Indiana

Clip of the Day: Bob Knight is Insane

Shawn Siegel — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 10:46:00 -0500

Clip of the Day

Thanks to the genius of YouTube, the world has access to thousands of great college basketball videos to keep us busy every second of every day. We'll be featuring daily movies to whet your college basketball appetite. Even if you've seen them before, some clips are just too good not to watch again and again.

Bob Knight: More Insane Than You Even Realize

In honor of continuing the holiday spirit.. a legendary video of Bob Knight cursing his way into an insane asylum (oh wait, make that ESPN's Broadcast Booth). Click on "lunacy" above for more Knight nonsense. (Note: Do not watch this at work or near small children)

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Question of the Week: Did the NCAA Come Down Hard Enough on Sampson/Indiana?

Shawn Siegel — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 00:28:04 -0500

This Week's Question: Did the NCAA Come Down Hard Enough on Kelvin Sampson & Indiana?

Post your thoughts in the comments section whether you think these penalties are fair. Are they to strict? Or too leniant? Did IU get off easier than you expected?

-- Sampson's Penalty for recruiting violations:

A five-year show-cause punishment. Sampson cannot engage in any recruiting activities from 2008-11. The penalty also drastically limits any contact he could have with high school players in 2012 & 2013.

The NCAA Infractions Chairwoman called the rules violation "extremely serious."

“It was extremely serious,” Josephine Potuto, chairwoman of the NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions, said on a media conference call. “The show-cause order appropriately limits his athletic-related duties.”

The gist of the punishment is to basically prevent Sampson from coaching in the NCAA for the next handful of seasons.

-- Indiana's Penalty

Forfeit one scholarship. IU will be on probation for the next three seasons for failing to monitor the activities of Sampson and his assistant coaches. However, there is no postseason ban. Basically, the NCAA didn't really add to IU's self-imposed penalty.

What do you think? Post your thoughts below:

-- Question of the Week Archive:

Nov. 19 - When Will UNC Lose For the First Time?

Big Ten Coach Ranking: Tom Terrific

Jeff Fox — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 12:44:24 -0500

It doesn't appear that too many Big Ten teams are going to light the college hoops world on fire this season. However, more than likely this will only be a temporary slump. With the level of coaching talent roaming the sidelines in the league, its teams are sure to be competing for national championships again sooner rather than later.

1) Tom Izzo - Michigan State

Tom Izzo is untouchable at the top of this list. Why? A national championship, four trips to the Final Four, four regular-season Big Ten titles, four National Coach of the Year awards. That's why.

2) Thad Matta - Ohio State

The trip to the 2007 title game was nice, but Thad Matta has built the Buckeyes program into more than just a one-year powerhouse. A serious bidder for all the top recruits in the country every year, Matta has also led the squad to 37 conference wins over the past three years, second best over this period behind Wisconsin.

3) Bo Ryan - Wisconsin

Speaking of the Badgers, Bo Ryan has led Wisconsin to a conference best 38 wins over the past three seasons. Despite always being overlooked and underrated, Ryan's squads get the job down year in, year out.

4) Tubby Smith - Minnesota

The much-maligned Tubby Smith has done nothing but win at every stop he has made in his coaching career. Minnesota shouldn't be any different.

5) Bruce Weber - Illinois

A few years back Bruce Weber probably could have given Izzo a tough run for his money for top spot on this list. However, his program has been in a steady decline since its 2005 peak.

6) Tom Crean - Indiana

It's going to take awhile to fix the mess Tom Crean inherited, but if he could recruit and win big time at Marquette, doing the same at Indiana shouldn't be a problem.

7) Matt Painter - Purdue

Matt Painter definitely has the Boilermakers back at the level the program was used to under his mentor Gene Keady. They should be at or near the top of the Big Ten at season's end and are poised to make some noise in the NCAA tournament.

8) John Beilein - Michigan

John Beilein is another coach who inherited a mess of a program. It'll probably take a few more years before he gets the Blue up to the level of success he enjoyed at West Virginia.

9) Todd Lickliter - Iowa

Todd Lickliter proved he could win big at a small-time school (Butler). Can he win in the Big Bad Big Ten though?

10) Ed DeChellis - Penn State

After posting seven conference wins last season, maybe Ed DeChellis has Penn State headed in the right direction.

11) Bill Carmody - Northwestern

The Wildcats won one conference game last season and two the year before. Enough said.

GameNight: Indiana vs Notre Dame (Maui)

Blake Hofstad — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 00:29:32 -0500

Start: Nov 24 2008 - 5:00pm

Preview & Prediction: By Blake Hofstad

The Indiana Hoosiers (2-0) will obviously not be the same team they were last year. Tom Crean steps into a very undesirable situation, as everyone who had any impact on Indiana’s season last year is gone. However, this will be an intriguing matchup, if only for the fact that Notre Dame is prone to giving up a lot of points, and the elite freshman class of the Hoosiers will see how they match up to a marquee opponent. Tom Pritchard, a freshman, leads IU with 16 points a game along with 10 boards. Devan Dumes is not far behind, and being a junior, he is one of the leaders of this very young team. Indiana has a lot of guys who are looking to find their spot in the rotation, and I think that this could either help or hinder them against Notre Dame. If everyone understands their role, they could prove to be a challenge for the Irish. If they don’t function as a cohesive unit, and play for themselves, Notre Dame should roll.

