[Editor's note: This post was submitted before the Spartans and Zags took the floor last night. I just didn't have a chance to edit and publish it. But as you can see, our man J-Dools had the game pretty well pegged, so I'm posted this anyway.]

Excitement is building in East Lansing as the Spartans prepare to face their first real challenge of the season against Gonzaga, at 8 p.m. on ESPN.

The Spartans will showcase their talented line up that is gathering more and more comparisons to the 2000 championship team. Coach Tom Izzo is among those making such comparisons.

In an interview with ESPN.com Izzo was asked if he would ever coach someone like Mateen Cleaves again. Izzo answered saying that he may be doing that right now. The player Izzo is talking about is junior point guard Kalin Lucas.

As Lucas continues to emerge as a premier point guard, his similarities with Cleaves become more apparent. Lucas, like Cleaves, is a Michigan native and Lucas is now in the leadership role Cleaves once held. Lucas came out of the gates quick this season, scoring 21 points and one highlight reel layup against Florida Gulf Coast.

Tonight Michigan State takes on Gonzaga, for the first time since the “Goran Suton triple overtime missed layup fiasco.” (The image of Adam Morrison’s mustache is still burned in my mind from that game.)

However, both teams have changed greatly from their last meeting. Gonzaga is in a transitional year with only one returning starter, in Matt Bouldin. Michigan State is a potential Final Four team this year.

Forwards Raymar Morgan and Delvon Roe saw limited time in the opener against Florida Gulf Coast due to lingering injuries. The two forwards should be ready for more minutes againsts Gonzaga, but still may be out of the starting five.

Freshman center Derrick Nix put up a double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds in his debut. Nix and fellow freshman center Garrick Sherman will be utilized to take on some of Morgan and Roe’s minutes.

The trio of Kalin Lucas, Durrell Summers, and Chris Allen will be counted on as the primary scorers. Lucas and Summers combined for 38 points in the opener and have been the sparkplugs for the offense. Allen struggled with his shooting in the opener, but is still a viable outside threat.

Sophomores Korie Lucious and Draymond Green are the x-factors coming off of the bench. Against Florida Gulf Coast, Lucious looked very confident in his jumpshot and has been playing aggressive. Green helped score second-chance points by controlling the offensive boards.

Gonzaga will challenge Michigan State bu the Spartans should win this game. The key word being “should.” Gonzaga has a size advantage against State and the undersized Spartan forwards will have to play big. This game is not a complete lock but if the Spartans play as they did their first game they will come out with a win.

Prediction: Lucas and Summers are too much for the Zag’s backcourt to handle and Michigan State takes the win 86-78.

Certain days just have a different, more exciting feel about them, and every year this is one of those days for me.

Another season of Hoosier hoops tips off tonight.

Tom Crean and his young, talented team take the Assembly Hall floor tonight against Howard. The Big Ten Network is carrying the game, which will tip off at 8:00 ET. (FYI, find out all IU basketball viewing info at our 2009-10 IU basketball TV schedule).

Indiana has rolled in two exhibitions games over Grace and St. Joseph’s (Indiana), which is exactly what they are supposed to do. Neither game was televised here in Dallas, so tonight will be my first opportunity to see IU’s much heralded group of newcomers that will be making their official debuts this evening:

• Jordan Hulls
• Bobby Capobianco
• Maurice Creek
• Derek Elson
• Bawa Muniru
• Jeremiah Rivers

And then the guy that I am the most excited to see: Christian Watford.

IU basketball game days are always the hardest days to get through. But hey, at least I now have a job where I can pass some of the time by writing about the Hoosiers.

Hoping for a solid 15-20 point victory tonight and a good confidence builder for all the new guys. Nothing spectacular, but this is a game we should control from the outset and win with the cruise control on during the last ten minutes. We may not be experienced enough yet to do that, but I think it would show a major improvement over last season if we could.

And that’s all this season is about: improvement.

I’m also interested to see what Devan Dumes’ role will be this year. He was the go-to guy on offense for much of last season until Verdell Jones stepped up late in the year, but Dumes plays wild and out of control a lot of the time. His experience, I presume, will keep him as a key cog in the rotation, but I wonder how his role with start out and then evolve as the season progresses.

