Like so many of you, walking into Assembly Hall brings back old memories for me.

I hear the familiar blast of the pep band and start humming the fight song. I smell the popcorn and begin to reminisce about games past. And then, I look down at my student ticket and remember, with much sadness, that I will have to climb roughly 27 flights of stairs to ascend the mountain that is section FF, row 7.

Nevertheless, sans Sherpa, I climbed, and witnessed IU’s 83-60 season-opening victory over Howard.

This season, I’m going to provide a little weekly analysis of the Hoosiers’ play (think Bill Walton, with more exclamation marks and less Grateful Dead references). Hopefully, my Hoosier hindsight can stir up some healthy discussion.

So to start, here are five things I took away from Friday’s game:

1. I Like The New Guys
And so does Tom Crean. IU’s seven new players combined to score 55 of the Hoosiers’ 83 points and showed a lot of promise. Curiosity does have me wonder though how Christian Watford, Maurice Creek and Jordan Hulls negotiated jersey number switches with their older teammates. Did Crean make the players shoot for it? And if so, how did Matt Roth lose?

2. Watford Is The Truth
What a treat Watford is going to be for Hoosier fans. A post presence with size, skill and athleticism does not come around every day. The 6-foot-9 frosh displayed a nice touch in the paint and showed he and Tom Pritchard could form into a nice 1-2 punch down low. With 14 points and 11 rebounds in his debut, Watford proved he is going to be more D.J. White than D.J. Mbenga.

3. Offense Aplenty, Defense A-lacking
The Hoosiers have an abundance of weapons on offense, but who are the team’s best defenders? It is early, and Howard doesn’t provide much of a read, but Jeremiah Rivers and Devan Dumes are the most experienced and disciplined in the backcourt. Several of the freshmen could develop into good defenders down the line, but as first-year players they will experience speed bumps along the way. What about a line-up of Rivers-Dumes-Creek-Watford-Muniru?

4. Tom Crean as Bobby Cox
I thought Crean coached a little bit like a National League manager would have. He manufactured some offense, made a few defensive switches and got all 16 players in the game. The Hoosiers will likely go 12-13 deep on a regular basis this season as Crean tries to squeeze every ounce of ability out of his players. Expect to see a lot of different looks and a little bit of everything from the Hoosiers this season.

5. The Energy
As Crean said after the game, “To me, it never gets old.”

I’ve seen Assembly Hall crowds power Hoosier teams to victories before, and Friday convinced me IU could pull off a few upsets in Bloomington this season. On a separate note, there really is something to the energy Tijan Jobe brings. When Crean puts him in the game,  fans respond second only to the free pizza giveaway. He doesn’t fill the stat sheet, but Tijan provides an undeniable spark.

More to come next week.

“The Indiana University administration recently made a public announcement on a very private issue that I was being sent a check for $75,000 from alumni donations to cover expenses I incurred as an employee at Indiana University,” Knight said in a statement. “Indiana University has refused for nine years to take care of their obligation in this matter. I did not know until [Monday] that this check was sent to my attorney. Upon finding out about it, I immediately gave him instructions to send the check back.

“In all the years I coached at Indiana and elsewhere, I never accepted a thing from alumni and I don’t intend to start now,” Knight said in the statement. “This issue is with the university, not with the alumni.”

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“It would be amazing what this university’s legal office has spent over the past nine years avoiding this obligation as well as paying off all the broken athletic contracts they have made,” Knight said in the statement.

Did anyone else envision steam coming out of his ears as you read that? This does not sound like a man that’s coming back to IU with open arms on Nov. 6 for his Hall of Fame induction.  As some of you rightly guessed, the money gesture seems to have backfired. (Even if the alumni claim it had nothing to do with the upcoming HOF ceremony.) You can’t buy Bob Knight; if the man ever steps foot inside Assembly Hall again, it’s going to be on his terms.

So yeah, as Alex said on Friday, if Knight doesn’t want to come back, then so be it. We can look back fondly on what he did for the Hoosiers, how during his tenure he made this program into one of the elite ones in all of college basketball. He’s arguably the best college hoops coach of all-time. But it’s time to move on for now, and maybe for good. There’s no reason to beg a guy back that has no interest in doing so; it only makes IU look weak at this point.

