Hanner Mosquera-Perea entered his freshman campaign with jump-out-the-gym athleticism and a whole heck of a lot of promise. He was part of Indiana's initial "starting eight" at this time last year, and seemed well on pace to spell Cody Zeller and Christian Watford in the frontcourt as a reliable first big off the bench. But as the season hit, things changed. First, fresh off a partial summer he spent in a walking boot, the NCAA spanked Mosquera-Perea and fellow freshman Peter Jurkin with a dubious nine-game suspension. He lost valuable non-conference playing time, time he could have spent building confidence against inferior opponents.
Bryant Crawford of Gonzaga Prep (D.C.) has long been a recruiting priority for Indiana in the class of 2015. The No. 35 prospect nationally according to the 247Composite, Crawford missed the July evaluation periods as he underwent surgery in June to repair a tear in his meniscus. That injury didn't keep the Hoosier staff from showing up at his Team Takeover games or from coming to his high school when the recruiting period began in early September. "They were one of the first schools to come down when the coaches were allowed to come out," Crawford told Inside the Hall from the USA Basketball developmental national team mini-camp in Colorado Springs last weekend. "Even though I wasn't playing, they still came down there and talked to me for a little while." The 6-foot-2, 179 pound point guard was recently cleared to resume basketball activities and said he expects to be 100 percent for the start of his high school season. "I just got cleared Monday (Sept. 30)," he said. "I've been getting in the pool and riding the bike and since Monday I've been getting in the gym and doing a little bit of work to get back into playing shape."
One of the top players nationally in the class of 2016, Jayson Tatum, was a standout at last weekend's USA Basketball men's developmental national team mini-camp in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The No. 4 overall prospect in his class according to the 247Composite, the 6-foot-7, 190 pound wing already has offers from more than a dozen programs and his performance at the USA Basketball camp drew rave reviews from national scouts in attendance. "It's really exciting. It's a blessing," Tatum told Inside the Hall by phone from Colorado Springs. "It's fun to come out here and play against the top guys, especially the ones in your age group, the class of 2015 and the class of 2014 and just coming out here, competing and showing your talent." A member of the USA Basketball team that won the gold medal at the FIBA Americas U16 Championship in Uruguay in June, Tatum averaged 10 points and 4.6 rebounds as a reserve. His play at this past weekend's mini-camp put him in excellent shape to be picked for the U17 roster that will compete in the FIBA World Championships in Dubai next summer.
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 sophomore Peter Jurkin. In his first season at IU, perhaps the only thing more telling about Peter Jurkin than his raw skills was his health. As someone who had battled injuries during his entire high school career, Jurkin came into his freshman year with an undisclosed foot injury, which severely limited his minutes. In fact, he had a total of seven minutes of action all season, playing in only the Florida Atlantic, Jacksonville and Penn State games after returning from a nine-game NCAA suspension. However, Jurkin didn't face much pressure coming into his freshman season to come in and play immediate minutes, especially with an All-American center ahead of him on the depth chart in Cody Zeller. Now, Zeller's gone. And heading into the 2013-2014 season, Jurkin is one of only two centers on Indiana's roster, the other being freshman Luke Fischer, who has battled injuries this preseason as well.
Late Thursday night, as 2015 Plainfield East (Ill.) guard Aaron Jordan and his father explored the scene around Cook Hall and Assembly Hall, Jordan found his lasting memory from the visit. On his first-ever unofficial visit to IU, Jordan saw dozens of fans camped out outside of Assembly Hall watching television and eating pizza, anticipating Hoosier Hysteria the following day. Jordan had never seen anything like it. "I was just like, 'Wow'," Jordan said. "The fans of the whole school are basically about basketball, and that's what I like. Everything is surrounding basketball. It's a great environment to be in." Two weeks earlier, Jordan had been playing open gym at his high school when Indiana coach Tom Crean arrived and offered him a scholarship. He said the offer immediately put IU "right near the top," and in the days leading up to his visit, friends were hyping the school up to him. After arriving Thursday night and watching a practice and Hoosier Hysteria on Friday, Jordan said he now sees what they were talking about.
Quentin Goodin wasn't going to allow a broken right hand to keep him from competing against the nation's best. The Taylor County (Ky.) guard, who is rated the No. 29 prospect in the class of 2016 according to the 247Composite, played through an injury over the weekend at the USA Basketball men's developmental national team mini-camp in Colorado Springs, Colorado. "I was playing hurt this whole weekend, trying to work things out," Goodin told Inside the Hall by phone from Colorado Springs on Sunday night. "I didn't get to play the last two games but I think showcased myself pretty well." The 6-foot-2, 175 pound point guard is among the elite players who will be considered for the men's U17 roster for the FIBA World Championships in Dubai next summer.