Just one of the key questions heading into tonight. Can’t wait. Go IU!

(Come on…you knew the headline had to have some kind of lame pun involving “grace”.)

Yes, it was only an exhibition game against Grace, but last night proved to be an encouraging and auspicious beginning to the 2009-10 basketball season for a program seeking redemption.

Tom Crean and the Indiana Hoosiers did exactly what an IU team should do: impose their will on a far inferior opponent and cruise to an easy victory. Though reports of the game indicate that Grace played the Hoosiers tough for the first 24-25 minutes, IU won the game 96-73.

Coming off of a season that saw the Hoosiers lose home games to Northeastern and Lipscomb, any win — even an exhibition win that doesn’t count — is a welcome event.

And for anyone who took IU’s opponent last night for granted, just ask Syracuse fans how that worked out for them.

Let’s go around the IU blogosphere and newsosphere for reaction to the game. I had previous obligations and was not available to plunk down the $3 to watch it live on the Big Ten Network’s website (although I would have), so I’ll let those who actually saw the action provide the insight.

From what I’ve read and from the time I’ve spent trolling IU forums this morning, a couple of things are clear:

1. What we expected is confirmed: the talent level is way, way, way up this year.
2. Christian Watford is a really talented all-around player.
3. Bloomington native Jordan Hulls is going to be this team’s floor general and a fan favorite from Day One.

Reaction below. As detailed in our handy-dandy 2009-10 Indiana mens basketball tv schedule, the Hoosiers next take on St. Joseph’s (of Indiana) in their second exhibition game on Monday.

Indiana Struggles Early, Rolls Past Grace in the Second Half — (Inside the Hall)

A couple of thoughts from Indiana’s exhibition opener:

Watford was very effective after he settled down. He looked a bit anxious early, which is to be expected for a freshman, but his athleticism around the basket made an instant impact. He got to the line nine times and connected on all of his attempts. Impressive debut.

The basketball IQ of Hulls will make him a fan favorite in Bloomington. He has a knack for setting up teammates and when left open, he was able to knock down some shots. And he didn’t register a turnover.

Here are some player interviews (including Jeremiah Rivers, Verdell Jones, Jordan Hulls, and Christian Watford) found at Inside the Hall:

And here is the post game audio from Tom Crean.

Freshman Impressive in IU Exhibition — (CJ.com)

On a night when all eyes were on IU’s highly touted recruiting class, the freshmen didn’t disappoint.

Christian Watford had 19 points and 11 rebounds, helping IU’s five freshmen combine to score 52 in a 96-73 rout of Grace College.

“We’ve been looking forward to showing people what we can do,” Watford said. “A lot of publications have us ranked last in the Big Ten in the preseason, and we just think we’re better than that.”

IU Gains Fresh Start to Season — (FW Journal-Gazette)

“I don’t put a lot of emphasis on the points, I put more emphasis on the rotations, playing through fatigue, and I thought we took quality shots,” IU coach Tom Crean said. “… I thought all our freshmen came in and contributed and made strides as they got better.”

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* – Christian Watford photo credit: Rob Goebel / The Star via IndyStar.com

The last time Michigan State won a national championship was the 2000 season…in Indianapolis.

Nearly a decade later, the Final Four returns to Indianapolis and the Spartans are hoping for a case of dèjà vu.

Last season the Spartans almost fulfilled a dream season but fell just short of winning a national championship in Detroit. Unfortunately for MSU, the North Carolina team they faced was truly the better team.

Now the Spartans are a much different team from a year ago.

State comes into the season with a #2 national ranking and is favored to be Big-10 champions for the second year in a row. Center Goran Suton and point guard Travis Walton may have both graduated, but new players are ready to step into their roles.

The Spartans will likely start three guards with Kalin Lucas, Chris Allen, and Durrell Summers. Forwards Raymar Morgan and Delvon Roe will likely complete the starting lineup.

