Rex Hudler

Theo Pinson to announce Wednesday. Apparently, IU has a pretty good chance

Thought some might find this article interesting. Discuss Party Earth: Top Five Sports Bars in Chicago Abbreviated version 1. Cubby Bear 2. Sluggers 3. Cork & Kerry 4. Houndstooth Saloon 5. Joe's Bar

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Apr 25, 2013 -> 11:09 AM) Any chance they'll be able to surprise people and fill that with another solid recruit? I'm guessing no. Anything is possible, but my guess is he banks it for 2014.

IU now one under the scholarship limit. Guess all the worrying was for nothing.

Not sure what's going on with Abell. Said he wants more playing time, but that is an opportunity he should have next year at IU. Apparently, his family wants him to stay and his mother drove to IU this past weekend to meet with Coach Crean personally. IU has left the door open for him, at least for now. Yesterday, his former HS coach was quoted as saying that Abell reconsidered, but has chosen to move on for sure. Nothing from Abell directly though. His HS coach mentioned that he lost confidence during the middle of this season (it showed on the floor) and was affected by Zeller leaving to go to the NBA (guess they are close friends). Also said he is getting conflicting information and some people are telling him to leave and others to stay. My guess is his confidence isn't still where it should be and he's worried about incoming frosh playing ahead of him. That's definitely possible, but sometimes in life you gotta be willing to compete. Maybe he thought since being a junior and being a key player was not guaranteed, he needed a change of scenery? Regardless, best of luck to him. Seems to be a good kid. He is still able to use IU's facilities to work out, get academic support and whatever help he needs finding a new school. Kind of reminds me of Nick Williams, a kid from Mobile who transferred out of IU after Crean's first year wanting more PT. Key was, he started 25 games and averaged around 27/mpg. He ended up at Ole Miss and played 31/mpg and 25/mpg his Jr and Sr years respectively.

For those of you tuned into IU's scholarship situation, G Remy Abell will transfer. No major surprise. Abell started the year strong, was very average (I think I'm being generous) during Big Ten play and then finished with a couple of decent games toward the end. Averaged 12.5 min/game.

QUOTE (IlliniKrush @ Apr 9, 2013 -> 10:26 PM) Crean's ability to coach? I could live with that. I wouldn't add much to that discussion. I try not to act like I know more than coaches who have tons of experience based on knowing what happened after the fact. Coaching is hard and decisions have to be made on the fly with many other things going on. Sometimes they are wrong and things work out. Sometimes they make the right decision and it doesn't work out. I'd never claim that Coach Crean is the best strategist on the bench. But I'm comfortable that he's a damned good coach and knows a hell of a lot more than I do.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Apr 5, 2013 -> 10:45 AM) As state earlier, who is out if Zeller stays? Outside of that you have unproven guys who havent shown anything at the college level. Its good to be optimistic but those exact same things were said about these guys before this season and they didnt do jack s***. Why is this such an issue for you? I've laid this out before and I'll do it again. Last year the agreed upon plan if Patterson made grades is that the Zeller's would pay Cody's way and he would come off scholarship. That could again this year, but probably won't. Creek will graduate and is not contributing much. He is one option to free space (and that is done all the time, especially in football so I'm not sure why it would be a big deal here). Jurkin has an injury that may be chronic. He's missed more basketball than he's played in the last 3 years. If his situation doesn't improve, he could leave/medical leave/or whatever. Austin Etherington completely blew out his knee for what is my understanding is the 2nd time. He may never be able to play again. Oladipo is already gone. Others may transfer out, especially if they think the new kids coming in will take minutes. Right now, IU's scholarship situation is not nearly as dire as someone that is uninformed may think. There are several ways they can get to the number. Conversely, last year, every one was scratching their heads trying to figure out how they would fit Patterson in, except those inside the program which had a plan in place. I'm much less worried about this year than I was coming into this year. And before you act like it only happens at IU, the same thing happened at Louisville last year. Kyle Kuric paid his own way to make room for someone else and he was a major contributor to that team. Find another subject please!

