Purdue RB recruit: Choosing Purdue over IU was a 'no-brainer"

I grew-up in South Florida as a huge sports fan in the 1970's, played three sports competitively -baseball, football and soccer- and was the Team Manager for two North Miami Beach Senior High School teams that won the Florida State championship.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Miami_Beach_Senior_High_School
(I wrote about 80% of the above Wiki definition.)


To see Street Scene of NMBHS: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=North+Miami+Beach+Senior+High+School&ie=UTF8&ll=25.934659,-80.174553&spn=0.008684,0.010343&t=h&z=16&layer=tc&cbll=25.929149,-80.175365&panoid=iSypIXGVnW7S2RAEg6qT5A&cbp=1,0.6870095273476409,,0,5


The first State Championship was Boys Soccer in 1975 under head coach Vic Cappillo, and then Girls Gymnastics in 1979 under Pete Saponaro, two wonderfully talented and enthusiastic men whom I admired and respected enormously.
For all those reasons, by the time I graduated from NMB in 1979, I had many talented friends around the greater Miami area who were fortunate enough to be offered -and accept- D-1 college athletic scholarships in myriad sports.


Because of those factors, more than most people, I was very familiar with the enormous football talent pool around here, and foresaw the inevitable rise of the Hurricanes, Seminole and Gators' football programs to where we became accustomed down here to the idea of the three of them being ranked in the Top Ten at the beginning and end of every college football season.
To me, it was completely predictable.

So with that in mind, while I was at IU from 1979-83, I was continually frustrated at the number of very talented kids from South Florida -and Central Florida, too- who'd wind up going to smaller schools like the Central, Western or Eastern Michigan, or the like.

Kids who'd be just the sort who'd give IU some much-needed depth so they wouldn't have the sort of second-half collapses against good teams as has long been the norm in Bloomington.
And I wasn't alone in my frustration.

Not to name drop, per se, but Jim Thomas of FT. Lauderdale the-then IU basketball team was a good friend of mine at the time, despite Jim's living over at Teter Quad while I was at Briscoe Quad., near the IU Fieldhouse and Assembly Hall.
(Jim and I were friends despite his single-handily knocking off my school, North Miami Beach, in the state playoffs, at his school's gym, the one year we were arguably THE best team in the state of Florida and favored to win the state championship.)

As both students and sports fans who loved IU, we'd continually bemoan IU's chronic inability to get South Florida kids up to Bloomington, who, while perhaps not stars, were exactly the sorts of very solid, well-rounded kids that make the difference between a solid 7-4 or 8-3 team, and a floundering 5-6 team that raises more questions than they answer.
(Like are they really a 4-7 team that simply got lucky?)

All this frustrating talk of ours was conducted in an era when Michigan had a bona fide South Florida superstar like wideout Anthony Carter and Michigan State had RB Lorenzo White, each of whom were winning games of national importance.
I understand implicitly why someone of their unique caliber were, necessarily, out-of-reach for IU in the Lee Corso years, but must everyone down here with any talent remain un-touchable?

Having finally gotten Direct TV before last Fall, and the Big Ten Network, it's very discouraging as a Hoosier fan to see so many South Florida kids performing for not only Big Ten schools, of course, but, also seeing them play Michigan and Michigan State as the pride of Ypsilanti or Mt. Pleasant, MI, too.
Kids who could've been making a difference in Bloomington, but weren't.


Logically, why in the world should Eastern Michigan continually have better luck at recruiting kids in South and Central Florida than IU? Or Western Michigan for that matter?
And yet... http://www.miamiherald.com/620/story/561110.html

There were opportunities aplenty for IU and Coach Lynch a few months ago, when former NMB QB/DB Doug Wiggins, the Dolphins' 2006 Miami-Dade Player of the Year, was looking to transfer from the U-M. http://hurricanesports.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/wiggins_doug00.html
So, what happened with Wiggins?


From my perspective, someone who attended his first Canes game at the Orange Bowl in 1971, last year was littered with lots of broken promises and self-evident poor coaching moves, as Randy Shannon constantly showed his multiple weaknesses as a head college football coach, showing himself as a Coordinator who's now out of his depth.

Against a middling North Carolina State team at the Orange Bowl, U-M completed exactly one pass in the entire game, even putting a WR behind center three times to try to get some offensive momentum generated.
In fact, by the middle of the third quarter, if not earlier, the Wolfpack defense was actually daring the Canes to pass -and they couldn't!
So naturally, after the season, whom did Shannon fire?
Yes, that's right, the Defensive Coordinator whom he'd personally promoted from DBs coach, even though the defense has been sliding steadily for four years due to lousy LB play while Shannon was the D-Coordinator.


