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Archive for September, 2011

2011-2012 All-Big Ten Preview: Robbie Hummel

by in Commentary | September 26th, 2011

With the college basketball season inching closer, we’ll be taking a long look at the conference at large as well as Indiana’s roster over the next few weeks. Today, we complete our look at our preseason All-Big Ten team with Purdue’s Robbie Hummel.

For Purdue fans, it’s hard to not to think of what may have been the last two seasons with a healthy Robbie Hummel.

When Hummel tore the ACL in his right knee against Minnesota on February 25, 2010, the Boilermakers were 24-3 and riding a 10-game winning streak. Sans Hummel, Purdue immediately dropped a crucial home game to Michigan State and then suffered an embarrassing 27-point loss to the Golden Gophers in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament. A season that once looked like it could end at Lucas Oil Stadium instead finished with a loss to Duke in the Sweet 16.

Hope was renewed in the fall of 2010 as Hummel was deemed healthy to return and Matt Painter’s club also welcomed back E’Twaun Moore and JaJuan Johnson for their senior seasons after flirtations with the NBA Draft.

That optimism was short lived as the Valparaiso native re-tore his right ACL on the first day of practice. Many preseason prognostications had Purdue among the country’s top three teams with a healthy Hummel. Without him, Purdue went on to a 26-8 season and a loss to VCU in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

So what should we expect from Hummel as he attempts to regain his form for one final run in West Lafayette? Quite a bit, if he can remain on the floor.

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Athlon Sports tabs Zeller as Big Ten freshman of the year

by in Media | September 25th, 2011

The third preseason college basketball preview magazine of the fall is out and Indiana forward Cody Zeller is the preseason pick for Big Ten freshman of the year by Athlon Sports.

As we mentioned back on September 6, Athlon has the Hoosiers finishing ninth in the conference with a bit to the N.I.T.

Here is the complete order of finish for the league, according to Athlon: 1. Ohio State, 2. Wisconsin, 3. Michigan State, 4. Michigan, 5. Illinois, 6. Purdue, 7. Northwestern, 8. Minnesota, 9. Indiana, 10. Iowa, 11. Nebraska, 12. Penn State.

Christian Watford also received some accolades as he was selected preseason third team All-Big Ten. Athlon’s first team All-Big Ten is Jared Sullinger, Jordan Taylor, William Buford, Trevor Mbawke and John Shurna.

The two other hoops previews on newsstands see the Big Ten as follows:

Sporting News: 1. Ohio State, 2. Wisconsin, 3. Michigan, 4. Michigan State, 5. Purdue, 6. Indiana, 7. Northwestern, 8. Minnesota, 9. Illinois, 10. Iowa, 11. Nebraska, 12. Penn State.

Lindy’s: 1. Ohio State, 2. Michigan, 3. Michigan State, 4. Illinois, 5. Wisconsin, 6. Purdue, 7. Northwestern, 8. Minnesota, 9. Iowa, 10. Indiana, 11. Nebraska, 12. Penn State.

If you average the finishes of all three, here’s a look at how the league could shake out:

Composite: 1. Ohio State, 2. Michigan, 2. Wisconsin, 4. Michigan State, 5. Purdue, 6. Illinois, 7. Northwestern, 8. Minnesota, 9. Indiana, 10. Iowa, 11. Nebraska, 12. Penn State.

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Inside the Hall Twitter Mailbag: September 23

by in Commentary | September 23rd, 2011

The Inside the Hall Twitter mailbag is a collection of questions tweeted to us via our Twitter account, @insidethehall. Tweet us your questions and we’ll answer as many as we can. Now, onward …

@hoopstrainer writes: Is there a 2012 back up plan if no Gary Harris or does Crean focus on 2013?

Alex Bozich: Barring any developments next spring, I believe it’s Gary Harris or bust when it comes to rounding out the 2012 class. That said, I’ve learned to never say never when it comes to Tom Crean and recruiting. He’s always looking for ways to improve his team. Even if IU doesn’t end up landing Harris, this class should finish in the top five nationally and fill a variety of needs for the program.

@Collin_OConnor writes: How much do you expect to see Remy and AE on the court this season if at all?

