basketball preview issue 2009

Basketball PreviewISM Presents

2009

Summit League Sneak Peek

See where the teams line up

IUPUI Jaguars

IUPUI forward Robert Glenn‘It’s going to be a real good season.’

Student Media. Redefined.

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0311.09.2009

StaffManaging EditorMatthew Stewart

Photo EditorDenis Jiménez

Design EditorTyler Chance

Copy EditorsJake Thompson, Kate Prestine, Alyssa Frankus, Patrick Burgess, Sean Windle, Matthew Stewart, Tracey Rector, Shannon Feyen

WritersJake Thompson, Kate Prestine, Jason Savage, Melissa Brummett, Justin Cross, Emily Diekelmann, Andrea Napier, John Hunt, Aaron Reynolds, Justin Whitaker, Alyssa Frankus

DesignersBrandon Allen, Lindsey Armstrong, Vivien Bray, Rebecca Courtot, Catherine DiCioccio, Jessica Feeney, Shannon Feyen, Patrick Hone, Denis Jiménez, Joshua Lauritsen, Jacob Mason, Laura Mauser, Lindsey O’Connor, Kate Prestine, Ryan Smith, Rose Soliven, LaTasha Strahan, Hiba Suleman, Andrea Szempruch, Jake Thompson, Carol Loggins, Matt Litlen

This product was written by student journalists enrolled in classes in conjunction with the National Sports Journalism Center at the IU School of Journalism.http://www.sportsjournalism.org

This issue is a product of the IUPUI Student Media (ISM), the student media organization at the School of Journalism at Indiana University/Purdue Univeristy Indianapolis. Print and online editions are auxiliary enterprises of the School of Journalism, 535 West Michigan Street IT557 Indianapolis, IN 46202. ISM is a student-run publishing enterprise for IUPUI students. These publications are designated public forums. The student editors have authority to make all content decisions without censorship or approval. Because of high production costs, members of the IUPUI community are permitted one copy per issue. Where available, ad-ditional copies may be purchased by contacting the ISM publishing office at 278-5332. Newspaper theft is a crime. Those who violate the single-copy rule may be subject to civil and criminal prosecution and/or university discipline.

ISMwww.iupuistudentmedia.comPublisher: Maggie Balough

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Table of ContentsProfiles

Billy Reed’s Top 1004

Summit League Previews14

The Rookies05

IU Team Stats / Rosters16Purdue Team Stats / Rosters20

IUPUI Men’s Schedule08IUPUI Women’s Schedule11

06070910

Robert Glenn

Ron Hunter

Julia Whitted

Shann Hart

IUPUI Forward

IUPUI Men’s Coach

IUPUI Center

IUPUI Women’s Coach

Sports professor makes top picks by Justin WhitakerIUPUI Student Media

As the college basketball season quickly approaches, many types of polls and predictions are out as a precursor to the madness coming in March.

A new season brings fresh teams, fresh story lines and new freshman. Af-ter North Carolina’s net-cutting last year, the championship is anyone’s now.

To preview this year’s men’s bas-ketball teams, the Indiana University National Sports Journalism Center’s newest professor, Billy Reed has given his insight.

Reed has a vast amount of knowl-edge and experience in the field of sports journalism. He started work-ing for Sports Illustrated in 1968 and worked there full-time for 29 years. He has only missed the Kentucky Derby twice since 1966 and the first men’s Fi-nal Four Reed covered was in 1967.

The native Kentuckian has worked as a columnist, magazine writer and radio talk-show host among others dur-ing his time in the sports journalism world.

Reed is a member of the U.S. Basket-ball Writers Hall of Fame, the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame, the Kentucky

Journalism Hall of Fame and the Tran-sylvania University Hall of Fame.

Some of Reed’s favorite interviews have been with Muhammad Ali, Pete Rose, Al McGuire and Joe Paterno.

Reed also contributed to ESPN’s re-cently released ESPN College Basket-ball Encyclopedia: The Complete His-tory of the Men’s Game. Reed wrote a story titled, “The Teachers,” about the some of the great coaches of men’s bas-ketball history.

Below are Reed’s Top 10 basketball teams and few story lines to watch as the season approaches.

John AshworthGuardJunior

Jon AveryForwardSenior

04 ISM Special Report: Basketball Preview 2009

You may have started to notice it. IUPUI is getting more national attention. Every year, the student body expands. This year, campus seems more crowded than ever.

Our university is growing. Fast. Growth on campus means more than not being able to find a parking spot.

The university’s athletic programs will grow. For IUPUI basketball, that means playing bigger, tougher, meaner teams. Both the men’s and women’s programs know that - both squads are stretching beyond the Summit League.

IUPUI’s women’s team will find itself at Ohio State, Indiana and Louisville this season. Coach Shann Hart continues to elevate her program and team, even in what looks to be a rebuilding year.

I say that because Jernisha Cann’s graduation left a big hole in the roster. But, that’ll happen when it seems like a player had more double-doubles and triple-doubles than there were games in the season. Cann’s hoops ability was so good it was nearing absurdity.

Regardless, the women have a deeper bench this season. Hart has brought on six freshmen to play. Expect seniors like Julia Whitted to step up and lead the young team.

Scheduled to play Kansas State, Notre Dame, Memphis and Duquesne this season, the men want to prove they are ready to take the next step (they are eye-balling March). In the past, the Jaguars have taken down big name opponents.

Last season, they stunned Seton Hall in a 67-65 win. They also lost by a point in overtime to nationally ranked Arizona State in Phoenix - but let’s not bring that one up.

Coach Ron Hunter has a tall order this season, but he is always challenging his team and earning results. With guys like Robert Glenn leading the way, it’s hard not to believe that the Jaguars can rise to meet Hunter’s expectations.

The truth of it all is this: every big school needs a big athletic program. IUPUI is getting more national attention, and the school’s basketball teams are follow-ing suit. Coach Hart and coach Hunter are both looking beyond what they’ve already accomplished.

They’re looking to go national. IUPUI Student Media will be there, every step of the way.

Sincerely,

Matthew Stewart Managing Sports Editor

IUPUI Student Media

Letter From the Editor

Reed’s Top 10

1. Purdue2. Kentucky3. Kansas4. Pittsburgh5. Notre Dame6. Duke7. Minnesota8. Villanova9. Memphis10. Louisville

How close is Indiana University to being back?Tom Crean took over a program in turmoil last year, but even with a 6-25 re-cord last year, fans are wondering not if, but when IU returns to national glory. Crean went across the state rallying fans and looking to regain the passion and support lost from the Kelvin Sampson era.

Will John Calipari restore Kentucky basketball?The state of Kentucky is looking to Calipari as the savior of UK basketball and his strong recruiting class and track record give Wildcats fans all the reason to hope for a national title. According to Rivals.com, Kentucky has the No. 1 recruiting class in the country.

Jon AveryForwardSenior

Nick DeSchepperGuardJunior

Sean EspositoGuardFreshman

0511.09.2009

The IUPUI men’s basketball team will try and improve on the 16-14 re-cord of last year, with an even 9-9 re-cord in Summit League Conference play. Made mostly of returning players Billy Pettiford, Jon Avery and the lat-est Summit League Newcomer of the Year award winner Robert Glenn, the Jaguars will be quick and athletic on the court. IUPUI will also rely on the youthful, competitive hunger of three freshmen: Greg Rice, David Maza-nowski and Sean Esposito.

Sean Esposito is a 6-foot-3-inch red-shirt freshman out of Cathedral High School. Averaging nearly 20 points a game in high school, Esposito will add quality scoring potential in the Jags back-court. His speed and athleticism will be great value for IUPUI in the future.

At nearly 6 feet 4 inches tall, fresh-men Guard, David Mazanowski brings great leadership and desire. Earning the Larry Bird Character Award as a senior at Guerin Catholic High School, the Jags added a quality player and teammate.

As team captain his senior year of the Guerin Golden Eagles squad and a three year starter, Mazanowski aver-aged seven points a game and showed good shot selection shooting 50 percent from the field. Mazanowski’s impact will mostly be felt on the defensive side

of the ball. With his hustle and arm length, he will have obvious advan-tages over opposing guards.

Former Ben Davis standout Greg Rice will prove as a good pick-up for IUPUI Coach Ron Hunter’s Jag-uar team. At 5 feet 11 inches, this 175-pound freshman guard will be in a hard fought battle for a starting spot.

“Greg is probably two or three years away from being a complete ball player,” Curtis Wright, Rice’s high school coach, said. “But with his work ethic and determination, he should be a major contributor for Coach Hunter.”

Rice was not only an outstanding basketball player; he made plenty of noise on the gridiron. As a quarterback, Rice impressed by throwing for a .722 completion percentage and averaging 93.4 passing yards a game.

Hunter should have much to look forward to from his newcomers, as they play under arguably the most fa-mous face of men’s athletics at IUPUI.

With a majority of the Jaguars being returning players and now acquiring three outstanding freshmen players, one of which is redshirted, the IUPUI men’s basketball team could be a sur-prise in the 2009-10 season. With the talent of the freshmen trio, their impact could be felt immediately; or certainly will be a bright spot in the future.