Hmmm...
http://ncaabbs.com/archive/index.php/thread-273456.html
Miami Herald quote:
" U-M's Randy Shannon has a good relationship with most local coaches, but North Miami Beach's Jeff Bertani said, "It would be difficult for me to send a kid to UM now. The trust is broken.''Bertani said former NMB standout Doug Wiggins -- who transferred to Western Michigan -- ''was told he had a torn hamstring, which he did not have, because they needed a reason to redshirt him after he played [the first two games].'' Shannon's response? "I don't know anything about that.''

Honestly, a school in IU's iffy position in the football world should've been ready to pounce on him in a second when he decided to transfer out, since he wasn't likely to play a lot at the U-M as a freshman, anyway, despite having been rated the nation's No. 4 cornerback and the No. 33 overall prospect by Rivals.com two years ago.
Instead, now Wiggins will be at Western Michigan and in two years will likely be MUCH BETTER than any defensive player IU has.

I'd be willing to bet that there are probably kids at Immokalee HS right now, up near Lake Okeechobee, that could play or start at IU, and yet based on experience, there seems very little chance that IU will even take a chance on them.
Why?


What's this great strategy at Assembly Hall to become a better and more competitive football team without getting a lot more talented players from Florida?
Sounds like the sports equivalent of Obama somehow imagining he'll win the Electoral College without the state of Florida?
Well, all empirical evidence suggests that both approaches, if continued, are destined to failure.

At a certain point, you don't have to be an IU-trained optometrist to know that something is short-sighted with their current approach, which as always, has them with few dependable playmakers.

I'd be very interested in knowing if any of you are familiar with anything that's been written within the past ten years that details how IU has continually missed the boat on Florida kids who could've added something positive to the campus and to the football program.
If so, please drop me a line with the appropriate URL, so that I'm no longer in the dark.


If not, I may just have to chronicle that sad story myself.


Just in case I didn't make my point strongly enough above, consider the following.
The second day I was ever in the state of Indiana, having flown up by myself from Miami on a late August Thursday afternoon in 1979, days before moving into Briscoe Quad and while checked into the Holiday Inn on S.R 37, I spent most of that afternoon watching the IU football team practice from up in the stands at Memorial Stadium, surrounded by a handful of devoted and curious Hoosier fans, male and female, in various shades of Cream and Crimson.
Yep, that's me.


Sadly, the Miami Herald article below speaks for itself, and is more of the same ol' bad news for Hoosier fans.
______________________________________________
http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/story/596825.html
Columbus wideout Bush commits to Purdue
Posted on Mon, Jul. 07, 2008
BY DAVID QUINONES



LARRY BLUSTEIN'S COMMENTS
Gary Bush, Columbus
Known for his tremendous speed, here is a player who certainly came into his own over the past year. While his quickness and ability to break receptions for long scores has been a lure for colleges, his knowledge of the game is also something that has played in his recruitment as well.



In this Hoosier-state recruiting battle, score one for the Boilermakers.


Columbus' Gary Bush, a 6-1, 180-pound wide receiver, orally committed to attend Purdue University on Sunday night. His decision came after campus visits to Indiana and Purdue two weeks ago.


For Bush, West Lafayette was the clear winner between the two.


''It was really a no-brainer,'' Bush said. "Me and the coach [Joe Tiller] just bonded. It felt like the right place for me to be. Indiana was nice, it was a lot like Purdue, but in the end I chose Purdue.''



He added that he and his parents talked about the long-distance move, but that he has family in nearby Indianapolis and that his folks "supported my decision.''


The explosive Explorer also received attention from Ole Miss, Boston College, Alabama-Birmingham, Troy State and Vanderbilt before ending his recruitment experience early.



The rising senior is a three sport-star who transferred to Columbus from Southridge after his sophomore year. In the 2007-2008 season, Bush was among the Explorers' leaders in receptions -- usually of the breakaway-variety -- while also earning a Miami Herald All-Dade honorable mention for basketball and a second-team slot on the All-Dade Track and Field team.


In a midseason game against Miami Beach, Bush put the game out of reach with a 38-yard touchdown catch against the smaller Hi-Tides secondary. He recorded a 33-yard TD a month later against South Miami. Columbus' deep-threat paced the team with 21.3-yards per catch on the season.



Bush runs a 4.5-40 yard dash and his leaping ability (23-10 long-jump) at 6-1 makes for a huge downfield target. His second place long-jump finish helped Columbus secure the District 15-4A championships in April.


Strength might be an issue, as Columbus coach Chris Merritt says ''there is no offseason'' for the multi-sport Bush to devote lots of time to the weight room.



