OJ Mayo Should be Suspended for the Rest of the Year

(Bloomington, Ind.)  Have you seen the video of OJ Mayo knocking a referee to the floor?  I did just today and not just once or twice.  In fact, at this point, I can't even tell you how many times I've looked at it.  From the comments I've seen, though, viewers seem to overwhelmingly feel the referee "had it out" for Mayo and overdramatized the incident by flopping to the floor.  If you think that, too, you're dead wrong.  Here's why:

1.  Compare Mayo's stride as he walks towards the official with the steps he takes as he's leaving the court after being ejected.  While advancing on the ref, his stride is longer and quicker and, with his upper torso leaning forward, he is moving with more force and purpose than what he is as he exits the court.

2.  Notice the angle that Mayo is walking.  He is bearing straight down on the official as opposed to coming at a wider angle to head him off and intercept him.  He's clearly looking to make contact.

3.  Look closely at Mayo's last step with his right foot as he is about to make contact.  He swings it far out to the right in an effort to keep his bearing on making contact.

4.  By swinging his right foot out, Mayo turned or opened up his upper body so as to make full contact with his left shoulder, arm and left side of his chest with the referee.  Mayo appears to be 4-6 inches taller than the referee so his upper body is higher than that of the official.  As a result, the referee's movement post contact is both to the left and downward.

5.  Mayo makes contact with enough force that, after striking the official, he, himself, is thrown off balance.  In other words, he collides with the ref with such force that once the ref is no longer an impediment to his forward momentum, he lurches forward.  That shows he did not slow up.  He, in effect, ran through the ref.

6.  Now, focus on the referee.  He clearly is not anticipating what is coming because he's looking at the scorer's table and signaling with his hands.  The contact takes him by surprise.

7.  Look at the referee's last steps.  Just prior to contact, his right foot has pushed off the floor and his left foot is striking the floor, which means, of course, that he has transferred his body weight on the left side.  Thus, the referee's body is already inclined to move left as he is knocked off stride by the contact.  That is what sends the referee flying, not flopping.

8.  As the referee falls to the floor, he allows his body to go with the motion rather than trying to counter it.  That's the smart thing to do in a fall.  If you jump from a car, you want your body to go forward with the motion of the car, not backwards and against it.  If you jump from a wall, you hit the ground and roll in the direction your fall takes you.  It's the same principle.

9.  As the referee falls he extends his arms and hands forward, which lead some people to concude he took a "dive."  Wrong again.  Extending your upper extremities as you fall down is the correct thing to do to avoid landing hard on your body or ####ing your head. 

Now, that you've read this, go look at the clip again.  Pause it and rewind it at every critical juncture to see if you agree with what I see.

Here's what ticks me off.  Mayo hires an attorney and obtains a injunction prohibiting the enforcement of sanctions and then, through his attorney, negotiates a penalty of a three-game suspension.  I guess if your name is OJ and you go to USC you can get away with murder--literally and figuratively.

Big Night For Cem Dinc as Marshalltown Edges Iowa Lakes

(Bloomington, Ind.).  Former Hoosier Cem Dinc, who was told to "go rock JUCO" by  Indiana Coach Kelvin Sampson, is doing just that.  The 6-10, 250 pound center racked up his second double-double in only his third game back playing college ball as the Marshalltown Tigers eeked out an 82-77 road win over the Iowa Lakes Lakers Wednesday night.  Dinc poured in 25 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in the win.  He blocked two shots as well.

Dinc, facing double teams for the second game in a row and sometimes triple teams, scored at will.  Coach Bryn Brynjarrsson installed some new sets after the winter break to get the ball into the post and Dinc proved them worthwhile.  "It was an important win for our team," Dinc said, "it evened our league record and gave Coach his first conference win as head coach at Marshalltown.  We were really happy to get it for him."  Dinc wound up 11-15 from the field and 3-4 from the line.  He's now averaging 15.3 points and 11.3 rebounds per contest.

Dinc was already on some big-time college coaches' radar screens after leaving Indiana.  His numbers thus far show he's more than a blip.  Although Dinc declines to name a favorite among the teams offering him a scholarship next season, he's recently gotten calls from Miami (Fla.) and Boston College from the ACC and Notre Dame from the Big East.  He also drawing intense interest from Iowa State Cyclone Coach Greg McDermott who is looking to add size and strength to his roster next year.  "We're good buddies," says Dinc, "and, who knows, I might wind up there, but I really want to make sure wherever I go it's a good fit for the team and me."