Not to be outdone, the IUPUI women’s basketball team will make room for six newcomers. The Jaguars will be forced to try and replace the loss of Jernisha Cann, who finished her college career by compiling over 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds - the first time in school history.

Head coach Shann Hart has her hands full with such a big loss in numbers and a high turnover of play-ers. What coaches and fans are hop-ing is the talent of these freshmen to ease the transition.

One of the talented freshmen is Mariah Fleming. Arriving from Mt. Vernon Township High School, in Mt. Vernon, Ill., she will be playing guard and forward. Coming in the last regu-lar season high school game, Fleming ended her career by breaking the all-time scoring record of 1,812 points.

Mount Vernon head coach Sara Rennie praised Fleming on her choice to play basketball at IUPUI.

“I support her 100 percent, she had a lot of quality schools looking at her,” Rennie said.

Fleming is sure to bring tremendous scoring ability with her to the Jaguars.

Fleming’s explosive scoring will open up the post for 6-foot-1-inch, Alyse Poin-dexter. Out of Henderson, Ky., Poindexter was coined the “best post in the state” by

the Courier-Journal in Louisville. This 2009 AAU Blast’s Player of the Year is physical, hard working and will create second shot opportunities with her rebounding.

Another Jag with much upside is Alexis Taylor out of Stockbridge High School. A third team All-Region player, Taylor is quick and a certain scoring threat. At 5-feet-10-inches, she can play multiple positions but is best used as a power forward or center.

Ebony Davis, out of St. Louis, Mo., will bring good size and strength to the power forward spot and Brian-nica Tye, at 5-foot-2-inches, will be a small guard with elusive quickness and scoring capabilities. To help im-prove the Jaguars down low, 6-foot-1-inch, Clara Mitchell brings great play in the paint.

Kerah Nelson joined the squad from St. Petersburg, Fla. at the begin-ning of the 2008-09 spring semester and sat out the end of last season. Nelson will contribute as a 5-foot-10 inch forward.

To continue growing the IUPUI basketball program, Hart is count-ing on this incoming class of talented players and students. With practice and game time experience, the newly minted collegiate athletes will bring a big bite to the Jaguars.

Men’s freshmen show promise for upcoming season Women’s team takes on six freshmen

The Rookies

(L to R) Sean Esposito Greg Rice David Mazanowski Kerah Nelson Alyse Pointdexter Alexis Taylor Mariah Fleming Ebony Davis Briannica Tye Clara Mitchell

by Justin CrossIUPUI Student Media

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Glenn inspired by familyby Jason SavageIUPUI Student Media

When IUPUI opens in The Jungle Nov. 7 against St. Joseph’s, look for senior forward, Rob-ert Glenn, to start the Jaguars’ season off in a big way.

“He’s freakishly athletic, he kind of reminds me of Shawn Marian,” IUPUI assistant coach Austin Parkinson said. “If we were on ESPN he would be on Sports Center’s top 10, three or four times a week. From an athletic standpoint he’s phenomenal. From the basketball standpoint he’s really just kind of figuring things out. So he has a lot of potential.”

Last year, in his first season with the Jaguars, Glenn led the team in eight statistical categories, including points scored, blocked shots, offen-sive rebounds, free throws made and points-per-game. This year he plans to drastically improve those stats, and his team’s standing in the Summit League.

“It’s going to be a real good season,” Glenn said. “I think we (are) going to make it far. I got high expecta-tions for myself. I’m going to try and get 20 and 10 a game. That’s my goal, really, a dou-ble-double a game.”

Those still unfamil-iar with the transfer from Wabash Valley Junior College should not have trouble finding him. Around campus, the 6-foot-7-inch giant has been spotted riding his black and gray 150-stroke Strata scooter, wearing his black, grey, and white striped helmet.

“It’s funny seeing Rob ride around on a mo-ped,” Parkinson said. “He first got up here and he’s coming to class and he’s riding around on a moped. A 6-7 guy driving a moped, with his hel-met and everything -- it was definitely a sight to see. “

The day of the game, minutes before tip off, Glenn, who is number 23, can be found sitting at the center court talking with himself.

“I sit at half-court and chill there withmyself and think,” said Glenn. “Have a good game, have a good game, play hard. Then I ask my cousin, who got killed, to give me the strength to play and help my family make it.”

When Glenn was only 14-years-old, he watched as his cousin was gunned down in front of his aunt’s house. Glenn still keeps the memory of his cousin, “Jug”, close to him, and calls on him when times get hard.

“All of us kids were on the swings, playing,” Glenn said. “All of my older cousins were play-ing basketball in the driveway. Then some guy came up from the side of the house with a gun and killed him.”

Glenn’s pregame ritual should not be confused with superstition. Instead, he took that traumatic experience and uses it as positive affirmation. Simply taking a negative and making it a positive is something Glenn has seemingly mastered in his life.

“He’s got a great smile,” Parkinson said. “He’s easy to get along with. Ev-erybody likes him. He likes to cut up, laugh and have a good time.”

Glenn’s positive attitude is a major asset to him off the court as well. How else could a person balance the challenges of being a stu-dent athlete while raising a family?

“It’s caused him to take on some responsibilities

that most of us at that age don’t deal with,” Par-kinson said. “I think it’s caused him to really look at what the end goal is here; of a scholar, of a degree, of the prospect of playing professionally, and of providing for his family.”

Despite the many challenges facing Glenn on a daily basis, it is rare to find him without a smile.

“I have a lot of fun,” Glenn said. “I’m not an uptight person. I am a joyful, happy joker. I love to have fun. “

Not only has Glenn accepted his role as a fa-ther, he has embraced it head on. He has the most fun when he is with his two young sons; Josiah, 2, and “Little” Robert, 1.

“The best part about being a dad is waking up and seeing them,” Glenn said. “Something people don’t know about me is; I wake up early every morning to watch Sponge Bob Square Pants with my boys before practice.”

Glenn became a father for the first time shortly after meeting his girlfriend of three years, Jessica Pate. According to Glenn, it was love at first sight.

“I seen her out there one day when I went to pick up my brother,” Glenn said. “I already knew her sister so I told her I had to talk to her.”

Since moving to Indianapolis in 2002, Glenn has built a relationship with his father, Charles Porter. He has also learned a lot from his dad about sacrifice and working hard to support a family. However, for the first two-thirds of his life, Glenn grew up without a father figure, or even knowing Porter. Now, Glenn wants to be able to provide his sons with what Porter was not able to provide him when he was young – a dad.

“Never having a dad around in the beginning opened my eyes up,” Glenn said. “That was one of my main reasons to make sure I always be there for my kids. Because I got to be there. I can’t be that person that do(es) the same thing your par-ents did.”

Glenn grew up in Saginaw, Mich., with his mother and eight siblings.

“Saginaw was a rough place,” Glenn said. “It’s real bad. Lots of killings go on up there and rob-beries. I’m glad I’m out of there, ‘cause I don’t know where I (would) be if I wasn’t.”

As the oldest male in his family, Glenn looked out for his younger siblings, something he credits as preparing him for fatherhood at a young age.

“I was scared at first,” Glenn said. “But, me coming from a big family, I knew I could handle it.”

Glenn does not like to think about where he would be if he never left Saginaw. Instead, he finds comfort in his family and looking to their future.

“He’s a good guy to be around,” Parkinson said. “He’s a pretty good dad. He is always got his two little boys with him… and (he) could make a lot of money some day with the way he plays.”

Robert GlennForwardSenior

Nick KitcoffGuard/ForwardSophomore


“Everybody likes him. He likes to cut up, laugh and have a good time. ”

IUPUI assistant coach Austin Parkinson

Nick KitcoffGuard/ForwardSophomore

Hunter’s sole moves Samaritan’s Feetby Jake ThompsonIUPUI Student Media

Ron Hunter works a second job in addition to his primary position as IUPUI’s men’s basketball coach.

Yes, a second job.Hunter is the face of Samaritan’s Feet, a non-profit

organization that provides shoes to about 300 million people around the world who cannot afford them.

“It’s now a full-time job for me, with speaking engagements, raising shoes and trying to get shoes to parts of the world I’ve never even heard of,” Hunter said. “It’s been great for the university as far as publicity.”

Hunter routinely visits underprivileged children in different countries to deliver the fruits of his efforts. Each time a coach goes shoeless on the sideline of a game it raises awareness for the cause, and support for Samaritan’s Feet has spread like wildfire.

“I’m trying to get at least 50 percent of coaches to go barefoot in January,” Hunter said. “(Jim) Harbaugh is going to go barefoot at Stanford and will be the first football coach to do that. He (Craig Robinson, President Barack Obama’s brother-in-law and Oregon State basketball coach) knows about it and he’s actually going to coach barefoot with us this year.”

Hunter’s campaign for more coaches’ involvement has trickled down to the high school level.

“The entire state of New York’s men’s and women’s high school basketball are going to raise their own number of shoes, and I told them to pick a country and I would deliver the shoes there,” Hunter said. “Their goal is to raise one million shoes, and I want to do this with every state, and if we do that, right there is 50 million shoes.”

