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

2013 guard Jaren Sina commits to Seton Hall

by Justin Albers in Recruiting | April 17th, 2013

Point guard Jaren Sina, a 2013 recruit Indiana made a late push at, announced on his Twitter account this afternoon that he has committed to Seton Hall.

Sina was scheduled to make a visit to Bloomington later this month.

Sina had narrowed his list to three recently with Indiana, Seton Hall and Northwestern still in play. He was let out of his commitment to Northwestern when head coach Bill Carmody was fired.

The Hoosiers pursued Sina as a likely backup option behind freshman Yogi Ferrell. Both Victor Oladipo and Cody Zeller declared for the NBA Draft last week and Remy Abell announced he will transfer. That leaves Indiana right at the scholarship limit for next year, as of now.

Tags: Jaren Sina

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Abell had second thoughts, but decision to leave is final

by Alex Bozich in Media | April 17th, 2013

Update: A source close to Remy Abell tells Inside the Hall that his decision to transfer is final and that he will not return to IU.

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Just five days after it was announced that Remy Abell would leave Indiana and finish his career elsewhere, the junior-to-be is having second thoughts on his decision to transfer.

After speaking with his former high school coach, Jason Couch, The Indianapolis Star reported on Wednesday that Abell was considering staying at Indiana to finish his career and that his mother had met with the coaching staff.

His former high school assistant coach at Eastern High School and mentor, Joe Rogers, confirmed that report to Inside the Hall and provided a little insight into what Abell is currently going through.

“He’s having a tough time making a final decision,” Rogers told Inside the Hall. “The biggest problem is that he’s getting pulled from a lot of different angles. He’s got parents, he’s got friends. Some people say stay, some people say go.”

Playing time was cited as a major reason Abell was leaving Bloomington in the school’s release and Rogers said that it was a factor weighing on the Louisville native before announcing his intention to leave.

“He worries about playing time. His confidence really fell low during the season,” Rogers said. “And I think he felt like a change of scenery might help him a little bit.”

In 36 games as a sophomore, Abell averaged 4.0 points, 1.5 rebounds, 0.9 assists in 12.5 minutes per game. He shot 46.5 percent from the field, including 48.5 percent from behind the 3-point line.

With the spring signing period officially underway and IU’s continued pursuit of Jaren Sina, Abell won’t have much time to reach a final decision.

“I told him he’s got to make a decision,” Rogers said. “I said, ‘you’re not being fair with Indiana, you’re not being fair with yourself. You have to be happy, you’re the one.’ It’s him that’s got to be happy.”

Tags: Remy Abell

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That’s A Wrap: Christian Watford

by Ryan Corazza in Commentary | April 17th, 2013

Welcome to “That’s A Wrap,” our player-by-player recap of the 2012-2013 Indiana Hoosiers. Today: Christian Watford.

Watford (36 games): 12.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.4 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 43.2% FG, 48.4% 3PFG, 81.1% FT in 27.9 minutes per game.

They said Christian Watford, for all his talent and scoring ability, despite the biggest shot in Indiana hoops in some time, was too inconsistent.

Watford would disappear when he was needed — missing shot after shot during Big Ten games. His effort waxed and waned like the moon.

But in his final season in the cream and crimson, Watford shed that reputation. It didn’t start that way. He had trouble fitting into the Hoosiers’ uptempo transition style. Against North Carolina in Bloomington — perhaps the most dominant, entertaining performance by Indiana all year — Watford decided to play outside the team construct and hunt for shots. He had a dunk that looked nice, but it would be the only shot he’d make all evening (1-of-9).

Play like this simply wasn’t going to fly.

Slowly, Watford found that conforming to the construct of IU’s efficient offense had its benefits. He wouldn’t be the one scoring at the rim in transition. He wouldn’t be the one bringing the ball up the court, either. But Watford’s trailer 3-pointer off the left wing was deadly. If we scratch Remy Abell’s 48.5 percent mark which came on just 33 attempts, Watford led the team in 3-point percentage (48.4 percent on 125 attempts). And for a team that made it a point to get to the line often, Watford would use his ability on the block to get the charity stripe (a team-high 81.1 percent mark) or score otherwise if the foul didn’t come. (Though, he wouldn’t always find success there. His shot fell 55 percent of the time at the rim, tied with Yogi Ferrell for worst among IU’s rotation players.)

As the Big Ten season rolled along, Watford’s numbers were a model of consistency. Not only did he score in double-digits in 17 of the 20 games, but he was strong on the boards as well, tallying eight or more rebounds on seven occasions.

Rebounding like that doesn’t come without consistent effort. Watford was finally bringing it game in and game out. He also hit one of the biggest shots of the season, a runner and-1 in the lane against Michigan State up in East Lansing that helped the Hoosiers win there for the first time in 22 years.

Tags: Christian Watford

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State of the Hall: April 17, 2013

by Staff in Site News | April 17th, 2013

It was another successful season of Indiana basketball coverage on Inside the Hall and while the journey did not end in Atlanta at the Final Four as many had hoped, we want to thank those who have been reading for years as well as the new readers we picked up during the course of the season. Our latest State of the Hall update is available after the jump.

