Author: Mike Schumann

IU basketball legend Isiah Thomas joined long-time NBA player Thurl Bailey on the Thurl Talk podcast. Thomas goes in depth on his early life and also discusses his life during the pandemic, the current social unrest, and impressions of The Last Dance. At IU, Thomas started every game he played. He was a member and leader of two Indiana teams that won Big Ten Championships. During his second and final season at IU, Thomas led the Hoosiers in scoring and set a single-season school record for assists with 197. In the 1981 national championship game, Thomas led all scorers with…

Alex Dickerson hit them early, far, and often on Tuesday night. The former IU slugger had a three home run and five extra base hit night in Colorado as the Giants routed the Rockies 23-5. Here are all three of Dickerson’s home runs. The first landed in the upper deck at Coors Field and was one of the longest shots there in the Statcast era. https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1300959425319108609?s=20 https://twitter.com/SFGiants/status/1300964406004768768?s=20 https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1300993225650573312?s=20 On the night, Dickerson finished 5-for-6 with 3 home runs, 2 doubles, a walk and 6 runs batted in.  He scored 5 times. Dickerson hit his third home run in the sixth…

Did a presidential Hail Mary put a fall Big Ten football season back in play? President Trump is sending that signal after a Tuesday conversation with Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren. The President indicated via his Twitter account that he and Warren “had a very productive conversation” and implied that an immediate start to the season is on the table. https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1300815396950478849?s=20 The President’s use of the football metaphor “on the one yard line” is a clear signal that he believes his conversation with Warren moved the needle. The President amplified his remarks in a brief meeting with reporters before a…

Indiana was going to kick off one of its more promising football seasons in program history this Friday. Of course the 2020 Big Ten campaign has been postponed, and now we know how the league’s leadership, including IU President Michael McRobbie, voted on the decision to hit pause. While Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren has been a target of angry players, coaches, administrators and fans, it is now clear that he did not unilaterally make the unpopular decision. The Big Ten presidents and chancellors voted 11-3 to postpone the fall football season, the conference confirmed Monday in a response to…

The offers keep coming on a busy afternoon for the IU basketball program. Class of 2022 small forward Justin Taylor was at least the third player to report a scholarship offer from Indiana on Monday. The 6-foot-6 Taylor reported the offer on his Twitter page. https://twitter.com/jctbball12/status/1300557843540652034?s=20 Taylor is a junior at St. Anne’s-Belfield in Charlottesville, Virginia. As a sophomore he averaged 15.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. For his high school career Taylor has shot 41 percent from behind the arc thus far, but he dropped off to 34 percent in his second season. Taylor helped lead…

The Kenya Hunter effect continues. For the second time today and third time in three days, Indiana has offered a prospect with ties to its new assistant coach. Frederick, Md. based guard Masai Troutman reported an offer from Indiana on Monday afternoon. https://twitter.com/MasaiTroutman/status/1300448306166980614?s=20 Troutman averaged 15.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.3 blocks and 1.3 steals per game to help lead St. John’s Catholic to the MIAA B Conference finals. The 6-foot-5 guard isn’t ranked by the national recruiting services, but that appears likely to change soon.  Troutman’s recruitment has taken a big jump in recent weeks, with offers coming in from…

New IU assistant coach Kenya Hunter’s impact on the program continues to be noticeable during his early days in Bloomington. Through Hunter, Indiana has gotten involved with one of the top guards in the class of 2022 in Maryland based prospect Rodney Rice.  After a Zoom call on Monday that was reported by Stock Risers, the Hoosiers offered a scholarship. Rice announced the IU offer on his Twitter page. https://twitter.com/rodneyrice__/status/1300444255505264645?s=20 The 6-foot-4 Rice is ranked No. 70 nationally in the class of 2022 according to the 247Sports Composite. Maryland, Alabama, Louisville and Miami (Fla.) are some of the other top…

The football revival continued for Indianapolis based Lawrence North High School on Friday night, and class of 2021 IU bound quarterback Donaven McCulley is leading the way. In a 70-14 romp over Marion, McCulley went 18-of-22 for 339 yards and two touchdowns.  He had another 31 yards rushing with a score on the ground. McCulley completed 4 of his passes for 103 yards to junior wide receiver and IU recruiting target Omar Cooper, Jr.  Cooper has 7 catches for 241 yards and 2 touchdowns on the season. McCulley is now 27-of-35 for 599 yards and 6 touchdowns on the season…

Indiana survived a pair of class of 2021 basketball list cuts over the last few days. Meanwhile, a class of 2021 IU football commit had a big game on a national stage. Here are the details in today’s recruiting roundup. HOPKINS NARROWING THINGS DOWN, BUT HAS HE ALREADY DECIDED? Illinois based top-40 senior Bryce Hopkins’ recruitment has seen several twists and turns in the last month.  The 6-foot-7 forward decommitted from Louisville and then saw a flurry of interest from programs around the country, including IU. Hopkins announced a top-nine on Sunday that included California, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa State,…

As soon as rumors started to swirl regarding assistant coach Bruiser Flint potentially leaving Indiana, many jumped to the same conclusion. It must relate back to that caught on camera moment involving Flint and head coach Archie Miller, right? One thing is certain about that intense conversation in West Lafayette back in February. People noticed. “I’m sure a lot of people have viewed it,” Flint said earlier this week on ESPN Louisville radio. https://twitter.com/NYeoman/status/1233199473939099651?s=20 With Indiana down big to Purdue, it seemed easy to extrapolate that the moment had significance.  Perhaps there was a fracture in the relationship between the…