Hunter cited moments that touched his heart from the inception of this program.

Hunter’s son, R.J., who was 14 at the time, handed the shoes on his feet out the window to a mother in Peru after they ran out of shoes and shoeless people began to shake the bus.

“We just didn’t have enough,” Hunter said. “All you saw was people, children and mothers with babies. I knew then the rest of my life I would try to do this.”

After hearing Hunter speak to an organization,

a handicapped man in a wheelchair asked him to take his shoes and use them. Because they were used they could not be donated, but Hunter keeps them displayed in his garage so that every night when he drives in he spots them and remembers the kind act. Hunter spoke about a little girl in Peru, with no mother or father, living with a nun.

“If I could adopt her, I would,” Hunter said. “I’m holding her and trying to give her a sucker and she had never seen one before.

“So I had to prove to her that the sucker wasn’t bad, so I put it in my mouth. I gave it to her and she would put it back in my mouth. I wish I could go back and get this little girl who got her first pair of shoes.”

Everything involved with Samaritan’s Feet enriches Hunter’s life to some degree, and he passes that on whenever and to whomever he can.

“The last two years I’ve taken my team, the first time to Peru, and this year to Costa Rica,” Hunter said. “It has been great to see my kids react and it has made our team closer. There is

nothing I can give my guys in a classroom, nothing on the court they can do, than to give that service of going to a country, hugging a child and giving them a pair of shoes.”

Being surrounded by Indiana and Purdue, IUPUI suffered from an identity crisis for several years, but that is no more thanks to Hunter.

After reaching the NCAA tournament in 2003, getting ESPN coverage for conference championship berths, multiple games with well-known opponents and now with Samaritan’s Feet, IUPUI’s anonymity is over.

“It was a struggle for me for a long time here,” Hunter said. “Even when you graduate from here you get either an Indiana or Purdue degree, so there is no alumni base. It was difficult to build it because no one took you seriously and it was tough to recruit. But then it changed for us and now when people see us they know who we are now.”

Elevating a relative obscurity in college basketball was no small feat, and while other employment opportunities have presented themselves, Hunter is happy at IUPUI.

“Money does not drive me. My quality of life does. And I live in what I consider the best city

in America,” Hunter said. “I think sometimes as coaches we go to get bigger, or more money and that is not necessarily where we are supposed to be. I am where I am supposed to be.”

Coaching and basketball gave Hunter a platform on which to bring IUPUI’s name into the light. He also found a way to squeeze in another job, one for the betterment of society while providing an example for everyone -- on-campus and off -- to follow.

“At the end of the day, when it is all said and done with, it’s not going to be about how many wins I have or the money I’ve made,” Hunter said. “Hope-fully, it’s going to be about the number of people I’ve helped in their lives.”

Zach Litteral GuardFreshman

David Mazanowski GuardFreshman

If I could adopt her, I would... I wish I could go back and get this little girl who got her first pair of shoes.” - Coach Ron Hunter

0711.09.2009

“

Leroy NoblesGuard/ForwardJunior

Billy PettifordForwardSenior

ScheduleIUPUI Men

Date Opponent Where Time Last Played OutcomeNov. 2 Anderson (exh.)* Conseco Fieldhouse 7 p.m. N/A N/A

Nov. 7 St. Joseph’s (Ind.) (exh.)* The Jungle 2 p.m. N/A N/A

Nov. 14 Drake Des Moines, Iowa 1:05 p.m. N/A N/A

Nov. 18 Eastern Illinois Charleston, Ill. 7 p.m. Nov. 2008 Win, 67-60

Nov. 20 Austin Peay Daytona Beach, Fla. 8:15 p.m. N/A N/A

Nov. 21 Auburn Daytona Beach, Fla. 6 p.m. N/A N/A

Nov. 22 Georgia State Daytona Beach, Fla. 1:15 p.m. N/A N/A

Nov. 25 IU East* The Jungle 7 p.m. Nov. 2008 Win, 92-55

Nov. 28 Kansas State Kansas City, Mo. 3:30 p.m. N/A N/A

Dec. 3 South Dakota State* The Jungle 7 p.m. Feb. 2009 Win, 71-63

Dec. 5 North Dakota State* The Jungle 7 p.m. Feb. 2009 Loss, 69-91

Dec. 9 Notre Dame Terre Haute, Ind. 7:30 p.m. N/A N/A

Dec. 12 IU South Bend* The Jungle 2 p.m. Dec. 2008 Win, 84-59

Dec. 19 Duquesne* The Jungle 7 p.m. N/A N/A

Dec. 23 Indiana State Terre Haute, Ind. 7:05 p.m. Dec. 2008 Win, 62-41

Dec. 28 Memphis Memphis, Tenn. 12 p.m. N/A N/A

Dec. 31 IPFW Fort Wayne, Ind. 1 p.m. Feb. 2009 Win, 57-55

Jan. 2 Oakland Rochester, Mich. 5:30 p.m. Jan. 2009 Loss, 57-55

Jan. 6 Ohio* Conseco Fieldhouse 7 p.m. N/A N/A

Jan. 9 Western Illinois* The Jungle 7 p.m Feb. 2009 Win, 71-66

Jan. 14 Oral Roberts* Conseco Fieldhouse 7 p.m. Feb. 2009 Loss, 60-71

Jan. 16 Centenary* The Jungle 7 p.m. Feb. 2009 Win. 79-67

Jan. 21 Southern Utah Cedar City, Utah 7 p.m. March 2009 Loss, 48-53

Jan. 23 UMKC Kansas City, Mo. 7:05 p.m. Jan. 2009 Win, 60-56

Jan. 28 Oakland* The Jungle 7 p.m. Jan. 2009 Loss, 57-55

Jan. 31 IPFW* Conseco Fieldhouse 2 p.m. Feb. 2009 Win, 57-55

Feb. 6 Western Illinois Macomb, Ill. 7 p.m. Feb. 2009 Win, 71-66

Feb. 11 Centenary Shreveport, La. 7 p.m. Feb. 2009 Win, 79-67

Feb. 13 Oral Roberts Tulsa, Okla. 7:05 p.m. Feb. 2009 Loss, 60-71

Feb. 18 UMKC* The Jungle 7 p.m. Jan. 2009 Win, 60-56

Feb. 20 Southern Utah* The Jungle 7 p.m. March 2009 Loss, 48-53

Feb. 25 North Dakota State Fargo, N.D. 7 p.m. Feb. 2009 Loss, 69-91

Feb. 27 South Dakota State Brookings, S.D. 7:30 p.m. Feb. 2009 Win, 71-63

March 6-7 Summit Quarterfinals Sioux Falls, S.D. TBA N/A N/A

March 8 Summit Semifinals Sioux Falls, S.D. TBA N/A N/A

March 9 Summit Championship Sioux Falls, S.D. TBA N/A N/A


2008-09 Record: 16-14Home/Away/Neutral: 8-5/7-6/1-3Conference Record/Finish: 9-9/4Starters Returning/Lost: 9/5Newcomers: 6

Billy PettifordForwardSenior

0911.09.2009

‘Big Jules’ grows for Jaguars

Greg RiceGuardFreshman

Christian SiakamForward Sophomore

by Andrea NapierIUPUI Student Media

When people ask Julia Whitted, “How did you get so tall?” she replies, “I ate Miracle Grow as a kid.” The good-na-tured and kindhearted 6-feet-4-inch senior center, nick-named “Big Jules” by her teammates, starts for the IUPUI Jaguars 2009-10 Women’s basketball season on Nov. 2 against Kentucky State.

A successful career in basketball started for Whitted in third grade when her parents enrolled her in a co-ed basketball team at the local YMCA.

“I was a normal kid and I wasn’t interested in sports, but I started growing and my parents put me in basketball,” Whitted said.

She began playing basketball for her middle school in the seventh grade and during the offseason she played with the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU). She credits the AAU for numerous recruitments from several prestigious colleges.

Staying close to home in Staunton, Ind., meant a lot to Whitted and ultimately she chose IUPUI for that reason.

“I have a binder full of letters from schools all over,” Whitted said.She received offers from two Ivy League schools, Brown University and

Harvard University, but turned them down. She considered the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay because of its notable reputation and excellent coach, but IUPUI fit her needs academically and athletically.

“I liked how I spent all four years at my high school and I really wanted that in my college,” she said. Not to mention she loves the snow in Indiana and the well-defined seasons it offers.

The IUPUI athletics department feels like home for Whitted. She plays center for the Jaguars and has played center throughout her career.

“I am one of the fortunate ones who never changed positions,” Whitted said.Playing center her entire career has benefited her because she perfected her

position instead of charting in the unfamiliarity of other positions.Her perfection of her position aided the Jaguars in the 2007-08 season when

the team made their way to the final game of the Summit League Championship.Even though they lost to Oral Roberts, the team felt proud of the accomplish-

ment.“It was great to have that feeling,” Whitted said.Her hard work paid off that season and she hopes it pays off this season as

well.The Jaguars and Whitted dedicate themselves to basketball year-round. She

and the team lift weights three times a week offseason and two times a week in season, as well as practicing several times a week.

