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[PointGuard]

Co-head coach Ken Yamoto

We’ll have 3 scholarships that we can fill this year through recruiting. We’ll definitely need a good SG, but can be flexible about positions with respect to the other 2 scholarships, although I believe our 2nd biggest need may be for one more big man.

We are buying the basic scouting reports for each region plus national and international basic reports and will be attending the Indy Elite Camp plus all the regional camps aiming to land three 4 or 5 star players. I will be coordinating the recruiting effort but all 4 of us co-head coaches will be active with recruiting duties…as we were last year. We try to match up a recruit’s personality and interests with the coach most similar…or if a recruit has an affinity for one of the 4 co-head coaches, then that coach becomes his primary point of contact. I think most recruits like that they’re talking with a “head coach” rather than an “assistant coach”. Of course, in our system, they always are talking to a “head coach”.

[PointGuard]

Co-head coach Ken Yamoto

Things went really well with our summer and autumn recruiting. We got talented recruits interested in coming to Indiana through frequent contacting and then getting them to visit our campus. And our September/October home visits were extremely successful. We filled our 3 available scholarships. All 3 are highly rated 4-star recruits:

PG Chris Heard, 6-3 from Crosley, TX. Last season as a junior at his HS, he averaged 15.9 ppg, 10.6 apg, 6.2 rpg, and 4.3 spg. He’s a good scorer who shoots well from outside. He’s a very good rebounder. But his real strength is his passing. He’s the 30th ranked recruit.

PF Andrew Watkins, 6-7 from Rochelle, IL. He averaged 20.2 ppg, 9.7 rpg, and 2.8 bpg during his junior season in HS. A great scorer and inside shooter. He’s an excellent rebounder and defender. He’s the 34th ranked recruit.

PG Kent Hauty, 6-5 from Summerville, GA. As a high school junior last season he averaged 20.2 ppg, 4.7 apg, and 5.9 rpg. He’s a very good scorer who is an excellent shooter inside. A good rebounder who passes estremely well. He’s the 42nd ranked recruit.

Heard hasn't been an all-star academically, but we think he'll do well enough on his SAT's to meet our high minimum standards. The other two should make it easily. But we'll continue to work with remaining available recruits in the event someone's SAT scores are inadequate and we need to add someone in the spring.

[PointGuard]

Co-Head Coach Ramon Montez

Our pre-season practices went pretty well. The competition for starting roles got a little over-aggressive a few times, but no big problems.

I believe our starting 5 are SOLID! And our bench should be able to come in and take care of business as well. Although things may change as the season progresses, here’s how we’ll start out:

PG: Senior Dwayne Serraville who started for us last season. He’s been nominated for the Norton Award. His primary backup will be senior Jason Friend who did the same thing last season, but we need to get sophomore Brett Mosley playing time also.

SG: Freshman Justin Holmes who came to us as a PG will move over to SG but may also spend some time at PG. We’re going to try having junior SF Julius Waterman as well as Jason Friend back-filling at SG.

SF: Freshman Chris Broussard will start with junior Johnny Lubeck and Julius Waterman coming in off the bench at the “3”.

PF: Senior Brian Nicholson will move over to the “2” after starting for us at C last season. Sophomore Jason Collier and Johnny Lubeck will fill in when Nicholson needs to take a rest.

C: Junior George Zinn is going to start for us this season after being a primary sub last year. Sophomore Kirk Reeves will be his primary replacement. We’re also going to try to give freshman Greg Dye some playing time at both C and PF, although he likely won’t get as many minutes as he wants.

We’ve redshirted freshman PF James McKie. Since we won't be able to get him many minutes this season, better to add a year of eligibility and development (and hope he doesn't transfer).

[PointGuard]

South Dakota State Jackrabbits (0-0) in the PreSeason NIT Tourney

Mike McMillan: We were solid favorites but the Jackrabbits had a great year last season, winning 25 games against 11 losses and being crowned at the Champs of the season-ending NIT Tournament. Our effort was lack-luster at best. We trailed throughout nearly the entire first half and were down 32-27 at halftime. We got our offense in gear in the 2nd half and overtook SD State with 14 minutes to play. But then we fell again behind 5 minutes later and didn’t regain the lead for good until the final 3 minutes. We escaped with a 74-69 win. George Zinn—19 pts, 9 reb, 2 blk; Justin Holmes—14 pts, 3 reb, 6 ast, 3 stl; Chris Broussard—12 pts, 7 reb, 4 ast, 3 stl; Brian Nicholson—12 pts, 3 reb; Kirk Reeves—8 pts, Dwayne Serraville—6 pts, 4 reb, 5 ast. [1-0]

[PointGuard]