''For a guy like him, it's more about just maintaining. It's hard with his schedule,'' said Merritt, who describes Bush as an "all-around Division I athlete.''


But Bush says he has a plan for that dilemma.



''We don't start camp for a little while, so right now I'm just in the weight room, doing the work,'' he said.


Bush insisted the answer is not to give up on his other athletic pursuits. He is quick to note that while he and the staff at Purdue talked about the possibility of playing hoops, "Track is a definite. I'll definitely be jumping.''

Reader comments are at:
http://pod01.prospero.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?msg=49813&nav=messages&webtag=kr-miamitm

Must-see National Signing Day news & TV: BTN & CSTV

USA Today's Jim Halley reports today on the effort to read tea leaves and figure out where talented #1 prep recruit Terrelle Pryor, a 6' 6" QB from Pennsylvania, will sign: Ann Arbor, Columbus or some place else entirely based on his intuition.
Who knows, maybe he'll open his eyes and realize that he can help change the direction of a program by signing with them, rather than going to one of the usual suspects.
That's be nice to see, regardless of what school that is.

Being a devout Hurricane football fan since 1971 and a Hoosier fan since 1979, it's frustrating sitting here knowing that Pryor's such a talented basketball player, too, but that both the U-M and IU are not even on his radar screen, since he seems to have the kind of natural ability, smarts and leadership that could really help both sports in Coral Gables or Bloomington.
He'd look so great in the cream & crimson or the orange & green of the Hoosiers or Hurricanes!
On the other hand, at least Pryor won't be one more PA high school QB -a la U-M alum Jim Kelly- that Joe Paterno tried to recruit and turn into a linebacker.
Those kind of recruiting stories stories never get old when you beat Penn State!

Less so when you lose the national championship to them in the '87 Fiesta Bowl game as the the top-ranked team in the country, when you clearly have the better team, brimming with future NFL talent!
Somewhere, I still have the Fiesta Bowl t-shirt with the -M helmet on it which I bought at the U-M bookstore that Christmas break, when I came back from Evanston.

Meanwhile, some guy that nobody has ever heard of will likely sign tomorrow and in three years, be in the Top Five in Heisman Trophy voting, and everyone you meet will say, quite mater-of- factly, that they always projected him 'ready for the next level.'
Such is the world of recruiting.

Top recruit Pryor keeps college coaches on hold
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/preps/football/2008-02-05-sign-prepfootball_N.htm

USA Today also had some positive news for U-M fans like me who could use some, with a story (and photo) of U-M Hurricane-to-be, safety Vaughn Telemaque of Long Beach Poly, one of the top players on the West Coast from a school with a history of producing talented playmakers, something the Hurricanes desperately need on both sides of the ball.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/recruiting/football/west/2008-02-01-west.htm
Telemaque had no problems seeing himself at Miami. He has lofty goals and hopes to help Miami get back to the top of the national polls.
"We're going to get Miami back in the national title hunt," he said. "I have some big goals when I get out there. I think I have a great opportunity to get early playing time, but I'm going to have to work for it."

Before I mention some other aspects of the college recruiting process, as well as the odd comment here and there, let me ask some questions for which there may not be any good answers, but questions that need to be asked nonetheless, a word I rarely use on my blogs.

How can IU football be anything more than a one-year wonder -given James Hardy's leaving early for the NFL- if the program continues to do such a piss-poor job of recruiting in the state of Florida?

It's really great that Hoosier QB Kellen Lewis is from the Jacksonville area and has turned out to be such a wonderful kid on and off the field, but as of a few days ago, rivals.com, http://indiana.rivals.com/commitlist.asp?school=30 showed only two kids from the entire state going to Bloomington, Peter St. Fort, a DB from Naples and A.J. Thompson from Lakeland, an offensive lineman.
That's simply not enough to be competitive!

Having been as deeply involved with IU athletics as long as I was, and as were so many of my best friends, I'm under no illusions about IU's football program or it's relative place within the football universe.
But I'm dumbfounded to see so many kids from the state who could be effective players at IU, leave for out-of-state programs that play in lesser conferences in MUCH more unattractive towns and blah campuses.

And really, what are MAC schools doing, getting more players from Florida than IU?
IU outclasses them in every way, but the only way to get those kids and use Bloomington and its resources to ultimate advantage is to develop a rep for producing playmakers.

I wish those two Florida kids I mentioned earlier the best, I hope they turn out to be great players and teammates and more importantly, get the great education they should get at IU, but I didn't see the word playmaker, dynamic or change-maker in their player profile.
That's what you need to get from the state of Florida, even if they're only County 2nd team, 3rd team or honorable mention, to stop the feast and famine routine at IU.