I commend Fred Glass for inviting Knight to the ceremony. I wish things would have turned out different. (How awesome would it have been for Knight to be back inside Assembly Hall?) But Knight continues to hold all the cards. And until he decides the time is right to return — which will likely never happen — don’t expect him anywhere near Bloomington, Indiana.

But Tom Crean is here. The freshman are here. The new practice facility is (almost) here. We have plenty to look forward to, and new moments and legacies to create. And Bob Knight will have no part of any of that.

The team took the floor just before 4PM and the event began with some opening words from Tom Crean, who thanked everybody for coming. One-by-one, the Indiana players and coaches introduced themselves to the crowd. A couple of players didn’t speak loudly enough, including freshman Christian Watford, who Crean told, “start over, freshman.” The introductions ended and Crean urged fans to cheer, boo and sit back and enjoy.

Drills

+ The practice kicked off with the players navigating their way towards the basket off the dribble and attempting to finish against two assistant coaches, Bennie Seltzer and Roshown McLeod, who were both waiting with football pads.

+ After taking a beating from the pads, the focus shifted to defense with Crean and Tim Buckley stopping a couple of different times for teaching opportunities: “Be active, be active, be active,” “Hands up on every catch,” and a question for Bawa Muniru and Tijan Jobe after both were beaten by manager Michael Santa, “How does this guy get past two seven-footers?”

Scrimmage

+ Teams were split up as follows: Red: Kory Barnett, Jeremiah Rivers, Daniel Moore, Steven Gambles, Jobe, Tom Pritchard, Watford, Maurice Creek. White: Matt Roth, Muniru, Brett Finkelmeier, Jordan Hulls, Bobby Capobianco, Derek Elston, Devan Dumes, Verdell Jones.

+ Crean called for a sub for Capobianco just minutes into the scrimmage after the freshman failed to dive for a ball. “Dive for the loose ball,” Crean shouted.

+ The offensive flow this week had much more flow than the Hoosier Hysteria scrimmage. Rivers and Jones were the two most effective offensively. Rivers was especially good at getting into the lane and also at knocking down his jump shot off the dribble.

+ One focus was pushing the ball up the court after a made basket. When the ball wasn’t pushed at a pace suitable to Crean, he made it known, “We are not walking the ball up,” he exclaimed.

+ Watford’s presence was most felt from the perimeter, where he showed the ability to knock down a mid range jumper and did an excellent job of staying within the flow of the offense. He seemed to tire in the later stages of the scrimmage, which lasted a solid 45-50 minutes.

+ Hulls, per the usual, played a solid floor game and looks to be in very good shape conditioning wise. Most of his efforts were spent on setting up his teammates with scoring opportunities.

+ The big men were each worn down after IU’s second practice of the day. Pritchard looks to stronger in the upper body than he was last season. Capobianco got Crean’s message about diving on the floor and was active on the boards. Elston showed a knack for the ball and was the best rebounder on the court. Muniru and Jobe both played hard, but both struggled with reacting to the speed of the game.

+ Creek stayed on the perimeter for the most part and knocked down a couple of three-pointers. Dumes did a nice job creating offense off the dribble, but was out of control at times. Roth is quicker and stronger, but still needs to add another dimension to his game.

Final Drill

+ The practice ended with a that required 86 lay-ups be made in two minutes and the crowd cheered as the team hit 90. Crean thanked the crowd for their support and attendance and then signed autographs and posed with pictures with hundreds of fans to wrap up the day.

The agreement was spelled out in a memorandum drawn up by the Indianapolis law firm of Ice Miller LLP and signed last week by representatives for IU and Knight.

It is believed the move is in reference to a lawsuit the former IU basketball coach filed against the university, arguing that IU failed to represent him in a lawsuit filed against him, while he was an employee of the university, by former assistant coach Ron Felling.

The timing of this sure seems coincidental, eh? The Hall of Fame induction ceremony Knight will be honored at is next month, and this money suddenly appears out of the blue? Smells of someone really wanting Knight to come back to Assembly Hall, trying to pull a few last strings so the old coach breaks down and enter the house he built one more time. But here’s what’s interesting, there was actually some wording in the memorandum that said: “Specifically, the resolution of this matter creates no obligation for Coach Knight to participate in the upcoming induction into the IU Athletics Hall of Fame. The choice whether to attend or not to attend the induction ceremony is completely up to Coach Knight and has nothing to do whatsoever with the resolution of the litigation.”

