Author: Mike Schumann

Assembly Ball is now five wins from $1 million in The Basketball Tournament. But standing in their way is a familiar foe, a Purdue alumni team called Men of Mackey. It’s a new twist on the in-state rivalry. And only one team will advance to the round of 16. No. 1 Assembly Ball vs. No. 4 Men of Mackey — round of 32 Tip Time: 8 p.m. Eastern, Sunday Location: Hinkle Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Ind. Television: FS1 Streaming:  TBTLive Tickets Last Game Yogi Ferrell poured in 27 points and added 6 assists, and Juwan Morgan had a double-double (12 points, 10 assists), as Assembly…

Juwan Morgan is one of the bridges on Assembly Ball, the IU basketball TBT alumni team. He played as a freshman on the 2016 Big Ten title team that featured Assembly Ball teammates Yogi Ferrell and Troy Williams. And Morgan also played with Assembly Ball teammates Race Thompson and Devonte Green in his later years in Bloomington. Ferrell is another bridge, connecting that 2016 team he captained as a senior to older Assembly Ball players like Jordan Hulls and Noah Vonleh, along with team general manager Christian Watford. Later this year, the bridges will meet in, of all places, Montenegro,…

In a battle of heavyweights, Indiana is making it clear how much they want class of 2025 5-star forward Nate Ament. The full IU coaching staff — head coach Mike Woodson and assistants Kenya Hunter, Yasir Rosemond and Brian Walsh — convened in Marietta, Ga. to watch the 6-foot-9 combo forward. Ament was playing in an event called Power 24 put on by On the Radar Hoops.  Joe Tipton of On3 reported the full IU staff’s presence at the event. Woodson and the staff  also watched Ament several times at the Adidas 3SSB Championships last week. When we caught up…

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — IU basketball alumni team Assembly Ball defeated The Cru by a final score of 89-79 to advance to the round of 32 in the $1 million winner-takes-all The Basketball Tournament. Former Hoosiers star Yogi Ferrell led all scorers with 27 points and added 6 assists.  Juwan Morgan posted a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Under the Elam Ending, the target score was set at 88, and the Cru got to within 83-79.  Juwan Morgan hit a three to put Assembly Ball one point away, and Julian Gamble made the game-winner. Assembly Ball used a 20-8…

One of Indiana’s first offers in the class of 2026 went to Jonathan Sanderson. And part of the reason why is the Hoosiers have a family connection with the top-50 4-star guard. Sanderson is the son of Jon Sanderson, who was named the director of men’s basketball performance at Vanderbilt a couple months ago.  The elder Sanderson previously held that same role at Michigan for 15 years, and he’s an alumnus of the Ohio State basketball program. Through his time in the industry, Sanderson’s father has built a relationship with IU basketball Director of Athletic Performance Clif Marshall. “Great guy. …

For the first time ever, there is an IU basketball alumni team at The Basketball Tournament (TBT). With eight former Hoosiers on the roster, Assembly Ball tips off Friday evening in the first round of the event. Here’s more information on television, rosters, the bracket and how TBT works. ——————————————- No. 1 Assembly Ball vs. No. 8 The Cru — round of 64 Tip Time: 8 p.m. Eastern, Friday Location: Hinkle Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Ind. Television: Big Ten Network Streaming:  TBTLive Assembly Ball Roster Assembly Ball is the first ever IU alumni themed team to play in the TBT and features…

Basketball recruiting news continues to pour in from events across the country as AAU action is coming to an end and the top players in the class of 2025 are pivoting to list cuts and visits. You’ve known about 2025 center Malachi Moreno’s September Indiana visit for a while. Multiple outlets reported this week his visit list has swelled to five schools: Ohio St- 9/6 North Carolina- 9/13 Indiana- 9/20 Arkansas- 10/4 Kentucky- 10/11 Moreno says he also wants to visit the other three schools in his top eight — Iowa, Louisville and Notre Dame — but it won’t come…

Class of 2025 7-footer Eric Reibe is in the process of narrowing things down. The Maryland-based center announced his top-11 schools through multiple national outlets on Thursday and included Indiana. The other 10 programs on the list are UConn, Kentucky, UNC, Kansas, Creighton, Oregon, Harvard, West Virginia, Ohio State, and Stanford. Indiana offered Reibe more than a year ago, back in May of 2023.  Their interaction with him has been relatively quiet since.  But the lefty center’s profile has been on the rise this spring and summer, in part because he is a good shooter. A native of Germany, he…

We’re down to three-and-a-half months to the start of the 2024-25 college basketball season. And after completely overhauling their roster during the offseason, Indiana appears by almost all accounts to be a national top-25 caliber team and a Big Ten title contender. But with so many teams, and rosters in flux across the league, it’s difficult to compare and contrast the programs.  That’s especially true in the Big Ten, where Bart Torvik currently projects all 18 teams to fall within the No. 16 to N0. 74 spots nationally this upcoming season. There doesn’t appear to be a strong conference favorite,…

Six of the eight former IU basketball players on the roster for Assembly Ball, the alumni team in The Basketball Tournament, have been in Bloomington the last few days preparing for the event. Jordan Hulls, Yogi Ferrell, Troy Williams, Juwan Morgan, Devonte Green and Race Thompson have been practicing in Cook Hall and appeared at events at Upstairs Pub and BuffaLouies.  Christian Watford has also played in integral role in organizing the team, and he’s been in Bloomington as well. Below are several photos posted on social media of the former players. Assembly Ball plays their first game in the…