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 sophomore Yogi Ferrell. Friday’s Hoosier Hysteria, ...
One of the top prospects nationally in the class of 2016 got his first taste of Indiana basketball in person over the weekend. Braxton Blackwell, a 6-foot-8, 215 pound forward at Christ Presbyterian Academy in Nashville, Tennessee, talked to Inside the ...
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 freshman Luke Fischer. Before he has even stepped onto the court for a game as an Indiana Hoosier, Indiana coach Tom Crean has referred to freshman center Luke Fischer as a "year-round winner." Crean's bold critique is justified, though: In Fischer's final two years of high school basketball at Germantown (Wis.), he led his team to a 52-0 combined record and back-to-back state titles. Now, the 6-foot-11, 230-pound Fischer is on the defending Big Ten champion squad. And though there certainly is no expectation he will come in and immediately help IU to an undefeated season, his winning experience will certainly help, according to Crean. "He's played in a lot of big games at the high school level," Crean said at his "State of the Hoosier Nation" address on Oct. 2. "He knows what it takes. He knows how to score. He’s not afraid. He comes in there and battles."
Update: Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com reports that Robinson is expected to miss 7 to 10 days. Crean also said that Luke Fischer (shoulder) is still a couple week away while Stan Robinson (knee) likely to be out 7-10 days. — ...
The 2013-2014 season got underway with Indiana's annual tip-off event - Hoosier Hysteria - Friday night in Assembly Hall. Here’s a look at five takeaways from Indiana's first public practice: · The youth must come through: Yes, Will Sheehey and Yogi Ferrell both return and played starter's minutes a season ago. And Evan Gordon arrives as a graduate senior with plenty of experience after stops at Liberty and Arizona State. But the reality beyond that is this: Indiana is very thin on experience. The Hoosiers have six freshman and three of their returning sophomores have played limited minutes. Peter Jurkin and Hanner Mosquera-Perea barely played a season ago and Jeremy Hollowell, who will be counted to shoulder a much bigger role, only averaged 9.7 minutes per game as a freshman. There will be bumps in the road early for this team, but the young talent is there to mold into a tough out come March. · Injuries aren't a major concern, yet: It wasn't a surprise that Troy Williams and Luke Fischer were held out of Hoosier Hysteria. Williams is nearly back from a right hand injury and Fischer, who's had tough luck all offseason in terms of staying healthy, is battling a shoulder injury that will keep him out a few more weeks. What we didn't know is that Noah Vonleh is out with a mild ankle injury, which kept him out of the scrimmage portion of last night's festivities. And then late in the scrimmage, Stanford Robinson went down with what Tom Crean described as a knee bruise. None of these injuries figure to linger on long enough to force anyone to miss significant time, but Indiana needs to get all four players back sooner rather than later with the season opener just over four weeks away.
Via CityLeagueHoops on YouTube:
Add Stanford Robinson and Noah Vonleh to the list of injured Indiana Hoosiers. In the waning seconds of Friday night's scrimmage at Hoosier Hysteria, Robinson went down, clutched his knee and limped off the court after a collision in the paint. Indiana coach Tom Crean said after the scrimmage that early word is Robinson has a bruised knee. "I say that hopefully. I say that as what was said in there," Crean said. "It looked like everything was intact and I hope that's what it continues to be. Dr. (Steve) Ahfeld was on it right away. "He was in a lot of pain, but I mean, those hurt like that. Hopefully everything will be good there. We don't need any more guys missing time that are gonna play." After competing in the 3-point contest earlier in the evening, Vonleh sat during the scrimmage. Crean said that Vonleh hurt his ankle during a practice on Wednesday and held him out of the scrimmage as a precaution.
Check out 35 photos by Jamie Owens from Friday’s Hoosier Hysteria at Assembly Hall in the embedded photo gallery after the jump. Purchase prints from J. Scott Sports.
Tom Crean and Yogi Ferrell met with the media following Friday’s Hoosier Hysteria at Assembly Hall. Watch and listen to their reaction in the embedded media players below:
Sophomores Yogi Ferrell and Hanner Mosquera-Perea were among the standouts in Friday's Hoosier Hysteria dunk and 3-point shooting contests. Ferrell made 30 of 50 shots over the course of two rounds to capture the 3-point contest and Mosquera-Perea finished as the runner-up in the dunk contest to Devin Davis due to scoring in the finals, but had the better performance of the two overall.