#3 ranked North Carolina Tar Heels (1-0) in the Pre-Season NIT Tourney

Terry Morillo: We went from favorites in game 1 to distinct underdogs for this game. The Tar Heels were an Elite 8 team in last season’s NCAA Tourney and ripped Georgia Southern 85-58 in the opening game in this tournament. Unlike in our previous game, we got out to a fast start and opened a 10 point lead after just 5 minutes of play. And by pairing a potent offense with a solid defense, we led 48-34 at the end of the half. But the Tar Heels began nibbling away at our lead in the 2nd half. The final 7 minutes were exceptionally close, but we held on to achieve a 72-69 upset of North Carolina. George Zinn—16 pts, 4 reb, 4 ast, 3 stl; Brian Nicholson—13 pts, 9 pts; Dwayne Serraville—10 pts, 3 reb, 3 ast; Chris Broussard—9 pts, 6 reb; Jason Friend—8 pts; Johnny Lubeck—6 pts, 3 ast, 2 stl. [2-0]

[PointGuard]

#14 ranked Villanova Wildcats (2-0) in the Pre-Season NIT Tourney

Ramon Montez: We’re going up against our 2nd ranked opponent and the 2nd straight opponent that got to the Elite 8 in the Big Dance last year. Villanova has two solid wins including a 20 point victory over Pittsburgh in which PG DeVante Dodson scored 34 points. We fell behind by 18 midway through the first half and trailed 47-38 at the break. We caught up and took a small lead with 15 minutes to go in the 2nd half. The game was close the rest of the way with many lead changes. We had a chance to tie on our last possession, but couldn’t knock down the 3 and lost 84-81. So we missed getting to the championship game. Brett Mosley—15 pts; George Zinn—13 pts, 5 reb; Kirk Reeves—12 pts, 5 reb, 2 blk; Brian Nicholson—11 pts, 7 reb; Jason Friend—7 pts, 3 ast; Dwayne Serraville—6 pts, 8 ast, 2 stl. [2-1]

[PointGuard]

Portland Pilots (1-1) @ Indiana Hoosiers (2-1)

Terry Morillo: We went ahead 6-0 and 15-2 and were in control the entire way against the overmatched Pilots. Easy 81-55 win. The second straight excellent game by Brett Mosley coming in off the bench to provide instant offense. George Zinn—18 pts, 4 reb; Brian Nicholson—17 pts, 11 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl; Brett Mosley—12 pts; Chris Broussard—11 pts, 5 reb; Justin Holmes—8 pts, 6 reb, 4 ast; Kirk Reeves—6 pts. [3-1]

[PointGuard]

Lipscomb Bisons (0-3) @ Indiana Hoosiers (3-1)

Ken Yamoto: The Bison stuck with us for the first 7 minutes before we went on a 14-0 run. But our double-digit lead was erased and Lipscomb took a small lead with 5 minutes left in the half. We fought hard to gain a 42-36 halftime advantage. Led by reserve C Steve Thornton who scored 25 points, the Bisons chipped away and took the lead midway through the 2nd half. It took us 5 minutes to regain the lead but we then sprinted to a 78-66 victory. Dwayne Serraville—17 pts, 4 ast, 2 stl; Justin Holmes—14 pts, 4 ast; Brian Nicholson—13 pts, 6 reb, 2 stl; George Zinn—8 pts, 3 reb; Julius Waterman—8 pts, 3 reb. Our two primary centers who together are averaging over 20 ppg both have minor injuries but are expected to have recovered by our next game. [4-1]

[PointGuard]

Indiana Hoosiers (4-1) @ Nebraska Cornhuskers (3-0)

Mike McMillan: A heckuva first half. Both teams went all out and the score stayed close the entire 20 minutes. Nebraska enjoyed a 37-35 halftime lead, though. We shot poorly in the 2nd half and while staying close never could catch up. Nebraska won this one 70-64. Justin Holmes—14 pts, 2 ast, 2 stl; Dwayne Summerville—10 pts, 3 reb, 3 ast; Kirk Reeves—10 pts, 4 reb; George Zinn—9 pts, 5 reb; Chris Broussard—6 pts, 3 reb. [4-2]

[PointGuard]

Hampton Pirates (1-3) @ Indiana Hoosiers (4-2)

Terry Morillo: We had to work hard in the first half. The game was exceptionally close for the first 10 minutes then we lept out to an 8 point lead with 6 minutes til halftime. But Hampton rallied to get within 1 at the break. But our defense tightened in the 2nd half and our offense sizzled. We left the Pirates stranded at sea and won 78-56. Brian Nicholson—16 pts, 9 reb; Dwayne Serraville—15 pts, 4 reb, 7 ast, 2 stl; Justin Holmes—15 pts, 7 ast; Kirk Reeves—8 pts; Chris Broussard—6 pts, 4 ast, 4 stl. [5-2]