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

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.

More than a month has passed since Foothills Christian (Calif.) forward T.J. Leaf visited Indiana for the first time. The class of 2016 prospect was in Bloomington in early September and received a scholarship offer from the Hoosiers on the visit. Now that Leaf has had more time to think about it, it's clear the Indiana option continues to resonate with him. Inside the Hall spoke with Leaf by phone from the USA Basketball national developmental team mini-camp in Colorado Springs earlier this month. "It was a really good experience being able to go to a great program like that historically and recently," he said. "It seems like I would fit really well in their system. I like coach Crean and I like all of the coaches and what they're doing there. I was just really impressed." The No. 25 prospect in the 247Composite, Leaf averaged 22 points and 11 rebounds as a freshman last season. One of his primary goals during the offseason while playing with the Compton Magic was to make himself more perimeter oriented.

With the start of college basketball season on the horizon, we’ll be taking a long look at the conference at large as well as Indiana’s roster over the next month. Today, we look at graduate senior Evan Gordon. The decision of Remy Abell to transfer last spring opened a spot on Indiana's roster and rather than letting it sit empty or award the scholarship to a walk-on, the Hoosiers quickly moved into the mix and landed Evan Gordon, a graduate transfer from Arizona State. The younger brother of former Indiana star Eric Gordon and older brother of class of 2016 target Eron Gordon, Evan arrives at the third school of his collegiate career. He explained both of his decisions to transfer (Liberty to Arizona State and Arizona State to Indiana) to reporters at media day last month. "The reason I left Liberty was to look for a bigger program and I found that in Arizona State," Gordon said. "I was hoping it was here (when he transferred from Liberty). And to leave there, it was just being away from home five or six years. This is my sixth year away from home, but now that I'm back here, it adds a different element to it." A double digit scorer in each of his three seasons of experience, Gordon brings a solid combination of shooting, ball handling and defense to the Hoosiers. He's been in the mid 30's percentage wise from behind the 3-point line throughout his career, but the strong suit of his offensive game might be in the midrange.

About three weeks ago, Wilbraham and Monson (Mass.) Academy student Max Hoetzel was at study hall when his basketball coach, Chris Sparks, and Indiana assistant Kenny Johnson walked into the room. They came with a simple message: Indiana head coach Tom Crean was on campus, and he wanted to see Hoetzel work out. Crean and Johnson were originally on campus to watch Goodluck Okonoboh before he travelled to Ohio State and UNLV, but Sparks had convinced Crean to watch Hoetzel. After all, Sparks knew IU had needed a shooter for the 2014 class. And he had one in the 6-foot-7 Hoetzel. Sparks and Johnson had cleared Hoetzel to practice with school administrators by the time they confronted him at study hall. He then left for the gym and practiced under Crean's watchful eye. It was the first contact Hoetzel had with IU's coaching staff. "It was such a humbling experience, I mean, coach Crean is a big deal," Hoetzel said. "But on the other hand, you can't really think about it. You just gotta do what you do."

One of Indiana's top recruiting priorities in the class of 2016, Gill St. Bernard's School (N.J.) guard Tyus Battle, was among the elite players who participated at the USA Basketball developmental national team mini-camp in Colorado Springs, Colorado on Oct. 5-6. The 6-foot-5, 170 pound prospect told Inside the Hall it was a beneficial experience. "It's just competing a lot and playing against the best players in the United States," Battle told Inside the Hall. "We go after it every time we step on the floor." The camp, which had a mixture of class of 2014, 2015 and 2016 players, provided Battle the opportunity to measure himself against older players, a challenge he always looks forward to taking on. "I really like going against the older guys, the class of 2014 kids. They've got the experience and it's good to go at them," he said. "You can pick up their patience for the game, they take their time going around screens, defensively they go hard throughout the whole game. You can just pick up a lot from them."

With the start of college basketball season on the horizon, we’ll be taking a long look at the conference at large as well as Indiana’s roster over the next month. Today, we look at redshirt sophomore Austin Etherington. In a season in which Austin Etherington appeared to be finding his way into Indiana's rotation, it came to a screeching halt all too early. With 2:28 remaining in the Hoosiers' first half of a game against Central Connecticut State on Dec. 8 last season, Etherington collided knees with Terrell Allen and collapsed as Allen went for a layup. Etherington, who was carted off the court, was soon diagnosed with a broken left kneecap. His season was over. As Etherington watched from the bench, his teammates went on to win IU's first outright Big Ten title since 1993. Seven months later, as he and the Hoosiers are preparing for the 2013-2014 season, Etherington is the only remaining member from IU's 2011 recruiting class. He's now a redshirt sophomore. And as he is back at 100 percent, Etherington again has a chance to find playing time, especially if he can prove himself as a reliable 3-point shooting threat. It's been well-documented that Indiana lost 77 percent of its 3-point shooting production from last season, and Etherington is one of only four returning players to have made a 3-pointer from that team.