• Lucas will be the team leader at the point guard position and is emerging as one of the top floor generals in the nation.
• Morgan is the only senior in this starting lineup and will be depended on heavily for points in the paint.
• Allen is the sharpshooter of this squad, providing a dangerous outside threat.
• Summers will use his explosiveness to drive at the basket and also can spot up and shoot from outside.
• Sophomore Delvon Roe will be given the oppurtunity to show why he was recruited so heavily as an extremely athletic forward.

Off of the bench, sophomore Korie Lucious will be a sparkplug with his lightning quickness and high energy play. Sophomore Draymond Green is continuing to get himself in better physical shape, making himself an even more dangerous player off of the bench.

Freshman centers Garrick Sherman and Derrick Nix will see a lot of playing time, to help prepare them for tournament time when MSU will need a post presence off of the bench.

The Spartans will get a rematch against North Carolina this season and will also face an always tough Gonzaga team early in the year.

Michigan State’s toughest non-conference matchup however, at least based on preseason projections, will be against #3 Texas. The Spartans have had the Longhorns’ number the last three seasons. Similarly, top ranked Kansas looks like they could go wire-to-wire this season, but the Spartans beat the Jayhawks twice last season.

My season prediction: Michigan State has a lean and athletic squad this year that will be one of the more exciting teams in the country. Size in the frontcourt is a weakness for the Spartans, but that didn’t stop them from reaching the Final Four last season. The Spartans will edge out Purdue for a Big-10 Chamionship and will be a Final Four team.

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* – Tom Izzo photo credit: AllBigTen.com

“From my perspective, he saved a lot of our lives. Plain and simple.”

These were the final words of Without Bias, ESPN’s latest documentary in its superb 30 for 30 series. It is impossible to know for how many people specifically that lines applies, but to put it in the hundreds of thousands probably would not be an overstatement.

The hour long film, which premiered tonight and was directed by Kirk Fraser, chronicles the life and death of Len Bias, who passed away 23 years ago when I was only four years old, but whose legacy lives on in perpetuity…today and beyond.

There were some aspects of the story that I did not know before watching it tonight, most notably that Bias had done cocaine before the night he died and that his brother Jay died four years later. Despite these surprises, the familiar feeling and lessons of the Bias story remained true and as strong as ever:

1. You never know which seconds will be your last.
2. Never underestimate the cruel power of drugs.

Obviously I was too young to have any personal memories of Bias’ death. But as a die-hard college basketball fan growing up, even from the time I was 7 or 8, it wasn’t long before I became indoctrinated to the sad legend of Len Bias.

I heard about his freakish athleticism, how he was as good — if not better — than Michael Jordan in college, and how sure of a thing he had been to become a superstar and carry the torch of Celtics greatness.

And I also heard, repeatedly and more often as I got older, how Bias had been foolish enough to do cocaine time — ONE TIME! — and had paid the ultimate price for it.

First hand accounts of Bias’ social habits presented in the documentary, especially those from Brian Tribble, with whom Bias was indulging in cocaine on the night of his death, seem to dispel the notion that Bias’ June 19th, 1986 dalliance with cocaine was his first.

Here is a clip from the film itself, which details the final hours of Bias’ life.

While Bias did not seem to have any sort of addiction or problem that negatively impeded other aspects of his life, Tribble makes it clear that he and Bias had used cocaine clandestinely on multiple occasions before that night.

I had heard and read that this might be the case before seeing Without Bias, but I guess I never believed it. Part of the reason for my reluctance to accept this notion, I presume, is that every time I’ve ever been presented with the opportunity to use cocaine in my life — opportunities which have luckily been few and far between — I’ve always thought about Len Bias.

If he could use it one time and die, what makes me think that I’d be any different?

There are multitudes of reasons why I’ve never indulged personally, but that is no doubt one of the main ones.

I have no way of knowing if that line of thinking ever specifically saved my life, but it certainly allows me to understand, if not relate, to the final words of the documentary, as presented in the first line of this post.

Michael Wilbon is featured in the documentary and he recants what ESPN college basketball analyst, and Bias’ former ACC rival, Jay Bilas said about the death of the Len Bias: for an entire generation of people, they mark time in relation to where they were and what they were doing when Len Bias died.