I can think of at least one other team off the top of my head that could use a strong, athletic kid with good grades, three years of college eligibility and a willingness to #### bodies on the boards.  Take a guess, I bet you do, too.

Bruce Almighty, the Prophet Sampson and the Verbally Committed One

(Bloomington, Ind.)  Bruce Almighty, the Sacred One from the Land Where No National Championship Banners Hang, hath condemned the Prophet Sampson.  The Verbally Committed One hath approach the Prophet to proclaimeth his desire to hoopeth in the Land Where Five National Championship Banners Hang.

The Prophet Sampson sayeth unto the Verbally Committed One, "Come, let me showeth thou the path to righteousness," but Bruce Almighty commands, “Recruiteth him not for I decree the Verbally Committed One shall never be tempted again!”

The Prophet Sampson ignoreth the Sacred One’s mandate.  He pursueth the Verbally Committed One from afar and sendeth the Apostle Jeff, who coacheth the Father of the Verbally Committed One, and the Apostle Ray to pay tribute.  The Apostles Jeff and Ray deliver unto the Verbally Committed One the Prophet Sampson’s invitation to visit the Land Where Five National Championship Banners Hang.  Honored, the Verbally Committed One accepteth.

The Verbally Committed One's visit to the Land Where Five National Championship Banners Hang goeth pretty damn good.  He breaketh bread with the Prophet Sampson, hangeth with DJ, Rat, Earl and Rod and hoopeth at Assembly Hall.  Word spreads near and afar that the Verbally Committed One shall become Gordon again and playeth in the Land Where Five National Championship Banners Hang.

Bruce Almighty is filled with a great and furious anger.  He scorneth the Prophet Sampson and declareth him a heretic.  He screameth at Gordon, “Thou shall be cast from my flock if thou continueth thy ####!  Why hath thou shamed me so?”

The Sacred One’s flock, incensed, gather to take up their enfeebled shepherd’s lament.  Scriveners from the Land Where No Championship Banners Hang dip quills in ink to crucify the Prophet Sampson for recruiting the Verbally Committed One.  A Painter voweth never to put his brush to canvas again so he can decry the affront and comfort Bruce Almighty.  Kneeling together, they weep silently.

Far to the North, in the Land Where Two National Championship Banners Hang, the Grand Izzo rises to the Alter and publicly denounceth the offense.  He proclaimeth unto  the Prophet Sampson, “Covet not the Verbally Committed One and stayeth the Hell away from my recruits while you’re at it!.”

From the South, a Tennessean Volunteers a Pearl of wisdom:  Recruiteth unto others as you would have them recruiteth unto you!”  On an Oklahoma prairie, a drunken Cowboy named Eddie swerveth across yet another yellow line, crasheth and mumbles incoherently.

The ill words spoken of the Prophet Sampson are heard loudly in the Land Where Five National Championship Banners Hang.  The Village ####, who long ago denounceth the Hoosiers, now mocketh the Prophet Sampson by declaring him ill fit to coacheth a fifth-grade girl’s basketball team.  A few misbegotten Hoosiers question their faith.  Shaken due to the chant of “Cheater!” from the nonbelievers, they heareth not the truth:  The Prophet Sampson doeth not one damn thing wrong in recruiting the Verbally Committed One.

The Prophet Sampson showeth the light to the Verbally Committed One and maketh him a Believer.  He annointeth him "Gordon."  The Faithful, of which there are many across the land, standeth firmly and proudly behind the Prophet Sampson as he leadeth the flock back from our journey to depths of darkness.  His way is our way for the Hoosiers to reemergeth and become the Land Where Six National Championship Banners Hang.

—Ed Anderson

Reivers Trounce Tigers, 83-59                                             
    Dinc Collects Game-High Nine Rebounds

 (Bloomington, Ind.).  The Iowa Western CC Reivers pummeled the Marshalltown Tigers 83-59 in Council Bluff, Iowa, Saturday night in the teams' Region XI Division I opener.  The Tigers (12-6, 0-1) were never in the game, according to head coach Brynjar Brynjarsson.  "Iowa Western dominated every aspect of the game and they just wore us out,” he said.