Alex Bozich: Both players should get a chance for some minutes in the non-conference, but whether or not they continue to play when the meat of the schedule rolls around will depend on their ability to defend. Crean’s messages via Twitter in recent weeks have given a pretty clear indication that he’s looking for defense first and foremost. Based on what I’ve seen of Abell, his ability to defend on the perimeter and also get into the lane off the dribble should help him earn a fair amount of run.

@ElBonko writes: anyone know anything about zeller’s endeavors to put on muscle? Heard he looks up 15 lbs since the spring. Can ne1 confirm?

Alex Bozich: Cody Zeller said in early August that he’d put on 10 pounds since his arrival in Bloomington and with another month and a half under his belt, another five pounds certainly sounds reasonable. Hoosier Hysteria is three weeks from tomorrow, so we’ll find out for sure soon enough.

@Bg_Tie writes: Any news if GHarris will take a visit to UK?

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2011-2012 All-Big Ten Preview: Tim Hardaway Jr.

by in Commentary | September 23rd, 2011

With the college basketball season inching closer, we’ll be taking a long look at the conference at large as well as Indiana’s roster over the next few weeks. Today, we continue our look at our preseason All-Big Ten team with Michigan’s Tim Hardaway Jr.

Michigan sophomore Tim Hardaway Jr. may not be the most popular choice to notch All-Big Ten honors heading into the 2011-12 season.

But the freshman showed steady improvement during his first season in Ann Arbor, culminating with a dynamite back half of his 2011-12 campaign. While some freshman struggle to adapt to the higher competition once conference season hits, Hardaway had no problem. According to UM Hoops, over the last 12 games of Michigan’s season,  he averaged 17.5 points and had an effective field-goal percentage of 70 percent. (To put this in perspective, Hardaway would have finished third in the nation last season had this been his eFG mark for the whole season.)

And it was Hardaway’s three-point shooting during this stretch that was often the catalyst for his high eFG and scoring ways. You may remember when he went 4-of-6 from beyond the arc in a win against the Hoosiers up in Ann Arbor last season, en route to a 9-of-11 shooting performance and 26 points. The wing also proved to be steady with the ball, as his turnover percentage (11.1 percent) was good for 50th in the nation last season.

Further, here are Ken Pomeroy’s comps for Hardaway’s freshman season: Shelvin Mack (2009-10), E’Twaun Moore (2008-09) and Terrico White (2009-10). Not bad company.

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QuickVideo

Video: Christian Watford, Will Sheehey meet with the media

Via the IUAthletics Channel on YouTube:

For those that don’t want to watch the presser in it’s entirety, some highlighted notes and quotes are available in the post below.

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Presser Notes and Quotes: Will Sheehey, Christian Watford

by in Media | September 22nd, 2011

Indiana sophomore Will Sheehey and junior Christian Watford met with the media on Thursday afternoon in Assembly Hall and here are some notes and quotes from that session:

– Let’s go dancing: Watford didn’t shy away from increased expectations this season. Behold: “If we didn’t make it (the NCAA Tournament), I feel like it would be a failure. With what we’ve got now, the time is now.”

– Freshmen transitioning: Sheehey hasn’t said much to the three freshmen, but is trying to lead by example: “You don’t really tell them much. It’s kind of a thing with freshmen that you kind of let them learn on their own because it helps them in a sense. They learn from what you do and follow after so we have to set a good example. They have really caught on and have been doing really well.”

– Cody Zeller’s impact: Watford acknowledged that the arrival of the first McDonald’s All-American of the Tom Crean era should allow him to step out on the perimeter a bit more and also talked about his potential impact: “He is going to draw a lot of attention, more than anything. He’s a big guy that can pass the ball and can see the floor. That’s what we need. He can also finish down there so that’s going to help us, too.”

– A down Big Ten? Not so fast: Preseason chatter has the Big Ten being down this year, but Watford still believes a tough haul lies ahead for the Hoosiers: “It’s going to be tough. The Big Ten always reloads every year. Good players leave and good players come in. It’s always going to be tough and you are always going to have your teams like Ohio State and Wisconsin that are always tough, no matter if it seems like they are having a down year or not.”

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