Inside the Hall was down for a majority of the day on Wednesday due to an issue with our host. We’ve had instances with down time, but nothing quite like that. So without going into any more detail than you care to hear, we apologize and hope that its smooth sailing from here. (We thought about putting the blame on PostmanE, but R and I just couldn’t do it.)
Dominique Ferguson to Kentucky
by Alex Bozich in Recruiting | April 29th, 2008
I just spoke with Lawrence North 2010 forward Dominique Ferguson and he confirmed that he committed to Kentucky about an hour ago. Ferguson is one of the top 10 players in the 2010 class and visited Indiana last fall several times when Kelvin Sampson was still running the show. This is a huge get for UK as Ferguson is one of the most versatile players in the 2010 class and should be a five-star prospect when Rivals and Scout release their rankings after the spring evaluation period.
Previously on ITH:
IU, adidas agree to eight-year, $21 million deal
by Alex Bozich in Media | April 29th, 2008
Here’s the release, courtesy of IU Media Relations:
Bloomington, Ind./Portland, Ore. – Indiana University and adidas have entered into an eight-year partnership in which the Portland, Ore. based company will supply footwear and apparel for all 24 of the university’s sport programs. The new agreement extends Indiana’s partnership with adidas, who has been the official footwear and apparel supplier for Hoosier Athletics since the 2004-2005 academic year.
The contract begins with the upcoming 2008-2009 academic year and extends through the completion of the 2015-2016 seasons.
“We are proud to extend our relationship with adidas,” Indiana Director of Athletics Rick Greenspan said. “We appreciate their willingness to provide our student-athletes and coaches with the best products to aid their development and training, as well as their financial assistance to our department.”
The Hoosiers are a part of a select group of universities that have similar all-school agreements with adidas including fellow Big Ten Conference members Michigan and Wisconsin. Other adidas schools include Notre Dame, UCLA, Tennessee, Nebraska and Kansas.
Ruckus ensues over…Tom Crean
by Alex Bozich in Media | April 29th, 2008
Just about everyday on the Web, you can find a story that’s a real head scratcher. Most of the time, your first reaction is “what is this sick world coming to?” You then copy a link to the story and forward it on to your friends that have a sense of humor. Not often do I get to write about these stories on this very blog, but today is the exception to that rule. Feast your eyes on this, courtesy of the Capital Times:
Arguments over basketball are commonplace when guys gather to watch March Madness, but one Madison man faces a battery charge for slugging another during an argument over whether newly appointed Indiana University basketball coach Tom Crean will have success in his new job.
According to a criminal complaint filed Monday, a bunch of friends gathered at an apartment on Harbour Towne Drive to watch the national semifinals of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.
During the course of the game Aaron Dumas and John Capista began discussing how much success Crean would have in the Big Ten. Dumas and Capista were discussing the possibilities “when the discussion turned from friendly into a heated debate,” according to the criminal complaint charging Dumas with battery. Capista told police that Dumas became so upset he lunged toward him and “punched him in the face with a closed fist striking him on the bridge of the nose,” and followed that up with four or five more punches.
Madison Police Officer Chanda Dolsen said Capista had a red mark on the bridge of his nose and three locations on his head where redness and swelling were evident.
I mean I’m all for a little debate when I talk about sports with friends (who isn’t), but this is pretty unbelievable. It wasn’t even just one punch, it was a barrage of punches from some guy in Wisconsin over Indiana’s coach. I guess this is a good barometer of the reach the IU program has. When you have random people in Wisconsin fighting, well, you know you’re big time, right?
{HT: The Hoosier Scoop}
Eric Gordon answers the tough questions…
by Alex Bozich in Media | April 28th, 2008
Tonight, according to WISH-TV. The network will air an interview, conducted by sports anchor Anthony Calhoun, with the former IU star on its 11 p.m. broadcast. ITH tipster Kelin says the network is teasing that the interview contains a quote about Kelvin Sampson that will have people talking for the next few days. Anyone in the Indy area that will be able to watch, feel free to send us a recap at tips@insidethehall.com.
Update: A recap of the interview is available here.
Armon Bassett speculation is just…speculation
by Alex Bozich in Rumors | April 28th, 2008
Despite what some of you read on various message boards across the Web this past weekend, the rumor that Armon Bassett is transferring to Cincinnati (or any other school) appears to be purely speculation. Anyone trying to pass off this information as fact at this point is just guessing. The possibility that he won’t be back is certainly there given the fact that he’s not even on the team right now, but the semester isn’t even over folks.
Bassett’s first choice would be to return to Indiana, but the big question is will he make the cut academically? And in addition to that, will he make the necessary changes to be reinstated by Coach Crean? Finals begin today in Bloomington and run through Friday, so we should know more on the status of Bassett and Jamarcus Ellis in the upcoming weeks. My guess is that both players will exhaust all avenues that could lead to a return to the Indiana program before opting to go elsewhere. If that is the case, this could play out well into the summer.
(Anytime you talk about rumors, it’s essential to reference this post by Hutch.)
