It is just one more week until basketball practice officially starts. I don’t know about everyone else, but it has been a crazy couple of weeks in my household. School is back in full swing, the leaves are changing colors, and things are getting colder. But with those changes come court time for college basketball teams across America. Anyway, here are some things of interest culled from the ‘net during the past month that may get you even more excited for the upcoming college hoops season.
Midnight Madness
On October 16, all men’s basketball teams can hit the court full bore with the opening evening of practice to prepare for the early November exhibitions leading into the regular season. Back in the day, some schools would celebrate the start at midnight and kick things off with a little show for the fans as a part of their practice time. The past several years, some of these events have been toned down a bit because schools are now allowed to start practicing at 7:00 p.m. instead of waiting until midnight. Either way, Creighton has not conducted such an event on the opening evening of practice in recent memory. This is a great opportunity for schools to give back to the fans that help support them throughout the year, whether they come to games or also donate additional money for the program. It is unfortunate Creighton chooses not to stage one of these extravaganzas.
However, several of the Valley schools have chosen to do something opening night (or slightly before, when court time isn’t involved):
- Bradley: The Braves don’t appear to be hosting an event Friday night. However, they did have their annual spaghetti dinner this past week where fans had a chance to meet the players after each was introduced by Jim Les. No word on whether they filmed a sequel to last year’s rousing instructional dance video.
- Indiana State: The Sycamores are hosting a “Big Blue Block Party” on Friday from 5:00-6:30 p.m. Attractions include free food, music, entertainment, a kids zone, and a beer garden. Players and coaches will be on hand to interact with fans and sign autographs. At 6:30 p.m., fans can go to the Hulman Center to watch a mini practice and scrimmage by the women’s team and an open practice by the men’s team.
- Illinois State: ISU hosts its “Redbird Hoopfest” Friday evening. The event will feature a 3-point shooting contest, a dunk contest, and intrasquad scrimmages by the men’s and women’s teams.
- Southern Illinois: The fans in Carbondale will be out to celebrate “Maroon Madness.” After the volleyball match against Drake around 8:30 p.m., the Saluki men’s and women’s basketball teams will take the floor. The event will introduce the basketball teams and include a dunk contest, 3-point shoot-out, and short scrimmages by both teams.
- Wichita State: The Shockers are holding “Shocker Madness” on Saturday. The men’s team will scrimmage for 30 minutes and fans will be able to attend.
Opponent News
- Jeff Goodman put out his list over a month ago, but several other preseason publications see Tony Freeman, who transferred to Southern Illinois from Iowa, being a top impact transfer this season. With a lot of the team coming back, Freeman might be exactly who SIU needs to regain a spot at the top of the league this season.
- Speaking of transfers, it appears the Valley is becoming the All-Iowa league. Another Iowa transfer, Jake Kelly, got clearance from the NCAA to play for Indiana State already this season instead of having to sit out the usual mandatory one season. He was considered to have extraordinary personal circumstances that led to the waiver. Adding Kelly to the mix solidifies the Sycamores’ backcourt and bolsters a team that welcomes back pretty much everyone from last season. I think Indiana State will be better than most people think.
- While some teams are adding players, others might lose some. Bradley’s Taylor Brown was arrested a few weeks ago on a battery charge. Brown was the leading scorer and rebound when the Braves played exhibition games in Brazil over Labor Day. It is unknown whether he will be suspended.
- At the same time, Southern Illinois’ Ryan Hare is in some trouble of his own. He has been suspended indefinitely and resurrects some of the other SIU player troubles.
- The Valley member schools are all starting to compete with each other to host future NCAA Tournaments. Omaha was granted a host site for the 1st and 2nd rounds in 2012, while Wichita and Des Moines were on the outside looking in. It is interesting that the NCAA considers all of these cities with nice arenas that don’t have BCS conference teams playing in them.
Coverage Notes
- The Omaha World-Herald continues to ramp up its coverage of Bluejays sports by hosting weekly chats on Friday. This week the OWH launched a new Bluejay Blog. Maybe Piv will be on ESPN next….no, wait, that might not be a good idea.
- TV coverage of the Jays is still in progress. We mentioned the KMTV games last week along with the coverage of the Dayton game by WHIO in Dayton. Things are in the works to broadcast the Dayton game in Omaha on Cox.
- As expected, The Mtn. is pretty tight with their TV rights, so the opportunity for local coverage isn’t going to happen. And it isn’t like no one asked. The Mtn. wants the exclusive TV rights. So at this point, plan on going to your favorite neighborhood bar to watch the New Mexico game if you aren’t making the trip to Albuquerque.
Other Shots
- This is also a bit old, but Gary Parrish published an article on mid-major schools struggling because of lack of money in play. But he could have taken things a bit farther explaining how scheduling is hurting these teams as well.
- Since I brought up scheduling, here is a two-part article by the Evansville Courier & Press about scheduling still being a headache and not an exact science. An inside look at how Evansville and Southern Indiana put their schedules together this season.
- Luke Winn from Sports Illustrated has his take on teams with the toughest schedules and other unique scheduling things including Georgetown going to Savannah State (one of the Jays’ home opponents) for a game. Weren’t we working on a home game with Georgetown? Oh, the horrors.
- Creighton will play at least 2 of the other 9 teams in this list this season (and possibly Xavier in Orlando).
Recruiting
- There has been a lot of talk about the misses Creighton had this summer on the recruiting trail, including J.J. O’Brien, Josh Gasser, Elliott Eliason, and others. One player you may not have heard about as a possible opportunity for the Jays is Jordan Salley. It sounds like he suffered a devastating ACL tear just prior to the July evaluation period, but is making good progress in rehab. He’s hoping to return by January. Before the injury, Salley was one of the top 2010 post prospects in Southern California. Due to the setback, the attention has been “somewhat sluggish.” This article indicates Creighton is in the process of setting up an on-campus visit soon. If Salley can make a full recovery this might be a good opportunity for the Bluejays.
- The Harrison Barnes battle continues. That is probably one Iowa player Creighton won’t be able to get.
- Finally, the Sporting News released its Best Sports City list. Here’s how the Valley school home towns stack up:
111. Omaha
139. Normal
144. Cedar Falls
146. Peoria
148. Des Moines
154. Wichita
155. Evansville
167. Carbondale
180. Springfield
186. Terre Haute
Do you agree with this list? We’d love to hear your thoughts. Just seven short days to go until hoops season …
Side note: Again this season, I will be the MVC correspondent for the college basketball blog Rush the Court. I will be doing my in-depth preview of the Valley for them in the next week or so. Look out for that.