This is not an entirely new thought of mine, since many of my IU alum friends from all over the country used to wonder this when we'd get together to watch IU basketball games or U-M football games while I was in Evanston or Washington, D.C., either at my place or at some sports bar.

This was just before U-M, FSU and the Gators would routinely finish in the Top 5 by the end of the year, but the demographics and talent of the state were already hard to deny.

I even wondered this while I was at IU and would glance at the football roster and see maybe two players from the entire state of Florida there. It was presposterous even then.

Back then, when the sports TV landscape was much more limited, I always thought that given that IU had the advantage of playing in the Big Ten conference, that it would probably take IU having some high-profile skilled offensive players and a 2-3 year stretch of 7-4 or 8-3 seasons to overcome the inertia of Florida players to consider the idea of Indiana, even as I knew there were talented but not superstar caliber players leaving the Sunshine State for places like Michigan State or Illinois.

As for the Hurricanes and Coach Randy Shannon, would it be too much to ask that they actually try to sign some talented possession wide receivers or tight ends from Oklahoma and the Midwest?
Players who aren't speedsters from the inner city or from around Lake Okeechobee, and who foolishly think that speed is the answer to every question?

It's not, otherwise the U-M football program wouldn't have sunk to such pathetic levels.

You know, recruit ballplayers who hustle throughout the ballgame, instead of guys with big heads who think they can take breaks during an offensive drive, like multiple-year football failure and off-field screw-up Lance Leggett, who has regressed since he first signed?

He should've been released from his scholarship after the 2006 season, but Randy Shannon,
channeling Father Flanagan, gave him more chances to screw-up and screw-up Lance Leggett did. Over and over.

I still have handy my audiotapes of WQAM's play-by-play broadcastsof last year's U-M games, including a compilation tape of the season's highs and lows that I put together, to free up the other tapes.
One of the common elements of any ballgame was the WQAM announcing crew calling out
Lance Leggett for self-evident lack of hustle or effort, whether that was NOT going for the ball along the sidelines when the QB was running for his life and needed a dump-off target, not laying down a block on a running play, or taking one of his customary siestas during the game, when he sleepwalked.
Randy Moss might've been able to get away with that, but he's Randy Moss.
LL is just code for lazy.

You know, players along the lines of Howard Twilley, Steve Largent, Wes Welker, Dallas Clark or Jeremy Shockey? That'd be a nice start.
Many other U-M fans I know share a similar feeling.

We're SO fed up with watching lanky, trash-talking wannabe stars who can't go over the middle in a game against a tough opponent late in a game.

Players so fundamentally unsound around the sidelines that they lack proper footwork skills and don't know how to make a good target for a QB running for his life, as has been the case far too much the past three years in Coral Gables.

Frankly, if it was up to me, a good starting point would be dropping some curent U-M wide receivers who failed to show any signs of intelligent life when they were given their chances, few though that may've been.

The most embarrassing part of last year's season was the U-M's beyond-shameful passing performance against North Carolina State, where they actually chose to line up wide receivers behind center in the shotgun for a direct snap.
Sorry, but only completing one pass in a game should be enough to get a coach on the hot seat and a player demoted.

The most recent Tom Lemming 2008 National Top 25 rankings of college recruits for CSTV is at: http://www.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/recruiting/classrankings/08national.html

He has Notre Dame ranked first, the Gators third, U-M ranked eigth and the Seminoles at ninth. He ranks 5 Big Ten schools in the top 20, including Minnesota, saying "Finishing 1-11 on season and reeling in T-20 class makes Tim Brewster and staff biggest surprise in country."

List of Gator verbal commitments: http://interact.cstv.com/recruiting/searchrecruit.cfm?sport=football&dbyear=07&school_name=fla

Hurricane: http://interact.cstv.com/recruiting/searchrecruit.cfm?sport=football&dbyear=07&school_name=mifl

Seminole: http://interact.cstv.com/recruiting/searchrecruit.cfm?sport=football&dbyear=07&school_name=fsu

Tom's CSTV show Generation Next will have their annual National Signing Day programming Wednesday. The first show will be a one-hour program at 10 a.m., followed by a four-hour show at 2 p.m., which repeats at 6 p.m., with a one-hour wrap-up show at 10 p.m.

Tom's 2008 All-American team is at: http://www.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/recruiting/allamericans08.html

The Hodge Football Reporter, from Director of Recruiting Coverage for CSTV.com, Bill Hodge is at: http://slog.cstv.com/hodgereport_fb/

His list of IU verbal commitments is at: http://slog.cstv.com/hodgereport_fb/indiana/

Scout.com has U-M's class ranked 4th, FSU at 6th and the Gators ranked 7th, with IU ranked #58 in its rankings, with barely one-third of the talent and ability of top-ranked Alabama's.