Notre Dame (2-0) is on the outside looking in right now in the Big East (at least in terms of winning the league). They need a good showing in Maui to prove they can hang with the big boys, even if the big boys aren’t so big this year. Right now, they are sitting around 4th, in my opinion, in the best conference in college basketball. In order to stay in the upper echelon, a win here is a must. Luke Harangody is arguably the best player in the country. He is almost a lock for a double-double against IU. Kyle McAlarney is a knockdown 3-point shooter. Tory Jackson is a great point guard. A pass-first guy, he has a chance to lead the nation in assists. The key for Notre Dame will be to D up on the Hoosiers. I think they can hold Indiana well under 75, and Notre Dame rarely scores under 75. That means a win for the Irish.

Winner: Notre Dame Margin: 10-20

Maui Invitational Preview: Can Someone Stop UNC?

Kevin McNeill — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 14:21:05 -0500

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EA SPORTS Maui Invitational (Nov 24-26)

Key Games:

- Texas / St. Joseph's winner vs. Indiana / Notre Dame winner

- UNC vs. Alabama / Oregon winner

- Championship game

Once again, Maui showcases a little bit of everything. The country will get a good look at three teams contending for their respective conference titles, two of the most underrated freshmen in the country in Michael Dunigan and JaMychal Green, along with returning stars such as Tyler Hansbrough, Tajuan Porter, Luke Harangody and the great tandem of AJ Abrams and Damion James.

You also have the dueling storylines of a tradition-rich program primed for a run at the national title, along with a tradition-rich program just trying to get through one of their most challenging seasons ever.

North Carolina starts the season the same way they started the last one, as the top ranked team in the nation. This time however, there is a noticeable gap between the Tar Heels and everyone else. Not only do they return the reigning Wooden award winner (not to mention the other five national POY awards), but also feature Wayne Ellington, Danny Green and Ty Lawson - all of whom pulled out of the NBA draft to come back for a title run.

Marcus Ginyard will be in street clothes for the tournament, which is a huge setback, especially on defense, but the Heels still tower over everyone else and should be the favorite to leave the island with the championship. Even though Tyler Hansbrough is still recovering from a stress reaction in his shin, he should be more than effective in Hawaii.

The Maui tournament is also a great test for North Carolina, not only for the high caliber of the field, but for the fact that it also prepares the Heels for a big test at Michigan State. They should be more than ready for the start of ACC play come January.

On the other end of the spectrum sits Indiana. They will field a team with all but two players from last season's roster having either transferred or been booted, a lame duck Athletic Director, an entirely new coaching staff, a self-imposed penalty limiting contact with recruits and a loss of a scholarship - all due to the still-lingering effects of the Kelvin Sampson call scandal.

Better yet, Indiana still awaits word on the NCAA's ruling over the charge of "failure to monitor," indicating that the school didn't do enough to watch Sampson's calls and activities in regard to recruits. Indiana angrily, and repeatedly, denied the charge over the summer, but soon after Sampson helpfully issued a statement saying he never concealed his illegal calls from university officials. Besides, the NCAA rarely likes to admit they were wrong.

So, in a perfect world, the end result would be that Indiana wouldn't have to suffer any more indignities than they already have, and Kelvin Sampson wouldn't be allowed within 100 yards of so much as a NAIA job. Which means of course that it may be safe to predict that Indiana will find itself facing a postseason or television ban, and Sampson will be back in college again by this time next year (following his foray into the NBA as an assistant).

But we move on. The Maui Invitational could well feature back to back matchups of Top 10 teams, should Texas play Notre Dame, with the winner facing the top ranked Tar Heels in the title game. That alone makes it once again the preseason's best tournament.

Another thing to look out for are the two aforementioned freshmen - Michael Dunigan for Oregon and JaMychal Green for Alabama. It wasn't that long ago that we didn't put much stock in freshmen play in November since they are just getting their first glimpse of the college game. No more. Dunigan is already averaging 13 & 8 down low, while Green tries to replace Richard Hendrix by chipping in 15 & 10.

Finally, one last note. The tournament first began on the 20^th anniversary of the greatest upset in sports history, Division II school Chaminade's victory over Ralph Sampson and #1 Virginia in 1982. They play the Tar Heels in the first round this year. If a miracle happens, would this be a bigger upset?

Big Picture: Indiana's New Era

Shawn Siegel — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 20:25:32 -0500

Today's BIG PICTURE

Thanks to our friends over at Icon Sports Media, CHN has access to thousands of great college basketball photos. Each day during the season, CHN will feature a Picture of the Day, which might include a newsworthy, funny, or simply interesting subject. At the bottom will be a caption or headline that might be informative or amusing. The possibilities are endless! During the off-season, we'll publish scattered favorites that were missed during the year.

INDIANA: NEW ERA

A new era of Indiana basketball began this weekend, as the Hoosiers triumphed over Northwestern State. Verdell Jones (18 points) was a big reason why.

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Clip of the Day: Bob Knight is Nuts

Shawn Siegel — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 00:01:00 -0500

Clip of the Day

Bob Knight: Crazy Man in a Sweatshirt

If you've never seen this clip before, its a must watch.

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