Pacers vs. Knicks recap

The New York Knicks defeated the Indiana Pacers in a close game Sunday, April 14. The scoreboard read 90-80 at the end of the game. The Knicks secured their place as the No. 2 seed in their conference with this win.

At the end of the first quarter, the Knicks had already taken the lead over the Pacers 23-15. By the end of the first half, the Pacers began to gain a little ground and finished the quarter trailing the Knicks by seven points. At the end of the third quarter, the Pacers were down nine points.

During the fourth quarter, the Knicks had a steady lead of 10 points for most of the quarter. Adding the the amount of turnovers and missed three-pointer shots, the Pacers fell the Knicks by 10 points with a final score of 90-80.

Leading scorers for the Pacers were Lance Stephenson with 22, David West with 17 and Jeff Pendergraph with 12. Game stand-outs for the Knicks include Carmelo Anthony with 25 points, Chris Copeland with 20 points and J.R. Smith with 15.

The Pacers' next game is Tuesday, April 16 against the Boston Celtics.

Click here for a photo gallery of this game via ESPN.

Indiana Connections in the Upcoming NBA Draft

--Allyson Burger--


As the 2012 – 13 NCAA men's basketball season came to a close on Monday, questions abound about what players will test their value as a potential NBA player.  There are several players with Indiana high school hoops ties that will definitely forego their college eligibility to enter their name in the draft, and some that are still undecided on their future.

Players have until Wednesday April 16 to declare their desire to enter the draft, but can pull themselves out by April 28 and regain their college eligibility if they do not hire an agent.  With the current NBA rule forcing players to be 19 years old or at least 1 year removed from high school, many star players play at least one year of college basketball. Often called the "One and Done" rule (made famous in the last couple of years by the University of Kentucky) it causes teams to have to totally reload every year.

What players with Indiana ties are leaving (or considering leaving) early yo look for the big paycheck?:
Declared:
Cody Zeller - Indiana (Washington )
DeShaun Thomas - Ohio State (Ft Wayne)
Victor Oladipo - Indiana 

Undecided:
Gary Harris - Michigan State (HSE)
Brandon Dawson - Michigan State (Gary)
Glenn Robinson III - Michigan (St Johns)

One freshman phenom, Michigan's Mitch McGary (Chesterton) has said he will definitely return for his sophomore season with the Wolverines after a great coming out party in this year's tournament. 

Cody Zeller to enter the 2013 NBA Draft

Indiana University lost two key players this week to the NBA draft, first Victor Oladipo, and now sophomore Cody Zeller . The 7-foot center turned down entering the draft last year but after the tournament run this year he changed his mind.
Head coach Tom Crean will have the job of filling 4 major roles on the team. Jordan Hulls and Christian Watford are graduating and Oladipo and Zeller are going pro. 

From an article by ESPN, "what Cody means to Indiana, it's much like Victor, it's hard to describe it and it's hard to put it into words, but what Cody has done has helped raise the level of every person in this program -- every coach, every player, every manager and that's not an easy feat," Crean said. "He's really come in here and left his mark on this program and it's one that will stand for a very, very long time." 

Now the question is, where will Zeller go and will he live up to the expectations he created for himself in his time at IU?

The NBA draft will take place on June 27. 

Ball State welcomes Whitford

Ball State University welcomed new basketball head coach, James Whitford today. Whitford coached previously at Arizona, Xavier and Miami.

Aside from the Cardinals' promising young team, adding Whitford to the mix has made some high hopes for Cardinal fans and the Ball State community. Ball State held a press conference to introduce Whitford, and afterwards, he spent time with the community at the Muncie Downtown YMCA.

Whitford replaces Billy Taylor who coached the Cardinals for six seasons.

Ball State welcomes new men's head basketball coach, James Whitford today. Photo via Ball State Athletics.

