On the plus side it was an unmistakable sign that Indiana basketball was back among the elite programs in the country. But the downside was that the Hoosiers played every game last season with targets on their backs. Beating Indiana once again was a season-maker for lesser opponents, and coach Mike Davis spent the off-season looking for tips from other champions who had gone down the same rugged path.

 

"Coming off the national championship game, it was a different arena for us," Davis said.

 

"Since then, I've listened to a lot of conversations about the Tampa Bay Buccaneers trying to repeat what they did, I've listened to Emmitt Smith talking about how tough it was with the Dallas Cowboys. I think we just didn't realize how tough it would be."

 

Perhaps starting the season with eight straight wins also lulled the players into a false sense of security. The Hoosiers won the EA Sports Maui Invitational, beating UMass, Gonzaga and Virginia on the island. They also won an NCAA title game rematch against Maryland in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, and beat Purdue in a rare December non-conference game, booked because the old foes were slated to meet only once in the unbalanced Big Ten schedule.

 

Kentucky finally snapped Indiana's streak with a 70-64 win at Louisville, and a loss at Temple followed. But the Hoosiers rallied to win six of their next seven to stand at 14-3 and 4-1 in the Big Ten in late January. Their No. 6 national ranking would be their high-water mark of the season, as they went just 7-10 down the stretch and faded to a .500 finish in the conference.

 

Seeded sixth in the Big Ten Tournament, Indiana beat Penn State, then upset third-seeded Michigan before falling to Illinois in a semifinal. That performance earned the Hoosiers a No. 7 seeding in the NCAA Midwest Regional, where they beat Alabama 67-62, then fell short of the Sweet Sixteen with a 74-52 loss to second-seeded Pittsburgh.

 

Moving forward, the Hoosiers have to replace three seniors who were among the team's top four scorers last season. Jeff Newton, a 6-9 forward, finished second in the Big Ten with 8.2 rebounds a game and was the team's second-leading scorer at 14.9 points a night-good for 10th in the conference. Newton was a first-team All-Big Ten pick by the media and after leading the Big Ten in blocked shots as a junior, he finished fifth last year with 1.5 per game.

 

Newton was one of two Hoosiers to start all 34 games last year. The other was 6-2 guard Tom Coverdale, who finished fifth in the Big Ten with 4.5 assists per game. His 11.9 points a night matched his output as a junior, and he earned honorable mention All-Big Ten kudos from both the coaches and the media. The other departing senior is 6-5 forward Kyle Hornsby, the team's most accurate three-point shooter at 38 percent last year.

 

The Hoosiers will rely heavily this year on the scoring of 6-3 sophomore guard Bracey Wright (16.2 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 2.1 apg), who burst onto the scene as a freshman and won the Big Ten Player-of-the-Week award twice last year. He led the team in scoring, hitting a career-high 31 points against Vanderbilt and Ball State and his 66 three-pointers were the most ever for a Hoosier freshman.

 

This year, Wright is a preseason Wooden Award top 50 nominee and hopes to be back at 100 percent after off-season surgery to relieve nerve pressure on his lower back. The recurring injury cost him four games in January, and Davis said it slowed him after his red-hot start.

 

"Last year, in the first eight games there was no one better in the country from a freshman standpoint," Davis said. "Hopefully we can get Bracey back to the point he was at last year. Bracey is a talented player and we hope he can overcome [the injury]with his intensity." The other player returning with at least 30 starts is 6-11 senior center George Leach (6.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 2.6 bpg), who led the Big Ten and finished 19th in the country in blocked shots as a junior. He started last year with a 19-point, 15-rebound effort against UMass, career-highs in both categories, and Davis said this is Leach's opportunity to be "the man" inside for Indiana.

 

"He's definitely a good shot blocker, and now this is his time to shine," Davis said. "He's played with [Kirk] Haston and [Jared] Jeffries and Newton, and now this is George's time to shine. He can really score inside, he's got a nice outside shot, and his rebounding should definitely improve this year. He should carry a good part of the load for us."

 

The other senior expected to see significant minutes for the Hoosiers this year is 6-2 guard A.J. Moye (5.5 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 2.1 apg). Indiana was 5-2 with Moye in the starting lineup last year, and he keyed the upset of Michigan in the Big Ten tourney with a season-high 18 points. He recovered from shoulder surgery in April 2002 to contribute last year, and Davis said he should be healthy and ready for a banner senior season.

 

"We're looking for even bigger things out of him this year," Davis said. "We know the intensity will be there. Our guys had a great off-season conditioning program, and George and Moye showed great senior leadership getting us ready for the season."