I don’t fall into that category, and there is a generation older than me that undoubtedly feels a much stronger connection to the life and death of Len Bias than I ever will. And if Without Bias does anything exceptionally well — and in all honesty, it does a lot exceptionally well from a storytelling standpoint — it expresses the multiple layers of significance that Len Bias’ death had immediately, and that it still has today.

• The Maryland basketball program, most notably its legendary coach Lefty Driesell, unraveled in the aftermath of Bias’ death.
• There was a drawn out investigation and trial, with Brian Tribble ultimately being acquitted on drug charges.
• The Boston Celtics won an NBA championship that year, and then fell into a 21-year abyss without another one.
• Congress seemed to treat Bias’ death as a tipping point and instituted mandatory minimum sentencing laws (i.e. five years for five grams) that many saw as targeting inner city black men specifically, and that helped contribute to the overcrowding of prisons that is still felt today.
• Thousands upon thousands, if not millions upon millions, of people — and not just sports fans or residents of Maryland — were profoundly affected by the death of a seemingly invincible 22-year old.

Whether Bias had done coke 100 times or never before the night he died, his death would still have been one of the seminal moments of the 1980s, and one of the most significantly tragic events in the history of sports.

Would it have kept so many young people, including me, away from using cocaine? Who knows. Probably, though perhaps not quite as much.

But does that matter? Not really.

Sadly, the tragedy for the Bias family did not stop with Len. His brother Jay, also an accomplished basketball player, died four years later in a senseless shooting outside of a mall.

And this brings me to the heart and soul of Without Bias: Len’s mom and dad.

His mother has a God-fearing strength and iron will that is manifested by her incredible courage, grace, and resolve to turn her sons’ deaths into something positive. I am paraphrasing, but towards the end of the movie she claims that each of her sons’ deaths are “a seed out of which life can grow” and she has since crusaded to teach kids the lessons that can be learned from Len and Jay.

Their father’s unconditional love and support, and his heartbreak, are palpable. Each word that he speaks about both Len and Jay drips with pride and affection, and it is hard not get choked up towards the end of the film when he mistakenly invokes Len’s name while discussing Jay’s death.

Without Bias begins with a terrific celebration of Len Bias the basketball player, an excellent retrospective for those of us who were too young to appreciate his on-court greatness. It ends with a feeling of despair and depression as it becomes obvious that no level of detail nor context can help make Bias’ unnecessary death any more understandable.

The film also implies certain questions, at least it did for me. Would Len Bias have lived up to his promise in the NBA? Would he have fizzled and disappointed like so many his wayward classmates in the star-crossed NBA draft of 1986 (Roy Tarpley, Chris Washburn, William Bedford)?

Who knows.

What we do know is that Len Bias’ playing career certainly would have been over by 2009, but yet he is still relevant today. His relevance unfortunately is a function of tragic circumstances that never should have befallen such a seemingly well-meaning and hard-working kid in his early 20s, but he remains important just the same.

Many basketball players have been high draft picks and won titles or made it to the Hall of Fame. Very few, if any, have inspired their contemporaries to say “he saved a lot of our lives.”

Len Bias’ short but stellar basketball career was filled with superlatives. Sadly, tragically, the most significant superlative that endures about Bias has nothing to do with his talent and ability on the court. It has to do with the long-lasting effect of one fateful decision that he made off it.

Finding meaning in death, perhaps even stretching to do so, is as human as breathing. As Without Bias makes perfectly clear, people are still trying to find meaning in Len Bias’ death some 23 years later.

That he most likely saved lives, and many of them, is perhaps the most positive of the meanings that have been posthumously attached to life of Len Bias.

Unfortunately for Bias, and for his family, his friends, his fans, his contemporaries, and for those of us who never got to see him play, he wasn’t able to save his own.

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A quick side note about ESPN’s 30 for 30 series: it is excellent. I have now seen Without Bias, the Muhammad Ali movie, and parts of the one about the Baltimore Colts’ band, and every second has been both compelling and educational. I am going to have to go back and watch what I’ve missed and be sure not to miss any more.

