Author: Mike Schumann

For the first time we can take a clear look at the 2020-21 Big Ten conference men’s basketball race. All of the key NBA Draft early entry decisions have been made, and with that we present our first power rankings for the upcoming season. While it wasn’t easy to pick a favorite, there is a clear hierarchy in the league.  This is how we see the Big Ten race shaking out for the 2020-21 campaign. THE TOP TIER 1. ILLINOIS The return of Ayo Dusunmu and Kofi Cockburn, along with other key contributors and strong freshmen guards, propels Illinois to…

When it comes to AAU basketball, the summer before your senior year of high school is the summer. National travel, the highest profile events, and the top competition. That is what Indiana class of 2021 verbal commit Logan Duncomb was expecting for his last run with the Indiana Elite AAU program. The pandemic induced reality has of course been much different. The AAU season should have kicked off in April, but Duncomb’s squad didn’t play their first game until late June.  That’s actually a better outcome than some AAU programs around the country who are still waiting for a green…

Maurice Freeman gave his mother a birthday present on Saturday when he announced his college choice. Indiana fans got a gift too. A class of 2021 Virginia based safety, Freeman announced that he has verbally committed to IU on his Instagram page on Saturday afternoon. https://twitter.com/757reese/status/1289660002509000706?s=20 “I want to thank my coaches, my family, God, Freeman said on his Instagram Live stream. “I’m committed to Indiana University.  I can’t wait.  I’m a Hoosier!” Freeman attends Oscar Smith High School in Chesapeake, Virginia.  He intends to skip his senior season of high school football as the state of Virginia postponed the…

Indiana continues to produce a strong in-state group of commits in the class of 2021. Brownsburg, Ind. offensive tackle Joshua Sales became the fifth Indiana based product in the class to verbally pledge to IU when he announced his commitment on Saturday.  Sales broke the news on his Twitter page. https://twitter.com/JSales77/status/1289592495190360064?s=20 Sales recently told 247Sports’ Steve Wiltfong what he liked about the IU program. “I really like the culture of Indiana,” Sales told 247Sports.  “It also helps being close to home and me having visited a couple times. On top of that the coaching staff there is amazing, Coach (Tom)…

Indiana is intent on rounding out the 2021 class with versatile, long athletes in the shooting guard through power forward roles.’ An under the radar player that IU has been tracking over the last few months is New York based wing Sean Durugordon. A versatile 6-foot-6 talent with a 7-foot wingspan, Durugordon averaged a double-double at Canterbury School last year with 23 points and 11.5 rebounds per game. He led his team to a 25-2 record and the NEPSAC-B championship while making 52 percent of his field goals, shooting 44 percent on 3-pointers, and hitting at a 78 percent clip…

After a two-week layoff, the Indiana football program has resumed voluntary workouts.  IU had paused workouts on July 17 after six positive cases of COVID-19 within the program. While the team has resumed training, there is still uncertainty as to the status of the 2020 season.  It is widely expected that a revised Big Ten only 2020 schedule will be released in the coming days.  However, that schedule will by no means ensure that things moves forward, as rumors persist that the season will be postponed until the spring. IU would have started its fall camp next week, but the…

High major college basketball coaches don’t make evaluations and offer scholarships based on stat lines. If they did, Indiana head coach Archie Miller would have likely taken a wait-and-see approach with Connecticut based class of 2022 point guard Avery Brown. Brown averaged 6.6 points, 4.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game for the 2019-20 season at Northfield Mount Herman in Massachusetts.  That’s a perfectly fine sophomore season for a good player in one of the country’s toughest leagues, the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council (NEPSAC). NMH reached the Final Four in the National Prep Championship, while winning the NEPSAC…

As the NFL attempts  to navigate the pandemic and start its season on time, 14 former IU football players have reported to training camps around the country. The league calendar from now until the start of the season on Sept. 10 looks nothing like a normal NFL summer. Players reported to camp earlier this week and have undergone a series of COVID-19 tests. This is how the NFL describes the rest of the preseason: From Aug. 3 through 11, players will have an acclimation period — 60 minutes in the weight room and 60 minutes of on-field conditioning.  In addition…

Indiana head football coach Tom Allen went in depth on his family, background and program on the Get Attitude podcast. Allen spoke about his upbringing, his own athletics career, what he looks for in recruits, the core values of the IU football program, and much more. Glenn Bill is the host of the podcast.  Bill, who published the #1 International Best-Seller “The ABC’s of Attitude” with his workbook The Attitude Playbook, created the Attitude Movement to help increase unity, awareness, and realignment of attitude as a nation through action. https://youtu.be/7VclPtQiY3I Want us to share your interview with a current or…

Standing on a freeway bridge during a protest as a tanker truck barreled towards the crowd, Race Thompson knows what real adversity feels like. In light of situations like that, stepping up and taking charge on a basketball court seems relatively easy. George Floyd was murdered 15 minutes away from Thompson’s house in Minneapolis. Overcome with a sense of obligation to join the rallies in his hometown, Thompson knew he had to step out of his comfort zone and support a cause that has swept the nation. “It really just hit home for me,” Thompson said. The rallies in Minnesota…