 

Another part-time starter from last year looking to increase his role is 6-2 sophomore guard Marshall Strickland (6.1 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 2.0 apg). He started his freshman year on the right foot, leading the Hoosiers to a win over Virgina in the championship of the Maui tournament with a 15-point effort on 5-of-6 shooting from the floor, scoring 12 points in the last nine minutes of the game. He ended up starting 13 games and should challenge for the starting point guard job this year.

 

His main competition for the position will be 6-2 junior Donald Perry (2.2 ppg, 0.8 rpg), who has gained experience backing up Coverdale the past two years. "Marshall worked hard in off-season, and so did Donald Perry," Davis said. "They should really complement each other this year. We want both guys to get people the basketball and average six to seven assists a game."

 

On the front line, 6-8 sophomore Sean Kline (2.8 ppg, 1.9 rpg) and 6-9 junior Mike Roberts (1.4 ppg, 1.3 rpg) should challenge for more playing time. Davis said both players had strong showings in conditioning drills this summer and exemplify the type of teamwork-based competition he's trying to instill in his players battling for starting spots.

 

"We always go into season with an open mind," Davis said. "We want people to compete, and we want them to play together at the same time. Sometimes people can compete and not realize they're on the same team."

 

Three new faces will also push for a spot in Davis' rotation this fall. Red-shirt freshman Roderick Wilmont, a 6-4 guard, will rely on his defense and athletic ability to fight his way into the mix. "Roderick is definitely a talented basketball player," Davis said. "He's athletic, he plays hard, and he was probably our most improved player over the year. The [red-shirt] year really helped him because last year with the guards we had, his time really would have been limited."

 

Two freshmen also could contribute this year in the frontcourt. The biggest name is 6-8 forward Pat Ewing Jr. (19.0 ppg, 12.0 rpg, 3.0 bpg, National Christian Academy/Fort Washington, Md.), the son of the former Georgetown, Olympic and NBA legend.

 

"Pat can do a little bit of everything," Davis said. "He's strong and aggressive on the boards, and he can also step out and shoot it as well. Two of the many things that drew us to Pat were his work ethic and attitude. Pat has faced pressure throughout his career, following in his father's footsteps. But he has used that to his advantage. It has motivated him to work harder to prove that he can play, too. Obviously, his dad has been a huge influence."

 

At 6-10, forward Jessan Gray-Ashley (10.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg, Central HS/Davenport, Iowa) is the second-tallest player on the Indiana roster. He wasn't heavily recruited, but his athletic ability and defense will help him earn playing time in Bloomington.

 

"Jessan is probably the sleeper of high school basketball," Davis said. "He came in here and gained 17 pounds over the summer, he can dribble and shoot, and he's really skilled. Before it's all said and done, he should be a top player in the Big Ten, and that's a kid that nobody really recruited.''

 

BLUE RIBBON ANALYSIS

 

The Hoosiers lost a lot with the departures of Newton, Coverdale and Hornsby. Experience will be in short supply this year, and some tough lessons could come early with games at Wake Forest, Notre Dame and Vanderbilt, neutral-site games against Kentucky and Xavier, and home contests with Missouri, Temple and Butler.

 

By the time the Big Ten season rolls around, the young Hoosiers should be battle-tested and ready to tackle a brutal start to the conference season, with four of their first five games on the road. If they can weather that stretch, and their lack of depth in the front court isn't exposed, they could ride the talent of Wright, Leach and Moye to the first tier of the Big Ten standings and another NCAA Tournament berth.

the rise to prominence begins....

some video of Pat Ewing Jr

 

The definition of a dunk

 

and the next Lebron James(will be a Freshman in IU next year unless he goes to the pros)

Josh Smith

Pat Ewing Jr. will win big 10 freshman of the year, and be in contention for national freshman of the year.

 

This is fact.

January 20th and February 21st. Ohio State-Indiana. It's just too bad Coverdale and Darby are gone, those 2 were always good for a near-fight.

 

Texas Tech comes to the Schott on January 4th. That's gonna be awesome.

 

I haven't seen much about the incoming freshmen in the Big 10, but I'm betting you're probably right about Ewing Jr. Ohio State's got a good looking frosh in Ivan Harris, but he's probably not to that level and he won't get the minutes anyway with the depth we have this year.

 

Now if we can just seal the deal on this Malik Hairston kid from Michigan for next year, he'd be the best O'Brien recruit ever and would give us 3 top 100 prospects, which would easily be the best class he's brought in. But, odds are Izzo gets him.

Darby and TCov were great to watch