I’ve given ESPN lots of crap — it’s what we do as bloggers — but so far they have been absolutely pitch perfect with this project. Kudos WWL. My praise could not be more effusive.

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* – Len Bias SI cover credit: The Halo Bender

Freshman Royce White and senior Devron Bostick have been suspended indefinitely from the Gophers men’s basketball team for a violation of team rules, coach Tubby Smith said Tuesday morning. Smith provided no additional details about the disciplinary action.

The Gophers’ exhibition slate begins Thursday night as Tubby Smith and the team looks to build on last season’s 22-11 record and appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Most prognosticators have the Gophers rated as the 6th best team in the Big Ten.

Bostick averaged just over four points per game last season as a junior. Royce White was a four-star recruit who was rated as the #10 PF in the class of 2009.

Wednesday cannot come fast enough. After watching the Browns stumble through another horrible Sunday, I am already excited about the turning the page and moving on to college basketball season.

Truthfully, I’ve always been a college basketball fan more than I am a fan of any other sport, and this year there will be nothing distracting me from following every second of Indiana’s 2009-10 season, which should see Tom Crean and the Hoosier program rebound from the unavoidable train wreck that was the 2008-09 season.

Last year was obviously tough to suffer through, but I am firmly behind Crean and the plan he has in place to return Indiana’s basketball program to respectability, and ultimately to prominence. I’m not expecting miracles this year, but I do believe that a .500 record is within reach now that the talent level is more commensurate with a Big Ten power.

When and where can you watch the team this year? Below is the 2009-10 Indiana Hoosiers mens basketball TV schedule, along with some helpful links to help you find good deals on IU basketball tickets.

• StubHub: Indiana Basketball Tickets
• TicketsNow: Indiana Basketball Tickets
• RazorGator: Indiana Basketball Tickets

Indiana Hoosiers Mens Basketball 2009-10 TV Schedule

Words cannot express how excited I am for the upcoming IU basketball season.

Actually, I take that back. Certain words can express my excitement, such as the ones written by Dana O’Neil (thanks @ryancorazza) a few days back at ESPN.com.

Since I don’t have much time today for writing, I will give you an excerpt, a link to her story, and then some other intriguing Friday afternoon links.

I love the NFL and the MLB playoffs, but I will always be a college basketball fan at heart. I’m ready for Year Two of the Tom Crean Era (i.e. The Purge Kelvin Sampson From the Memories of All IU Fans Era) and it cannot get here soon enough.

So why bother? Why sign on with a program that is just laying the first bricks of rebuilding?

“We’re going to hang banners and win awards before we leave here,” Elston said. “But we’re also going to change the program. We’re going to be the team people talk about for a long time, the ones that brought Indiana back. That’s something a lot of people don’t get the chance to do.”

IU’s fresh faces offer hope for fans — (Dana O’Neil, ESPN)

Here is one more excerpt to whet IU fans’ appetites for the coming season(s):

But when Hoosiers coach Tom Crean went out to find the pieces to begin rebuilding his roundball phoenix, he targeted a certain kind of kid.

OK, for starters, he wanted good players. That was helpful, and he got them. Creek played in the Reebok All-American game; Watford is listed as No. 26 in the ESPNU top 100; Hulls was an Indiana Mr. Basketball.

More than that, Crean wanted kids with strong character, the kind who wouldn’t hang their heads when things got tough and wouldn’t be overwhelmed by the expectations of a fan base patiently waiting to get back to the business of winning.

It took just one weekend’s worth of practice to assure Crean he has the right guys.

I am pumped already. No, I am not expecting miracles this season. I would be satisfied with a .500 record after last season’s debacle, with any postseason play a success. The expectations obviously increase for next season, Year 3 of the Crean Era, but for this year I just want to see something that resembles IU basketball again. The kids played their hearts out last year and I appreciated every second of their effort, but the talent just wasn’t there.

Coach Crean is bringing the talent back to Bloomington. The wins should follow.

