Class of '66 Old Fart

http://www.hoosiersportsreport.com/2021/01/iu-soccer-ready-to-connect-with-spring-season/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Just save yourself some trouble and call it 46 because this team is not going to be ranked the rest of this season although some of its play is pretty rank.

Story on Michael Brinegar which includes this quote “I’ve only seen this out of two people,” Looze said. “On the day of the mile or a 10K, [Brinegar] is just a different person. All business. He’s just like an assassin. You look at him, and you’re just like, ‘I wouldn’t want to mess with him.’ He’s got just everything all ready to go.” https://www.usaswimming.org/news/2021/01/26/michael-brinegar's-competitiveness-brings-new-life-to-practice-and-his-goals

Gotta shake off the rust of a 10-day break and face the #21/22 ranked Wildcats (8-2) (6-2). Radio Live Stats ABOUT THE WILDCATS Northwestern is on a four-game win streak after a 73-54 win over Illinois on Thursday night. Junior guard Veronica Burton leads the way with 17.4 points per game and 4.7 steals per contest. Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year Lindsay also adds double figures with 15.3 points per game while junior guard/forward Sydney Wood adds 14.2 points and a team-high 5.9 rebounds. NOTES Indiana returns to the court after a 10-day break. Last week's games against Rutgers and Michigan State were postponed due to COVID concerns within their opponent's programs. IU is coming off a 66-45 win over Purdue at Mackey Arena on January 14th. Junior guard Grace Berger led the way with 22 points, seven assists and five rebounds which earned her a spot on the Big Ten Player of the Week honor roll. Sophomore forward Mackenzie Holmes added 20 points and tied a team-high six rebounds. The Hoosiers are looking to reverse course with the Wildcats on Sunday after losing the last three in the series. Two of the last four games between the two schools has gone in to overtime and three of the last four games have been decided by six points or less. Holmes and Berger lead the effort on the offensive end for Indiana this season. Holmes is the team's leading scorer with 17.5 points per game while Berger adds 15.4 points per contest. The duo has combined to lead the Hoosiers in scoring. Defense continues to dominate for Teri Moren's team this season, as it ranks second in the Big Ten in scoring defense by allowing just 55.6 points per game. The Hoosiers have allowed just two teams in 11 games to score over 70 points and have held opponents to under 60 points in eight contests. UP NEXT The Hoosiers head back to Bloomington on Thursday, Jan. 31 against Michigan State. Tipoff and TV designation is still to be determined.

Stockrisers - Dematha four-star prospect Rodney Rice Jr. has been a nice addition to DeMatha this season and he's scored at a very nice rate and remains a hot priority. He told Stockrisers.com that Alabama, Louisville, Georgetown, and Indiana are heavily involved. He also added Michigan and UNC have still shown interest a bit. The 6-foot4/5 shooting guard is ranked amongst the Top-75 juniors in America.

https://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/news/ranking-the-contenders-rivals150-guard-c-j-gunn

O$U just gave Maryland its first B1G loss 88-86 in Columbus.

East Rockingham 67 Eastern Mennonite 66 Nickel 38 pts.

Feel good story on Grace Berger. https://iuhoosiers.com/news/2021/1/25/womens-basketball-a-granddaughters-love-grace-bergers-play-honors-grandmother.aspx

With the landscape what it now is, I wouldn't be all that surprised to see him transfer to another school. I think he'd take that option vs. overseas if the NBA wasn't a certainty. And what message would that send about our current coach?

https://247sports.com/college/indiana/Article/Isaac-McKneely-commitment-date-Illinois-Indiana-Kentucky-Louisville-North-Carolina-Purdue-Virginia-West-Virginia--159875743/?fbclid=IwAR1sHuJN5F5uXzx5YbsC4bpWFl5Q00g6KPA13QiKXisngpazkirVjhmangQ

First @USTFCCCA national rankings of the indoor track & field season!

Stuck on #16 for another week.

