Category: IU basketball

IU v. Chattanooga 11/12/07

The primary question after watching the first two exhibitions is will we be spotting dimes or eating onions. I have a feeling, that based on how explosive this offense can be, the real hang up for us is going to be how well we perform on the defensive end of the court.

With only one day to practice and focus on UT – Chattanooga I don’t know that I expect to see too much difference in our defensive ability tonight.

The other thing that is a question mark tonight is how bad Armon’s ankle is after sat.

This game counts. Can’t wait for this to get going!!!

Jon Shulman, UT-Chattanooga’s head coach’s wife is from Washington, IN. So, now I know who to blame for the Zellers. Her and Adam Bowling.

Tip-off

19:40: Lance Stemmler decided to guard the air and leave his man open. I don’t even know what that was.

19:21: I’m done dumping on DJ for not being able to pass out of the double team. He looks like he’s got that figured out finally. Though, to be fair these guys aren’t his size.

18:10: So far the answer is we’re fucking eating onions. An uncontested drive straight to the basket as everyone watched not the ball, then a turnover for a lay-up. WAKE UP!!!

17:50:Here’s where our offensive ability covers a lot of flaws. Ellis hits a contested 3, without running any offense. I’m a little worried that good offense is going to suffer because we can rely too much on physical ability. Against good teams that won’t be enough.

17:44: UT-C passes the ball to no one.

17:35: Looks like UT-C is going to double EJ. Doubt this is the last team that will try this. Good test for him, and the rest of the team. Who can get open and score when the double comes and how does EJ get loose?

17:15: Really good hustle by Lance. Deflection.

16:59: Twice now we’ve tried to fight around their double screen the long way around. UT-C has gotten really good looks with that play and we’re not so good at defending it.

16:04: Great out let pass by EJ to Crawford for the 3 point play.

TV Time out IU 10 UT-C 8

15:51: Here’s something I never did when I was in the stands at an IU game. TEXT MESSAGE!!! OMG! It hasn’t been that long since I graduated. That’s retarded.

15:33: UGH! Onions! Our help is primary help is slow and our secondary help is too late to stop a lay-up.

15:00: That’s a perfect example. Played decent team defense for about 20 seconds, and then got lost and lucky.

14:21: Right now, not only do we look slow and tired on defense, but we’re being out hustled on both ends of the court.

13:26: Gordon is looking solid on both ends of the court. When he’s on ball, he’s tough defender.

12:55: NICE! Armon with a 3 off the inbounds play.

12:42: We are not closing out on their open shooters. Another 3 for UT-C.

12:21: YES! Points from Dre in the post. How do you hold him off the blocks as big as he is?

11:31: Big Shot! EJ nails another 3!!

11:11: Steal by Crawford. Finish by Armon!! EJ has ten already tonight.

10:49: The defensive pressure has improved. This is the spottin’ dimes portion of our evening.

10:18: OK. The next 5 days need to be spent on defense. This is ridiculous. Way too slow closing out on open shooters and piss poor helping on the drive.

8:15: I love the idiosyncrasies of announcers. Any time anyone gets the ball at the top of the key, the play-by-play guy in this game, says who ever has the ball “has a notion.”

TV Time Out IU 34- UT-C 30

6:58: Crawford in rhythm. Nice 3

6:22: Back to back 3s for him

5:06: Remember Sat. when I said 35 points was too many to give up in a half? Well tonight, so far it’s 39.

4:20: HOLY FUCK! We’re losing now. We run down and jack up 3s, and then play defense like we have no idea what’s going on. Sampson is PISSED!!! And well he should be. He’s tearing them shiny new assholes right now.

3:45: Turnover by us. 3 by them. This fucking sucks.

3:19: Another turnover. Half-Time can’t come soon enough.  Thank Gods: . . .

TV TIME OUT IU 40 UT-C 44

2:48: Gordon gets way ahead of himself there. Too big a hurry.

2:47: OK, this year I’m banging on DJ for not being able to shoot freethrows. I gotta check the stats, but the Packer Method says he’s shooting about 52%

2:26: GOD OUR ROTATION IS AWFUL!!!!! Secondary help doesn’t happen at all. DJ helps on the post and Ellis doesn’t even budge.

1:40: UT-C has been playing zone for the better part of this half, and it’s clear we still don’t have done how to play against it, other than shooting 3s.

1:07: I feel like a scratched CD. Here’s another thing we don’t do well on defense. We let people cut and move wherever they want to cut.

9.6: DJ steps up to help, but not until UT-C is two feet from the basket.

HALF TIME IU 46 UT-C 50.

For all my frustration at this point, I’ll say this. A.) I’m not surprised. This is a young team that doesn’t yet know what college level competition is all about B.) after watching MSU, OSU, USC, and UK all drop games to mid-major or D-II teams it should be clear there are precious few pushovers C.) As long as we pull this out, this game is a huge learning opportunity for these guys. EJ has 15 at the half and we’ve scored 46 points, but offense isn’t enough and this should help hammer that home. I have great faith in KS getting them on the right foot at halftime

19:09: Good first defensive possession.

18:32: First, poor boxing out leads to too many second chances. Second, HOLY CRAP!!! What a finish on the break by EJ!!!! And a great pass by Armon.

18:12: The intensity has improved greatly.

17:48: OOOP Basset to DJ

17:37: Shit defense
17:21: YEAH! Dre with the chance for a 3 point play. God was he open on the reversal.

17:19: The Non-Las in this game is married. He just called Dre’s shorts Capri’s. He’s right, but single men don’t think that way.

16:40 We’re trying hard to turn this into a track meet and we’ll win a track meet.

16:06: Armon’s gotta know when too much is too much. Tried to force one into DJ.

15:27: Gordon has an unwillingness to lose that is impressive. He’s taken it up a notch since halftime. Defensively and in transition. He is fun to watch. KS switched him to guarding the point guard and he’s shut him down.

TV TIME Out IU 56 UN-C 52

14:50: We’re making a real effort to slow it down. I’ll take the slow down if it ends up with EJ hitting big 3s like that. Damn!

14:11: Dre gets another big bucket with the chance for 3. Can’t say enough about how big it is to have another scorer inside.

13:52: EJ just picked up his 3rd. Too aggressive and playing defense with his hands. KS is leaving him in the game. Let’s hope he can avoid his 4th.

12:53: Nice post move by DJ, and Las is right. The outside threat and Dre as a scoring threat have really chased away some of the double teams from DJ. Gotta game plan this team a lot different than last year’s team.

12:27: Armon was not hurt bad the other night. He’s so fucking quick he’s got to be ok.

TV TIME OUT IU 65 UT-C 59

11:49: EJ’s on the bench. There’s a noticeable change in defensive intensity. For all the talk about DJ being the leader of this team, it’s clearly EJ and not DJ that controls this crew. Let’s see if DJ can step up and lead when EJ’s on the bench.

10:34: DJ from the short corner, and then Crawford strong to the hoop. 3 point play.

10:16: Slow rotation still and I think it all started with the way we played the ball screen. Lance popped out to hedge the screen and UT-C makes 3 passes really fast while we chase to catch up. If we’re going to pop on the ball screens we need to recover much quicker.

9:49: EJ’s back and in case you didn’t see him sub in. He just crossed between his legs, stepped back and drilled an NBA length 3.

9:11: Ellis made that happen. Nice dish to Dre for the wide open lay-up. Pass fakes, even awkward ones  like that can really move defenses.

8:43: How often in one game can I be amazed at what EJ can do on the court?

7:59: That’s just not right. They ran smack into the wall that is Dre. Stop dead in their tracks and just throw it at the rim and it goes in.

TV TIME OUT IU 85 UT-C 71

7:00: EJ just blocked a 3. I’m going to have to look up superlatives. I don’t want to steal Vitale’s schtick, but after a while you need to be able to articulate your ever present awe.

6:35: He just hit another 3. This is me shaking my head in disbelief. What’s so crazy about this, and I don’t want to make ridiculous comaparisons here, so bear with me. I watched that run LeBron went on in the playoffs last year and was in shock at how anyone could do what he’s doing? So far, I’ve felt that same way watch EJ. What he’s doing isn’t the same as scoring your team’s last 24 points or whatever LeBron did, but he is equally unstoppable.

6:09: DJ Just landed on his head. His legs were taken out from under him. There’s a considerable amount of blood, but he’s up and walking off the court. OUCH!

5:30: Time to slow the pace down and let this one run its course. But this is also where the focus that got us out of the hole at the half can slip.

Just got into a debate with a friend of mine about the Big Ten Network vs. Comcast issue, as he’s living in NW Indiana and can’t watch the game tonight.

TV TIME OUT IU 96 UT-C 75

3:17: EJ has set a record for most points by a Freshman in his debut. 32 points. I am once again shaking my head.

2:09 Make that 33.

1:06: This is not a team that throws good alley oops.

37: Bassett dribbled the shot clock down to nothing and hit a tough shot.

Final Score IU 99 UT-C 79. That’s a 24 point swing in the second half. Now there’s some time to practice and fix the problems from the first half.

IU v. UNC Pembroke

This is IU’s last exhibition game this season. UNC Pembroke is Kelvin Sampson’s alma matre.

From Kelvin’s Sampson’s Weekly press conference:

The focus of the team since UNA game has been defense. It’s consistently been the thing Sampson says is the focus of his teams early in the season. And based on watching the UNA game transition D, is the one place I noticed issues.

Almost all of the post UNA game press was about the new-comers and their high scoring. It will be interesting to see how that holds up and how the defense has improved.

Prior to the game Matt Devlin said “one of those special years”  twice in the first 3 minutes of the broadcast.

Lots of mention of DJ White’s leadership this year.

Back from commercial “one of those years.” I’m beginning to pick up a theme here.

Tip-off:

IU gets the tip

19:32: UNC P comes out in a 3-2 zone. Interesting to see how IU handles it. Not too well, but DJ gets the put back.
The zone offense looks like a 3 out 2 in with a high-low post. High post stepping out to set screens.
19:09: Armon gets the steal, ball lost on transtion, but put out by UNC P. EJ gets the long 3.
Gordon’s first 3 comes off a good solid screen by Lance. Body-body.
18:44: Ugh. A drive all the way to the basket while Lance and DJ both look the other direction. 2nd possession and all the focis on degense hasn’t shown.

18:36: WOW! In transition another long 3 by EJ.

18:04: Good rotation and a 3 for UNC P.

17:38: Forced 3 by Ellis, nice reb, by Lance.

17:21: Now EJ’s hitting 20 ft. jumpers off the dribble and Armon’s got his second steal of the game. There’s your defensive bright spot this year. Also, Lance has an offesive rebound and seems to be one of the few college players who know how to put a body on someone when he sets a screen.
Shot of the crowd. There’s a guy with a hi-top fade Kid N’ Play style. I can’t wait until Eric Anderson gets into the game.
17:01: Second attempted alley oop of the season. 0-2.

16:39: Armon disrupted another pass. This one lead to an over and back. If the team can take their defensive cues from Armon this will be a scary defensive team.
Conscious effort this possession to pass the ball into DJ. Neither time very effective.
16:30: One of the things Sampson talked about as an advantage of playing this game is UNC P’s tendency to play zone. Likely we’ll see some zone in the next couple of weeks so this will help to test out how we play against different defenses.

I think the teams shorts have pockets in them. I saw EJ putting his hands in them while DJ shot a free through. For what possible purpose could these shorts have pockets?

Armon with another steal and a lay-up. So, the one bad defensive possession seems to be an anomaly.
Ellis makes an impressive pass to DJ. He can really deliver the ball.
15:00: Another 3 for EJ. Dear God this kid is good. 10 of our first 16 points.

14:47: My GOD! Another steal for Armon.  This is getting ri-goddamn-diculous.
These steals remind me of a team I coached once. We could take the ball away from just about anyone who showed the slightest inability to handle the ball, but we couldn’t get the ball other ways. We’re clearly better athletically than this team and these steals are proof of that. Doesn’t really mean there’s good solid defense going on, just that we’re quicker.
First TV Time out: IU 18 UNC P 7

14:21: Jordan Crawford in the game for the first time. Missed his first 3 this season. Dre’s also in the game. Offensive rebound. Just the kind of thing we’re gonna need when DJ needs a break. Plus 2 free throws.

13:30: Shot clock violation. 100% caused by Dre’s movement on defense. I’m amazed at how active he his. He hedged on two separate ball screens that possession.
Two possessions into the game and he’s the difference on both ends of the floor.
12:57: GREAT PASS by EJ. Missed lay-up.
Poor transition defense again leads to a 3 for UNC P.
12:36: O-Reb for Lance. We have been on the glass really well so far this game. I’m curious to see if they have this kind of rebounding success against D-1 competition.

12:00: Forced turnover in the post, leads to Armon on the free throw line. Defense creating offense tonight. Gotta please Sampson.
Everyone on the court is playing defense standing straight up.
11:23: Good defensive possession for 33 seconds. 3 pointer for UNC P.

10:58: Offense rebound. Another one. Put back and foul for DJ.

TV Time out: IU 25 UNC P 15. The story for IU so far this game is tremendous defensive pressure, and offensive rebounding. If that’s the story of every game we’ll win them all, regardless of whom the competition is.

10:33: Armon to EJ alley oop is good. Much better timing this time.

9:56: UNC P in a 2-3 now. Very little post play against the zones tonight. All the inside points, except the alley oop have been put backs.
2nd look at it. They didn’t change defenses. It’s the same set-up every possession so far. They just have the low post wings take the gusy free throw line extended so it looks like a 3-2.

9:29: Slow rotation on defense. The on the ball D has looker really good all the way around tonight, but he help has not been great.

8:54: Really bad offensive possession. Looked lost lead to a turnover.

8:37: CHARGE!!! Lance stepped up and took a good one there. Stopped a lay-up.

8:25: Getting decent dribble penetration against the zone, but once we hit the lane it collapses and we don’t really know what to do there.

8:03: Great post defensive pressure by DJ and Lance forces another turnover.

7:40: Much better possession this time. Lots of ball movement around and over the zone. Good dribble penetration and kick outs. Still looks hard to get a good shot, but the approach was better that time.

TV Time out IU 28 UNC P 18

7:35: Two missed free throws for DJ, offensive board, no basket. UNC P hits a 3. Not able to pull away from these guys despite the defense.

6:27: 2-1-2 now. We’re still having trouble with the zone and UNC P has started scoring. It’s a 7-point game now.
Fooled again, not a 2-1-2, but a very active and morphing 2-3. It is a different rotation than ealier, but not that much.

5:41: Great full court pressure by EJ gets a turnover. He follows it up with a long 3. Steal by Crawford and a lay-up. Defense is getting it done again.

4:53: DJ’s defense causes a travel. He pumps his fist in the air, during an exhibition game. Gotta love that kind of enthusiasm. So far the defense is not consistent. Really good for a while, then lapses leading to points for the other team.

4:37: First post entry. DJ kicks it back out and Armon hits the 3. Very nice.

4:17: HUGE swat by DJ!

4:04: A two minute stretch with great defense and now it’s a 17-point game.
Not really great defense. We are getting turnovers, blocks, steals, etc. But it’s all caused by our better athleticism and speed. Not really by solid consistent defense. The turnovers look impressive and can be deceiving, but you can’t hang your hat on that.

TV Time out: IU 41 UNC P 26

3:17: Another defensive trip where our posts have the backs of their heads to the ball.

3:11: two more missed free throws. I can think of two things to work on this week.

2:27: Not looking good since the time out. KS takes another one. So far this season this seems to be a team that suffers from lapses of concentration. Not the 8-minute scoreless stretches of the Mike Davis era, but a cause for concern, none the less.

2:11: Good interior passing. DJ makes a nice pass to Lance out of the double team.
1:47: JESUS! EJ with another long 3 in transition.

1:26: We’ve given up 35 points in the first half. WAY too much, esp. for an exhibition.

.36: AMAZING! EJ with another big 3, but Armon is limping off the court. Stupid Er-Ic- Gor-Don cheer.

Some bull fighter defense there in the final possession.

Halftime: IU 49 UNC P 26.
Sampson not pleased with the defense. Good focus for 5-10 seconds, but that’s not enough against a patient team. When Las asked him about Eric Gordon, Sampson couldn’t keep the grin off his face. “Hell of a player.” That just about says it.

19:57: Armon still in the locker room after half time. Not good.

19:28: MUCH better ball movement. Hardly any dribbling and great passing leads to a 3 for Lance.

19:05: 3 blocks on one possession. EJ, Ellis, and DJ. Armon not returning tonight. No word as to why exactly.

18:44 Another block by EJ a jumper this time. leads to big fast break dunk by Crawford.

17:37: This half so far has been a much better offensive half. More team ball. Very good passing.

15:38: Despite the better passing we’re still largely settling for outside shots. The last two minutes have been cold shooting, so there’s the downside of that.

TV Time out IU 61 UNC P 41

15:14: Remember when George broke his glasses and he had to resort squinting. Jerry couldn’t figure out whether to trust him as an eye witness as George spotted a dime from across the room and followed that up by taking an onion out the fridge and biting into because he thought it was an apple. Our defense is a lot like that. One minute we’re spotting dimes, the next we’re eating onions.

13:35: Big back cut, but really nice help for the block by Dre. Perfet example. We completely lose out man (onions) but Dre gets a huge block (quarters).

12:07: nice steal by Dre leads to a nice move in transition by Ellis for a bucket.

TV Time Out IU 73 UNC P 47

11:52: So here’s what I love about IU fans. It’s a 26 point game. An exhibition game. And the stands are still completely full.

11:20: Armon’s on the bench with ice on the left ankle. So, hopefully not such a bad injury.

11:00: Here’s the problem (and it’s only a perception problem) with having an EJ. He had 24 points in the first half, hasn’t done a lot on offense this half, and Las just pointed out that he’s having a slow second half. True, but Christ he put 24 up in the first half and has at least two blocks and a number of assists this half. I’ll take that as a slow half.

9:44: Ellis and McGee are responsible for the last 16 points. That’s good bench contribution, but this is getting silly. We’re just raining threes at this point. It’s 85-47 now. Just sick.

9:10: This is the point in a game like this where it can be really easy to lose focus and start to play really sloppy.

8:40: Another 3 from McGee. Looks like he’s the Freshman who’se allowed to score a lot of point tonight.

8:03: I guess Jordan heard me type that. Long jumper and then a three.

TV Time out IU 93 UNC P 49

6:14: Really nice pass into Eli for an inside score against the zone.

5:54: It’s Tapak time. The walk-ons are in the game. Not all of them mind you but Taber has hit the court.

4:47: He has been joined by Adam Ahlfeld. It’s nice when these guys can get on the court.

4:27: Ahlfeld gets the offensive rebound. Just proof that rebounding is all about size.

3:27: Ahlfeld gets an open look and the crowd gasps in hopes he would hit it.

3:05: McGee hits another 3.

3:00: We’ve taken 29 3’s this game and hit 18. That is a TON of 3’s. I’d love to see us figure out another way we can score against a zone.

2:48: Brett Finkelmeier has hit the floor. Hands down has to be the best name ever for a college walk-on.

2:46: Stands are still full as Taber hits the free throw. Proof that Finkelmeier really packs ‘em in.

1:48: Again they mention that UNC P took an 11 hour bus ride to play this game and another 11 hour ride back home. That is a lot of time on the bus. The glories of Division II ball. It gives them a lot of time to work on their clichés for when they make it to the show.

Final Score: IU 111 UNC P 62. That’s about right.

Things to watch for in this game. From the 11/1/07 Kelvin Sampson press conference.

Gotta see what kind of mistakes the freshman make in a real game so they can be corrected.

How are they gonna manage the 4 spot. Eli seems to be making strides in practice.

Eric’s problem at this point is off the ball defending. That’s a matter of experience, though, not talent.

DeAndre is pretty turn over prone. His bad habits (and man I’ve seen this in my own players) revolve around not making the easy pass. He thinks everything has to be a “home run.”

Eric Gordon is the best on the ball defender. Armon has grown into it from last season.

Sampson is very reluctant to address the phone call drama, mostly on the basis that the NCAA investigation is still ongoing.

He expects this team to be a good defensive team that scores well in transition. The offense is not as developed as the defense right now, but this team has more scorers than last years.

It sounds like he’s hitting the table almost in nervousness.

Don’t expect a lot of playing time for Mike White or Kyle Tabor.

Eli’s gonna see minutes. He needs them to develop in order to replace DJ next year.

Just prior tip-off: I can’t wait to get a chance to see this team in action. With all the excitement over how good Eric Gordon is, I’ve never seen him play. Getting my own look at how good he really is, and how well the team works together is really exciting.

Las is back!! With the shift over the years from Raycom to ESPN regional to BTN, John Laskowski has been the one constant. He’s the IU basketball equivalent to Terrence Mann’s view of baseball.

Also, I’d be remiss if I didn’t say I’m so happy to be able to watch the exhibition games on TV again. It’s been a few years since these have been available any way other then radio, and in my case, outside of Indiana, over the internets (Thanks Mark Cuban). It’s really too bad that the major cable companies in Indiana still can’t get it together with the Big Ten Network to get these games on TV for the residents of Indiana.

Las just made the first in-game mention of the self-imposed sanctions, and the resignation this past week of Rob Senderoff.

20:00: IU wins the tip. DJ gets the first points of the game. Baseline jumper.

19:08: Holy God. There was a lot of standing on the second possession, until EJ took it off the dribble and got all the way to the basket. That’s gonna cover a lot of potential problems this year.

18:36: Freshman. EJ forces a baseline drive that results in a turnover.

18:25: Not doing a great job of setting screens. DJ laid a pretty good one on, to get Jamarcus open, but Lance set a phantom screen.

18:02: Two minutes in. EJ with 5, DJ with 4. We’ve taken at least 4 3’s so far. All good shots, but that’s a lot so early.

17:09: Poor shot by EJ, great hustle for the rebound by DJ, results in 2.

16:36: Armon for 3! North Alabama does not rotate very well. Inside to DJ, kicked out. Good offense.

16:00: At the fist TV time out. Poor transition defense for IU, but the offense in this game should carry the team today. 14-11, IU

15:21: Getting the ball into DJ a lot so far. I really like that. All good things if the offense runs through the post.

14:54: EJ jumper off the screen. Just smooth.

14:14: Transition defense is pretty bad.  North Alabama is pushing the ball really well and we are not keeping up.

13:43: Ellis has been in for about 2 minutes, already has a rebound and a 3. That’s a good start.

13:40: DeAndre Thomas gets his first look This is a BIG BOY!! First thought here. Lucky this is a D-1 program with money. In a high school, he’d have a lot of trouble fitting in AJ Moye’s old uniform. First play offensive rebound.

13:05: There’s not a lot EJ can’t do no offense. Jump shot followed by a steal and a great outlet pass to Crawford for the fast break dunk.  27-15 IU.

12:44: Different look out of the Time out. Full court press for IU.

12:!5: High-Lo to DJ. Nice pass from Dre. Made possible by that being a big-big pass.

11:45. Dre lowers a shoulder, knocks a defender about 10 feet out of bounds and scores the lay-up. How do you stop a guy that big once he gets the ball in the post? NAU doesn’t.

10:57: Both DJ and Ej on the bench. I don’t imagine we’ll see this line-up a lot this year.
Elli, Crawford, Thomas, Basset, Holman.

10:12: Even with this line-up the score is pushed 34-15.

10:03: DJ and EJ back in the game.

9:39: Ellis, poor choice. Forced the drive. Offensive foul

9:11: DJ blocks a jump shot. NAU still scores, but still. A block jump shot.

8:10: Good offensive board and put back for DJ. Having a second post presence has made a difference already this season. It’s really opening things up for DJ. 39-17 IU.

7:36: Shot of Dakich on the bench. Doesn’t appear to coach cross-eyed.

7:23: DJ looks much more confident this year. More sure of what he wants to do once he gets the ball. Missed 2 free throws. Blech

6:49: Huge block by DJ leads to a fast break dunk by EJ. 43 points  so far this half. This team is gonna do some damage this year.

5:52: KS is right about EJ off the ball. He’s standing up straight off the ball. Not a lot of movement on his part.

3:55: EJ and DJ back on the bench. This is a great chance to get a lot of the younger guys some good minutes. Ellis handles the ball well. Seems to want to take a lot of weight when he’s got the ball. Could be a big help when EJ is on the bench.

2:31: Ill advised long contested 3 for Crawford, but he hits it.

1:32: First appearance of Dre trying to make the tough pass. One hand bullet doesn’t make it to Stemmler.

41:1: Just noticed this. The NCAA, I’m assuming it’s an NCAA rule have moved the players up the lane for free throws. First man placed above the block, not below. Probably a good idea.

18:7: Diving NAU player lands on a ball boy. Ouch.

Halftime: 55-39

19:49: Slow defensive rotation. Easy basket for NAU.

19:42: The ball boy is OK. You can stop worrying now.

19:08: That’s how you set a screen. NAU just laid out Armon with a solid screen.

18:27: DJ just got the ball in the post and made his move away from the double team before it got there. That a HUGE step in the right direction for him

17:33: Ellis makes a nice move and finish along the baseline.

17:10: EJ leaves the game with blood from the mouth and maybe a lost tooth. An NAU player leaves the court bleeding from the fore arm. Not too sure what happened, but I’ve got visions of Fletch driving the lane.

15:51: Inside out passing leads to 3 for Armon. Very nice.

15:50: Armon’s playing on the ball with this hands behind his back. Apparently Sampson’s got him doing a live game nose-on-ball drill. I haven’t noticed it, but maybe he’s been a little too grabby, like an unsupervised gentleman caller. Roman hands and Russian fingers.

14:03: Well this is just getting silly. Turnovers and fast break points abound for IU.

13:29: It’s a little early in the season to revoke my multi-year criticism, but it looks like DJ has learned how to pass out of the double team.

12:45: Jordan Crawford is 6-6 from 3 point. That’s fantastic. An impossible standard to be held to, but what a tremendous start.

12:04: Getting greedy. Good outlet but no numbers and Armon takes an ill advised 3.

11:33: More inside out. This time Brandon McGee is the beneficiary of the outlet from DJ.

11:01: Nice cut by EJ and nice pass fro DJ.

10:21 Ellis adds a 3. Not sure I expected this team to be such a good outside shooting tem, but so far they look really good.

9:59: EJ hits the ground for a loose ball. Very good to see.

9:29: Fantatic pass from EJ down low to McGee. McGee to the line because of it. Great unselfish play.

9:22: Dre, 298 lbs. Tries for a steal 30 feet out. Surprisingly quick.

7:53: Eli has two blocks in the last two possessions. He is LOOOOOOOONG.

7:22: FLOP! Dre gets called for the charge as he backs in on the post. Too big for his own good there. Well sold by NAU.

7:22 THE BIG FLAGS!!!!!!

6:50: Fantastic rebound and outlet from Armon. EJ big dunk.

Now the “Er-IC-Gor-Don” cheer. First of the season. I hate this cheer. Can we all agree not to use this same cheer for every player that does anything good

5:27: Armon is doing well pushing the break dn making passes. Crawford makes a great finish. He’s got 24  in his first game. I’ll take that every night.

4:40: This team really does run well. Full on fast break ball never hit the ground. A failed oop, but with a foul.

3:52: Blocked shot by Eli leads to fast break points for Armon. BTW, the score is 113-69.

1:45: There’s not a lot to criticize in this game. I’m sure patterns will emerge. Things that need to be worked on. Transition defense being the only one that jumps out at me after this game, but the new players all look like they can contribute. Some of them in really big ways. And the improvement in DJ and Armon so far has been impressive.

36.4: It will be nice to have something to focus on other than the phone calls. Now that there’s a game to talk about, that crap should take a back seat to the play of this team.

Final Score: 121-76.

I was just reading this post on Terry Hutchens blog. he works for the Indianapolis Star and has been covering IU sports for 10 years now, as stated on his blog.

To summarize the post. He went on a radio show and tried to use the Packer Method. He got skewered for stating a statistic and not being able to back it up. I was so proud of him for trying to live up to the standards that Billy Packer has set for us all.

Then, in what I can only describe as an act of ass covering cowardice. He went and found the source for this information.

Shame on you Hutch. Shame on you for being so close to the greatness that is making shit up to back up your position, and then falling back on credible sources.

In the distance a child cried.

My intention was to watch the video on the BTN website and comment on it, which I still hope to do in the near future, but Sunday morning greeted all of us with the emotionally derailing news of the rules violations and self-imposed sanctions. Since then I’ve been trying to figure out a.) what actually happened, b.) how serious of an infraction this is, and c.) how I should feel about this. So, here’s what I have put together in the past few days. Taking these parts in order. Also, here’s an article that explains in a happy little side bar, the nuts and bolts of the thing

A.) While he was still on NCAA recruiting sanctions from making nearly 40,000,000 illegal phone calls to recruits, Kelvin Sampson was involved in 10 3-way phone conversations with recruits, which he was forbidden to do under his punishment.

Also, his assistant coaches made 35 impermissible calls, in which Sampson played no direct role. I don’t exactly know what made them wrong. I think they were just over the number you are allowed to make.

B.) It seems that these infractions are pretty small potatoes. By way of comparison, paying recruits, buying them cars, fixing games. Those are like murder. Capitol offenses that carry with them severe penalties. Extra phone calls are like speeding tickets, maybe like excessive speeding style reckless driving. 20 miles over that kind of thing. Something that is relatively common, that most people do on occasion, but that can cause some serious problems.

What makes these infractions much more serious, is that they’ve got a name for people like Kelvin Sampson. That name is recidivism. REPEAT OFFENDER!

That means one of three things. Neither good. Either Kelvin Sampson thinks this still isn’t a big deal and is like Rudiger and does what he feels like. He’s kind of dumb, and doesn’t get what got him into trouble in the first place. Or, and I think this is more realistic, this was a mistake. I bad, one as it makes the other two options look plausible, but a mistake, none the less.

A bad one, too, as it increases the severity of the penalties to be imposed.

C.) Indiana has already imposed it’s own sanctions on the program, which in light of the severity of infraction (again, small compounded by repeat) seem strong. But, they need to be strong to show the NCAA that the university takes these things seriously.

So, here’s how I’ve decided to feel about all of this. I’m sad and disappointed that we aren’t doing things the right way. Something all IU fans have always felt great pride in.

I’m also choosing to look at this as a mistake, and not something to launch the doomsday device over. It’s also strike 2. If it was a major offense, that would be it. Pull the plug at the end of the season. But, if this type of thing happens again, all the good will is gone and it’s time to move on. As for now though, don’t jump off of any high objects.

I don’t want to see that happen as I’m excited about this team and the future for the first time in years, but the IU community simply can’t sit by and accept success at the price of our integrity.

Tonight is the start of college basketball season, and for the first time in a long time, Indiana has legitimate Final Four hopes. Of course I don’t count our trip to the 2002 championship game. For two reasons, 1.) No one thought, at the beginning, or the middle of that year, that we were heading to the Final Four. And 2.) I’ve watched that Duke game at least four times and I still have no idea how we won that game. So, can’t say when the season tipped off that I was doing any more than my usual, rosy glasses hope that we’d be cutting the nets down.