Nice win by Michigan, saving some face for the Big Ten.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Mar 29, 2013 -> 12:32 PM) Van Pelt and Russillo, two of the brighter guys on sports radio, were discussing UCLA with Andy Katz and how these "mid-tier" jobs are really not viewed by many coaches as a lesser job than the first tier jobs...they might make 30% less or so, but they are able to win their league most years, they are comfortable with whom they work, they don't have the huge spotlight on them, and so generally they have a very high quality of life. Who needs all that pressure and scrutiny, and are those jobs really better? On the radio this week from one of the ex-coaches that is on XM radio ch. 91, talked to Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall. He asked him about his interest (this was not an on air interview) in UCLA or other jobs. His response was something to the effect of: "Why would I want to leave here? I live in Wichita, KS and make seven figures. I have the best job in my league, support of the administration and we charter everywhere we go. I have use of a charter plane to take my family on vacation if I want. I have every opportunity to win here." Granted some may argue Wichita is not heaven, but I think he was referring to the amount of money he makes vs. the cost of living. We'll see how well the league does without Creighton and whether he'll feel as good 3-4 years from now. But he has a good point and I think it is a very good example of what you were referring to.

I don't feel quite so bad after yesterday's dismantling of Marquette. Indiana was just terrible against Syracuse, but give credit to the Orangemen. They were aggressive with their zone and we turned the ball over and missed shots early, which made the play even more tentatively. I blame the players performance much more so than the coaching. They couldn't get the ball into the middle without turning it over and when they did get it in there, Zeller tried to force drives rather than take the 12-15' jumper which he can hit. Part of it is Syracuse's length and height and our two short guards, both 6' at best, while their guards were 6'4 and 6'6. I really thought Watford would need to have big game, thinking at 6'9 he could shoot over the zone. But when you turn it over on almost 30% of your possessions and don't make shots (including FT's) that you've made all year, there isn't much chance to win. Very disappointing end. I was worried about Syracuse being in our bracket well before selection day and will be curious to see who beats them and how they handle the zone. Good season and a Big Ten Championship, but a very disappointing ending. It just felt like they were disjointed in the last 3rd of the season. They grinded out some nice wins, but it felt like they lost their ability to run and push the pace. Zeller's footwork got worse and he turned the ball over more. As we ran less I think he felt like he had to do more or even take over games. Zeller, aside from a few instances, also became too reliant on driving and drawing fouls rather than using his mid-range game, feet and skills to get shots. Against better, stronger and longer players he just can't power through. Lastly, my gut is Zeller comes back. I think there is a matter of unfinished business and improving his game that will bring him back. I'm not an NBA guy, but to me Zeller is more of a face up 4 who runs the floor and has a dangerous game from 15-20'. He's not a great rebounder or defender. He's good at both in college, but not great and it only gets harder at the next level. Oladipo on the other hand, will graduate in May and has no business playing another college game.

QUOTE (Brian @ Mar 28, 2013 -> 04:37 AM) Not that easy when you are dating a big time Catholic. I was shocked she didn't care if I go to church or not. If Twilight is the punishment, I may try and pull some of my moves out of the bag to get out of it. Umm.... haven't you ever heard of Catholic school girls? I went thru 12 years of Catholic school and am struggling with your reasoning. lol

In Wichita State's defense, they did deal with several injuries during the season. Evansville beat them twice. Baker never played against them and Carl Hall missed one of the two games. They only had 5 players play in all 38 games. They have 12 players who average at least 8 minutes/game. Ron Baker missed 21 games 2nd leading scorer and leading rebounder Carl Hall missed 7 Starter Evan Wessel was lost for the season in late Dec Others have missed fewer games or played hurt at times. I still think they get pummeled by Louisville but I give them credit. I never thought they would beat OSU and was pretty surprised they handled Gonzaga.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 27, 2013 -> 09:00 PM) Uh, porn? That's what I'm talkin' about!! See previous post. I like the way you think!

QUOTE (zenryan @ Mar 27, 2013 -> 06:37 PM) maybe the out of bounds call really wasnt that bad of one... pic I don't think the pic concludes anything, though I did have some doubt when I saw the replay. I initially thought it was a terrible call and after the replay thought it probably was, but wasn't sure. It was less obvious to me after watching it a 2nd time, which of course, the referee doesn't get to do.

QUOTE (Brian @ Mar 27, 2013 -> 07:10 PM) Wish the game was tomorrow Gf is Kansas fan so we bet that if Kansas wins, I have to watch a Twilight movie, if Michigan wins, she has to watch any movie I want. She hates horror movies so probably going with that. God help me. sexual favors would have been much more interesting!