Whitted, on her own accord, wakes up at 5:40 a.m. for her morning run, at-tends class all day sweaty and tired, and after class, practices with the team.

When she manages to get some free time, she loves to cook and sew. Whitted also looks up stats for the incoming freshman and transfer players to see what they bring to the table before the season begins. She sizes them up. She takes her role on the team very seriously.

For the upcoming season, Whitted looks forward to all the games, but most of all, she looks forward to playing Oakland University.

“They are always really competitive and I enjoy that,” Whitted said.With good always comes bad though. Whitted dislikes traveling to play South-

ern Utah University because the high altitude takes a toll on her body.“It is so hard to breathe,” Whitted said. “It feels like the first day of pre-

season in the first five minutes of the game.”

Whitted doesn’t complain too much about the trip due to one perk.

“We get to see Las Vegas ev-ery year,” Whitted said.

But when it comes to game anticipation, she wants the team to qualify for the NCAA Tournament and go all the way to the end, especially for her last season.

The 2009-10 season marks the end of an era for Whitted. When it comes to a pro-basket-ball career, she may accept an offer if she believes other doors could open.

Coaching may also be in her arena.

“I like the idea of coaching,” Whitted said. “If I were to be a coach, it wouldn’t be about the X’s and O’s as much as it would be about raising young women to be good women of society.”

Off the court, Whitted is passionate about psychology. Someday, she may work for a master’s degree in social work. But any path she chooses, whether she plays pro basketball, coaches girls basketball or becomes a social worker, she hopes to impact the lives of middle school children who struggle to fit in by help-ing them gain confidence and realizing their self worth.

In the sixth grade, Whitted she shot up to six-feet-two-inches and struggled to find her niche, but through the guidance and discipline basketball provided, Whitted found herself.

“I want to be interactive. I want to change lives. Even if it’s just a couple, I would like to impact people. I just don’t want to be a number, a basketball player.”

ISM Photo / Denis Jimenez

Coach Hart: ‘This is my passion’

ISM Archive / Marcos Dominguez

Head Coach Shann Hart watches her team play against Oral Roberts during YMCA’s “Think Pink.”


by Emily DiekelmannIUPUI Student Media

Coach, leader, teacher, community worker, mentor and friend – few people are for-tunate enough to forge so many powerful

and influential relationships in their life, but IU-PUI women’s basketball coach Shann Hart is one of the lucky few.

Hart always saw herself coaching. Now, in her 14th year as a head coach, she is just as passionate about it as the first time she stepped out on the court.

“Obviously this is my passion,” she said. “It is what I wanted to do and I’m exactly where I wanted to be. When you’re an athlete and you’re very passionate about what you do, it’s no longer a job for you. I have been blessed to coach some pretty talented young women over the years. The biggest thrill for me is to see these young girls grow into young women.”

Hart’s coaching career began at a high school in her hometown of Newport News, Va. After five extremely successful years in Newport News, she accepted an assistant coaching position at the University of Richmond. From 1998 to1999, Hart served as tryout coach for the Washington Mys-tics, as well as the Houston Comets.

The offseason demands of the WNBA kept Hart busy, but during the WNBAregular college season she coached at St. Mary’s College of Maryland.

Hart later moved to American University, where she led a 4-23 team during her first season to an 18-11 turn around in her third season.

In 2004 Hart left D.C. for Indianapolis – leav-ing the capital of the United States for the racing capital of the world.In the few years she has been at IUPUI, Hart has already made a lasting impres-sion on the basketball program.

Since she arrived in 2004, the number of high profile opponents has steadily increased. Big name schools such as Wisconsin, Florida, Notre Dame, Michigan State and Purdue are just a few of the teams the Jaguars have gone toe to toe with. Indiana University, Ohio State and last year’s NCAA tournament runner-up, Louisville, are some of the big-name schools IUPUI will play this season.

“That’s why we are playing top 25 teams from around the country,” Hart said. “I think that helps bring exposure to the university and the program

obviously. Getting the name nationally known as op-posed to it only being regionally based. It certainly prepares you for league play.

“Typically, when you play an SEC or ACC school compared to playing your league conference schools that tends to get you that much more prepared be-cause it’s a higher pace and the athletes are typically more physical and stronger. So that only prepares you more.”

The increase in tougher opponents has coincided with an increase in recruiting since Hart took the helm.

Hart said the tougher schedule helps to catch new recruits.

Stephen ThomasGuardJunior

Anthony WilliamsForwardJunior

“Knowing that we play a strenuous schedule, we are not just playing weak teams or ones we know we are capable of beating easily to help boost our win, loss record. I think that’s important.”

Coming off a 16-15 season and a trip to the Summit League semifinals, Hart is looking to rebuild with her younger team, after the loss of standouts Jernisha Cann and Brykeesha Tate.

“We are going to be very talented but very inexpe-rienced with newcomers,” Hart said. “It will be very difficult to fulfill the spot left by Jernisha Cann with what she did not only for last year’s team but IUPUI and the women’s basketball program’s history as a whole. It will take multiple people to do what she did.”

Preseason rankings were just announced and IU-PUI is slated to finish in the sixth spot.

South Dakota State, last year’s Summit League champions, areis ranked first. Hart was surprised, but remains optimistic about her team’s chances this year.

“I think a preseason pick is just that,” Hart said. “It’s not where you start but how you finish. I was surprised at the pick but if that’s what they think, so be it. The upside for us is the last time I was picked sixth, we won it. So we are looking at this on a posi-tive note. And its motivation for us to see what we’ve gotta do to prove to the league we are better than a sixth place finish.”

Hart strives to improve the IUPUI basketball pro-gram on the court. What many do not know are the contributions she and the team also make off the court. From mentoring middle and high school stu-dents, to building a Habitat for Humanity house, raising money for Riley Hospital for Children and doing charity work over holiday break; the team’s presence is felt in many places around Indianapolis.

“We try to do as much as we can to participate in community service projects as well as the camps and clinics we do for both kids and coaches,” Hart said. “Obviously we can’t do all of them but we try to do as many as we can.”

While Hart has earned many titles and forged many relationships, her favorite title is that of a coach, and her favorite relationship is the one she shares with her players both on and off the court.

Alex YoungForwardSophomore

Ebony DavisPower ForwardFreshman

ScheduleIUPUI Women

Date Opponent Where Time Last Played OutcomeNov. 2 Kentucky State Conseco Fieldhouse 5 p.m. Dec. 2008 Loss, 60-82

Nov. 13 Akron Akron, Ohio 5 p.m. N/A N/A

Nov. 15 Indiana Bloomington, Ind. 2 p.m. N/A N/A

Nov. 19 Northern Illinois The Jungle 7 p.m. Nov. 2008 Won, 72-58

Nov. 24 Cornell Ithaca, N.Y. 7 p.m. Nov. 2008 Won, 66-57

Nov. 28 Ohio State Columbus, Ohio 2 p.m. N/A N/A

Nov. 29 TBA (California or Southern) Columbus, Ohio TBA N/A N/A

Dec. 2 IU Southeast The Jungle 7 p.m. Nov. 2008 Won, 66-40

Dec. 5 North Dakota State The Jungle 4:30 p.m. Feb. 2009 Won, 63-41

Dec. 7 South Dakota State The Jungle 7 p.m. Mar. 2009 Loss, 53-68

Dec. 13 Louisville Louisville, Ky. 2 p.m. N/A N/A

Dec. 21 Murray State The Jungle 7 p.m. N/A N/A

Dec. 29 St. Bonaventure Bethlehem, Pa. 2 p.m. N/A N/A

Dec. 30 TBA (Lehigh or Wagner) Bethlehem, Pa. 2 or 4 p.m. N/A N/A

Jan. 2 Oakland Rochester, Mich. 2:30 p.m. Feb. 2009 Loss, 63-72

Jan. 4 IPFW Fort Wayne, Ind. 7 p.m. Mar. 2009 Won, 61-59

Jan. 9 Western Illinois The Jungle 4:30 p.m. Feb. 2009 Won, 59-43

Jan. 16 Centenary The Jungle 4:30 p.m. Feb. 2009 Won, 57-55

Jan. 18 Oral Roberts The Jungle 2 p.m. Feb. 2009 Won, 62-57

Jan. 23 UMKC Kansas City, Mo. 2 p.m. Jan. 2009 Loss, 48-64

Jan. 25 Southern Utah Cedar City, Utah 7 p.m. Feb. 2009 Won, 76-53

Jan. 30 IPFW The Jungle 4:30 p.m. N/A N/A

Feb. 1 Oakland The Jungle 7 p.m. N/A N/A

Feb. 6 Western Illinois Macomb, Ill. TBA N/A N/A

Feb. 13 Oral Roberts Tulsa, Okla. 2:05 p.m. N/A N/A

Feb. 15 Centenary Shreveport, La. 7 p.m. N/A N/A

Feb. 20 Southern Utah The Jungle 4:30 p.m. N/A N/A

Feb. 22 UMKC The Jungle 7 p.m. N/A N/A

Feb. 27 South Dakota State Brookings, S.D. 5 p.m. N/A N/A

Mar. 1 North Dakota State Fargo, N.D. 7 p.m. N/A N/A

Mar. 6 Summit League First Round Sioux Falls, S.D. TBA N/A N/A

Mar. 7 Summit League First Round Sioux Falls, S.D. TBA N/A N/A

Mar. 8 Summit League Second Round Sioux Falls, S.D. TBA N/A N/A

Mar. 9 Summit League Championship Sioux Falls, S.D. TBA N/A N/A

2008-09 Record: 16-15Home/Away/Neutral: 7-5/6-7/3-3Conference Record/Finish: 10-8/4Starters Returning/Lost: 2/3Newcomers: 9

1111.09.2009

Anthony WilliamsForwardJunior


College basketball is under way. Here is a breakdown of what the Summit League Conference teams look like as the season begins.

by Melissa BrummettIUPUI Student Media

Summit League Conference Previews

MenThe Jaguars are coming off a 16-14 record and fourth place finish in the Summit League

last year. The team has a lot to look forward to this season, because four of its five starters are returning, including senior Robert Glenn, the Jaguar’s leading scorer. Glenn received the Second Team Summit League and Newcomer of the Year awards last season.

