Inside the Hall | An Indiana Hoosiers basketball blog » Bo Ryan

Around the Hall: Early signing period begins

Staff — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 03:00:56 +0000

Around the Hall is recommended reading from the Inside the Hall crew. Send us your links to tips@insidehthehall.com.

+ Chris Korman writes that signing day went off without much excitement in Bloomington. (The Hoosier Scoop)

+ Tom Izzo is excited about his four man class — Adrien Payne, Keith Appling, Russell Byrd and Alex Gauna — in East Lansing (Detroit Free Press)

+ Michigan signee Evan Smotrycz penned the first entry in his diary at our favorite Michigan hoops site. (UM Hoops)

+ Matt Painter calls his recruiting class “great for our needs.” (Purdue Official Site)

+ Bruce Weber received Letters of Intent from three top 100 recruits in Champaign. (Chicago Tribune)

+ Ohio State’s class is being touted as No. 1 nationally and it’s headlined by Jared Sullinger and Deshaun Thomas. (Ohio State Official Site)

+ Adam Hoge writes that as the Big Ten gets stronger, Bo Ryan’s recruiting is putting Wisconsin in a hole. (Bucky’s 5th Quarter)

+ Jody Demling wrapped up the first day of the early signing period with a live blog. (Louisville Courier-Journal)

+ Dave Telep breaks down signing day from a national perspective. (Scout.com)

Tom Crean Big Ten teleconference audio

Alex Bozich — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 18:33:47 +0000

Here is the audio of Tom Crean’s appearance on the weekly Big Ten coaches teleconference, courtesy of the Big Ten Network:

Related:

Big Ten weekly teleconference audio

Alex Bozich — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 23:51:31 +0000

Indiana coach Kelvin Sampson addressed the media this morning on the weekly Big Ten coaches’ teleconference. Here is the audio, courtesy of the Big Ten:

You can listen to the rest of the teleconferences over at the Big Ten Network.

ITH Super Happy Fun Time Big Ten Preview: Badgers of Wisconsin

Alex Bozich — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 17:44:10 +0000

The Hoosiers are finished with their cupcakes and the New Year is nearly upon us, which can mean only one thing: It’s Big Ten Preview Time! Here’s a look at the teams that will challenge the Hoosiers for the conference crown … or fall under the weighty boot of crimson dominance. Probably the latter. Today: Wisconsin.

Besides being the only Big Ten coach to pull off a rendition of the Soulja Boy, (Can you imagine Kelvin Sampson cranking that Soulja Boy? I can’t.) Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan also owns the most impressive win for a conference team this season: a 67-66 thriller at Texas.

Despite losing conference player of the year Alando Tucker and second teamer Kammron Taylor, the Badgers have positioned themselves to challenge for the conference crown. And once again, the staple of Ryan’s teachings is defense. According to Ken Pomeroy’s adjusted defensive efficiency rankings, the Badgers are first in the country. They’re surrendering just 54.1 points per game and holding opponents to a 37 percent mark from the field.

Hardly used a season ago, sophomore Trevon Hughes has emerged as the leading scorer for Ryan’s group. His scoring numbers are respectable (15.1 ppg), but his free throw shooting and turnovers are not. He’s shooting just 63 percent from the charity stripe and he’s got 32 turnovers (and 30 assists).

Brian Butch has returned from a horrific elbow injury and is the second leading scorer (13.6 ppg) and leading rebounder (8.3 rpg). Marcus Landry and Michael Flowers, who hit the shot to beat Texas, return as well.

One thing that Wisconsin will have to improve on if they wish to win consistently on the road is free throw shooting (66 percent) and three-point shooting (33 percent). Those numbers are masked at this point due to their ability to guard people, but they’ll need to do better in both aspects if they look to compete with the likes of IU and Michigan State.

The bottom line: The Badgers, for my money, are the third best team in the league. And their schedule sets up nicely for a run at the league title. They don’t go to East Lansing and they get Penn State, Northwestern, Iowa and Michigan two times each. If Hughes continues to play well and Butch can hold down the paint, this team could have legitimate Sweet 16 potential because of their ability to defend.

Read the rest of our Big Ten Preview: