Tonight Indiana faces their first competition since last March. Nearly eight months later, IU players are much improved along with the addition of 3 players (and two walk-ons).
More than anything, it’s great to see basketball return to the state of Indiana. After all, Indiana is basketball country. College football fans have had a terrible product on the field this year, proven last week with Notre Dame, Indiana and Purdue all were destroyed on the football field.
Tom Crean is now in his third year as head coach and the team continues find its identity and understand what it means to play at Indiana.
This season, Victor Oladipo is a multi-dimensional guard from Maryland. He’s athleticism is the best on the team to this point and you will see it immediately in his quick agility and wild dunks. Oladipo is a dynamic talent that will be fun to watch for years to come. Will Sheehey from Florida is a more athletic Matt Roth that is known for his shot. He will need some time to fit in and find his place but Sheehey will add to this IU team that is desperate for some shooters.
Guy-Marc Michel provides Indiana with a center that they haven’t had under Crean. Tijan Jobe was a joke and Bawa Muniru couldn’t get off the bench. Michel’s biggest use will be rebounding and altering shots. Sure he will block some shots and if he can just put his hands up to alter shots, Crean will be happy.
(Note: 30 minutes before game time, IU announced the following)
“The NCAA is reviewing the status of Guy-Marc Michel. Prior to attending North Idaho Community College, Guy participated in club basketball in France, where he finished high school and enrolled in some college courses. In three years with the French club, Guy participated as a member of an amateur team. In his third year, he was ‘called up’ for limited participation with a team that included professional players.
Given the experiences of other international student-athletes who have participated in European basketball systems, we anticipated some extended review of Guy’s status.
We have great respect for the NCAA’s process, particularly because we know they have a practice of reviewing each individual student-athlete’s case on its own merit, with a focus on what’s best for the student. We also appreciate the NCAA’s increased understanding of the circumstances facing international student-athletes, which led to recent rule changes that permit immediate eligibility for entering freshman with the same competitive experiences as Guy.
With these factors in mind, we are hopeful for a positive resolution to Guy’s case within the coming weeks. While he is not eligible to compete at this time, he will continue to improve in practice, and he’ll continue doing very well in the classroom, until the process is complete. We will have no additional comments until the matter is resolved.”
Matt Roth returns after missing almost the entire season last year, and Maurice Creek will lead this team. Some scouts are even saying that Creek will be the most outstanding player in the Big Ten and has a chance to play in the NBA.
Indiana and Franklin tip-off at 7 pm. The game is NOT on TV live, but will be replayed Thursday at 9:30 pm on the Big Ten Network. Tonight, you can pay for the stream online at BigTenNetwork.com or listen on the IU Radio Network. Former walk-on Adam Ahlfeld will join Dave Leno on the call for the BTN.com.