In our recent conversation with Fred Glass, we covered a variety of topics. Among them: Big Ten expansion, student ticket sales and the future of Assembly Hall. Also discussed in that conversation were Indiana and Purdue only playing once this year in basketball, guarantee games and the absence of a marquee non-conference home game and returning to a "golden era" of athletics at Indiana. Here are the athletic director's thoughts on both of those topics, in Q & A format: Inside the Hall: We talked to you about this at Huber Winery over the summer at the Tailgate Tour and it was kind of a hot topic at the time because a couple weeks before that, it was announced that Indiana and Purdue would only play once this year in basketball. I know at that time you said you'd be in favor of a protected rivalry where the schools would play twice every year. What would be the process as far as getting something like that done? In football, there's something like that, but what would the process to be able to do something like that look like and is that something you're actively engaged in dialogue on?
Former 2014 Indiana commit James Blackmon Jr. said he would take a final visit to Bloomington before making his second college decision. Wednesday evening, he made it clear he was following through with his promise. Blackmon announced via his Twitter account that he will visit IU this weekend, only a week after his official visit to Kentucky. "IU visit this weekend #IUBB," he said. The 6-foot-3 combo guard from Marion High School has also taken an official visit to Michigan (Sept. 27) and is considering Michigan State and Kansas, as well. The 247Composite rates him as the No. 31 prospect and No. 12 shooting guard in the 2014 class.
The Indiana coaching staff was on the road Tuesday, making stops at Huntington Prep in West Virginia and at Wilbraham and Monson Academy in Massachusetts. At Huntington Prep, the staff stopped in to see 2014 guard JaQuan Lyle, the former Evansville Bosse guard who will finish his high school career against an aggressive national schedule. Huntington Prep is also home to other top prospects like Miles Bridges (2016), Thomas Bryant (2015) and Montaque Gill-Caesar (2015). Lyle, the No. 22 prospect nationally in the 247Composite, told Inside the Hall recently that Indiana is a school he's considering in the aftermath of his decision to de-commit from Louisville. He's taken unofficial visits to Connecticut and Memphis this fall, but won't be able to take any official visits until taking the SAT next month. On his Twitter account, Lyle posted the following late Tuesday afternoon: "Shoutout to Coach Crean for coming in after school today."
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Indiana sophomore Yogi Ferrell has been named to the 45-player watch list for the 2014 Cousy Award, which is awarded annually to the top point guard in college basketball. Ferrell is joined by Michigan State's Keith Appling and Ohio State's Aaron Craft as the three Big Ten players on the list, which was announced by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame committee earlier today. As a freshman, Ferrell started all 36 games for the Big Ten champion Hoosiers and averaged 7.6 points, 4.1 assists and 2.8 rebounds per game.
We continue our 2013-2014 Big Ten preview today with a look at ten non-conference games, listed in chronological order, that you’ll want to mark on your calendars as must see. Michigan State vs. Kentucky on Tuesday, Nov. 12 Event: Champion's Classic at the United Center in Chicago TV coverage: ESPN It's never too early for No. 1 vs. No. 2, right? The Spartans are No. 2 in the first coaches poll and Kentucky is No. 1 and this is an early preview of a game that we could see again in early April. Michigan State is the more experienced group, but the Wildcats have another mega recruiting class. Florida at Wisconsin on Tuesday, Nov. 12 TV coverage: ESPN The Badgers will get an early test against a top ten team in the country when Billy Donovan and Florida come to Madison. Wisconsin's frontcourt, which lost Jared Berggren, Ryan Evans and Mike Bruesewitz, will be immediately tested when it tries to contain Florida senior Patric Young.
In a recent conversation with Indiana basketball coach Tom Crean, Fred Glass reminisced to his first year as IU's athletic director. Crean was in the midst of his first season as IU's head coach in 2008-2009, and the team was on its way to its worst record in school history. Student season tickets sales were so poor, just more than half of its allotted space of 7,800 seats had been filled. "Shoot, we were doing everything we could. I can't remember the exact number that first year, I think we ended up with 4,200 or something like that," Glass said in a recent interview with Inside the Hall. "Which at any other university in the country would be the best year they've ever had, but for us, was extremely disappointing." For the next three seasons, students who bought season tickets would have access to every home game. But as Indiana's on-court success returned, demand grew as well. Last season, with a preseason No. 1 team, students were given access to only 10 games each. However, heading into this season with far-fewer on-court expectations, demand is up. Around 15,000 student season ticket sales have been sold, and students who bought season tickets were given eight games — only half of the amount they had received only two years ago.
Conference expansion and realignment have changed college athletics significantly. And whether you are a fan of what has taken place or oppose the breakdown in tradition brought about by these changes, the Big Ten has been ahead of the curve. With the conference reportedly paying out close to $26 million to each member institution in the last fiscal year, including $7.6 million from the Big Ten Network, it's not hard to see why schools like Nebraska, Maryland and Rutgers opted to leave their respective leagues to join. The Big Ten is distributing the most money of any conference to its members and with the growth of BTN and network TV contracts, the numbers should only continue to grow.
