In a somewhat surprising move, redshirt senior center Joey Brunk announced that he will not be part of the IU basketball program for the 2021-22 season. “I’m incredibly grateful for Indiana University,” Brunk wrote on his Twitter page. “I have been able to get my Master’s Degree and am thankful to have been able to continue my education. I’ve decided to pursue my final year elsewhere. Thank you Indiana.” A call to Brunk by The Daily Hoosier was not immediately returned. Brunk missed the 2020-21 season with a back injury that required surgery. The 6-foot-11 Brunk transferred from Butler to…
Author: Mike Schumann
New Indiana head coach Mike Woodson joined the Jim Rome Show on Monday. In the more than 13 minute interview Woodson discussed his first interactions with former IU head coach Bob Knight. “It kind of set the stage in terms of my career, and now this circle back has been unbelievable for me,” Woodson said. “Because my high school coach and all of the high school coaches back then mimicked a lot of things Coach Knight did on the floor. Indiana was the only school that I ever wanted to play for as a kid growing up. When I got…
Indiana is taking a look at a former four-star talent seeking a fresh start after a run of bad luck. A 6-4 sophomore from Fayetteville, N.C., Louisville guard Josh Nickelberry missed nine games this season due to injury or illness, including four late season games. He made a three-pointer in seven of his nine games off the bench, averaging 2.8 points per game. He saw his first action of the season at Pitt on Dec. 22 after missing the first five games while recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery. Nickelberry saw an average of 3.7 minutes of action while playing in…
The Indiana University baseball team recorded the team’s first no-hitter in nearly 37 years on Saturday night at Bart Kaufman Field, as pitchers McCade Brown and Braydon Tucker combined to no-hit Illinois, 8-0. The no-hitter is the first for Indiana since April 25, 1984, when the Hoosiers blanked Rose-Hulman, 6-0. In the bottom of the ninth, Illinois’ Cam McDonald reached on a throwing error to lead off the frame. Tucker then induced a fielder’s choice to get the first out of the inning. The righty then sealed the no-hitter, inducing a 6-3 double play to end the game. With the…
(Last updated: April 21) With the loss of Armaan Franklin, Indiana’s remaining needs for the 2021-22 roster are clear. The Hoosiers need perimeter shooting and scoring production from the wing. New head coach Mike Woodson confirmed that last week. “We just gotta start plugging in some pieces where I think we’re a little weak at,” Woodson told reporters on Friday. “That’s the 2-3 spot. We’ve got to fill those spots. We’re still in the portal trying to compete there and see where it leads us.” It won’t be easy to fill the remaining spots. With 12 scholarship players expected to…
Mike Woodson may have found the ideal high school recruiting target to address his need for perimeter shooters. Tamar Bates is a 6-foot-5 native of Kansas City who who has played a starring role for one of the nation’s top programs at Bradenton (Fla.) IMG this season. Bates asked to be released by Texas from his national letter of intent after former Longhorns’ head coach Shaka Smart departed. According to Jake Weingarten, Indiana is involved with Bates’ recruitment along with Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Marquette, Oregon, Illinois, Missouri, and Purdue. Bates is ranked No. 56 in the country in the class…
Indiana forward Trayce Jackson-Davis surprised most last week when he announced his intent to return for a third season at Indiana. The 6-foot-9 forward started all 27 games in 2020-21 for IU and he was the only high major player to average at least 19 points and 9 rebounds this season. Jackson-Davis was fourth in the Big Ten in scoring (19.1), second in rebounding (9.0), fifth in field goal percentage (51.7) and blocked shots (1.4) and third in minutes played (34.2). Jackson-Davis was named third Team All-American (Sporting News, NABC, USBWA) and also earned All-Big Ten honors (1st Team, Media…
Upon taking over as Indiana’s new basketball coach, Mike Woodson knew where most of his attention had to go from the outset. “My first job is to sit down with each one of them and talk about staying in Hoosier Nation,” Woodson said of Indiana’s roster at his initial press conference on March 29. From the jump Woodson faced six players in the transfer portal, a star with NBA aspirations, and a recruit uncertain about the future as the program transitioned from Archie Miller. Now four weeks from the firing of Miller and two weeks into the Woodson era, there…
Below are Westfield, Ind. class of 2022 point guard Braden Smith’s junior season highlights. Smith came to Indiana for a game in 2020 and the Hoosiers have been recruiting him for over a year, including after the firing of Archie Miller. For the 2020-21 season, Smith averaged 22 points, 6.2 assists, 5.4 rebounds, 2.7 steals and 2.7 turnovers per contest while playing in what is likely the second best conference in the state of Indiana. He shot 55 percent from the field overall including 45 percent from behind the arc on 153 attempts (6.7 per game). Smith also made 83…
Starting forward Race Thompson is the latest IU basketball player to announce his return to play for new head coach Mike Woodson. The 6-foot-8 redshirt junior broke the news on Thursday morning. “After talking it over with my family, I’m happy to announce I’m coming back to Indiana,” Thompson wrote in a graphic on his Instagram account. “I’m excited for Coach Woodson and the future of the program.” Thompson averaged 9.1 points and 6.2 rebounds in 2020-21, both career highs. He added 1.4 assists, 1.3 blocks and 1 steal per game. Thompson started all 27 games, the first starts of…