In other basketball news, everyone’s favorite NBA writer has a new NBA column out. Read it while you’re shirking your work responsibilities (you know you are!) this afternoon:

• Welcome to the NBA Preview, Part 1
• Welcome to the NBA Preview, Part 2

Former Davidson star and current Golden Star Warrior Stephen Curry recently sent 2,000 thank yous to Davidson fans, alumni, and students for their support during his time there.

The gesture came at a personal cost of $3,000 to Curry.

Read more at the Charlotte Observer: Stephen Curry Thanks 2,000 Davidson Fans

Courtesy of our friends at Inside the Hall, here is audio from Tom Crean’s appearance on the Dan Dakich show today.

Posted via email from Jerod’s Blog

Indiana native John R. Wooden, a legendary Purdue guard in the 30s, World War 2 Vet in the 40s, coach and teacher through the 50s, 60s and 70s, author, mentor, Presidential Medal of Freedom winner and genuine American icon since, turns 99 on Wednesday.

You can read more here,  wish him a happy birthday here, or see the outpouring of love for Coach Wooden by doing a simple google search here.

A short bio of Mr. Wooden can be viewed here.

A local story from Tuesday’s Indianapolis Star, discussing his erstwhile hometown, can be read here.

Two other good, creative entries can be found here and here.

• Be true to yourself.
• Make each day your masterpiece.
• Help others.
• Drink deeply from good books, especially the Bible.
• Make friendship a fine art.
• Build a shelter against a rainy day.
• Pray for guidance and give thanks for your blessings every day.

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* – John Wooden photo credit: Andy Lyons / Getty Images via FanHouse

In what could be called the John Calipari Rule, the Collegiate Commissioners Association issued a memo last week that immediately prohibits National Letters of Intent from being modified.

The CCAs action comes about as more highly rated prep basketball recruits had increasingly asked for amendments to the letters of intent.

While the amendments varied, most centered on a recruits ability to be let out of his commitment without penalty if the coach leaves the school for any reason.

Follow the link to read more about the “John Calipari Rule” that will now be in effect for national letters of intent…and why MoonDog is suggesting it be named after Mr. Ethics himself.

Kimberly is a graduate of the University of Kansas, where she studied journalism and strategic communication. Among her many experiences at KU, Kimberly worked for KAKE TV (ABC) and also traveled to London, England to write about hotel and tourist venues for Adjourn Magazine. 

Here at MSF, Kimberly will be covering sports stories from her alma mater and will also be debuting a health & fitness column in the coming months. We are very happy to have her as part of the writing staff and think that you'll enjoy her first offering, a timely piece about the inability of the KU basketball and football teams to just get along.]

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The University of Kansas Jayhawks have been making the headlines, but not for touchdowns or three-pointers.

Instead, they have found opponents in one another.

In case you have not noticed the stories being splashed about on various sports Web sites and publications, members of the KU football and basketball teams could not cage the rage…against each other. Now, typically you would imagine two high profile KU teams supporting one another, perhaps even cheering one another on in stands. This is not the happy picture painted during the last couple days.

KU basketball player Tyshawn Taylor was recently checked into Lawrence Memorial Hospital in Lawrence, Kansas due to a dislocated finger, according to a KU Police incident report. There were reportedly dozens of individuals outside the Burge Union on KU’s campus who witnessed the altercation between the football and basketball players. Taylor took to his Facebook page to share the news about his dislocated digit.

The KU Police received another call the next morning regarding another incident apparently involving football and basketball players, this one taking place near Wescoe Hall on KU’s campus. Occurring a little before 10 a.m. on September 23, several eyewitness reports indicate the gentlemen found themselves in another conflict. Eyewitnesses claim they saw one of the basketball players exchange some words with an unidentified football player and “throw” him down a flight of stairs.

KU’s school newspaper’s Web site, The University Daily Kansan, is exploding with uproars from the student body regarding the brawl among fellow athletes. Comments range from believing the involved athletes should be kicked off their respective teams to not believing it is a big deal whatsoever.

After all, fights occur among college guys (and gals) every weekend. How many bar fights occur on a Saturday night because someone’s had a little too much to drink?

However, this is different.