Mackenzie Holmes earns a spot on the Big Ten Player of the Week honor roll! vs Northwestern - 22 points 10 rebounds 3rd double-double of the season 6-for-7 at the line

SCHEDULE CHANGE After defeating No. 21 Northwestern last night, Indiana's next game was scheduled to be Sunday at home against Michigan State. But the Hoosiers have flipped around its schedule a bit. Instead, Indiana's next game will be this Thursday, Jan. 28, at 8 p.m. ET against Ohio State. The game was previously scheduled for Feb. 4. [NOTE: Game to be televised on basic BTN.] This an ideal situation for Indiana, who likely didn't want a week off before its next contest. The Hoosiers had just had 11 days off before their game against Northwestern due to two games being postponed, and head coach Teri Moren has made it known she isn't a fan of the long breaks. So, now Indiana has two big home games this week. The Hoosiers are 9-3 overall and 7-1 in the Big Ten. Below is the full press release from the program: The Big Ten Conference has announced two schedule changes for the Indiana women’s basketball team for the upcoming week. The Hoosiers will now host No. 17/16 Ohio State on Thursday, January 28 at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in a game that was previously scheduled for Thursday, February 4th. Game time is set for 8 p.m. ET on Big Ten Network. In addition, IU’s game against Michigan State has been set for a 4 p.m. ET tip on Big Ten Network Plus for Sunday, January 31st also at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.

Ouch! Is that any way to treat an Old Fart? Respect your elders you young whippersnapper.

@Josh better keep looking over his shoulder. Just sayin'.

Even without Emoni Bates, Ypsi Prep crushed First Love Christian (PA) 73-46. Phillips 7 pts. on 3-5 FG; 1-4 FT; 5 reb; 1 stl; 2 blk.

Heading off topic but here's my $.02 worth. I've watched as many games of our current offerees as possible. Some only a single game and others multiple games. A number of our offerees aren't even going to have a high school season because of COVID and it remains to be seen if there will be a 2021 AAU season. From the kids I've been able to watch I don't see that alpha male. Some good talent but not that bulldog mentality like a Dane Fife, Tom Coverdale, Isiah, and many others we've had over the years. Here's the kids I've seen play this season and I don't see an alpha male in any of them: Logan Duncomb C. J. Gunn Jalen Hood-Schifino Justice Williams Tyler Nickel Shawn Phillips Tarris Reed Rodney Rice Jalen Washington For Gunn, Hood-Schifino and Williams, they're on powerhouse teams dominated by seniors. Will they become the alpha male next year when they're a senior? Shawn Phillips plays behind Emoni Bates who's the clear alpha on that team.

In a game Saturday, DeMatha defeated Virginia Academy 105 - 70. Rice the leading scorer for DeMatha with 17. Earlier today DeMatha beat St. Vincent St. Mary (Malaki Branham O$U commit) 73 - 56. Rice with 20 pts. on 5-8 on 3s; 5-6 FT; 3 reb; 1 TO. This game can be viewed below. Rice is #4 in blue.

HUGE ROAD WIN We took a 59-57 lead with 5 minutes left and never looked back beating Northwestern 74 - 61 Mackenzie Holmes just took the game over scoring 10 points in the 4th Q and our defense held NW to 3-14 FG in the quarter. Never expected Penn to play 24 minutes and hopefully she'll be good to go next Sunday against Michigan State. And we needed every bit of her 24 minutes. She finished with 12 pts; 4 reb; 4 assts; 2 stls. Points: Holmes 22; Berger 14; Penn 12; Gulbe and Cardaño-Hillary each 9; Patberg 6. Reb: Holmes 10; Gulbe 8; Berger 6; Penn 4 Assists: Penn and Berger each 4; Cardaño-Hillary 3 Shooting: IU 45% NW 35%

This is Jalen Hooks from a game played last night. I saw it as it happened and feared the absolute worst.

End of 3 and NW leads 54 -48. Points: Holmes 12; Berger 10; Gulbe and Penn 8 each; Patberg and Cardaño-Hillary each with 4 Reb: Holmes and Gulbe each 7; Berger 4 Assists: Cardaño-Hillary 3. . Shooting: IU 41% NW 38% Fouls: Gulbe 4; Patberg and Browne each 3. NW 18-19 on FT; IU 7-10. Penn played an additional 7 minutes in this quarter. We've committed 11 TOs and NW has scored 17 pts. Conversely, we've not scored any points off NW TOs'. NW also has 19 fastbreak points to our 11.

We are either consistently inconsistent for inconsistent consistently. I'm just not sure which it is.

Halftime Northwestern leading 36-33. We took a brief 1-point lead but couldn't hold it. Another 3 min. scoring drought in the 2nd Q. Points: Holmes 10; Gulbe and Berger each with 6; Cardaño-Hillary 4 Shooting: IU 47% NW 39% but NW has hit 2 more 3s and 7 more FT. Reb.: Holmes 5; Gulbe 4; Berger 3 Assists: Cardaño-Hillary 3; Gulbe and Penn 3 each. Penn has played 8 minutes scoring 3 pts with 2 assts. and 1reb. Browne 3 fouls.