Marshalltown committed sixteen turnovers in the first half and twenty-four for the game.  Shooting woes also plagued the Tigers as only one player, guard  Kenard Moore, scored in double figures.  He had twelve.  The Tigers’ leading scorer, DaShawn Wright, a Gary, indiana native, was held to eight points, eleven off his average. 

Antoine Dade, Iowa Western's 6-7 power forward, said the Reivers' coaching staff did a good job of scouting former Indiana Hoosier, Cem Dinc.  The Reivers double-teamed Dinc most of the night, which limited his number of touches and shots.  Dinc was 1-5 from the field, but was fouled on two of those attempts and made three of four from the line.  He ended up with five points, but, passing out of the double team, he had four assists and finished with a game-high nine rebounds.  In two games, Dinc is averaging 10.5 points and 11.5 rebounds. 

"We never got untracked," Dinc said.  "We made too many turnovers and couldn't get anything to drop."  The Tigers shot just 32.7% from the field.  Marshalltown hits the road again tonight to take on the Iowa Lakes Community College Lakers (10-9, 0-4) in Estherville, Iowa. 

 

 

The Illinois Game:  What the Heck Happened?

(Bloomington, Ind.).  The Hoosiers looked flat against Illinois.  Flat as a punctured tire.  And no lug wrench, jack or spare to get it going, which means, of course, no movement and a lot of standing around. 

I understand the theory about slowing the game down when you're playing on the road in a hostile environment and, oh, there was no shortage of hostility in Champaign.  Even Bruce Weber, who still has his panties bunched up over losing out on Eric Gordon, displayed hostility.  Did you see the perfunctory handshakes with Kelvin Sampson before and after the game?  The only way he could have created more distance between Sampson and himself would have been to extend a stick with a glove at the end.

The Hoosiers' guard and wing play lost this game.  Sampson had them walk the ball up court to slow the pace of the game, which is a good strategy when you want to keep it tight and deflate the crowd, but once you cross the ten-second line, you can't be tentative.  You have to create something and that means having some motion in the offense--some cuts, some screens and some curls.  I didn't see much of that.

The guards and wings are the ones who have to get the offense moving.  If that doesn't happen, you wind up doing what Indiana did last night.--running the shot clock down to desperation time and throwing up something that vaguely resembles a shot.  Of course, doing that only feeds the crowd.  With the shot clock at 10...9...8...and only then you start working for a shot, the crowd is hooting and hollering and the defense reacts to by racheting up the intensity and pressuring the ball.  Bad things happen in that hurried situation--a poor shot, a turnover, a charge. 

As always, the Hoosiers looked to DJ for points.  Against Illinois, though, he was smothered and pushed out of position.  I lost count of how many times DJ got the ball behind the three-point line and, on the few other occasions the Hoosiers threw it to him inside the arc he was still 10-12 feet from the basket.  That's okay once in awhile, but that can't be the Hoosiers' offense.  DJ has to set up lower in the block.  He has to work to establish position and then maintain it if he's going to make any sort of power move to the rim.  Pruitt had his way on defense and DJ lacks the ball handling skills to get to the rim from 10-12 feet.

All in all, the Hoosiers had little inside presence against Illinois.  Lance Stemler is a hard-nosed, gritty kid, but definitely not a player who can outmuscle the typical power forward.  Mike White, on the other hand, is a ####er.  He got the ball in the paint a few times off feeds or the rare offensive rebound, but then failed to finish.    If you wind up with the ball at pointblank range, you've got to do one of two things--make the basket or draw the foul.  He did neither.

Free throws or, more accurately, the lack of them hurt Indiana.  When your outside shots aren't dropping, you have to get in the paint.  The guards have to penetrate or someone on the weak side has to flash into the paint for a pass.  You can't be content to keep throwing the ball up there hoping something eventually drops.

Indiana played well enough on defense to win this game, although the Hoosiers committed way too many fouls (20) and got outscored at the line by nine points, i.e., one more than the margin of victory.  They also allowed the Illini more second chance points than they got.  Still, holding the opposition to 51 points on 40.5% from the field, including 23.9% from the three-point line, puts a team in good position to win.

