Big Ten breakdown: Indiana

Running short on time today because I'm heading out to see Tyrone Wells play a concert at The Mill in Iowa City. Check out his page if you haven't already heard of him. And if you haven't, you will soon. He's got some great songs and is excellent live. This will be my third time seeing him play. On to the basketball.

Ah, the Hoosiers. Since I don't want to write the same ol' boring and lame, structured team previews, and you don't want to read them, I'm going to try something a little different. Bear with me. We're going to call this one "Quick Hitters." I'll throw out a player, coach, stat, or any other nugget of info I feel like, then supply my thoughtful and witty opinion to go with it. Let's try it out.

Indiana "Quick Hitters"

Coach Tom Crean-Love what he's done in a year on the job in Bloomington. I have an anonymous source that said Crean was at the top of the list to move to Iowa City a few years back when former Iowa athletics director Bob Bowlsby was running the show and considering making a move on the Hawkeye bench. Ok, fine...Bowlsby's son Kyle told me that, since you were dying to know. But that's neither here nor there. The point is Crean had nothing to work with last year, hence a 6-25 overall record and one conference win to finish in last place (who was that lone victory over again? I can't seem to remember...). Love Crean's enthusiasm on the sidelines, he is like a mad man out there fighting for his team. I'm expecting a huge leap in year two.

Freshman class-Lindy's college basketball magazine has IU's incoming recruiting class ranked #11 in the country. Crean wasted no time in bringing in talent. Five of the six newcomers rank in the top 111 nationally. They are: SF Christian Watford (41), SG Maurice Cheek (59), SF Derek Elston (103), PG Bobby Hulls (107), C Bawa Muniru (111) and PF Bobby Capoblanco. Get to know these names because they will be logging heavy minutes for the Hoosiers. Crean is building for the long term.

Jeremiah Rivers-I'm personally excited for the Jeremiah Rivers era to begin in Bloomington. He's eligible finally after transferring from Georgetown. I've liked the guy since I met him at the Final Four in Atlanta when he was a member of the Hoyas as a freshman. Ok, so I didn't actually meet him, but I did get a picture with him and Patrick Ewing, Jr. (who coincidently did the opposite by starting at Indiana and transferring to Georgetown). What's not to like about a kid who's a son of a coach, let alone an NBA coach? (For those who are scratching their heads, his padre is Doc Rivers) I think he will be just the type of point guard that Crean wants him to be to lead and be a "coach on the floor," as most good PG's are. They are extensions of the coach and his philosophy. I can see him leading the Big Ten in assists, especially when he gets used to playing with the new recruits. All that talent on the wing, someone's got to distribute the ball, right?

Ok, I think that went well. Actually exceeded my expectations. So I got to scat to the concert, but I will be back to finish up a few more quick hitters. Holler, RL.