The Jaguars head coach, Ron Hunter, is the all-time most successful coach at IUPUI with 249 victories. Jaguar basketball fans are ready for a new season with exciting possibilities.

WomenThe Jaguars lost three of its starters from 2009, including Jernisha Cann, who led the team in

scoring and steals. Cann was on Summit League’s All- Tournament Team. She was named the player of the week three times in addition to defensive player of the year.

Although the team is losing a star player, IUPUI has six freshmen joining the roster—Mariah Flemming, Ebony Davis, Briannica Tye, Alexis Taylor, Alyse Poindexter and Clara Mitchell. The Jaguars also return senior Julia Whitted, who has been named to the Summit League’s Preseason All-League First Team.

MenThe Gents are coming back from an 8-23 record, and an eighth

place finish in the Summit League last season. Centenary lost half its roster from last year, including eight letter winners. Nick Stallings and Chase Adams – the top two scorers for the Gents – are gone. The six new faces on the team will be seeing a lot of action on the court this year.

WomenThe Ladies are coming off two disappointing back-to-back

seasons of going 4-25. Centenary joined the Summit Conference in 2003. During that time, the team has only won a combined total of 21 games and has been last in the conference each year. The Ladies plan to step it up this season.

MenAfter placing second in the conference in 2009,

the Golden Eagles lost nine players, including three starters and the team’s two leading scorers – Robert Jarvis and Marcus Lewis. The Eagles established new talent by acquiring freshmen Hunter McClintock and Warren Niles.

WomenThe Golden Eagles may have accumulated

the most conference championships over the years—five— but last year wasn’t a strong season for the team. They finished eighth in the conference with a disappointing 13-17 record. Oral Roberts will have to work hard this season to add a sixth championship banner.

MenThe Golden Grizzlies lost its leading scorer

Erik Kangas, but Oakland is returning five starters, and have retained all but two members of its roster from last year. Reggie Hamilton will sit out the season since he was a transfer. The Grizzlies want to improve its 23-13 record from last season. The Grizzlies are contenders for the top spot in the Summit League Conference.

WomenThe Golden Grizzles ended last season

second in the Summit League with a 26-7 record. This season Oakland faces some challenging teams from the Big 10 conference: Purdue, Illinois and Penn State.

With Oakland returning four of its starters from 2009, fans can expect some interesting games this year.

MenThe Mastodons lost David Carson, its leading

scorer from last season, but the team returns its other four starters. The four returning starters bring familiarity on the court, but the Mastodons have to improve last season’s 13-17 record, and a fifth place standing in the Summit League last.

WomenAfter a mediocre fifth place finish in the Summit

Conference in 2009, the Mastodons return all five of its starters this season for a chance to improve its 9-21 record. IPFW’s leading scorer, Chelsey Jackson, returns.

Jackson carved a name for herself last season as a freshman contributing 398 points during the course of the year and averaging 13.3 points per game. She was also named to the Second Team Summit League.

Janna EichelbergerGuardSophomore

Mariah FlemingForward/GuardFreshman

IUPUI Jaguars Centenary Gents / Ladies

Oral Roberts Golden Eagles IPFW Mastadons Oakland Golden Grizzlies

MenThe Kangaroos are returning from a last place standing in the Summit

League in 2009, but do not write UMKC off yet. The team added seven new faces to its roster, and could surprise everyone on the courts in November.

WomenThe Kangaroos lost seven players this year, including two starters, but

the team still has leading scorer Chazney Morris. Morris started in all 30 games in 2009 averaging 17.5 points per game.

The team also welcomes three new freshmen— Sophia Rhodes, Kaycie Boyles and Kim Nezianya. Boyles and Nezianya both come from Texas and were ranked Nos. 45 and 69 in the state by Premier Basketball Report.

MenLast year’s Summit League Champions are a different team this season.

The Bison lost four of its five starters from 2009, including Ben Woodside, Brett Winkelman and Mike Nelson – the team’s top three scorers. Without its leading scorers from last year and seven new freshmen joining the roster, the Bison will have to work hard to defend its title.

WomenThe make-up of the Bison team has changed little since last season.

North Dakota State returns four of its starters from 2009 as it looks to improve its third place finish in the conference. Among those returning is sophomore Katie Birkel.

As a freshman, Birkel was named All-Newcomer in the Summit League. She impressively started in all 29 games and contributed 291 points, 45 steals, six blocks and 91 assists over the course of the season.

MenThe Jackrabbits are the only team in the

conference to return all five of its starters from last season. South Dakota State was seventh in the conference in 2009, and finished with a record of 13-20. The team’s leading scorer, senior Garrett Callahan, returns to the roster for his final year. His younger brother, sophomore Griffan Callahan, looks to follow in his footsteps. The Callahan brothers will be an offensive double threat in the upcoming season.

MenThe Jackrabbits had a stellar season in

2009. No. 15, South Dakota State, won its first Summit League Conference Championship. Returning four starters from 2009, there will be much to see from the Jackrabbits this year.

MenThe Fighting Leathernecks return three

starters from 2009 – seniors David Nurse and Quenton Kirby, and sophomore Ceola Clark. Western Illinois is still hanging over from its disappointing 9-20 record and eighth place finish in the Summit League Conference last season. The Leathernecks will look to Nurse to lead the team this season.

WomenThe Fighting Leathernecks were 9-21 last

year and sixth in the conference. The team added new talent to its roster—freshmen Marina Hartman, Christina Jones, La’Paris Newsorn, Lunden Roberts, Michele Salvatori and Jackie Rieger.

The last conference championship for Western Illinois was in 1995; perhaps the new talent will give the Leathernecks an advantage over its rivals this season.

MenThe Thunderbirds lost Tyler Quinney,

John Clifford and Dave Marek, its three prominent starters from last year. However, leading scorer senior Davis Baker, who averaged 17.4 points per game is returning. Southern Utah has a lot to improve this season after a disappointing record of 11-20 in 2009.

WomenThe Thunderbird’s 2009 season was

resulted in a 9-20 record and ninth place finish in the Summit League. The good news is the team is young this year with no seniors on its roster.

The entire group will be able to play together for at least two years before they lose any talent to graduation. This could be a strong advantage to the Thunderbirds.

1511.09.2009

Mariah FlemingForward/GuardFreshman

Gretchen GaskinGuardJunior

Jessica HuffmanGuardJunior

U of Missouri - Kansas City Kangroos

North Dakota StateBison

South Dakota Jackrabbits Southern Utah Thunderbirds Western Illinois Leathernecks


Liz MercerForward/CenterSophomore

Clara MitchellCenterFreshman

Schedule IU MenRoster

Statistics

Kory BarnettForwardSophomore00Bobby CapobiancoForwardFreshman23

Date Opponent11/04 Grace (Indiana) (exh.)*

11/09 St. Joseph’s (Indiana) (exh)*

11/13 Howard (exh)*

11/16 USC Upstate (exh)*

11/19 Mississippi

11/20 Boston University OR Kansas State

11/22 TBA

11/28 Northwestern State*

12/01 Maryland

12/08 Pittsburgh

12/12 Kentucky*

12/19 North Carolina Central*

12/22 Loyola (Md)*

12/28 Bryant University*

12/31 Michigan*

1/06 Ohio State

1/09 Illinois*

1/14 Michigan

1/17 Minnesota*

1/21 Penn State

1/24 Iowa*

1/30 Illinois

2/04 Purdue*

2/07 Northwestern

2/10 Ohio State*

2/13 Wisconsin

2/16 Michigan State*

2/20 Minnesota

2/21 Minnesota

2/25 Wisconsin*

2/28 Iowa

3/02 Purdue

3/03 Purdue

3/04 Purdue

3/06 Northwestern*

3/11-3/14

Big Ten Tournament.