 I've got a theory on why the Hoosiers played flat against Illinois.  One word--Connecticut.  Scheduling that game in the midst of Big 10 season was tantamount to conceding the Illinois game.  After beating Iowa on Tuesday, the Hoosiers, had they not played the Huskies, would have had six days to prepare for Illinois.  Six days.  You can dissect a team down to the managers in six days.  Instead, Indiana spent the rest of the week getting ready for UConn, left on Friday for Connecticut, played a tough, physical Husky squad in an emotion filled game on Saturday afternoon, got back to Bloomington on Saturday night, had just one day of practice at Assembly Hall on Sunday and then took a three-hour bus ride to Champaign on Monday.  Anyone see any sense--besides dollars and cents--in that?  I sure don't.

--Ed Anderson 1/24/7

 

(Bloomington, Ind.)  According to Robert Jordan, a sportswriter for the Contra Costa Times, Indiana recruit Eli Holman, a 6'10" center from Richmond, California, has vowed never to set foot in the city again after being shot Saturday night.  One bulllet grazed his upper back, narrowly missing his spine, while another pierced the car's headrest.  Three shots in all were fired.

The incident has left Holman so traumatized that he has left his hometown to live with Michelle Banks, his legal guardian since September 2006.  Three juveniles have been detained in the shooting, which occurred late Saturday night as Holman and three friends pulled into a Quality Inn to attend a friend's party.

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/new
s/breaking_news/16522811.htm

Dinc’s Double-Double Leads Tigers Past Tritons

(Bloomington, Ind.)  Former Indiana Hoosier Cem Dinc, playing his first college basketball game since December 31, 2005, registered a double-double in leading the Marshalltown Community College Tigers to a 74-65 overtime win over the Iowa Community College Tritons Wednesday night in Marshalltown, Iowa. Dinc, a 6’10” 250 pound center scored 16 points, yanked down 13 rebounds and blocked 5 shots in helping the Tigers improve their record to 12-5 on the season. The Tigers, playing before a packed house, outscored the Tritons 18-9 in the extra period.

Dinc was the key to Marshalltown’s victory. The Tigers started out playing their characteristic run and gun brand of basketball, but, after a long holiday break, their perimeter shooting was as cold as the chilly January air. At the end of the first half, Marshalltown had managed only 24 points, far off the pace of their 113 points per game average.  In the second half, Marshalltown Coach Brynjar Brynjarsson opted to slow the pace and run more half court sets to get higher percentage shots. That decision paid dividends. Dinc, instead of trailing the break as he did in the first stanza, set up in the post and the Tigers rewarded his hard work in getting open by feeding him for several inside baskets, including two monstrous dunks that left the stanchion shaking. Dinc also also scored six of the Tigers’ 18 overtime points.

For Dinc it was a breakout performance, but one he took in stride. “It felt good to be on the court again and I’m just happy we won,” he said. “Our team is improving day by day and we’re ready for conference play. We want to give Coach Brynjarsson his first conference win Saturday.”  If the Tigers are to do so, they'll have to do it on the road against the powerful Iowa Western Community College Reivers.  The Reviers are 17-3 on the season and edging their way into the national rankings.

HOLMAN DECISION DELAYED AGAIN

(Bloomington, Ind.)  Eli Holman will have to wait through the weekend to learn his fate on his prep basketball future. The 6'10" Holman and Richmond High School administrators met this morning with California Interscholastic Federation Executive Directivor Marie Ishida as planned, but, according to a school offical, a ruling on his appeal for reinstatement has been delayed until Monday.

Holman has been under suspension since December 2005 for shoving a referee. His appeal for reinstatement was denied last month, but contained inaccurate information showing he was failing two classes, had 66 unexcused absences and had not completed anger-management counseling. Orlando Ramos, Richmond's principal, attributed the error-filled appeal to the three-month absence of an employee responsible for record maintenance.

This most recent delay appears to be the last. Ishida informed Holman she will issue her ruling on Monday, which is when this semester's grades come out. Based on that, it would appear she is inclined to reinstate Holman if his grade point average is 2.0 or higher.

--Ed Anderson 1/17/7

Holman Decision Delayed Until Tomorrow

(Bloomington, Ind.)  Marie Ishida, the executive director of the California Interscholastic Federation, has delayed until tomorrow her decision on whether to reinstate Richmond High School prep star and '07 Indiana recruit Eli Holman.  She had indicated last week she would issue a ruling today after considering corrected information submitted by Richmond Principal Orlando Ramos on stipulations Holman was to have satisfied prior to seeking reinstatement.

