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October 25, 2009

COLLEGE HOOPS: Jam-packed crowd enjoys IU practice at Nolan Fieldhouse

By KEVIN HARRIS

SELLERSBURG — Nearly 1,000 Indiana University men’s basketball fans received a treat on Saturday afternoon at Nolan Fieldhouse.

The Southern Indiana contingent of Hoosier Nation got a first-hand look at the 2009-10 Hoosiers as they traveled from Bloomington to Sellersburg to have a special practice at the jam-packed fieldhouse.

“We’re happy to be in Sellersburg,” IU head coach Tom Crean told the crowd before the practice started. “I want you to just enjoy it. Make as much noise — boo, scream, holler — as you want.”

The idea of an IU practice started in late August when Nolan Fieldhouse manager Mitchell Speedy had a conversation with Crean at the Sellersburg Celebrates! luncheon at the fieldhouse. Crean was the guest speaker at the event.

“I said nonchalantly, ‘Hey, how are we going to get you guys down here to practice?’” said Speedy, a former hoops player at Silver Creek High School and Indiana University Southeast. “At that time, he said, ‘You know, we’d like to come down. Once practice starts, we’ll get in touch with you.’”

Almost two weeks ago, Speedy got an e-mail from the IU athletic department, asking if Saturday would be a good date for a practice at Nolan.

Without hesitation, Speedy accepted.

“He was a man of his word and he kept his word,” Speedy said. “I think this is just huge for Sellersburg in general. I really don’t see a downside to this. Coach Crean has done a wonderful job of making himself accessible.”

Last week, Speedy and the fieldhouse staff accepted hundreds of seat reservations. Only 650 seats were available and they were filled quickly.

Between Thursday and Friday, Speedy said he turned away at least 500 IU fans for reserved and standing-room-only spots.

The fans enjoyed every minute of Saturday’s three-hour practice, clapping and cheering for the Hoosiers throughout the session.

Most of the attention was given to IU’s heralded freshman class, which is ranked No. 1 in the Big Ten Conference by several media outlets. The class includes last year’s Indiana Mr. Basketball Jordan Hulls, Christian Watford, Maurice Creek, Bawa Muniru, Bobby Capobianco and Derek Elston.

Also, the Hoosier faithful got to see Georgetown transfer Jeremiah Rivers, who had to sit out last year due to the NCAA’s transfer rules, in action. Rivers is the son of Boston Celtics’ head coach Doc Rivers.

During one point in the practice, Crean turned to some fans on the sidelines and said with a grin, “Do you think they look a little different?”

Along with the freshmen and Rivers, several veteran players like Devan Dumes, Verdell Jones III and Tom Pritchard were on the court.

Saturday’s event showed just how intense NCAA Division I practices are. The Hoosiers performed several offensive and defensive drills and had half-court and full-court intrasquad scrimmages, which were officiated by licensed referees.

Along with IU fans, three high school varsity coaches — Silver Creek’s John Bradley, Borden’s Doc Nash and Rock Creek Christian’s Chris Brown — brought their players to watch.

“Everything they do is tremendously hard and intense. It’s all business,” Brown said. “They have fun doing what they do. But they know what the end product is, which is to get better and win ballgames.”

Bradley hopes his troops learned about the importance of communication and work ethic in basketball from IU’s practice.

“Our benefit is going to be how much we talk more than anything,” the veteran Silver Creek coach said. “You’ve got to have communication in basketball and I wanted (the Dragons) to hear these guys. On every drill, there is noise, there is clapping and there is encouragement. Also, I wanted them to see how hard (the Hoosiers) work and how they get from one drill to another as quick as possible.”

Speedy hopes an IU practice at Nolan Fieldhouse can become an annual event.

“I would love for it to be,” Speedy said. “Hopefully, the Southern Indiana community shows them a lot of love … and they want to come back.”

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