Even if that’s the case, this is still an olive branch extended to the former coach. And if this is the last of the disputes between the former coach and the school — at least legally — it’s clear IU has done much to gain favor with him. There’s a whole new administration on board that wants to honor Knight. There are no more ill feelings from the university’s end. They simply want to publicly recognize his legendary run at the helm of the Hoosiers.

But for as much as IU has done, it really doesn’t matter. This is Bob Knight. He dances to the beats of his own DJ. If he doesn’t show up, it wasn’t for a lack of effort by IU. It’s because, as always, he does it his way. Even if that way is stubborn and petulant.

Let’s have a rundown of the night that was Hoosier Hysteria, shall we?

+ Martha the cleaning lady is back: Well, not the original Martha. But a suitable replacement. One of the evenings loudest ovations went to Sheila Stephen, who Crean gave credit to the wife of former Herald-Times sports editor Bob Hammel for helping bring to Hysteria.

+ Bring in the sub for Straight No Chaser: In the midst of a scrimmage between the team and Bloomington based a cappella group Straight No Chaser, Crean called for a sub. (Straight No Chaser won, by the way.) Jared Fogle, everyone’s favorite Subway spokesperson, was happy to oblige and met Crean decked out in Indiana gear with a sub in hand.

+ Meet Wes Hovis: The most memorable moment of the night was Crean’s comments about 82-year old Muncie resident Wes Hovis. Despite recently being diagnosed with stomach cancer and asked by his doctor not to attend Friday’s festivities, Hovis showed up and Crean told his story which drew a large round of applause. “Wes Hovis is in this building with the program that he loves,” Crean explained. “And that is why it’s Indiana, Wes, that’s why it’s Indiana.”

+ 3-point shootout, dunk contest and scrimmage results: Matt Roth took the 3-point shootout and walk-on Steven Gambles won the dunk contest. The red team, led by 10 points from Devan Dumes, edged the white team 22-21 in a 15-minute scrimmage. There wasn’t much flow and not a lot was learned from what was essentially a pick-up game. If anyone stood out, it was Dumes, Verdell Jones and Jeremiah Rivers.

+ Recruits, recruits, recruits: Here’s a list of recruits that attended based on what I saw and reports from the Herald-Times, Hoosier Nation, The Indiana Daily Student and Peegs:

• 2010: Victor Oladipo
• 2011: Austin Etherington, Matt Carlino, Spencer Turner
• 2012: D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera, Hanner Perea, Kenny Kaminski, Jared Drew, Jeremy Hollowell, Kellen Dunham, Kellon Thomas, Peter Jurkin, Ron Patterson
• 2013: Darryl Baker, Darryl Hicks

+ Open practice: There will be an open practice at 4PM today at Assembly Hall.

+ Announced attendance: The crowd, based on an estimate because tickets were not sold, was 13,321.

+ Video: A few clips from the scrimmage filmed by yours truly and player introductions and Crean speech are available below from IU Athletics:

Hoosier Hysteria is on the horizon and it’s time for Inside the Hall’s player-by-player breakdown of the 2009-2010 Indiana Hoosiers. We wrap up the player profiles today with Devan Dumes

Devan Dumes led Indiana in several statistical categories a season ago: total points (344), points per game (12.7), 3-pointers made (59) and indefinite suspensions (1). Here’s a brief synopsis of his 2008-2009 season: he was Tom Crean’s most reliable option on offense and for a period in February, he was Crean’s biggest headache following an ejection for throwing elbows against Michigan State.

Dumes was at his best offensively in late January and early February when he averaged 19.6 points during a five-game stretch that included IU’s one conference win over Iowa. Unfortunately, his season-high 27 points against Iowa was preceded by an elbow to Goran Suton’s groin and an indefinite suspension that lasted two games. He apologized shortly after the incident, but struggled mightily in three of the final four Big Ten games, suffered a knee injury in the regular season finale and had surgery on his finger over the summer.

His role in 2009-2010 will be far different than a year ago: available shots and minutes won’t be as plentiful. He could find himself as a reserve because of Indiana’s added backcourt depth. Coming off the bench could actually be a positive for Dumes and for IU because his ability to provide instant offense and energy may be better utilized as a sub.

Bottom Line: The lone senior expected to contribute on the court (sorry Tijan!), Dumes has an opportunity to step up and seize a leadership role. In his press conference a week ago, Tom Crean commented that “nobody that just grabs the team and says this is what we’re doing everyday.” Dumes should benefit from IU’s improved personnel on offense, specifically Jeremiah Rivers and Jordan Hulls, who both make it a point to find open shooters.

