "oh! gordon is amazing!"). after that play, thomas made a some-what-eradic toss to ej that proved ej's ability to find himself on the court and gave him the opportunity to make an amazing play out of a pass that was un-spectactacular (me, "oh! gordon is amazing!"). all i'm saying other than the fact that i think ej is amazing, is that the commentators seem to think that this is one man running the show. ej is amazing (for a freshman), but without the amazing pass (gone unnoticed from the world, as it seems) from thomas early on, ej isn't what everyone expects. i think ej is amazing, and thank god he is a hoosier, but without the rest of the team he is just a player on any given team. gordon is something to witness...amazing really for a freshman...but i wish the commentators would get off their high-horses about the freshman class. they are, without a doubt in my mind, the best freshman class that i can remember, ... but, with the exception of beasely (kansas state), there are no superstar freshman playing without other exceptionally good returners that have a huge roll in showing these freshman how the college game plays out. gordon is a superstar college player at bloomington, but he will only be as good as the rest of his team...there are too many players on this team to keep calling out ej's numbers without recognizing the other reasons for iu's success.

again, let me just say, i hope for ej and iu's success that armon is okay. (he is somehow... almost a nobody...can't understand that!?), but in my eyes, the most important part of this iu team. this should be dj's team, and i hope it proves to be, but for now (and likely all year) it is up to armon to run this program.

bigA,

would you agree that this team consists of more than ej, because even on the iu sites it seems that it is always about ej. i know for a fact (even though he scored more points) he hasn't been the most effective player on the court every single game. i have my own best-of's for each game (but i will admit, he's been the overall favorite for most). there were a couple of games where i thought he made too many (freshman) mistakes to be seen as the only man on iu's roster.

Is there any word on Bassett's status yet? Has he been released from the hospital? Hopefully it's just a sprain. Something more serious, like a break, could be a major setback. It's going to make AJ's return that much more important.

i completely agree indianalee, aj is much needed if armon doesn't make a quick return. armon is a point, which i know others can fill the roll...but without armon's return, aj ratliff will become a very important second outside threat that will be sadly missed by the absence of basset. aj is a very serious threat from deep, but i truly feel that there is no one player in the country that can shoot as well as basset at this point in the season...hopefully the streaky-ratliff can become more dependable night in-night out (regardless of armon's return). thanks for bringing ratliff to mind...i, unfortunately, sometimes forget that we have a secret weapon on our bench awaiting return.

Ray and rest of ITH'ers
Word is Armon went to the hospital bc of his ankle and it may be broken. We're going to have to wait and see

okay, i want to apologize for going off the rocker and saying too much on this site...but let me just say thank you for the opportunity. i have to listen to other one-sided commentaries from other analysists day in and day out...and frankly, i'm sick of it. thanks to insidethehall.com for giving us the opportunity to share our feelings and thoughts (none of the other sites allow it...it's their way or the highway). thanks guys, for allowing us this outlet!

l. rubes, where are you? i thought i would learn more about basset...you led us to this article. i hope you have something for us...as i've said, there's a strong concern amongst us iu-fan bachelors here.

holy s---t l. rubes, that sucks! keep us informed if you will. thanks!

The Good, Bad, and Odd...

OK this was the first IU game I have seen this year (thanks BTN and Comcast) so I have a lot to say....

The Odd....
*the sears centre has no heat. It was freezing inside.
*Jay-z, vanilla ice, stevie wonder,and Barry Manilo is not a good combination for basketball game filler music.
* Dan Patrick is back on the radio in Chicago
* At one point during the game it was so quiet two fans were yelling across the arena at each other
* Saw my first Kelvin Sampson cell phone sign

The Good...
*Ej is as good defensively as he is offensively
*IU's depth. Jordan was solid tonite and Eli gave good minutes
*Lance Stemler is important to IU's success....have to admit it. Without out his D and Hustle plays tonite, IU could have lost.
*IU fan support is top 3 in the nation...
*Did I mention EJ

The bad.....
*If DJ doesn't come to play on Saturday.IU will struggle and could lose!
*Xavier runs a lot of STUFF offensively that could give IU some trouble.
*Lance Stemler is our BEST post defender.
*DJ needs more post moves and quicker decisions
*A loss of Armon could hurt.

l. rubes,

does this have anything to do with his initial injury this season, or is this an isolated injury? ...or do you even know?