Holman, who has neither practiced nor played for Richmond since being suspended four games into his junior season for pushing an official, had hoped for a favorable ruling that would allow him to play tonight.  Instead, Ishida plans to travel to Richmond tomorrow to meet with Holman and Ramos at the school.  The delay means the earliest Holman would be eligible to resume his high school basketball career would be Thursday, which is when Richmond plays next.

--Ed Anderson 1/16/7

Update on Cem Dinc

(Bloomington, Ind.)  Cem Dinc's much anticipated return to college basketball has been delayed.  The winter storm that has gripped the northern part of the midwest and moved on to the northeast plastered the plains with ice, sleet and snow, preventing the Hamilton Aliens from making the journey to Marshalltown.

The Marshalltown Tigers will take the court Wednesday night at 6:00 p.m. local time for a game against Iowa Central Community College.

 

 

The Hoosiers’ Date for Valentines Day

(Bloomington, Ind.).  The relatively warm weather we’ve experienced this winter here in south-central Indiana has me hoping for an early spring.  The Indiana Hoosiers have helped keep the cold away this week with a fiery brand of basketball that brings warmth to Hoosier Nation.  Coach Kelvin Sampson’s radio show was informative and funny as usual, but most enjoyable for me was watching this team’s transformation as it gets closer to what Sampson wants to see come March. 

It’s exciting to think how hot the Hoosiers will be when the flowers begin blooming and the birds start chirping.  Every single, impassioned, sweat-filled change that gets them there ratchets the temperature up a degree.  Watching Indiana out-hustle, outfight and out-compete Michigan State between the baselines Sunday revealed the ferocity and single-mindedness these Hoosiers have towards winning.  The “thumping” they gave the Boilermakers last night was overdue (it had been a few months) and well deserved given Matt Painter’s chiding comments last summer over Sampson’s recruitment of Eric Gordon, Jr., and his post-game remarks last night.

Did you know Matt had actually calmed down by the time he faced the media after the Hoosiers left his team in tatters on Branch McCracken court?  I don’t know if he followed Sampson in line for the post-game interviews, but, without any scrapes, bruises or floor burns to worry about in the Boilermakers' locker room, he had ample time to dry his eyes and have his nappy changed.  From the sound of things, when he left the pressroom, it needed to be done again.

Matt, speaking from the heart of Indiana basketball fans for just a second, the Hoosiers are going to show your Boilermakers something special at Mackey Arena on Valentine’s Day.  Now, don’t misinterpret that.  We don’t like you or the yapping you do while standing in Bruce Almighty’s shadow, and we damn sure don’t like your team.  We just love kicking your butts.  We love it so much we can hardly wait to do it again so all the fans (yours and ours) that didn’t see the game last night can share in the experience.

For everyone else, here’s an interesting way to look at the Big Ten up to this point in the still early stages of conference play.   Wisconsin and Ohio State are the top choices among experts and laymen alike for picking the champion.  I don’t share that view and you should also start questioning the notion (if you haven't already) because, among the rest of the Big Ten and, more specifically, the first several teams that get mentioned (i.e., Indiana, Illinois, Michigan State and the Boilermakers). Indiana is the only one that hasn’t been demolished in a Big Ten game and the Hoosiers, by administering butt-whippings to two of the three other frontrunners in the “Everybody Else” category and playing Ohio State, who shellacked the third, to the wire on the road, have made a case for being mentioned in the same breath with the Badgers and Buckeyes as favorites.

Right now, the Boilermakers have better than two months to get their act together up there in West-Lafayette.  Part of me wants to see them do so because beating them when they’re playing well makes for more of an exciting game than the floor-mopping that took place last night.  

But who am I kidding, right?  When it comes right down to it, I really don’t care.  I’ll be just as happy watching Indiana humiliate the Boilermakers yet again if Matt can’t get his players to add more to the rivalry than what they brought last night.  I expect the Boilermakers to play better at Mackey, though, if only because they might have time to run home to look for the toughness, scrappiness and tenacity they forgot to bring to Bloomington.  Either way, the Hoosier will win.

—Ed Anderson, 1/11/7

Our Laughter Gets Louder as the Hoosiers' Fortunes Soar

(Bloomington, Ind).  I’m just here for entertainment—yours and mine.  If I can get you to laugh and you can do the same for me, then we're one-third of the way to what Jim Valvano, his body succumbing to cancer, called a "full day."  Jimmy V said a full day should be one in which you laugh, cry and think.

