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Hoosier Hysteria, Indiana’s version of Midnight Madness, will give fans the chance to see Maurice Creek and Jordan Hulls in IU gear at Assembly Hall for the first time.
Indiana coach Tom Crean also said fans will see a more talented team.
“I think significantly (higher talent level). I don’t think there is any question about that,” Crean said during a news conference last week. “Just so many more options, and guys are better.
“… Even though they are one-year veterans, no question the talent level is better. That doesn’t play into the equation or skills and strength and how powerful this league (Big Ten) is right now. What’s relevant to us is that there is a definite talent upgrade here.”
The men’s basketball team is scheduled to take the floor at 8:30 tonight. The IU women’s volleyball team has a match at 5:30 p.m. The women’s basketball team will have a workout starting at 7:45, with the men’s team to follow.
Admission is free, but fans are encouraged to bring a canned-food item.
“My wife (Joani) has been telling me for about 60 straight days, ‘Don’t try to get something out of it. Quit trying to run drills. Make it entertaining for the fans.’ So, I’m trying to listen to her on that,” Crean said. “But then Saturday, we’ll be back with two-a-days before the football game (against Illinois) that night, and the same with Sunday. We’re excited for it to be here.”
Indiana is still young, with Devan Dumes the only senior with a lot of playing time from last season. That has played a role as IU searches for leadership.
“We don’t have a group of seniors and juniors at Indiana that have been through the battles and just lead the way on that. That is the one thing that everyone else in the Big Ten has,” Crean said.
“Everyone else that we’re playing, even at Kentucky, they’ve got those types of things. We don’t have that. We’ve got a junior and a couple of seniors, but they haven’t been through battle after battle at Indiana. So we’ve got to get that to come together. Jeremiah (Rivers) gives us a real strong option there because of his background and because of his talent level.”
Rivers, a guard, sat out last season after transferring from Georgetown.
“There is nobody that just grabs the team and says, ‘This is what we’re doing every day.’ I don’t think there is anybody on the team that is like that right now,” Crean said. “I don’t think there is any question that when the coach is around, they’re waiting for the coaches to do that. I can’t gauge it on the pickup games. I wish I could, but I think leadership gets formed there, it gets formed in the locker room, it gets formed with who is bringing other guys in to shoot at night or on the weekend when you’re dead tired.
“I’ve seen some of that in the conditioning. A couple of the freshmen have tried to step into that role as well. Guys like Jordan and Maurice are trying to work into that role. Verdell (Jones III) is trying to work in to that role. That is why it has to be collective for a while.”