Not sure

kelin,

i take it you went to the game. what does xavier have that iu doesn't? i know they were considered a post-season threat last year, but i haven't had the opportunity to see them this year. i don't how good kent state is this year, but they've had a lot of success lately...which leads me to believe xavier may be as good as last year.

thanks l.r., please let us know when you know more.

Ray-

Xavier does these things well, from what I saw tonite....

-strong guard play
-offensive rebound
-run their offense WELL (at times I got dizzy watching them cause it is a lot of motion w/out a post player inside)

They are as athletic as IU,there post players are post/perimeter players, they can step out and make jumpshots and are active on the glass.

They are NOT deep. They are thin in the post area. The key for us is DJ and DT being effective inside. Kent state got to the basket on them all night, which bodes well for us with EJ, Jamarcus, and Jordan. .....and hopefully armon. We win this one it is a very "good" win....

over-rated teams?...let's start with kansas state. he's good, their freshman (beasley, in my opinion, THE MOST IMPACT any freshman is giving to any team), but like i've said again and again, he doesn't have the other players surrounging him to be on a great team (OT win over CFU?). freshman are phenomenal this year, but one player doesn't make or break a team...at least not in most cases i've witnessed.

thanks for the input kelin. we need to win this game, otherwise we'll continue to hear how iu hasn't won any big games yet. the biggest game, bar none, is going to be at southern illinois. they are under-rated. and from what i saw on tv tonight, their fans travel long distances to be a major factor for this team...and unfortunately for iu, we have to go to their home. thanks again kelin, i'm glad you finally got to witness iu "in the real". i'll tell you this, i think it was one of their worst performances yet (if that helps your confidence any...they should be getting better each game, so i don't know...), but it could have been a tougher opponent as well.

kelin, sounds to me like iu should start rebounding like a solid ball club (michigan state, for instance) and stop playing lethargic. i realize they have improved on defense, but a part of defense is also on the glass...which they have been like all other iu teams of the recent past...that is, insufficient.

Im still yet to figure out why everyone calls him EJ. Its EG people!! He is not Jordan, he is his own man so STOP CALLING HIM EJ, its so friggin gay

his name is eric gordon junior sherron. that's what his nickname has been since he was very little, and i think he prefers to be called ej.

as for armon basset, i just watched the big ten network replay the game and it seems to me that armon couldn't have a broken ankle. he played an entire defensive stance without leaving the court, and i think he actually ran into the locker room. this is good news if what i'm seeing is true, but he could still have a significant injury...such as a fracture. i hope all is well with armon!

by the way, you aren't the sherron wilkerson that played for the hoosiers back in the day are you? i rarely forget names, so please forgive me if this is just someone with the same name.

we may have a former player on the site giving comments...i'm not sure? sherron wilkerson was the name of one of iu's guards in the early-mid 90's. does the infamous '94 head butt ring anyone's bells?

sherron, if that's really you, i did a little research on you. glad to hear you're doing well. for those of you doubters, he graduated from iu and is seemingly doing well for himself. he is involved with environmental concerns...something all of america should try to concentrate on!

I seriously doubt it's Sherron Wilkerson.

Where is it documented that Basset is in the hospital?

I've had a couple of e-mails asking about Armon Bassett's injury. At this point, all I know is what Coach Sampson said after the game. Armon's status for tonight is unknown. I'm sure we'll know more later today but I would not jump to any conclusions at this point.

Did anyone else notice that when Crawford was running the point only about forty percent of the time he passed it before he got stopped. Half of our possessions consisted of Crawford starting spin moves from the top of the key until he threw up an unsolicited fade away or was bailed out by the officials. I was frustrated with his play the entire second half. I think Crawford is a good player but he is too concerned about his points and it hurt the team tonight. Let EJ take it down the court, he seems to know where other people are on the court. After that half I really hope Bassett is back soon.

Steve I think that is what KS wanted given the guy guarding him was 5-7ish. I saw that but quickly figured out it was a matchup KS was trying to exploit...I don't think there offense is a 1 on 1 contest. At one point he had EJ do the same thing in a 1-4 set....hell DJ was no help last night so I will take what I can get.

Missing 5 open Threes is not what I call holding someone to 7 pts. As the case was when Gordan guarding Osiris Eldridge.