Scout.com's HoosierNation football page with tons of info and video is at: http://indiana.scout.com/

Scout.com's network for the Big Three here in Florida is: CanesTime at http://miami.scout.com/, FSU's NoleDigest at http://florida.scout.com/ , with the Fightin'Gators at http://florida.scout.com/

Their John Decker reports on three recruits that IU is desperately trying to get, and why they may or may not sign with the Hoosiers: http://indiana.scout.com/a.z?s=170&p=10&c=726247&refid=4781

Meanwhile Jamie Newberg of SuperPrep.com takes a look at the Top 25 schools at: http://recruiting.scout.com/2/726125.html

The Big Ten Network will delve into the recruiting process, present expert analysis and unveil video highlights of the Big Ten's newest student-athletes with three editions of BIG TEN TONIGHT: SIGNING DAY SPECIAL: A live 90-minute show beginning at 5:30 PM ET Wednesday, Feb. 6; A 60-minute edition of BIG TEN TONIGHT later that evening with additional analysis; And a live 60-minute show on at 6 PM ET on Thursday, Feb. 7.

Excerpts from email I just received from the Big Ten Network.
______________________________________________
Big Ten Network to Air National Signing Day Specials

Network to devote three shows to college football's most anticipated event

CHICAGO - Fueled by months, and sometimes years, of speculation and controversy, National Signing Day is the most anticipated day in college football. No single event has a greater effect upon the fates of football programs and the fortunes of coaching staffs.

The Big Ten Network will delve into the recruiting process, present expert analysis and unveil video highlights of the Big Ten's newest student-athletes with three editions of BIG TEN TONIGHT: SIGNING DAY SPECIAL:

A live 90-minute show beginning at 5 PM ET Wednesday, Feb. 6;

A 60-minute edition of BIG TEN TONIGHT later that evening with additional analysis;

And a live 60-minute show on at 5 PM ET on Thursday, Feb. 7.

"These shows will allow Big Ten fans to look into the crystal ball and see the future of their favorite teams and their archrivals," Big Ten Network coordinating producer Quentin Carter said. "The great thing about our coverage is that we'll concentrate solely on 11 schools and the student-athletes who will be coming to these 11 campuses."

Wednesday's programs will include portions of university press conferences, interviews with Big Ten coaches and instant analysis. On Thursday, Big Ten Network experts will closely examine each school's recruiting class and evaluate how each team addressed its most immediate and long-term needs.

Hosts Dave Revsine and Rick Pizzo will be joined by Big Ten Network analysts Gerry DiNardo, Howard Griffith and Chris Martin and national recruiting expert Bob Lichtenfels of Scout.com.

For more information regarding the Big Ten Network, visit www.BigTenNetwork.com.

What place is this LA Times sub-header describing? HB?

Was going thru my daily cache of email this afternoon while watching the IU-Coppin State basketball game on the Big Ten Network, and my eye caught this intriguing sub-heading on a Robyn Dixon story in the daily Los Angeles Times email I receive full of stories from all sections of the newspaper.
"Everywhere you travel in ... there is evidence of decline and absurdities that would be comical if they weren't so tragic."

All I could think of after seeing that interesting turn of phrase was that it could very well be the sub-heading on my topper at my other blog, HallandaleBeachBlog.
http://www.hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/

Almost as if I were an archaeologist going through ruins of an ancient city, since it pretty well describes the town to a veritable "T." Is it Hallandale Beach or ?
See for yourself.

http://www.latimes.com/news/la-fg-journey22dec22,0,7193858.story?coll=la-tot-topstories&track=ntothtml

IU featured in 10 of 36 Big Ten Network's Classic Big Ten Basketball Games

Friday's email brought interesting marketing news from the Big Ten Network about their since- initiated schedule of 36 Big Ten basketball games they're labeling "THE BIG TEN'S GREATEST GAMES."
Having gone thru the list of ballgames from their press release, http://www.bigtennetwork.com/corporate/PR110607.asp a few things stood out immediately to me, and perhaps you'll agree.
Not so surprisingly, ten of the 36 featured ballgames involve IU basketball teams from 1985-2003, including the famous 1985 game against Purdue that featured the chair Coach Knight threw across the court -and around the world according to some websites I've seen over the years, which showed it as a satellite orbitting the earth.
Some of the games make sense but there are plenty that I'd have preferred seeing and can't help but wonder why they're not here, given the caliber of players involved.