Jimmy V was a great guy.  Some of you younger folks might not have too good of a recollection of him, if one at all, but he was a tremendously funny New Yorker who wore his emotions on his sleeve.  He was also a great basketball coach.  Competing against his bigger brothers on Tobacco Road, his teams held their own in the ACC and, of course, his 1983 Wolfpack squad won a national championship.

What's my point?  Life's short, you guys.  It really looks like a blur when you look back.  So, lighten up and have some fun and always give as good as you get.  And, while that's all I'm trying to do here, there's more to follow, but it gets a little tricky so stick with me.

My feet first hit ground at Bloomington Hospital the day my father was awarded a degree in education from Indiana University so I'm nothing if not a Hoosier.  My dad, in a feat not often seen, earned his degree with a wife, two kids, another (me) on the way and two part-time jobs.  He was 6'5" and, at that time, probably weighed about 180-190 pounds.  He lettered in 4 sports (basketball, baseball, football and track) in high school and, before coming to IU, served in the Air Force during the Korean War.

When my dad first got to IU, the family sans me lived in one of the old Quonset huts that lined the field along 17th Street.  The huts were government surplus and IU acquired them to handle the expected influx of veterans following World War II.  While living there and taking the requisite recreational courses at the old Fieldhouse, which many of you are more accustomed to calling Wildermuth or the HPER, Branch McCracken spotted him and asked if he wanted to try out for the team.  Of course he did!  But he couldn't.  There just weren’t enough hours in the day for him to fit basketball (or much of anything else) into his life at that point.

So, here's where I'm going.  There's just one degree of separation between Branch McCracken and me and only two to Everett Dean.  I know, I know, a lot of you can make the same claim or, even better, one-up it.  And that’s’ great, isn’t it?  Does it floor you as much as it does me to have such close ties to two of the principal architects who laid the foundation for Indiana's basketball legacy?  So, lets have some fun and enjoy our elite basketball heritage while we can.

I hope my idea of fun and your idea of fun stem from the same chemcial synapses.  I also hope you share my view of giving as good as you get.  You know why?  It's time for both and you know what’s fun for me right now?  I’m having fun laughing at Illinois, Michigan State and everybody else who laughed at us these past several years.  If you’re like me, you heard a lot of laughter from a lot of places.  It’s our turn now and I want us to laugh as loud at them as they laughed at us.

I'm particularly laughing at the way the Illini are shooting arrows at Chief Big Geko.  Their intra-tribal warfare tickles me because they laughed heartily when the Hoosiers had their own intra-family squabble.  One of the more amusing things is the disjointed thinking borne from “Illini agony” as they slide down the Big 10 totem pole towards the gophers and other critters at the bottom.

Take, for instance, this bit of insightfulness, grammatically uncorrected here, about Illinois from CWorld27, who said, "this team is very similar to 03-04 illini who went through huge growing pains before winning the big ten and going to the elite 8. Not saying they are going to do that, we don't have the same talent, but I expect them to be very tough by the end of the year."

Huh?  Talk about talking out of your headdress!  Where are you going with that thought, CWorld?  Drawing a parallel between this year's Illini team and the team that won the Big Ten title and made it to the Elite Eight in ’04 by characterizing them as "very similar" only to then turn around and warn everyone not to expect the same accomplishments because the talent level is different leaves only two things those teams have in common:  Building a gaudy pre-conference record by dragging teams with directional names (East this, West that) to Champaign and beating the snot out of them and then losing in the Big 10.  That's where the similarities end because that’s all the Illini have done this year.

That’s not all.  After navigating through this phalanx of fallacy, CWorld brings us full circle to his ultimate conclusion that the Illini will be "very tough" by year's end.  Given that twisting, turning reasoning, CWorld, even if you can laugh through all the tears you’ll be shedding this season over the Illini, I think even Jimmy V would say you’re still only two-thirds of the way towards a full day.

--Ed Anderson 1/10/7

CEM DINC’S READY TO ROCK
Former IU player about to “Lace ‘em up” Again



(Bloomingon, Ind.)  Ask Cem Dinc if he’s ready to “rock JUCO” and he laughs heartily and exclaims, “Oh Yeah!”  He’ll get his first chance to do just that at 2:00 p.m. local time this Saturday when the Marshalltown Tigers tip off against the Hamilton College Aliens in Marshalltown, Iowa.