I think UF handles FGCU. Told my gf who is a Gator they would win by 14 or more. FGCU has to come back to earth at some point. If they beat Florida, I don't see any way they beat Michigan and probably not Kansas. I like Michigan in the Kansas game IF they can get production out of the middle. McGary has played well, but if Kansas is smart, they'll go right at him with Withey. Right now, they have no confidence in Jordan Morgan and Horford is limited. If McGary picks up some quick fouls, I don't think Horford can give them big minutes. Morgan will have to wake up and step up big or Kansas will eat them alive. I said early in the season I thought Morgan was the key to a deep run for them. If he can step in and make a big contribution, I'll be right and Michigan will win. If he stays 3rd string, my prediction falls flat on its face and their hopes rely too much on McGary. They have to get rebounds, some points and interior defense from that position.

QUOTE (zenryan @ Mar 26, 2013 -> 04:24 PM) Reggie Johnson doesnt travel with team to DC. Other than eating up some minutes, nothing will be missed. I cant believe how much him breaking his thumb has derailed his season. He went from 12.5/10reb a game to 4.5ppg in the 19 games since his return. Knee surgery might explain that. Obviously there was more wrong than just a bum thumb.

QUOTE (farmteam @ Mar 26, 2013 -> 03:01 PM) I checked that one, but could only figure out how to look at individual previous seasons, not the entire history. Are you looking for specific information? Here is Indiana's from iuhoosiers.com. It's labeled their Record Book, but it looks like a media guide to me. It's 276 pages. IU Basketball Record Book On a separate note, Colt Ryan needed 8 points tonight to become Evansville's All-time leading scorer. He dropped 39 at Canisius in an 84-83 win. Didn't leave much room for doubt!

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Mar 26, 2013 -> 10:37 AM) Hire someone from the Matta tree, its been fairly successful so far. Chris Jent or Jeff Boals are about ready. Who's tree does Chris Mack fall under?

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Mar 25, 2013 -> 11:45 AM) I think the NCAA tournament is eventually going to expand to 96 teams, and this is my idea for how to do it: Selection: 2 automatic bids from each conference in the form of the regular season and tournament champions (if one team wins both, 2nd place in reg season gets 2nd bid). This leaves 32 at-large selections (potentially dropping to 30 if the Great West ever attains AQ status) Seeding: There will be 24 sites for the 1st-2nd rounds. Top 24 teams are #1 seeds. Next 24 are #2 seeds. Next 24 are #3 seeds. Last 24 are #4 seeds. Seeds are placed at sites in order to minimize travel, with the exceptions that two teams from the same conference cannot go to the same site, and teams other than #1 seeds are not allowed to play where they are the host. There is no pre-determined bracket matching up the winners at the 24 sites. 1st-2nd round games at the sites are played Wednesday-Saturday, Thursday-Saturday, or Friday-Sunday. Sunday night the 24 surviving teams are seeded into four 6-team regionals based on their ranking at the time of their original seeding. Top two seeds in each region get byes in the 3rd round. Again the primary objective is to minimize travel but no regional will have two teams from the same conference unless a conference has more than four teams remaining, and no team may play at a site where they are the host. Two regionals are played Wednesday-Friday-Sunday and the other two are played Thursday-Saturday-Monday. Final Four would remain the same as it is now. No thanks, I'll take it as it is. The "movement" to go to 96 has been shut down immediately when brought up. It was hard enough to find quality teams this year for a 68 team field.

FGCU - UF should be an interesting game. Wondering if the Eagles will come back to earth?

Not sure about hanging a banner. Evansville plays at Canisius Tuesday night. Because of weather concerns, they boarded a bus today and headed from Evansville to Buffalo. That's 10 hours under normal driving conditions. Yikes! Also, Colt Ryan is 8 points from becoming Evansville's all-time leading scorer.

QUOTE (farmteam @ Mar 24, 2013 -> 06:55 PM) Let's gooo FGCU! Apparently Ft. Myers is renowned for its drugs. The two people I knew who lived there say they didn't know what "doing drugs" really meant until moving there. Don't even wanna know. I thought it was known for retirees from up north. Oh wait, that's Sarasota, right next to Ft. Myers.

QUOTE (farmteam @ Mar 24, 2013 -> 06:52 PM) Take advantage, Illini fans! One of the few days I'm pulling for the boys in orange. Ditto!