Quotable: “Devan (Dumes) missed some valuable time this summer because of his injury, because of his surgery, and that has probably put a few things back. He is shooting the ball extremely well, but he has still got a ways to go in developing that driving game again and that ball handling.” – Crean on Dumes.

Dumes leads Hoosiers over Hawkeyes:

Hoosier Hysteria is on the horizon and it’s time for Inside the Hall’s player-by-player breakdown of the 2009-2010 Indiana Hoosiers. Today: Tijan Jobe

I don’t feel confident about much in my life. I’m wrong about a lot, and even the stuff I get right leaves room for doubt. But if there is something I feel wholly confident stating, it is that — and I say this without the slightest hint of exaggeration — the Hoosiers’ most important player in 2009-10 will be Tijan Jobe.

Of course, this should come as no surprise to any faithful Indiana basketball fan. If you paid attention last year, you saw the seeds of what should turn out to be a legendary IU basketball career begin to sprout. Jobe is a dominant big man, a versatile force on the inside, a veritable monster from end to end. Some players, if they’re big and strong enough, earn the nickname “Baby Shaq.” Little known fact: When Shaq first started playing basketball, they called him “Baby Tijan.”

Perhaps the highlight of the 2008-09 season was watching Jobe enter games at crucial moments and simply take over. Few players have that quality, but Tijan is one of them. It was a shame Jobe didn’t play more minutes last year, but one can understand why: Tom Crean clearly made the strategic decision to keep Tijan on the bench in an attempt — futile though it may have been — to keep Jobe’s profile low. In 2009-10, the Big Ten better look out. No such mercy will be granted. Jobe will be freed. And it will be spectacular.

Bottom line: Just kidding. Tijan’s pretty bad. But he’s a good kid and a hard worker, and we love him. And sometimes that’s all that matters.

Quotable: The 7-foot, 255-pound Jobe, by the way, has become more of a threat to teammates than opponents. Guard Jeremiah Rivers is hobbled from a bruised thigh courtesy of a collision with Jobe. Guard Daniel Moore was knocked out by a Jobe elbow in preparation for last year’s game against Minnesota.

“I don’t know what we’re going to do with him,” Crean says. “We have to put him in some of the drills. He has the ability to hurt his teammates. I know he doesn’t mean to, but goodness gracious.”

Hoosier Hysteria is on the horizon and it’s time for Inside the Hall’s player-by-player breakdown of the 2009-2010 Indiana Hoosiers. Today: Jeremiah Rivers.

There is no player on this 2009-10 Hoosiers squad I’m more interested in seeing on the court than Jeremiah Rivers. I’ve heard and read so much about him: how he’s the leader the team so desperately needs; how he looks terrific in practice; how he’ll be a rock at point guard for IU. He is part of a basketball pedigree with his father being Doc Rivers, while leaving a school, Georgetown, that’s been quite good in recent years to transfer to Indiana.

I don’t think there’s a doubt in anyone’s mind that he’ll be the starter from day one, and it’s his job to lose as the season progresses. There’s a sentiment that with Rivers at the helm, everything feels safe: there is no wildness of Daniel Moore, there is no Verdell Jones perhaps playing a bit out of position. There is a point guard. A true point guard.

But have we all been duped? Think about the level of competition Rivers practiced against last season, the one he looked so good against. It wasn’t exactly stellar. As a sophomore at Georgetown, he only averaged 2.5 points, 2.4 rebounds and one assist in 18.6 minutes. I know he was brought in mainly for defense, and wasn’t a go-to guy. But that’s hardly anything to write home about.

Look: Rivers will be an upgrade over what the Hoosiers marched out at point last year. He’ll be better. And, trust me: I want Rivers to be as good as advertised. I want him to lead this team. It’s just that, based on past performance and a year of practicing against weaker competition, I’m  going to be cautiously optimistic about him heading into this year.

Bottom line: Rivers offers an immediate, reliable and experienced upgrade for the Hoosiers at point guard this season. Unlike Jordan Hulls, he has a year under Tom Crean’s system, which should help smooth out any wrinkles once the season is underway.

