B1G Transfers and Returns

Published by Source on April 16th, 2012

Several B1G players have announced that they are leaving or returning to their respected programs in the last 24 hours. Below you can find a list of the most recent moves:

* Ohio State sophomore J.D. Weatherspoon will be leaving the Buckeye program. The forward is a Columbus-native and played high school ball with OSU teammate Jared Sullinger. Weatherspoon played just 6 minutes per game this season and averaged 3.0 points and 1.1 rebounds.

* Purdue junior John Hart announced that he will use his final season of eligibility at another school. Hart will graduate at the end of this season and will be immediately eligible to play at any out of conference school if his graduate program of choice is not offered at Purdue. The guard has seen his minutes decline in each of his seasons with the Boilers and he averaged just 1.6 ppg in 5.3 mpg as a junior.

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Zeller and Watford returning to Indiana

Published by Source on April 10th, 2012

Two key pieces to Indiana’s success this past season will be back again next year to help the Hoosiers make a run at the National Title. Freshman big man Cody Zeller and junior wing Christian Watford announced Tuesday that they will both be back for the 2012-13 season to play for Tom Crean and the Hoosiers.

Zeller, the B1G co-Freshman of the Year and honorable mention AP All-American, had a brilliant season in which his post presence changed the entire complexion of the team on both sides of the court. The star forward averaged 15.6 points and 6.6 rebounds on a team that went to its first Sweet 16 since 2002. Zeller was the cornerstone of the team’s turn-around and will continue to have a major impact on their success moving forward. Many NBA experts projected Cody as a lottery pick, many placing him in the top-10.

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Indiana All-Stars Roster announced

Published by Source on April 9th, 2012

The annual Indiana/Kentucky All-Star games will be held this year on June 8th (Louisville, KY) and 9th (Indianapolis, IN) and the Indiana team is loaded with Division-1 talent. The 13-man roster will play two exhibition games on June 4th (Seymour) and 6th (Pendleton Heights) against the Junior All-Stars before taking on the Kentucky seniors. Below this the roster, complete with college selections for each player:

INDIANA ALL-STARS:

* Gary Harris (SG, Hamilton Southeastern) – 6’4″ / 208 lbs / Michigan State

* Yogi Ferrell (PG, Park Tudor) – 5’11″ / 165 lbs / Indiana

* Kellen Dunham (SG, Pendleton Heights) – 6’5″ / 180 lbs / Butler

* Ron Patterson (SG, Broad Ripple) – 6’3″ / 195 lbs / Indiana

* Jeremy Hollowell (SF, Lawrence Central) – 6’8″ / 210 lbs / Indiana

* Ronnie Johnson (PG, North Central) – 6’0″ / 160 lbs / Purdue

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Trey Burke returning to Michigan

Published by Source on April 9th, 2012

After an incredible freshman season, Michigan point guard Trey Burke declared for the NBA. While he did not immediately hire an agent, it was reported last week that the young guard had made the decision to move to the next level. Trey’s father disputed these claims, saying that his son had not made a decision and was still enrolled at the Ann Arbor campus.

Monday, the University announced that their starting point guard will in fact be returning to school next year for his sophomore season. This is incredible news for John Beilein and Michigan basketball, as losing Burke would have severely hampered their chances at another B1G title. With their star point guard back and an incredible recruiting class coming in, the Wolverines should open the season as one of the favorites in the conference and perhaps a top-15 or even top-10 team nationally.

 

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Michigan lands late 2012 PG commitment

Published by Source on April 7th, 2012

With the news that Michigan starting point guard Trey Burke may be gone to the NBA, head coach John Beilein went in search of a new point guard to bring in next season. It appears he has found that player in Spike Albrecht, a point guard currently finishing a prep season at Northfield Mount Vernon (MA). Albrecht, who is originally from Crown Point, Indiana just over of the IL/IN border, becomes the fourth member of a Wolverine 2012 class that includes Rivals150 players Mitch McGary, Glenn Robinson III and Nick Stauskas.

The NCAA spring signing period starts on Wednesday, so Albrecht will be able to sign with his new team as early as next week. The commitment came during a visit to Ann Arbor on Friday night on which Beilein offered the point guard a scholarship. Beilein has landed a number of players from “The Region” of NW Indiana, including seniors Stu Douglass and Zack Novak, as well as 2012 commits McGary and Robinson, both of whom come from the same AAU program (SYF Players) as Albrecht.

There are conflicting reports as to whether or not Burke will be back to the Wolverines next season and there is no doubt that his departure will be a tough loss for the program. Burke emerged as one of the top point guards in the conference and shared B1G Freshman of the Year honors with Indiana’s Cody Zeller. The NBA stock is high for Burke now, but he may decide that another year in college would improve his position and NBA-readiness. Albrecht would also benefit from playing with such a talented point guard for a season or two, but will have to be ready to go right away if Burke is in fact off to the pros.