Tom Crean was an in-studio guest on Friday's ESPNU Midnight Madness special and on the broadcast, was asked by Andy Katz for the latest on injuries to freshmen Luke Fischer, Troy Williams and Stanford Robinson. Here are Crean's comments on each player: · Fischer: "Luke Fischer got injured right before we started practice. Tore his labrum and he's back doing 5-on-0 work and hopefully we'll have him by the second exhibition game, probably at the earliest."
The recruiting process for class of 2014 guard JaQuan Lyle has had its share of twists and turns. He's been offered scholarships by elite schools. He's switched AAU teams multiple times. He's transferred from Evansville Bosse to Huntington Prep. He's made a verbal commitment, only to rescind it months later. He's drawn love and scorn from fans on social media. For Lyle, it's all been a learning process. In an interview on Friday afternoon with Inside the Hall, the No. 22 prospect in the 247Composite reflected on what he's learned over the last three years.
Fred Glass knows how the script goes. From growing up in the Indianapolis area, to now as Indiana's athletics director, Glass would watch the same scene play out over and over, year after year: Opponents would enter Assembly Hall optimistic, maybe even confident, and then after looking up at the wall of 17,400-plus fans clad in cream and crimson "going absolutely crazy," they cringe. They unravel. In a world of college basketball that has become increasingly known for its games being played in multi-purpose arenas, Indiana's Assembly Hall is becoming the anomaly. Since the 1971-1972 season, the building has been home to three national champions. The tradition, the history, even the angle of the building's seating in relation to the court, is exactly what makes Assembly Hall different from any other college basketball venue. And for Glass, being far from the norm is exactly what he wants. "When the lights come on, Gus Johnson doesn’t need to say you’re in Assembly Hall," Glass told Inside the Hall in an interview in his office at Memorial Stadium earlier this week. "You know you’re in Assembly Hall." But for a building that has been around for more than 40 years, it has flaws. The steps are at different lengths. Not all the seating is considered "premier." A segment of fans want the building torn down and replaced with a new, state-of-the-art arena. That's not happening, Glass said. But he is quick to admit Assembly Hall needs renovations, especially to make it more "fan-friendly." He is ready to lead that effort.
Indiana will again host a “Haunted Hall of Hoops,” which will take place on Sunday, Oct. 27, according to this release from IU media relations: The Indiana University men’s basketball team will hold its Haunted Hall of Hoops on Sunday, ...
The Indiana Hoosiers will begin the 2013-2014 season ranked in the USA Today coaches poll. The preseason poll, released late this morning, has Indiana slotted at No. 24. Four other Big Ten teams are ranked: Michigan State (2), Michigan (9), Ohio State (10) and Wisconsin (21).
The Inside the Hall Mailbag is a collection of questions tweeted to us via Twitter (@insidethehall) and sent to us via our Facebook page. Submit your questions and we’ll answer as many as we can. @daviddoss8315 on Twitter writes: Tom Crean was in to see James Blackmon Jr. recently. What is his status? Not surprisingly, Blackmon Jr. remains a topic of conversation for Indiana fans as the Hoosiers have still been recruiting him hard. And the recent news that he is no longer planning a decision on Oct. 22, immediately after his Kentucky visit, provided some optimism. As for his status, I traded texts with Blackmon Jr. this week and it does sound as if Indiana will get another visit before his final decision is made. Publicly, he's working from a list of five finalists: Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Michigan State, but Kansas and Michigan State aren't considered serious contenders.
With the start of college basketball season on the horizon, we took a long look at the conference at large as well as Indiana’s roster over the last month. Today, we conclude the series with Will Sheehey. One never knows the future, and predictions are often a silly endeavor, but here's something I'll stick my neck out on: As Will Sheehey's senior season hits amidst a host of departures and gaps to fill, his game ain't changing. And it's for the best. The Hoosiers need the scoring to come from somewhere, yes. But it's got to be more about a collective effort from the team than a shift in style from the senior. No need to start trying to take guys off the dribble or suddenly attempt four or five 3-pointers a game. Sheehey simply needs to do what he's always done -- just smarter, better, stronger. He is a master of the sneaky angles on the baseline when he catches the defense sleeping, breaks to the hoop, finds the pass and dunks it home. He needs to continue to get buckets in the mid-range on both the break and in the halfcourt. He needs to remain a pest on defense.
A consensus top 10 player in the class of 2016, it's no surprise that Bentonville (Ark.) guard Malik Monk was selected to participate in the USA Basketball developmental national team mini-camp in Colorado Springs earlier this month. Monk, who is already attracting major recruiting attention, performed well on the first day of the camp before suffering a thumb injury that forced him to miss day two. "The first day I kind of overextended my thumb," he told Inside the Hall on Oct. 6 from Colorado Springs. "Before I got hurt, I was doing very well, but I've got to get a long stronger." The 6-foot-3, 170-pound guard averaged 22.8 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game as a freshman at East Poinsett County High, but moved to Bentonville for his sophomore season. Monk's older brother, Marcus, played at the University of Arkansas, which has already offered a scholarship. Baylor, Florida, Indiana, Memphis and Kansas have also offered.