TBA NCAA Tournament

* Home Games

Maurice CreekGuardFreshman

Devan DumesGuardSenior

Derek ElstonForwardFreshman

Brett FinkelmeierGuardJunior

Steven GamblesForwardSenior

Jordan HullsGuardFreshman

Tijan JobeCenterSenior

Verdell Jones IIIGuardSophomore

Daniel MooreGuardSophomore

Bawa MuniruCenterFreshman

Tom PritchardForwardSophomore

Jeremiah RiversGuardJunior

Math RothGuardSophomore

Christian WatfordForwardFreshman

Scoring: IU-1862 Opp.-2190

Rebounds: 952 Per Game: 30.7Assists: 364 Per Game: 11.7Turnovers: 542 Per Game: 17.5Steals: 191 Per Game: 6.2

Top Scorers:Devan Dumes:Season: 344 Per Game: 12.7Verdell Jones III:Season: 308 Per Game: 11

033332042401

4012111525053002

1711.09.2009

Schedule IU WomenRoster

Statistics

Danilsa AndujarForwardSophomore21Sasha BernardGuardFreshman03

Date Opponent11/01 Lambuth (Ex)*

11/05 Grand Valley State (Ex)*

11/13 Memphis

11/15 IUPUI*

11/18 Cincinnati*

11/22 Missouri*

11/26 Virginia

11/27 South Dakota State/UNC-Charlotte

12/03 Florida State*

12/06 Michigan State

12/09 Tennessee-Martin*

12/13 Saint Louis

12/19 Cleveland State

12/22 Toledo*

12/31 Purdue


01/07 Illinois*

01/10 Penn State

01/14 Michigan*

01/17 Ohio State

01/21 Northwestern*

01/24 Michigan

01/28 Wisconsin*

01/31 Ohio State*

02/07 Illinois

02/07 Iowa*

02/14 Wisconsin

02/18 Northwestern

02/21 Minnesota*

02/25 Iowa

02/28 Penn State*

03/04 - 03/07

Big Ten Tournament and Championship*

03/20 - 04/06

NCAA Tournament and Championship

* Home Games

Jamie BraunGuardSenior23

Lindsay EnterlineForwardSophomore31

Hope ElamForwardJunior14

Whitney LindsayGuard Junior20

Sasha ChaplinForwardSophomore22Jasmine DavisForward/CenterFreshman42Jori DavisGuardJunior32 Aulani Sinclair

Forward Freshman24

Ashlee Mells Guard Sophomore04

Andrea McGuirtGuard Junior10

Kerah NelsonForwardSophomore

Alyse PoindexterCenterFreshman

Scoring: Indiana 2154 Opponent 1958Rebounds: 1227 Assists: 378 Turnovers: 471Steals: 30

Per Game: 38.3Per Game: 11.8Per Game: 14.7Per Game: 9.5

Top Scorers:Jamie BraunPoints Per Season: 395 Per Game: 12.8Jori DavisPoints Per Season: 378 Per Game: 11.8

Clara MitchellCenterFreshman

by DeAntae PrincePrinted with Permission by Indiana Daily Student

Sophomore guard Verdell Jones emerged from the hallway sporting a bright red scratch on his neck.

While talking to the media, sopho-more forward Tom Pritchard said he leaves practice with a battle wound daily.

As was evident from the scars worn by players, the IU men’s bas-ketball team hasn’t deviated much from the staple of last season in its first week of practices. The Hoosiers began 2008 without an identity and ended with a reputation as a still learning, but hard-working, team.

“Every day I come home with a new bruise, a new scratch, a new something,” Pritchard said. “It’s tough out there, guys have been re-ally fighting. And that’s something that’s really going to help us in the games.”

It was thought that Pritchard either became passive or wore down from hit-ting a freshman wall a year ago.

He said that he is more confident after a preseason workout that put him on pace to gain better position when seeking rebounds or set-ting up in the post.

Pritchard wasn’t the only player to face challenges last season.

IU fell by a small margin in many games, and seemed to come out on the bottom of even the closest con-tests. Applause still came for the team after losses.

IU fell by a small margin in many games, and seemed to come out on the bottom of even the closest con-tests. Applause still came for the team after losses.

Thus far, IU coach Tom Crean and his team have done everything they can to see that they continue to re-ceive the same applause – and to en-sure more wins.

“If we hit people first, they’re go-ing to back down, and we can finally get some teams on the back of their heels and finish them,” Pritchard said.

Jones, the slimmest player on the team, was another freshman who led IU. He was hurt on more than one oc-casion after the physical Big Ten sea-son began. In the summer he gained more than 10 pounds, and said his days on the court have been filled

with competition. “It’s like a war field out there –

tackling each other, scratching, bit-ing,” Jones said. “We get hurt every day, but we’re working hard trying to build that mental toughness.”

IU has progressed from a season ago, with players to take the reins who were learning not long ago. Crean said his team is more intense than ever.

“We’ve had some great battles,” he said. “They are working extremely hard and we are working in a com-petitive mode right now.”

Crean’s team brings high intensity and effort to every situation


by Candice RohmanPrinted with Permission by Indiana Daily Student

No lights, a fire extin-guisher, two wagons of fire-works and a crowd of more than 13,000 helped jumpstart the 2009-10 women’s basket-ball season.

With Assembly Hall im-mersed in darkness, the team ran onto Branch McCrack-en Court amid a fireworks show. The sparklers, a new addition to Hoosier Hyste-ria, were part of an idea the players had.

Normally, IU coach Feli-sha Legette-Jack would put together the introduction or come up with ideas. But this year, the players got creative.

Junior guard Jori Davis said she asked the event planners about the fireworks and that she was excited about how open they were about the new tradition. The team also had a video playing while they ran onto the court.

The fireworks pumped

up the fans who attended, as well as the freshman players. For freshman forward Au-lani Sinclair, it was the first time playing in Assembly Hall with fans.

Sinclair, who said she at-tended prior Hoosier Hys-teria events when she was younger, said she thought about how amazing going to IU would be because she al-ways loved the school.

“It’s just a dream come true to be able to be in this at-mosphere,” Sinclair said.

As far as playing in front of so many Hoosier fans, Sin-clair described the energy as amazing, and she said the Hoosiers could benefit from having that at their games.

“Hopefully, the people out here that came and watched tonight have seen our pas-sion and all of the energy that we have,” Sinclair said. “Hopefully they’ll come to more of our games.”

Before the women took the court for their first official practice of the year, the team

Assembly Hall Rumblessaid this opportunity al-lowed them to come in close contact with their fans, in particular their young female fans, which Davis appreciated.

While on the court, the team did a few layup drills and a shoot-around but did not scrimmage. There was also a 3-point contest involv-ing both the men and wom-en’s teams, which allowed the players to engage in some friendly competition.

Even though it was only a contest, a few players, includ-ing Davis, took it seriously.

Davis said she wanted to beat Sinclair in the contest because Sinclair is the 3-point specialist on the team.

“The other day in practice I was like, ‘I’m going to beat you. Better watch out, fresh-man,” Davis said.

The atmosphere and at-tendance motivated the al-ways-hyped Legette-Jack.

“We’re so excited about the fact that you know, slow-ly but surely, the fans are starting to realize that there

are two basketball programs here,” Legette-Jack said.

Even though in the past the women’s team has not had the attendance the men’s team boasts, Legette-Jack said the team will not do promotions to put fans in the seats, but instead will contin-ue with the same plans she has used for the past three years: playing good basketball.

Legette-Jack said every time she enters Assembly Hall, she has a vision of the program’s future.

“I see, every day I go in this gym, 17,000 people root-ing for women’s basketball,” Legette-Jack said. “I have to see that, and I have to believe that with all my spirit, and one day it’s going to come.”

IU coach Tom Crean speaks at the end of Hoosier Hysteria Friday. The men’s and women’s basketball teams held their first practices of the season in front of an enthu-siastic Assembly Hall crowd.

IDS Photo / Peter Stevenson

Crean’s team brings high intensity and effort to every situationers was required to help with the team struggling through 25 losses.

He had seen success, but Rivers never separated himself from the team while they faced tough times. “They were real down and under pressure being a young team,” he said. “I under-stood what they were going through, even though at Georgetown I hadn’t lost more than eight games my whole career when I was on the court.

“I’d never gone through that as well, so I kind of went through it with them.”

The effect of his guidance remains a year later.

In interviews he called sophomore guard Verdell Jones his little brother, and he treated several players the same way.

“He’s a seasoned vet that we didn’t have last year,” Jones said. “Jeremiah’s played in Final Fours, won champion-ships and he’s a lock-down defender. So he was great for me to go against every day because if I can score or go by him, I can go by anybody.”

A season with IU has given Rivers

footing but he hasn’t totally estab-lished himself as a college player or leader just yet.

Hoosier Hysteria not just for fans, but recruitsby Jordan Cohen Printed with Permission by Indiana Daily Student

Hall of Fame football coach Vince Lombardi has often been credited with coining the quote, “Winning isn’t ev-erything; it’s the only thing.”

He makes a good point, and it’s one that many teams take to heart. But when it comes to building an entire program – or in this case, rebuilding it – winning isn’t necessarily the “only thing.”