For Dinc, who was playing for the Indiana Hoosiers a year ago, it will be his first collegiate basketball game since December 31, 2005, when he played five minutes at Ball State.  “It’s been a long wait,” says Dinc.  

Indeed it has been a long wait and the circuitous route Dinc traveled to wind up in Marshalltown took him to Germany, back to the United States, over to Istanbul, throughout Europe, and then on to Japan.  During that time, he worked out with an NBA personal trainer, played for the Turkish National Team, and briefly considered turning pro and playing in Europe.  All the while Dinc was racking up the frequent flier miles, though, he had one overriding desire.  “I wanted to be in Bloomington,” he said. “I love the town and the people are so friendly.  I love the way the crowd really supports the team and, of course, I wanted to keep playing for Indiana.”
 
That didn’t happen, obviously.  After Indiana hired Kelvin Sampson to replace Mike Davis as head basketball coach, Dinc was told in no uncertain terms that he wasn’t wanted.  According to Dinc, “there wasn’t any attempt [on Indiana’s part] to look for a solution or compromise that would have let me back on the team.”  Nor was there even a hint of a promise for the future.  “Coach Sampson told me he might be interested if I “go rock JUCO.”

“I was crushed,” Dinc says about his meeting with Sampson in September 2006.  “I went over to my girlfriend’s house to lie down.  I didn’t want to see anyone or talk to anybody.”  When he did, though, he called Jason Smith, his high school coach at the Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire.  The next day his cell phone started ringing.  “I got offers from a lot of Division I and II schools and most of them said they had a scholarship available if I wanted it.” 

So, with all the offers, why Marshalltown?  “I like Coach (Brynjar) Brynjarsson,’ Dinc said.  ‘He was up front and told me he wasn’t going to make any promises.”  According to Dinc, Coach Brynjarsson said, “if you want to work hard, I’ll give you a second chance, but you’ll have to make it happen once you’re here.”

That’s precisely what Dinc has done.  He’s worked long and hard both on the court and in the classroom to earn the opportunity.  He’s grateful to Coach Smith and Coach Brynjarsson and feels a lot of personal satisfaction from accomplishing what he has since being forced out at Indiana.  “I was disappointed, sure, but I don’t have any ill will towards Coach Sampson or Indiana.  I never did.  I was unhappy with myself and wanted a chance to prove I belong, but, you know, that’s the way it goes sometimes.”

Dinc feels he is in the best shape of his life.  In Atlanta, his trainer worked with him on toughness, speed and battling through fatigue.  “He kept telling me, ‘don’t just take the shot, make the shot!’”  Then, training with the Turkish National team, Dinc developed the endurance he now uses to combat fatigue by long-distance running.  “We ran and ran and ran,” he said.  “It wasn’t fun.”
 
Since arriving at Marshalltown, Dinc has hit the weight room and further honed his basketball skills.  “When I came to Bloomington in September 2005, I weighed 240 pounds.  By the time I left, I’d lost 35 pounds.”  Now, thanks to a steady diet of barbells, he’s increased his muscle mass and tips the scale at 250 pounds.

Dinc will start at center for Marshalltown come Saturday, replacing Abraham Ramos, a 6-9, 220 pound freshman from Venezuela, who ranks among the rebound leaders in the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference.  The Tigers average an astonishing 113 points per game.  Their top three scorers come from the point and wing slots.  “I’m out there to play tough defense, crash the boards and make some moves in the post,” said Dinc.  “This team really needs an experienced big guy to compliment the guards.  My jobs are to wipe the defensive boards clean, hit the outlet man to start the break and then hustle down as one of the trailers on offensive to maybe get a long rebound on my way to the glass or spot up for a pass and hit a three if I’m left open.”

Dinc, who earned a 4.0 grade point average this past semester, will earn his degree this May.  He credits his setback at Indiana with creating a “fear of failing” that has motivated him to work hard.  “I was really down when I left Indiana this past September, but it’s amazing how fast that feeling vanished after I got to Marshalltown.  By building on every small success here, I’ve regained my confidence.”