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Meyers Leonard leaving Illinois for NBA

Published by Source on April 2nd, 2012

Illinois sophomore big man Meyers Leonard will forgo his final two years of eligibility and remain in the 2012 NBA Draft field, he announced on Monday.

Leonard is an incredibly skilled big man and has an NBA-ready body. His maturity has come into question numerous times in his tenure at Illinois, but that really seems to be his only knock at this point. Most draft experts project Leonard as a late lottery-pick, somewhere in the 10-15 region.

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McDonald’s All-American Game 2012 RECAP

Published by Source on March 29th, 2012

Another successful McDonald’s All-American event in Chicago is in the books. Twenty-four of the nation’s best high school teammates engaged in an exciting all-star game in front of a packed house at the United Center. While the field did not include any players from Chicago high schools, there were two future B1G players on the court facing off against each other. Future Indiana Hoosier Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell played point guard for the West and future Michigan State Spartan Gary Harris was on the East squad – they played on separate teams even though both players are from Indianapolis. Ferrell’s West team controlled most of the game and, after the East pulled within two points late in the second half, were able to hold on and win it 106-102.

Harris was among the starters for the East squad, but finished with just two points in a game that was dominated offensively be a select group of players. Harris finished with 2 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Kentucky-bound Alex Poythress had 19 points and future UCLA Bruin Kyle Anderson nearly put up a triple-double with 13 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists. Anderson was the most impressive East player in my opinion. He is just so smooth on the court and you can tell that the game comes naturally to him. As a 6’8″ point guard, Anderson will be a match-up nightmare next season and has the ability to turn around the UCLA program on his own. Poythress was pretty impressive on offense, as well, regularly slicing through the albeit lackadaisical defense and getting to the bucket. He did commit six fouls in the game, which is somewhat alarming as it was an all-star game.

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John Groce hired at Illinois

Published by Source on March 29th, 2012

After a long and somewhat troubling search, Illinois athletic director Mike Thomas has hired Ohio University head coach John Groce to be the next Illini men’s basketball coach. After the job was reportedly turned down by the likes of Shaka Smart and Brad Stevens, Thomas turned to what some media members call his sixth-choice in Groce. But regardless of how he got there, Groce is headed to Champaign with the goal of getting the Illini back in the top half of the conference and into the NCAA Tournament.

Groce seemed like a logical candidate from the beginning – a mid-major coach with ties to the area and conference that has tournament success and a proven winning record. In his four seasons at Ohio, Groce took the Bobcats to 2 NCAA Tournaments, including a Sweet Sixteen run this March. Before landing in Athens – his first head coaching job – Groce spent eight total seasons as an assistant to Thad Matta at Butler, Xavier and Ohio State. He was on the Ohio State staff in 2007 when the Buckeyes lost to Florida in the National Championship game.

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Southern Illinois hires Barry Hinson as head coach

Published by Source on March 27th, 2012

ESPNChicago’s Scott Powers reports that Kansas Director of Basketball Operations Barry Hinson has agreed to be the next head coach of the Southern Illinois Salukis men’s basketball team. Hinson has been on the Kansas’ staff since 2008 and prior to that spent eleven seasons as a Division I head coach (two at Oral Roberts then nine at Missouri State) accumulating a head coaching record of 205-140.

Hinson comes to Carbondale with Missouri Valley experience, as well as solid postseason history – he led Missouri State to four NIT berths. As far as the eye test goes, Hinson is a good hire for Southern and brings winning experience to a team desperate to reclaim its position at the top of the MVC.

Hinson replaces Chris Lowery, who was fired back on March 2nd after a disappointing eighth season in which the Salukis went just 8-23. Many thought that former Illinois and SIU coach Bruce Weber could be the next Saluki head coach, since he is recently unemployed and had a successful tenure in Carbondale from 1998-2003. A number of other Big Ten assistants were thought to be candidates, as well, including Illinois’ Jay Price and Indiana’s Tim Buckley.

 

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Nebraska hires Colorado States’ Miles

Published by Source on March 25th, 2012

Nebraska athletic director Tom Osbourne has found the next Huskers men’s basketball coach: Colorado State’s Tim Miles. The 45-year old Miles comes to Lincoln to replace fired head coach Doc Sadler and will lead the Huskers into their second season of B1G competition. The first season was less than impressive, as the Huskers finished 11th out of 12 teams and lost in the first round of the conference tournament.

Miles appeared in his first career NCAA Tournament this past season, leading the Colorado State Rams to the 11-seed in the West Regional. It was the program’s first appearance since in nine years. Though the Rams fell to Murray State in their first game, the season was quite a success and launched Miles to his next career destination: Big Ten head coach.

In his five years in Fort Collins, Miles coached the Rams to an overall 71-88 (28-50) record. But those numbers would look a lot better when you take out a rough first two years in which Miles was forced to rebuild a team with just two returning players. Over the last three years Miles has proved his coaching abilities, leading the Rams to a 55-41 record and three straight postseason appearances (CBI in 2010, NIT in 2011 and NCAA in 2012).

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