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QuickVideo

Video: Noah Vonleh and Troy Williams at the Jordan Brand Classic

Via CityLeagueHoopsTV on YouTube:

Tags: Noah Vonleh, Troy Williams

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An early look at who’s coming and going in the Big Ten

by Alex Bozich in Media | April 16th, 2013

NV006 With the spring signing period set to begin tomorrow and several key NBA Draft decisions out of the way, it’s time for our first look at who’s coming and going in the Big Ten for the 2013-2014 season.

Illinois (23-13, 8th place, NCAA round of 32)

· Arriving: Kendrick Nunn (ESPNU Top 100), Malcolm Hill (ESPNU Top 100), Austin Colbert, Maverick Morgan, Jaylon Tate, Aaron Cosby (transfer from Seton Hall, eligible in 2014-2015)

· Departing: Brandon Paul (graduation), D.J. Richardson (graduation), Tyler Griffey (graduation), Mike Shaw (transfer), Ibby Djimde (transfer), Devin Langford (transfer)

Notes: The Illini graduate their leading scorer in Paul, but bring in a solid class headlined by a pair of guards from Illinois in Nunn and Hill. Three players who were recruited under Bruce Weber have also left the program via transfer.

Indiana (29-7, 1st place, NCAA Sweet Sixteen)

· Arriving: Noah Vonleh (ESPNU Top 100), Troy Williams (ESPNU Top 100), Stanford Robinson (ESPNU Top 100), Luke Fischer (ESPNU Top 100), Devin Davis, Collin Hartman

· Departing: Christian Watford (graduation), Jordan Hulls (graduation), Derek Elston (graduation), Victor Oladipo (NBA), Cody Zeller (NBA), Remy Abell (transfer)

Notes: The Hoosiers graduate two starters in Hulls and Watford and lose two others to the NBA Draft in Oladipo and Zeller. They also bring in the league’s top recruiting class, headlined by five-star power forward Noah Vonleh.

Iowa (25-13, 6th place, NIT runner-up)

· Arriving: Peter Jok

· Departing: Eric May (graduation)

Notes: Fran McCaffery will have continuity on his side as the Hawkeyes only graduate one player and return a young team that looks poised to make the NCAA Tournament next March.

Michigan State (27-9, 2nd place tie, NCAA Sweet Sixteen)

· Arriving: Gavin Schilling

· Departing: Derrick Nix (graduation)

Notes: The Spartans still have key NBA decisions on the table as Adreian Payne and Gary Harris are both possibilities to declare for June’s draft. If both return, Michigan State is probably a preseason top three team nationally.

Tags: 2013-2014 Big Ten preview

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That’s A Wrap: Jordan Hulls

by Alex Bozich in Commentary | April 16th, 2013

Welcome to “That’s A Wrap,” our player-by-player recap of the 2012-2013 Indiana Hoosiers. Today: Jordan Hulls.

Hulls (36 games): 9.7 points, 2.9 assists, 2.4 rebounds, 0.8 steals, 44.6% FG, 44.7% 3PFG, 77.6% FT in 28.8 minutes per game.

Jordan Hulls began his Indiana career in the fall of 2009 hopeful that he and classmates like Christian Watford, Derek Elston and Maurice Creek could bring a storied program back from the bottom of college basketball.

Four years, 78 wins, two Sweet Sixteen appearances and an outright Big Ten championship later, it’s safe to say Indiana is back to national relevancy.

His career also started with doubters who believed that he, despite a state championship and a Mr. Basketball award at Bloomington South, didn’t have the size or physical makeup to lead a winning program in the Big Ten.

The final tally of Hulls’ numbers while at Indiana say those doubts were unfounded. The Bloomington native leaves as the school’s career leader in games played (135) and with 1,318 career points.

But beyond those numbers and his efficient shooting, Hulls also had a major impact as a guy who was willing to get in the gym and get better on a daily basis, a trait that eventually rubbed off on his Hoosier teammates.

Prior to IU’s home game with Iowa this past season, his father, J.C., told a story about a family vacation where the plan was to take a break from basketball for a week. According to J.C., the break was short lived before Jordan found a court outdoors and got back to work on his game. That work ethic became contagious inside the IU program as guys like Victor Oladipo and Will Sheehey joined Hulls in Assembly Hall and Cook Hall and saw their respective games take major leaps forward as a result.

The leadership of Hulls inside the program also became more apparent as his career moved along. The first sign that he had emerged as a leader came in August of 2011, when Elston told reporters that Hulls had kicked a couple of guys out of conditioning. “He is a lot more vocal,” Elston said. “He’s one of those guys that starts screaming now. Conditioning days, if you’re not making it, Jordy’s the first one to tell you. And whether you like the way he’s saying it or not, he’s going to say it. If that doesn’t motivate you, then he’ll get you off the floor.”

Tags: Jordan Hulls

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