For instance, there are none of the 1980's classics against Michigan featuring Steve Alford and or Glenn Rice that made CBS-TV so gleeful for the compelling nature of the games.
If ESPN Classic had existed back then, they'd have been in heavy rotation.
And what about the great game where Georgetown came into Assembly Hall in 1980 or '82 and shot crazy, crazy 'lights out' basketball in the first half to the astonishment of the packed arena, something like 66%, but IU still found a way to crawl out of a hole and come back to win? That's one I'd like to see.

(A propos of nothing, I can't help but wonder once the NCAA football season is over, will ESPN Classic re-air the best of the ABC/ESPN Saturday basketball games on Sunday mornings at 9 a.m. like they do for their football broadcasts, which have featured some great games, including that great UK vs. Louisville match that I watched from beginning to end when it was LIVE, as well as the encore broadcast. For my money, that's the best college football game of the year, though I hold out hopes that the U-M will surprise me and do something noteworthy in their last three games of the year:
tonight against UVA in their last game at the Orange Bowl -where my nephew Mario, a U-M junior will be tonight, and where in 1971, I saw my very first U-M game, the famous "Fifth Down" game against Tulane when I was ten years old-
next week against Virginia Tech in the land of the rabid Hokie fans, Blacksburg,
and then up in Chestnut Hill to close the year out against Boston College and Matt Ryan as they seek to go to a BCS Bowl game on a Saturday night game.
SouthBeachHoosier trivia: Boston College was my #3 college choice, after U.S.C., ie. Southern Cal and IU. )

I'll have to write the folks at ESPN a note about this good idea and if I hear back, I'll post it here.

Below are the ten IU ballgames to be broadcast.
____________________________________
excerpted from
http://www.bigtennetwork.com/corporate/PR110607.asp
November 6, 2007
Network to Televise 36 Classic Big Ten Basketball Contests
Fans can re-live some of the 'Greatest Games' in college basketball history

CHICAGO - Intense rivalries, improbable buzzer-beaters and impossible comebacks. These are the ingredients of some of the most exciting moments in Big Ten history.Throughout the winter, basketball fans will have the opportunity to re-live 36 epic match-ups on the Big Ten Network series, "THE BIG TEN'S GREATEST GAMES."
The series will highlight some of the best moments in the rich histories of all 11 Big Ten basketball programs.
Series producers have interviewed many legendary players and coaches from those games along with those who were on hand to cover the event. Their insight and memories will be integrated into each episode.
Big Ten Network President Mark Silverman said the "Greatest Games" series honors the legacy of the conference's past, and will be a consistent presence year-round.
"As a fan, you never forget your team's most emotional wins or heartbreaking losses. We know fans will enjoy watching these games," Silverman said.

Tuesday, December 4th Kentucky at Indiana - 12/18/1990
Indiana coach Bob Knight used a little tough love to motivate Calbert Cheaney, who scored a dismal four points in the first half, and apparently the tactic worked. Cheaney scored 19 in the second half as the Hoosiers rallied from a halftime deficit. A three-pointer by Kentucky's Jamal Mashburn tied the game at 82 with 55 seconds to go, but foul trouble plagued Kentucky and gave Indiana the edge, as 10 of the Hoosier's final 18 points came from the foul line. Indiana eventually hung on to defeat the Wildcats 87-84.

December 18th Indiana at Northwestern - 1/11/1988
Playing without three of its starters, Northwestern ended a six-game losing streak with an upset of defending national champion Indiana, 66-64. The Wildcats shot a perfect 21-for-21 from the free-throw line. Shon Morris led the Wildcats, scoring 10 points, grabbing seven rebounds, dishing out four assists and making many other key plays that didn't show up in the boxscore. Morris and his teammates seemingly dove after every loose ball, leading Bobby Knight to comment, "they just completely outplayed us."

Wednesday, January 2nd Iowa at Indiana - 3/1/2003
Playing through injury and sickness, Iowa took Indiana into overtime before eventually falling 91-88. Bracey Wright scored 21 points and sank the game-winning 3-pointer for IU. Jared Reiner had a career-high 25 points and 17 rebounds for Iowa.

Tuesday, January 8th Indiana at Purdue - 1/18/1994
Having been swept the previous year by their intrastate rival, Purdue looked to make a statement, and did just that. Down the stretch the lead changed hands several times, and when regulation came to an end, the game was all knotted up. In the end, the Boilermakers hung on to defeat eighth-ranked Indiana 83-76 and move into a four-way tie for first in the Big Ten.