So, what does the future hold for Dinc?  “I’ll be playing D-1 ball next fall for sure,” he said.  “Iowa State, Miami (Fla.), Boston University, Utah State, Nevada, Marist, Rhode Island and Binghampton are teams who have called recently.  Has he heard from the Hoosiers?  “Nope,’ says Dinc with a hint of sadness, but then, laughing, adds, “I may wind up back in Indiana, though, because Indiana State and Evansville have been in touch, too.”

Dinc doesn’t really have a favorite among all the suitors.  He just appreciates every call he gets.  He said some of the smaller schools that have called think he’s looking for “something big,” but he maintains that’s not necessarily the case.  “Recruiting,’ he says, is ‘all about building relationships.”  He’s become “buddies” with Iowa State coach Greg McDermott since enrolling at Marshalltown, but he’s really just “looking for the right fit.”  Dinc wants teams interested in him to know that he’s a “strong guy—on and off the court.”  Right now, though, he’s thankful just to be playing college basketball again—even if it’s not in front of a “big crowd like at Indiana.”


--Ed Anderson 1/11/7

Calloway Denies Talking Trash to Purdue Coach

(Bloomington, Ind.)  There are two sides to every story and the incident that occurred between IU’s Earl Calloway and Purdue Coach Matt Painter during the Hoosiers 85-58 beat-down of the Boilermakers Wednesday night at Assembly Hall is no different.

With a little over four minutes left in the first half, Calloway took a pass from Armon Bassett and dribbled right towards the Purdue bench, looking to pass low to DJ White.  Calloway, finding White double-teamed, but himself unguarded, dribbled backed a step behind the three-point line.

According to Calloway, Painter yelled, “Let him shoot!”  Calloway did and buried the three-ball.  Then, turning towards Purdue’s bench, he pumped his fist and gave Painter a long look as he headed up court.

And that’s all Calloway did.  He didn’t say a word to Painter or anyone else.  “I didn’t say anything.  I swear it,” Calloway, the son of a retired Baptist preacher, said on Friday.  “He’s trying to play it like I said something, but I didn’t.”

I believe him.  Calloway doesn’t talk trash.  Ask anyone who has watched him play at Assembly Hall.  Ask his coaches and teammates.  Heck, ask opposing players.  Calloway is as stoic and unflappable on the court as he is polite and friendly off it.

Calloway, though, acknowledges the look he gave Painter was meant to convey something.  “I just looked at him as if to say ‘you’d better guard me.’”

That look—and nothing more—sent the Purdue coach around the bend.  Gesturing wildly, Painter shouted at IU Coach Kelvin Sampson and then gave him a hard stare.  "I just yelled down at him and said that was wrong,'' he said.  "Those probably weren't my exact words. But it wasn't right. None of my players at Purdue will ever talk to an opposing coach.''

Speaking to reporters after the game, Painter was reluctant to talk about the incident.  Well, at first anyway.   "I haven't even thought about it,” he said.  ‘If you guys weren't asking me about it, it wouldn't even register.  Things happen in the heat of the moment. It's not even worth talking about."

Pressed for more, though, Painter went on.  “(Calloway) looked at the bench and said something, and I didn’t think it was right,” he said. “It was nothing major, but I’m not going to take it from a kid.  ‘I'm sorry, I'm just not. There's a right way to go about it.  I'm going to stand up for our team.”   "You have to have class. You can play hard, you can still be ornery, but you have to have class,” he said, clearly implying Calloway has a shortage in that area.

At the next timeout, less than a minute later, Sampson conferred with an official and, before play resumed, Calloway jogged to the Purdue bench to shake Painter’s hand.  “No disrespect,” Calloway said.

Asked if Sampson dealt with situation properly, Painter replied, "The only thing I can tell you is how I deal with things.  None of my players are going to talk to any other coach in the country or I'm going to yank his ####,'' leaving the impression that Sampson, who didn’t “yank (Calloway’s) ####,” didn’t do enough.

Painter also claims it was an official, not Sampson, who told Calloway to apologize.  He didn’t say how he knew that, though.  Nor has he even hinted at what Calloway supposedly said.

Truth is, Calloway didn’t say anything and Painter knows it.  He just doesn’t want to be in a position of trying to justify his own smack-talk and wild gesticulations after merely being looked at.  Thanks for the lesson in class, Coach.

—Ed Anderson  1/12/7