After all, NCAA attendance figures from the 2008-09 season show IU av-eraged 14,331 fans per home game at Assembly Hall despite an overall 6-25 record. NCAA runner-up Michigan State, meanwhile, averaged 14,759 at the Breslin Center, only 428 more fans per game.

These days, maybe more than ever, it isn’t always about winning the most games. For programs looking to return to national prominence such as IU, what may be most important is attract-ing the players who ultimately can lead to that winning.

Sure, the teams with the best re-cords and recent NCAA Tournament

success have an inherent advantage, but for guys like IU freshmen Maurice Creek and Christian Watford – former four-star recruits with plenty of op-tions – there was clearly more to it.

They surely had some idea of the uphill battle their future team would face in 2008-09.

But recruiting is a cyclical process. Programs recruit players, build up their teams and ultimately reach some level of success, all the while recruit-ing younger talent to replace outgoing players. And this goes on and on.

IU coach Tom Crean, who is actively recruiting while simultaneously coach-ing a young team, is going to have to rely on more than just his team’s win-loss record in order to draw major tal-ent – at least for the next year or two.

As much as Hoosier Hysteria is about getting fans excited for IU basketball, it’s equally a major re-cruiting tool.

So on Oct. 15, Hoosier fans – stu-dents especially – had an opportunity to make an impact on the numerous prospects in attendance.

“When you bring recruits in for this, they’re not looking to come to a half-to three-quarter-filled building that has

IDS Photo / Geoffrey Miller

press conference last week. They’re looking at the people we’re recruiting against right now. They can go to their environment and see something fan-tastic, too. We want this to be top of the line, a major league event, and that’s what we’re looking forward to.”

Last season, an estimated 10,000 fans made it out to Hoosier Hysteria – almost nothing compared to some other marquee programs.

Kentucky’s Big Blue Madness – which sold out its 23,500 tickets in a mere 45 minutes – and Kansas’ Late Night in the Phog events have recently become two of the nation’s premier “Midnight Madness” events. But that’s not just because Kentucky and Kansas will contend for the national title this year.

Instead, it’s because they will be bringing out the stars. Four- and five-star recruits, that is.

And when considering the full list of prospects that will be at both Rupp Arena and Allen Fieldhouse tonight, together these perennial powers will essentially be hosting more future NBA talent than a Los Angeles Clip-pers exhibition game. This doesn’t even include the potential pros on their current rosters.

Just two years ago, Devin Ebanks, Lance Stephenson and Dexter Strick-land were all in attendance for Hoo-sier Hysteria. That’s one potential 2010 NBA Draft lottery pick and two recent McDonald’s All-Americans with NBA aspirations of their own.

If IU wants to once again pull in those types of recruits, Assembly Hall needs to be packed with 17,000 fans ev-ery night this season, showing that IU isn’t simply a has-been program feed-ing off its past successes.

For now, that means showing up, being rowdy and making a big impres-sion on every guest who steps inside the building on Oct. 15.

We know “It’s Indiana,” but for Crean, it’s going to take more than five hanging banners to communicate to these high school athletes what IU is about.

And it starts with the students. “At these events, we need the

students to be there in full force be-cause they bring an energy that is un-matched,” said Pat Kraft, IU’s senior as-sistant athletics director for marketing. “We’re proud of our student body and our student athletes, and we want to show that. There’s no better way than to have a ruckus crowd, people fired up.”

by DeAntae PrincePrinted with Permission by Indiana Daily Student

Sentenced to sit on the bench for all of IU’s 2008-09 season, junior Jeremiah Rivers seemed destined to be reduced to a cheerleader.

In response, the transfer point guard did the only thing there was left to do – dance.

Rivers performed in the middle of the team’s preseason circle before ev-ery game, surrounded by swaying players who cheered him on.

“It kind of helped them forget some of the bad things and some of the negatives that they had been facing all year,” he said.

Whether it came through comic re-lief or taking a guy under his arm, Riv-ers silently attempted to lead a 6-25 team from the bench last year.

A totally revamped group with a new coach and eight freshmen in tow took to the seasoned guard.

He was the only player on the team with a college basketball resume, hav-ing played two seasons for George-

town. He also made an appearance in the 2006 NCAA Final Four.

When 2008’s Hoosier Hysteria rolled around, Rivers was so much a part of the team’s identity that he for-got he wouldn’t touch the floor for the season’s entirety, due to an NCAA rule regarding transfer students.

“I really felt like I was playing until that first game and I was sitting on the sideline in a suit,” he said. “It was all too familiar. It was just something you don’t like as a player.”

From the first game on, Rivers had to make his mark on the team from outside the lines. He could prac-tice during the week, but counseling would become his primary role.

“It was tough,” he said. “Especially, as the year went on, and the losing streak continued to mount – and I just

wanted to help the team.”He stayed composed and advised

players from the sidelines, picking up mannerisms to decide when he was needed. As one could guess, there were plenty of occasions where Riv-

Rivers finds solace in transferring to IU1911.09.2009

IU’s Jeremiah Rivers goes up for a dunk during Hoosier Hysteria Friday, Oct. 17, 2008 at Assembly Hall.


Farren StackhouseForward/GuardSenior

Alexis TaylorGuard/ForwardFreshman

Schedule Purdue MenRoster

Statistics

Date Opponent11/03 Calif. of Pa. (exh.)*

11/09 Ky. Weslyan (exh)*

11/13 Cal State Northridge*

11/20 S. Dakota St.

11/22 TBD

11/23 TBD

11/28 Central Michigan*

12/01 Wake Forest*

12/05 Buffalo*

12/09 Valparaiso*

12/12 Alabama

12/19 Ball State

12/22 SIU Edwardsville*

12/29 Iowa

01/01 West Viginia*

01/05 Minnesota*

01/09 Wisconsin

01/12 Ohio State*

01/16 Northwestern

01/09 Illinois

01/23 Michigan*

01/28 Wisconsin*

01/31 Penn State*

02/04 Indiana

02/09 Michigan State

02/13 Iowa*

02/17 Ohio State

02/20 or 21 Illinois*

02/24 Minnesota

02/27 or 28 Michigan State*

03/02 or 03/ 03 or 03/04

Indiana*

03/06 or 07 Penn State

03/11 Big Ten Tournament




* Home Games

Dru AnthropGuardFreshman14

Patrick BadeForwardFreshman41

Kelsey BarlowGuard/ForwardFreshman12

D.J. ByrdGuardFreshman21

Kyle ColmanGuardFreshman20

Bubba DayGuardSophomore 2

Keaton GrantGuardSenior 5

John HartGuardRedshirt Freshman32

Robbie HummelForwardJunior 4

Lewis JacksonGuardSophomore23

JaJuan JohnsonForward/CenterJunior25

Chris KramerGuardSenior 3

Steve LovelessGuardFreshman 1

Sandi MarciusForwardFreshman55

E’Twaun MooreGuardJunior33

Ryne SmithGuardSophomore24

Mark WohlfordGuardSenior30

Coaches and Support StaffMatt Painter - Head CoachPaul Lusk - Associate Head CoachRick Ray - Assistant CoachJack Owens - Assistant CoachElliot Bloom - Supervisor of Basketball

OperationsJeff Stein - Athletic TrainerNick Terruso - Video Coorinator

2008-09 Record: 27-10Home/Away/Neutral: 15-3/5-5/7-2Big Ten Record/Finish: 11-7/3Starters Returning/Lost: 9/4Newcomers: 8

Alexis TaylorGuard/ForwardFreshman

2111.09.2009

Briannica TyeGuardFreshman

Julie WhittedCenterSenior

Schedule Purdue WomenRoster

* Home Games

Date Opponent11/08 Lindsey Wilson (exh.)*

11/15 Western Illinois*

11/20 BTI ClassIC

Seattle Univ.*

11/21 Dayton*

11/22 Georgetown*

11/27 at UC Riverside*

11/29 at Pepperdine

12/3 BIg Ten / aCC Challenge

at Virginia

12/6 at Northwestern

12/13 at Oakland

12/19 Evansville*

12/21 Gardner-Webb*

12/28 Minnesota*

12/31 Indiana*

1/4 Notre Dame*

1/7 at Wisconsin

1/10 Northwestern*

1/14 at Minnesota

1/17 Iowa*

1/21 at Michigan State

1/25 Ohio State*

1/28 at Penn State

1/31 at Iowa

2/4 Illinois*

2/7 Wisconsin*

2/11 at Ohio State

2/14 Penn State*

2/21 at Illinois


2/28 at Michigan

3/4 aT IndIanapolIs

Big Ten Tourney

3/5 Big Ten Tourney

3/6 Big Ten Tourney

3/7 Big Ten Tourney

Laura GarrigaForwardSenior55

FahKara MaloneGuardSenior20

Alex GuytonForwardSophomore41

KK HouserGuardFreshman22

Antoinette HowardGuardJunior 2

Jodi HowellGuardSenior00

Chelsea Jones CenterSophomore40

Drey MingoForwardJunior24Sam OstarelloGuard / ForwardFreshman32

Chantell PostonGuardSophomore43

Brittany RayburnGuardSophomore 5

Ashley WilsonForwardFreshman52Samantha WoodsForwardSophomore54

Statistics

Coaches and Support StaffSharon Versyp- Head CoachMartin Clapp - Associate CoachUkari Figgs - Assistant CoachNadine Morgan - Assistant CoachTerry Kix - Supervisor of Basketball

OperationsJessica Lipsett - Athletic TrainerBen Coomes - Video Coorinator

2008-09 Record: 25-11Home/Away/Neutral: 12-3/7-5/6-3Big Ten Record/Finish: 13-5/16Starters Returning/Lost: 8/7Newcomers: 5

• Boilers lost two leading scorers from last year, including WNBA player Lindsay Wisydom-Hylton (13.3 points, 9.2 rebounds) and L. Freedom (11.4 points, 3.6 rebounds).