Indiana's Oladipo to enter draft

Junior Victor Oladipo of the Indiana Hoosiers has decided to enter himself into the 2013 NBA Draft. He announced the news at a press conference inside Assembly Hall on Tuesday. Watch:

Oladipo helped lead the Hoosiers to a 29-7 record, along with a spot in the Sweet 16. He was an All-American First Team selection and was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. He was the team's second leading scorer averaging 13.6 points and 6.3 rebounds per game.

Oladipo will graduate in May. The NBA draft will take place on Thursday, June 27. To see the mock draft click here.

Indy's Van Treese to NCAA Championship

The Louisville Cardinals have made it to the NCAA Championship game with the help of Indy's own Stephan Van Treese.

Van Treese went to Lawrence North High School in Indianapolis, where he started for three years. Van Treese was ranked No. 67 nationally by USA Today analyst Rob Harrington and was listed No. 37 among the nation's top power forwards by Scout.com. He was honored on the Indianapolis Star's 2008 Super Team.

A 6'9" senior for the Cardinals, Van Treese has been averaging 11.4 minutes a game. After suffering a left knee injury last year, he has been back in action helping lead the Cardinals to the Championship game Monday night against Michigan.

If the Cardinals can pull off the win, it will be exciting to see an Indy player win a championship title!

For more information visit ESPN.

Washington Wizards defeat Indiana Pacers

The Indiana Pacers fell to the Washington Wizards Saturday evening on April 6, but the Pacers are still ranked first in the Central division of the Eastern Conference.

The Washington Wizards defeated the Indiana Pacers 104-85. The first half of the game, the teams were only points within each other. It was during the second half the Wizards really started outscoring the Pacers which ultimately led to their victory. This brings the Pacers' record 48-29. Paul George, the Pacers' lead scorer this season had an off game. He managed to score only two points the entire game. 

Tuesday, April 9, the Pacers will take on the Cleveland Cavaliers in Indianapolis. For more stats visit the NBA official website.

The Wizards defeated the Pacers June 6, 2013 104-85. Photo credit: Rob Carr

Ball State search for Head Basketball Coach

Ball State Men’s basketball has been without a head coach since March 14. Former head coach, Billy Taylor, was fired from the position following another sub par season. The team had a 15-15 season and were 8-8 in the Mid American Conference.

Interviews are in progress and there are several rumors as to who the front runners are for the position but no confirmed front runners from the athletics staff. The only news on the search for the head coach has been who is not in the running for the job and they hope to make a hire sometime next week.

Check back for updates on this story as more information comes in.

Mr. Basketball 2013 Announced - Zak Irvin

--Allyson Burger--


The 2013 Mr. Basketball was announced on sports radio stations around noon today, and the winner is Hamilton Southeastern's Zak Irvin.

Irvin was a three-year teammate of last year's Mr. Basketball, Gary Harris, at Hamilton Southeastern High School in Fishers, Ind., and this is the first time the award has been given to players from the same high school back-to-back.

During Irvin's 2012-2013 season, he has averaged at 18.8 points per game, 2.1 assists per game, 6.2 rebounds per game, and an overall score total of 470.

His #12 jersey, along with Harris' #40 Royals jersey, are expected to be at least temporarily retired at HSEHS for upcoming years.

Irvin plans to attend and play basketball for Michigan University, a 2013 tournament Final Four team, this fall.

Notre Dame advances, Diggins breaks record

Notre Dame won their 29th game in a row Sunday defeating Kansas 93-63 in the semifinals of the Norfolk regional. This game left the Irish one victory shy of a third consecutive trip to the Final Four. The team has lost the title the past two years.

Skylar Diggins put up 27 points during the game, earning the new title of Notre Dame's all-time leading scorer. She also added nine assists and three steals during the game. Diggins now has 2,323 career points.

Kansas point guard Angel Goodrich even had good things to say about Diggins.

"She's what everyone says," Goodrich said. "She's the whole package. She can create for herself and she can create for her teammates."

To read more visit ESPN.