This year, I feel an excitement I haven’t felt in a long time, maybe 1993.

I’m watching Big Ten Tonight on the Big Ten Network right now, our source for not only Hoosier Hysteria, but also, for the first time in years, both of IU’s exhibition games. I can’t even begin to express how glad I am that these games are back on TV. As much as I LOOOOOVE listening to Don Fischer (across the timeline) call an IU game, I can’t get a gauge on how well the team is playing, how well they do the little things, by just listening to it, and growing up we got to see ALLL the games, no exceptions, and if one wasn’t on TV for some strange reason it was cause for surprise and truly justified anger.

First glimpse of the Hoosiers, a bumper on the way to commercial after 10 minutes of talking football. Women’s three point shooting!!!!!!

The coverage of the first practices is being split between 5 different schools. Michigan State, Illinois, Wisconsin (and this one is strange and frightening to me. 6’10"  white guys dancing to  "What is Love." and black guys in cowboy hats dancing to "Achy Breaky Heart."  I was about to call shenanigans on the whole thing until one of them came out to Deringer’s "Real American" and did a Hogan style pose down. The Bo Ryan danced to some song called either called soldier boy or by a guy named soldier boy. Hard to tell. Bo Ryan is AWESOME!!! Kelvin Sampson should dance more. Minnesota joins Indiana as the other teams. It also looks like I’m gonna have to hit the internets to see the extended clips of Hoosier Hysteria.

At this point, 26 minutes in, it looks like all we’re gonna get of IU is bumps into commercial. So far, I gotta say this coverage is leaving A LOT to be desired.

OK, got to see AJ and DJ introduced to the crowd. They danced. Then fade to commercial. After my trip to Bloomington this weekend and catching these two announcements, it seems clear that Chuck Crabb is no longer announcing home games. This is sad to me. I’m sure it was his choice to step down and not do this anymore, so good for him, but for those of us who grew up with that voice. I don’t know. It seems like something’s missing.

Cut to Kelvin Sampson’s crowd address. He announces that Eli Holman has cleared NCAA Clearinghouse. GREAT NEWS!!! And also that DeAndre Thomas has dropped 50 pounds. He’s down under 300 pounds. That’s fantastic IU has kids that are willing to work hard and get things done.

He’s been talking for under 3 minutes and the crowd has busted into Er-IC GOR-DON, and E-Li HOL-MAN chants. I’m calling for an end to this cheer. I don’t know what the fans are going to do if we get a big time fan favorite whose name can’t be broken down in to four syllables like that. Just shut up with that cheer already. Plus, I bet it make A.J. Moye feels a little cheap when you use his cheer for other people.

Sampson gives props to the football team. God it’s fun to have a football team getting it done. He reaches a little with the BCS mention. The cheers for that are scattered as I’m sure most IU fans feel like I do. I expect us to make a bowl, and continue to do well this season, but I’ve been watching IU Football for going on 20 years now, and for the past 14 of them the wheels have either fallen off or never been attached to begin with. So, I’ll continue to cheer with the fear that the whole damn thing is gonna come crashing down around our ears any second.

Finally get to see some scrimmage. Another fucking four syllacheer. For a recruit this time.

Now I’m watching Tubby Smith Dance. I’m rethinking my desire to have Kelvin Sampson dance. Did a memo go out from the BTN requesting that middle age men dance this year to really put this thing over, three count in the middle of the ring, no foot on the ropes, no chairs style?

OK, Eric Gordon just pulled up and drilled a 3, then Lance hits one. Those are two very good things. I can’t wait to see Gordon in action. This could be a lot of fun.

Illinois has replaced a dancing Indian mascot with some tribal African dancing. I have no context for this what so ever. Other than it looks a little like the way Vanessa danced during the opening credits for season, I don’t know, the first one with Olivia, of the Cosby show. With no understanding of the reasoning  behind this dancing, I’ll just say I don’t get it.

This coverage is giving me a headache. They’re bouncing around from one school to another. It’s really hard to follow.

The MSU team was clearly forbidden to wear shirts. Again, I don’t know. It’s all about 300 I guess, but Izzo is dressed like Caesar.

To quote Walter Sobchak, HAS THE WHOLE WORLD GONE CRAZY?!!!!!

That’s it for the BTN coverage of this. I’ll get back with you when I see the extended stuff. If you didn’t see this and are just reading it. Trust me when I say the way I wrote this is no more disjointed than how it looked on my televisions.

More Later.