Quotable: “As a coach you want the leadership vacuum to be filled right now. You want it to be set. But it is not like that. He hasn’t played in a year. I don’t know that he always understands when I say this, but he has won at every level. There is no question about that. He won in high school and he won in college. He has won three BIG EAST Championships (ed. note:  this is inaccurate, he was only at Georgetown two years) and has been to a Final Four. However, outside of high school, which is a little different, I’m not sure he has absolutely been responsible for winning. He is going to have a huge responsibility in how we play to win. Not just coming in like at Georgetown. Now, he was on the court a lot at winning time at Georgetown because of his defensive abilities, but he also wasn’t the lead guard. He also wasn’t one of the 28 or 30 minutes a game guys. He very well could play into that for us.” – Coach Crean on Rivers

Rivers talks about his father, and coming to IU last season:

Hoosier Hysteria is on the horizon and it’s time for Inside the Hall’s player-by-player breakdown of the 2009-2010 Indiana Hoosiers. Today: Matt Roth.

When Matt Roth signed a Letter of Intent with Indiana, former coach Kelvin Sampson compared his shooting ability to Lee Humphrey, a catalyst in Florida’s back-to-back national championships. The comparison was a high billing considering Humphrey is the all-time leader in three-pointers made in the NCAA Tournament. The Washington (IL) native showed flashes of shooting brilliance as a freshman, but for the most part, he was a one-dimensional threat who lived and died by the three-pointer.

Roth attempted 174 shots in 2008-2009 and 153 came from behind the arc. While many considered Devan Dumes to be IU’s streakiest shooter, Roth was actually less effective than Dumes in shooting the basketball. If you throw out his extraordinary performance against Ohio State where he connected on 9 of 11 attempts, his three-point percentage checked in at just 34 percent.

So where does Roth fit in as a sophomore? That will be largely dependent on his improvement during the off-season. There is playing time on any team for a shooter, but IU has added a shooter in Maurice Creek. Roth will need to show that he can occasionally operate off the dribble, defend much better, contribute on the glass and hit open shots to consistently see the floor. One thing that he’s reportedly changed is his body: Tom Crean said on Thursday that he’s gained 20 pounds since last season.

Bottom Line: The good news for Roth heading into the season is that Crean is speaking highly of his progress over the summer. His experience should help him when minutes are divvied up in November, but beyond that, he’ll need to bring something other than just standing outside and waiting for an opening. Improvement on defense is probably his best bet to regular playing time in an ultra-competitive backcourt.

Quotable: “Matt has a quicker release, and he is trying to do more than just shoot threes. We’re actually trying to get him to move his range in, so that he has a quicker release and at points in time can break you down off of a shot-fake. He is trying to get to the offensive boards.“ – Crean on Roth.

Roth catches fire against Ohio State:

Hoosier Hysteria is on the horizon and it’s time for Inside the Hall’s player-by-player breakdown of the 2009-2010 Indiana Hoosiers. Today: Tom Pritchard.

Heading into last year’s campaign, there were a lot of question marks. How would this team of virtual unknowns look? Would IU lose every game? Does Tom Crean really drink that much Diet Coke? But early on, there was a question mark that was quickly answered: if nothing else, we had a guy down low that might not have the prettiest game, but he was going to try and grind and bruise his way to a double-double every night. This guy’s name was Tom Pritchard.

Now, Pritchard did disappear some games last season, particularly in Big Ten games where more experienced and skilled opponents knew to key on him because we didn’t have much else. But for a freshman on a team such as last year’s, the numbers are pretty good: five double-doubles, an average of nearly 10 points a game, and his 6.4 rebounds was good for eighth in the Big Ten.

As many of you are predicting, Tom Pritchard will likely get the starting nod to begin the season, though if he isn’t improving and battling, he might be unseated by Derek Elston or Bobby Capobianco when it’s all said and done.

I would think Pritchard would be safe, but Tom Crean’s comments about him on this video are a little troubling. It seems Pritch came into individual workouts out of shape and lacking conditioning, and allowed a flaw to come back into his jump shot. On a video full or praise for his players, Pritch was one of the lone harping points for Crean.

Bottom line: If Pritchard puts in the hard work necessary to keep improving his game, there’s no reason he can’t snag even more double-doubles this year with an improved cast around him. Can he be the consistency IU so often is lacking in the frontcourt?

Quotable: “Tom Pritchard is better in some areas, but not where he needs to be yet.” — Tom Crean at yesterday’s press conference.