Indiana at Illinois - 3/1/1987
On Senior Night, Illinois led by as many as 10 in the second before Indiana rallied and had an opportunity to win on the final possession. Following a timeout, the Hoosiers worked the clock down to seven seconds when Steve Alford missed what would have been a game-winning three-pointer. After a missed free throw by the Illini's Steve Bardo, Alford heaved a desperation shot from mid-court that just missed, giving Illinois the 69-67 victory.

Indiana at Ohio State - 2/17/1991
In a game that saw the lead change hands 16 times in the second half, neither team could manage a lead of more than six points. Indiana freshman phenom Damon Bailey scored 32 points without committing a single turnover while Ohio State forward and current Big Ten Network analyst Jim Jackson racked up 30 points, 11 rebounds and a game-winning assist. However, it was Treg Lee who sank the winning shot for the Buckeyes, lifting them to a 97-95 victory.

Indiana at Wisconsin - 2/16/1987
The Badgers took the second-ranked Hoosiers to triple-overtime before finally falling 86-85. Although Indiana's Steve Alford broke the school's all-time scoring record (2,192 points), he missed some opportunities to win the game in the first two overtimes. Instead, it was the Hoosiers' Dean Garrett who scored the game-winning basket with just four seconds left.

Purdue at Indiana - 2/23/1985
In what some believed to be an attempt to energize his struggling team, Indiana coach Bob Knight received three technical fouls, including one for throwing a chair across the court. Knight's frustration was sparked by consecutive foul calls against his players just five minutes into the game with Indiana trailing 11-6. Despite Knight and the Hoosiers' efforts, however, they still fell to the Boilermakers, 72-63.

Indiana at Minnesota - 2/9/2000
When Minnesota star John-Blair Bickerstaff was carried from the court on a stretcher after a foul by Indiana's A.J. Guyton, sophomore Joe Przybilla stepped in and scored a career-high 33 points, including the game-winner with only four seconds left, leading Minnesota to a 77-75 victory.

Tuesday, March 11th Illinois at Indiana - 3/5/1989
The two Big Ten powerhouses went back and forth for most of the game before some last-second heroics turned this game into one for the ages. Indiana's Jay Edwards hit an unthinkable shot tying the game at 67 with two seconds left. Illinois quickly called a time out to set up the final play. Nick Anderson came off a pair of screens, caught a perfect pass and drilled a 30-footer as the buzzer sounded, giving the Illini a 70-67 victory.

For more information regarding the Big Ten Network, visit www.BigTenNetwork.com.

Schedule of IU basketball on Big Ten Network

Sorry for the dearth of posts lately, especially my many thoughts about the recent Broward County Transit Summit I attended.
I've been especially busy and searching for a new computer, but I have a bunch of what I think are some very interesting and illuminating posts that have just been waiting for the new computer to be hooked up.


Still, I wanted to share an excerpt of an email I received today from The Big Ten Network folks in Chicago about their schedule for IU basketball telecasts, hommes et femmes.

As you can see, the first broad cast will be this Sunday against North Alabama.
________________________________________________________
With 17 Hoosier men's basketball games in high definition, eight women's games and more analysis than anywhere else, the Big Ten Network is your number one destination for basketball. The network will televise 140 Big Ten regular season men's basketball games and 55 women's games - more than any other network.
To get the Big Ten Network go to http://www.bigtennetwork.com/ or call 1-866-WANT-B10.
Men's Basketball on Big Ten Network


Sunday, November 4 12:00 pm North Alabama at Indiana
Saturday, November 10 7:00 pm UNC-Pembroke at Indiana
Monday, November 12 7:00 pm Chattanooga at Indiana
Sunday, November 18 12:00 pm Longwood at Indiana
Tuesday, November 20 7:00 pm UNC-Wilmington at Indiana
Friday, November 23 8:30 pm Illinois State vs. Indiana(in Hoffman Estates, IL)
Saturday, November 24 6 or 8:30 pm Xavier or Kent vs. Indiana (in Hoffman Estates, IL)
Monday, December 3 7:00 pm Tennessee State at Indiana
Saturday, December 15 8:00 pm Western Carolina at Indiana
Saturday, December 22 12:00 pm Coppin State at Indiana
Saturday, December 29 7:00 pm Chicago State at Indiana


Big Ten conference games

Wednesday, January 2 9:00 pm Indiana at Iowa
Sunday, January 20 2:00 pm Penn State at Indiana
Wednesday, January 23 9:00 pm Iowa at Indiana
Sunday, February 3 12:00 pm Northwestern at Indiana
Wednesday, February 13 7:00 pm Wisconsin at Indiana

Saturday, February 23 8:00 pm Indiana at Northwestern
plus 3 Big Ten Conference Tournament games


