Have an all-time favorite IU basketball dunk? Here’s your chance to solidify it as the best ever. The IU basketball program is having some offseason fun on Twitter, with a NCAA Tournament style bracket of the best Hoosier slams in program history. While the bracket suffers a bit from recency bias (or perhaps technology limitations), it is a fun look back at some truly memorable moments. A total of 24 dunks are included in the tournament, with the top eight receiving first round byes. If you are on Twitter, follow @IndianaMBB and cast your votes. Even if you are not…
Author: Mike Schumann
The first session of the Nike EYBL in Atlanta was no fluke. After a scoring flourish a few weeks ago in front of Archie Miller that resulted in an Indiana offer, Davis was back at it at the second EYBL session in Westfield, Ind. On a New York Renaissance team that includes 5-star Jonathan Kuminga and Purdue bound Ethan Morton, there has been no shortage of production from Davis. Now through eight games on the EYBL circuit, Davis is averaging 21.2 point per contest. More impressive is how efficiently the 6-foot 155 point guard gets those points. The White Plains,…
Class of 2021 incoming junior Terrence Clarke was in Westfield, Ind. this past weekend in connection with the Nike EYBL AAU circuit. The talented 6-foot-7 shooting guard is a top ten talent in his class across all major recruiting services and was Indiana’s first offer in the 2021 group. The Hoosiers offered Clarke last summer. Clarke plays a year up for the U17 Expressions Elite program and is a name to keep an eye on for reclassifying into the class of 2020. He is averaging 17.2 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.5 assists thus far in AAU play. The 5-star recruit…
Indiana University’s athletic programs are better than Purdue. Of course you already knew that, but for 2019 it has once again been confirmed. After a late rally that saw IU score points in 11 of its final 14 opportunities, the Hoosiers have claimed the 2019 Governor’s Cup. Indiana won by a close margin of 10.5 to 9.5 and announced their victory via Twitter: https://twitter.com/IUHoosiers/status/1127975697950158848 IU now has a 8-5-2 record against Purdue in the competition over its 15-year history. The Governor’s Cup measures head-to-head competition between the two schools in all men’s and women’s athletic programs. According to iuhoosiers.com: “Each…
Is this a turning point in the balance of power in the Big Ten? Maybe. This is what John Beilein told me in January in response to my question on what it takes to turn around a college basketball program the way he did at Michigan after a slow start — “But you also need other teams to go down, you gotta have teams that go through stuff,” Beilein said. “We were fortunate that a few programs went down in that era. It was right after that Indiana had their rebuild.” You can do everything right, but if nobody goes…
A weekend outburst at the Nike EYBL in Westfield, Ind. appears to have been the final bit of convincing that Archie Miller needed as IU offered 2020 guard DJ Steward a scholarship on Sunday. The Chicago area native announced the offer via Twitter this evening: https://twitter.com/swipasnipa/status/1127733425593573377 After watching Steward briefly on Friday night we remarked that he appeared to be a highly skilled player that would need to prove that he is elite at something. He did that the remainder of the weekend — and the answer is that Steward is an elite scorer. Steward had 29 and 37 point…
Tayven Jackson is the younger brother of incoming Indiana freshman Trayce Jackson-Davis. Like his brother, Jackson attends Center Grove High School in Greenwood, Ind. He will be a sophomore next year for the Trojans. The 6-foot-4 Jackson is playing guard for the U15 (2022) Indy Heat this spring and summer. Jackson played varsity football and basketball for Center Grove as a freshman. He saw limited action in both sports but did see some meaningful minutes on the court and hit a game winner in December in a high profile game against Cathedral and Armaan Franklin. Jackson is No. 2 in…
I spent Friday evening in Westfield at the Nike EYBL to watch various Indiana basketball recruiting targets. Here are my notes from the session. All players are class of 2020 unless otherwise noted. Caleb Furst (Indy Heat, 2021) is the real deal. The first thing you need to understand when watching Furst is that he is playing up a year. He struggled at times getting his shot off against the nation’s elite incoming seniors, but he clearly belonged on the floor and will be a major factor next year. Furst has the athleticism to play off the block but will…
Only seven players that saw the floor from the 2018-19 Indiana basketball team will be back for the 2019-20 campaign as of this writing. While formal practices have concluded, the work never stops for high major college basketball players. Growth and development happens in the offseason, in individual workouts and permitted organized team activities. If you could talk to each of the seven returning players about their 2018-19 season and what they need to improve going forward, what would you say? We play Archie for a day and give it a shot with “Exit Interviews.” ROB PHINISEE Quick 2018-19 Recap: Rob…
The Indy Heat are one of the two premiere AAU programs in Indiana and typically have many of the most talented high school players from the Hoosier state and surrounding areas. Last year’s team included IU signee and Indiana Mr. Basketball Trayce Jackson-Davis. This year’s teams include 2021 target Caleb Furst as well as several other players that are on the IU radar. You can see the full rosters below. In the Gym Hoops is following the Indy Heat U17 and U16 teams throughout the spring and summer in connection with the Nike EYBL circuit. It is a well done…