2010 January | Inside the Hall | Indiana Hoosiers Basketball News, Recruiting and Analysis

Sheehey scores 27 in MLK Classic win

by Alex Bozich in Recruiting | January 11th, 2010

Throughout the season, Inside the Hall will keep you posted on how 2010 signees Victor Oladipo and Will Sheehey and 2011 commitments Austin Etherington and Matt Carlino, as well as other notable prospects being recruited by Indiana, are performing at their respective schools.

You can send us stats or results for this report at tips@insidethehall.com. Here’s our latest update:

+ Victor Oladipo – DeMatha (MD): The 6-3 Oladipo scored 17 points in a 54-52 DeMatha win over Good Counsel on January 5. (Video clips from that game are available here.) Oladipo had 10 points in a 63-61 DeMatha win against McNamara on January 8.

+ Will Sheehey – Sagemont (FL): Sheehey posted 27 points in a 58-31 Sagemont win over Boyd Anderson on January 9 in the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Basketball Classic. Sheehey was named MVP of the game against Boyd Anderson. On January 5, Sheehey scored 15 in win over Westminster and on January 7, he had 31 points in a 81-50 win over Parkway. (Photo courtesy of MiamiHerald.com.)

+ Austin Etherington – Hamilton Heights (IN): Etherington scored 12 fourth quarter points and finished with 23 in a 51-46 Hamilton Heights win over Taylor on January 8.

+ Matt Carlino – Bloomington South (IN): The left-handed guard scored a team-high 18 points as Bloomington South beat Bloomington North 66-51 on January 9. South is now 10-0.

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Tags: Austin Etherington, Matt Carlino, Victor Oladipo, Will Sheehey

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A closer look at the four factors and Illinois

by Alex Bozich in Commentary | January 10th, 2010

NCAA Basketball

Obviously, the one factor that stands out among the rest and is also dominating the postgame discussion – free throws.

The free throw rate of 84.8 percent for Illinois was the defining number when you dig into the four factors. In fact, a quick glance at the Pomeroy Game Plan for the Fighting Illini shows it was easily their best performance in that area this season. (The runner-up? 48.4 percent back on November 17 against Northern Illinois.)

Free throw rate, for those of you unfamiliar with the term, measures the frequency at which a team makes it way to the line. It’s calculated by dividing a team’s free throw attempts by its number of field goal attempts.

The theory behind the importance of this number, according to Dean Oliver, is that by simply getting to the line, a team dramatically increases it chances of winning. Free throw rate does not take into account making free throws. But over the long haul, Oliver notes, “just getting to the line frequently wins a lot more games than missing a few freebies will lose.”

And last night, this theory rang true. It wasn’t that Illinois was flawless from the line – they shot 69.2 percent – but by the Illini’s sheer volume of attempts, Indiana was out-scored by 17 at the line.

Tags: Illinois Fighting Illini

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Illinois postgame video: Tom Crean

by Alex Bozich in Video | January 10th, 2010

Indiana coach Tom Crean met with the media following Indiana’s 66-60 loss to Illinois Saturday at Assembly Hall. The video of Crean’s complete press conference is available in the media player below:

Tags: Tom Crean

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Good, Bad and Ugly: Illinois

by Ryan Corazza in Good Bad Ugly | January 9th, 2010

THE GOOD: CONSISTENCY, EXECUTION, AGGRESSION.

The Good Hoosiers showed up tonight in Bloomington. After the Bad Hoosiers lacked any sense of urgency in Columbus earlier this week, IU was a completely different squad this evening. They played like they wanted to win, like they deserved to win.

Perhaps this is just what we’re in for this season: a bit of deer-in-the-headlights-what-are-we-doing play on the road, while on its home court, Indiana plays with the utmost confidence. If the Hoosiers can give this kind of effort inside Assembly Hall every time out, they’ll be in most, if not all, of their home contests.

IU rattled off 41 points in the first half, and looked like a team on a mission. They were executing at both ends of the floor. One thing I want to point out during that impressive first 20 minutes: there’s a reason Jordan Hulls is starting alongside Jeremiah Rivers in the backcourt: his spot-up shooting ability. When Rivers is at his best on the dribble-drive and can draw help defense, Hulls stays at home on the wing or corner and has enough spacing to elevate and hit the three. And Rivers is athletic enough to take it all the way to the hole as well.

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Tags: Illinois Fighting Illini, Jeremiah Rivers, Jordan Hulls

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Postgame Audio: Tom Crean

by Alex Bozich in Media | January 9th, 2010

Indiana head coach Tom Crean met with the media following Indiana’s 66-60 loss to Illinois at Assembly Hall on Saturday. Listen to Crean’s comments in the embedded media player below:

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Tags: Tom Crean

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