• Lost to Oklahoma, 74-68, in Elite Eight of NCAA Tournament.

• Runner-up in Big Ten Tournament, losing 67-66 to Ohio State.

Team focuses on new ideology as season approaches


by Eric MarkhamPrinted with permission byPurdue Exponent

Change and resisting the tempta-tion to compare this season to last season were the themes of Wednes-day night’s Women’s Basketball Tipoff Dinner.

When Sharon Versyp stood at the podium, she stressed that the Boiler-makers needed to change.

“It’s not fair that (sophomore) Ch-antel (Poston) got her achilles tendon blew out,” Versyp said. “It’s not this, we can’t do this, it’s all about us. No. If there’s something that happens in this world, you have to make a change, you have to make an adjust-ment.”

One adjustment she talked about

was playing with one post player in-stead of the traditional two. Playing more full-court press with her fast guards, FahKara Malone and fresh-man KK Houser, leading the way was also a possible change.

Versyp said that this team is doing

things better now than she has seen in the past at this point in the season.

Senior Associate Athletic Director Nancy Cross made a point that this year was going to be a different year as she addressed the crowd. She said that this year’s team belonged to the three seniors, Malone, Jodi Howell and Laura Garriga.

“It would be very easy for every-body in this room to compare our-selves to last year’s team,” Cross said. “And that would be pretty un-fair.”

After Cross’s address, the assis-tant coaches started introducing the players. When assistant coach Ukari Figgs introduced senior captain Fah-Kara Malone, Malone acknowledged the team’s injury issues, but said it wouldn’t bring the team down. She

even continued to jokingly say that she and the rest of the 2009-10 guards were better than guards coaches Ukari Figgs and Nadine Morgan.

“No one is looking down like, ‘We only have eight players, what can we not do, terrible things will happen,” Malone said. “But we have so much faith and confidence in our coaches and the people around us that we know this is going to be such a good year.”

The Boilermakers will see their first test when they take on Lind-sey Wilson College for an exhibition game at 2 p.m.

“But we have so much faith and confidence in our coaches and the people around us that we know this is going to be such a good year.”

- Fahkara Malone

“I love playing a two-man game, and Chelsea and I this summer just really clicked.”

- Brittany Rayburn

by Eric MarkhamPrinted with permission by Purdue Exponent

There will be a new style in the low post this season for the women’s basketball team.

When the Boilermakers were blessed with WNBA-caliber talent last season like Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton and Danielle Campbell, post players played with fi-nesse, facing the basket. For 2009-10, coach Sharon Versyp said that sophomore Chelsea Jones will get more playing time and has the ability to shoot 50 per-cent in the low post with her back to the basket.

“I do think that I can go down there and be strong and try to push people around,” said Jones, who is 6 feet 4 inches tall. “I like being just as close to the basket as possible ... It makes for an easier shot.”

Her low post skills include a left-handed hook shot that Versyp claims can’t be stopped. It was one of the factors that, Versyp said, at-tracted her to recruit Jones.

“When I was in elementary school, on my AAU team, my coach was really big on making sure you’re using your left hand in left handed lay-ups,” Jones said. “And in high school, I just started doing left-handed hooks and, I mean, I made them a lot so I started using them.”

Sophomore guard Brittany Rayburn is excited to see that Jones will be getting more playing time. She said that she hasn’t played with a true post player since before high school and she’s already forming a chemistry with Jones.

“I love playing a two-man game, and Chelsea and I this summer just really clicked,” Rayburn said. “She loves to re-post after she throws it out, and I think that’s something that really attracted me to her being able to play more.”

“It’s interesting because I’ve always had another big post player on my team,” Jones said. “But it’s fine with me.”

With the possibility of being alone in the low post, she will be expected to keep up with the two fastest players on the team, point guards senior Fah-Kara Malone and freshman KK Hous-er when running the court. But Jones, who is affectionately nicknamed Big Country by her teammates, won the team award for best summer strength and conditioning development from

Versyp.“(I told her before summer,) ‘We need you to go

work out, you know, all those things: getting into the best shape, trimming down, working on basketball skills,” Versyp said. “And she totally embraced it, and she’s being rewarded, and it’s all on her.”

Post player brings new style to court

Boilermakers prepare to meet season’s expectationsby Zach LangdonPrinted with permission by Purdue Exponent

Matt Painter’s message at his team’s annual media day was simple: The Boil-ers must manage expectations.

Painter’s team, which opens the season with an ex-

hibition game Nov. 3, comes into the season a consensus top 10 team and one of the favorites to compete for a Big Ten title, not to mention a trip to the NCAA Final Four in Indianapolis to compete for a national champion-ship.

Much must be done before that can happen, however.

“It’s a good feeling, but you have to keep things in order,” Painter said. “You don’t just jump from the Sweet 16, a 27-10 team, to the Final Four. I wish it were like that, but it isn’t. You’ve got to fight just to get into the NCAA tour-nament. You can’t take anything for granted.”

Painter stressed that the Boilers must first prepare for their exhibi-tion games against California of Penn-sylvania and Ken-tucky Wesleyan, then prepare for the non-conference schedule, and then compete for a Big Ten championship. And, he added, it has to be in that or-der.

The Boilers aren’t even the high-est ranked team in the conference, as reigning regular season champion Michigan State comes into the season as a top two team in most major polls.

The Spartans were able to win the Big Ten championship and compete

for a national championship last season in Detroit, but fell short. Purdue hopes to do the same this season, junior JaJuan Johnson said.

“It’s been us and Michigan

State the past two years. When they made it to the championship game, I thought that was great for their team

and it shows us that we can do what they did, but I know I was kind of jealous. It just gives you something to work toward,” he said.

Painter believes his team can handle the pressure of being one of the na-tion’s top teams. Purdue was a pre-season top 20 team last season, but lost nonconference tests against Oklahoma and Duke.

“I think (preparation) started last year. We had to manage some expecta-tions then,” Painter said. “I think we’ve been through that, we had some peo-ple who thought we were a top 10 or 15 team in the country. I think at the end of the season we were one, but I don’t think we were consistent throughout the year.”

“You’ve got to fight just to get into the NCAA tour-nament. You can’t take anything for granted”

- Matt Painter

“You get a chance to just be a sponge and absorb everything.”

- John Hart

by Zach LangdonPrinted with permission byPurdue Exponent

He didn’t like the idea at first, but John Hart can now admit redshirting last season was a good thing.

“I didn’t take it well at all,” the 2007-08 Marion County (Ind.) Player of the Year said. “Coming in, you want to play right away, because the team we had was really good and made it to the Sweet 16. After a while I adjusted, after having numerous conversations with the coaches, my parents and high school coaches. I started to think about it all and it kind of made sense and fell into place.”

While redshirting, Hart could do everything with the team except play. He didn’t travel to road games, but did sit on the bench during home con-tests. He had individual workouts with coaches before games and prac-ticed with the team.

“You get a chance to just be a sponge and absorb everything,” he said. “You

come in and go through practice; I ac-tually got a chance to get a year un-der my belt learning the ropes and how practices run and getting used to things.

“It was just a good opportunity for me, after all.”

Hart did play in the Boilers’ two ex-hibition games, against Northern State and Florida Southern. He played a to-tal of 19 minutes and went 2-for-6 with a rebound, an assist, a steal and two turnovers.

With the Boilers returning the ma-jority of the team that reached the Sweet 16 last season and having a consensus preseason top-10 team this year, Hart knows it will be difficult to find playing time this season, and says he will have to be more vocal if he wants to play.

“This season I have to be more vocal and out-going,” he said. “Last year I just kept to myself.

Bringing a lot of energy and just being vocal will help.”

Because he has been on campus for a year already, Hart knows the major-

ity of his teammates and their styles of play. This gives him an advantage over incoming freshmen.

Hart and his teammates have also bought into a team concept, recogniz-ing that they have to do what is best for the team.

“The thing about our team that is cool is that we have no problems on our team,” sophomore Ryne Smith said. “There are no internal problems, there are no people fighting in the lock-er room ever. We all get along.”

Purdue opens the season Nov. 13 against Cal State Northridge in Mack-ey Arena.

Redshirt season provides time to prepare and adjust

2311.09.2009

basketball preview issue 2009

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