The fights happened on school property.

Collegiate athletes are young adults, just like everyone else attending the university. There is of course a slight difference: they are under constant surveillance from the student body and community members.

Whenever one of the basketball or football players walks by you on campus, you suddenly become very aware of their presence. They are, after all, mini-celebrities lurking the streets of Lawrence. As this imaginary spotlight is blazing on them, their every move is going to be scrutinized.

Now throw in two major KU sports and a couple fists thrown and you’ve got yourself front page news. The media attention is what is upsetting KU sports fans and fellow athletes.

“They are all extremely admired by the student body here and I feel like they do a really great job of upholding a good reputation for KU athletics,” KU golfer, Alyssa Rainbolt said. “I think this is just a slip up on their end; they’re young boys and are immature. I think they realize now they made a mistake and understand the consequences in letting this thing happen.”

As a former KU student, I have witnessed the close-knit ties of the Jayhawk athletic community. You can spot a KU athlete a mile away, as they are decked out in their Adidas gear. Taking Communications and Journalism classes with several of these athletes, I noticed a strong bond among sports. The football players made it a point to attend the volleyball games and cheer on their fellow athletes and friends.

One has to wonder how the behavior of several athletes will reflect on the entire Jayhawk athletic community as a whole.  

“It’s a shame this has to be so public just because it is kind of a reflection of the athletic department,” Rainbolt said. “I also know some of those guys personally and I know that it’s not a reflection on the character of those teams.”

There is no doubt these athletes are under a microscope, but is it fair they are placed under one? Or does it simply go with the territory? There is a line of sensitivity when it comes to athletes getting preferential treatment. We won’t get into the issues that tick people off about athletes and special privileges. The root of the question being: is it fair to hold athletes to a higher standard?

“I think that they put themselves in that position and coming into this kind of university setting, they’re going to expect the kind of publicity they get,” Rainbolt said. “Along with playing big-time college basketball and football, they know what comes with it.”

All opinions aside, I think we can all agree that these Big 12 sports teams have a lot to focus on right now. Let’s put the fists down and take that testosterone out onto the field and court.

I mean come on; this only makes us look unstable and weak to our competitors.

I am sure Mizzou fans are just eating this debacle up. What kind of t-shirt will they make out of this?

Anyway, let’s focus on the positives. The Jayhawk basketball team is consistently ranked number one in pre-season polls. KU fans should look to the season ahead and all the treasured memories they will spend in Allen Fieldhouse. And of course the football team has been on a roll for the past couple years with Orange Bowl and Insight Bowl championships. Not to mention that the past two home games have been sold out. This upcoming Saturday, the stadium is sold out again as KU faces Southern Mississippi.

Let’s hope the events of yesterday do not repeat themselves in the future. You would think with the athletic department and KU Police getting involved that the boys will put down their fists.

If not, I am afraid KU will be a laughingstock and our confidence will be shaken. I hope KU fans will just get over it. We all make mistakes and perhaps we should attribute this scuffle to the saying “boys will be boys.”

The football and basketball programs are both staples of the Lawrence community and culture. The last thing Lawrence needs is a line divided between the two.

Let’s see if these boys can channel their rage into winning seasons.

Author’s Note: At the time of publication of this article, nothing has been released about filing legal charges regarding the brawls.

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* – Tyshawn Taylor / Bill Self photo credit: Bring on the Cats

• Fracas sends KU guard Tyshawn Taylor to hospital — (KUSports.com)
• Tyshawn Taylor admits throwing punch, other details on Facebook — (The Big Lead)
• Jayhawk-on-Jayhawk violence sends player to ER — (Sports By Brooks)
• And then another confrontation this morning — (Sports By Brooks)

Sports:

• NFL Owners, Players Lean Right With Political Contributions — (MoonDog)
• 50 pics of drunken NBA ball players with randoms — (Hail Mary Jane)
• Plaxico Burress You Say? Donald Driver I Say — (Josh Q. Public)
• Delonte West should be just fine — (Cleveland Frowns)
• Lane Kiffin Wants YOU Chicago — (Not Qualified to Comment)
• NFL should examine startling number of domestic violence arrests — (The Big Lead)
• Shocker: BCS teams face lighter NCAA sanctions — (Sports By Brooks)
• Yet ANOTHER Media Meltdown featuring Sean Salisbury — (Deadspin)
• Is Ted Ginn scared to take a hit? — (My Sports Rumors)
• Interesting NFL numbers through Week 2 – (Zoner Sports)
• Exciting news for Blogs With Balls 2.0 — (Hugging Harold Reynolds)
• California Hooters girls use boobs to support Tebow, charity — (Busted Coverage)
• Cowboys-Panthers MNF Preview — (Dallas Sports Fans)

Non-Sports:

• At U.N. Obama calls for new era in world relations — (CNN.com)
• Obama’s “Safe Schools Czar” coming under fire — (FoxNews)
• Obama considering strategy shift in Afghan War — (NY Times)

Caught word on Peegs.com this morning that Victor Oladipo has committed to the IU. Oladipo is a 6′4 guard from basketball powerhouse DeMatha and joins 6′6 wing David Williams of Jacksonville, FL as IU’s two commits thus far for 2010.

Browsing various scouting reports about Oladipo, he is currently on the fringe of being a consensus top 100 player in the nation and is rising because of a great summer.  Oladipo is described as being in constant motion offensively although not yet a great mid-range shooter, is a defensive-minded player, and has obvious hops (see video below). He is also apparently very academic-minded and once beat up a guy at church because he thought the dude looked like Kelvin Sampson.

Okay, so that last part is not true…but how quickly would he endear himself to the IU faithful if it was?

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To sum up the Victor Oladipo scouting report, it sounds like he is an athletic jack-of-all-trades who, as of yet, is a master of none. But he fits the Tom Crean profile of a high-energy, high-character guy around which Crean can build his up-tempo, attacking style of basketball.

Anyway, when most people think of Indiana basketball, they think of goofy white guys in really short shorts. Sure, there have been plenty of such players to come through the program, but times have changed. (And for the record, the goofy guy to the right, Brian Evans, was named Big Ten Player of the Year as a senior, so you can stop your snickering…ass.)

Not only do the Hoosiers now wear shorts of a reasonable length, but Tom Crean is putting together what appears to be a pretty athletic roster. Once he arrives at IU Oladipo will join, among others, athletic 2009 freshmen Christian Watford and Maurice Creek, and based on the video below — a dunk-fest featuring Oladipo and long-time friend Creek — there could be some pretty exciting fast breaks in Bloomington in the years to come.

(Hat tip for the Victor Oladipo-Maurice Creek dunking video to Inside the Hall. My apologies in advance for the wretched music.)

Video: Victor Oladipo and Maurice Creek Dunk-Fest

Another reason to like Victor Oladipo if you a Hoosier fan is that, according to the Indiana Daily student, Oladipo claims God led him to commit to IU:

Oladipo, the No. 133 recruit in the nation according to Rivals.com, committed Monday to playing college basketball at IU. His commitment came after a night of prayer and time with his family.

“God had pointed me toward Indiana,” he said. “He was giving me signs. I felt like that was where He wants me to go.”

Well, all I have to say is that Oladipo is like many IU fans in that respect. Of course, the god who led us to IU basketball is probably not the same one to which young Victor is referring.

Oladipo also said that the relationship he developed with Tom Crean, as well as his longtime relationship with Maurice Creek, influenced his decision.

While I would like to see Crean pluck a few more native Hoosiers from the high school ranks as he completes his 2010 and 2011 recruiting classes, Oladipo appears to be a guy that we can all get excited about. He may not be a superstar blue-chipper, but he could end up being the kind of four-year (*cough…AJ*) player that (*cough…Moye*) consistent winning college teams are built around.

Welcome aboard Victor. I can speak from experience and say that you will love Bloomington. And if reports of your effort, hustle, and character prove true, I can definitely say that Bloomington and the IU faithful will love you right back.

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* – Brian Evans photo credit: Peegs.com

* – Victor Oladipo photo credit credit: Rivals via Testudo Times