Womens broadcasts

Friday, November 30 7:00 pm Florida State at Indiana
Sunday, December 16 2:00 pm Bowling Green at Indiana
Monday, December 31 3:00 pm Indiana at Northwestern
Thursday, January 3 8:00 pm Purdue at Indiana
Monday, January 14 7:00 pm Indiana at Purdue
Sunday, February 10 2:00 pm Indiana at Illinois
Sunday, February 17 12:00 pm Michigan at Indiana
Monday, February 25 7:00 pm Ohio State at Indiana
plus 9 Big Ten Conference Tournament games

Mike Pegram gives needed context to Big Ten net fight with Comcast

I'm only now getting caught up to speed on all the minutiae of this nasty television dispute, but Mike Pegram of Peegs.com & Inside Indiana does an excellent job of providing some much needed context into understanding the heart of the fight between Comcast and the Big Ten network.

Network president Mark Silverman gives his side on how Indiana and other Big Ten team's fans and alumni will be directly (adversely) effected by the new policies in this transcript of his July 22nd interview, wherein he hints that Hoosier fans might just be able to see the football team on the net seven times. That interview also includes this important remark by Mr. Silverman:

"Every Indiana game, every basketball or football game will be nationally televised with the one caveat being a regionalization early in the season when there are several games going on at once. It might not be full coverage across the country for football. It is a significant amount of more games. I know in the past there have been many Indiana football games that were not even televised and now not only are they televised, but they are going out. They are going to be to a large extent across the country.

Basketball games I know for the most part have been on, at least locally, but now we are able to take all those games and they are on across the country."

For the complete Q&A with Silverman see http://indiana.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=693414

Personally, over the past three years, I've watched a tremendous number of IU games on the ESPN Plus package that's televised on CSS, Comcast Sports Southeast, even as the Miami Herald did their customary half-assed job of actually listing them in their daily sports section on daily whims, frequently neglecting to list games CSS televised involving the U-M, FIU and FAU, much less the Big Ten games I was interested in.

When I was living up in Washington, D.C. from 1988-2003, I was able to watch the IU games -though not as many- on one of the rare non-PBS public TV stations. They showed the ESPN Plus Big Ten package of basketball & football games on Tuesdays, Thursdays & Saturdays to get money into the station, running pledge breaks at halftime.

Last year, this past winter actually, it seemed like I was able to watch about about 70% of their games, watching 4 out of every 6 IU games this way, plus the nationally televised U-Conn game that CBS carried, which left me with little to complain about coverage-wise.

Anyway, Mike follows up that interview by giving Comcast -NOT one of my favorite companies for myriad reasons that would take too long long to get into here, suffice to say that I loathe them!- the opportunity to explain their side of the debate with a transcript of his interview Monday with Comcast Midwest Division President Bill Connors. See that Q&A at http://indiana.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=698376

Since the Big Ten net is scheduled to debut on August 30th, you owe it to yourself to find out what's really going on.

A Big Ten Network FAQ page exists at http://www.bigtennetwork.com/managex/index.asp?ArticleSource=418 and hopefully will be updated as necessary, since this info is from May 21st, so you might want to check it every few days and see how you'll be affected in whatever part of Hoosier Nation you're living in.
For Hoosiers living in the Keystone State of PA, see http://live.psu.edu/story/25277

I finally got Direct TV three weeks ago, so I'm going to have to spend some time investigating what I'll need to do in order to get the Big Ten Network package, as opposed to the ESPN Gameday package that's constantly advertised.

The Big Ten net FAQ tells me: More $

Q: Will I be able to get the Big Ten Network from my current cable system or satellite provider?

A: All cable and satellite systems throughout the U.S. have the opportunity to place the Big Ten Network on their most widely available level of service. We already have signed deals with DirecTV and AT&T that ensure the Big Ten Network is on their basic level of service (Total Choice for DirecTV). If you subscribe to either of these services, the network is already part of your basic package, and you'll be able to turn it on the minute we launch. In addition to DirecTV and AT&T, we have over 40 deals with local cable operators, all of which call for the network to be carried on their basic cable package at no extra cost to consumers. Once these deals are signed, we will announce them publicly. The fact that we are able to complete these cable deals shows that our terms are reasonable and fair. It also gives us confidence that other agreements will be forthcoming.
We have had productive conversations with larger cable operators. Getting those deals done is more complicated because we're talking about several different kinds of services in several different markets. These deals take longer to complete due to their complexity, but the fact that DirecTV, AT&T and others have agreed to carry the Big Ten Network is a good sign that all cable and satellite operators – both big and small nationwide – understand the value of our programming.