The Assembly Call Blog

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This page features a chronological rundown of all our content -- including Banner Mornings, podcast episodes, news roundups, IU artifacts posts, commentary and analysis, and more.

Banner Morning: Geronimo and Leal discuss offseason plans

March 31, 2020 By Cameron Drummond Leave a Comment

In today’s edition of Banner Morning:

• IU signees Jordan Geronimo and Anthony Leal discuss their offseason preparations before their freshman seasons at Indiana

Banner Monday with Mike DeCourcy: What Lessons Does IU Need to Learn From the 2019-20 Season?

March 30, 2020 By Jerod Morris Leave a Comment

On this week’s edition of Banner Monday, Mike DeCourcy tells us how he is coping with no college hoops in March, his favorite IU NCAA Tournament game, what lessons Indiana needs to take from the 2019-20 season, and how he currently projects the top half of the Big Ten. And much more …

IU-Kent State 2002 Rewatch Postgame Show: A Shooting Performance for the Ages (But How is Coverdale’s Ankle?)

March 29, 2020 By Jerod Morris Leave a Comment

On Sunday night, we rewatched Indiana delivering one of the greatest shooting performances in the history of college basketball as Dane Fife, Kyle Hornsby and the Hoosiers made 15-19 from deep in an Elite Eight victory over Kent State. Tom Coverdale played an incredible first half, but then was lost to an ankle injury, which did cast a cloud of concern over the postgame celebration.

On the mics: Jerod, @IUArtifacts, and Scott from Crimson Cast — and we stay “in character” for the first two segments, as if we just watched the game live in 2002.

Among the topics discussed:

— Dane Fife’s incredible clutch 3 in the second half and his defense and leadership throughout
— Why Tom Coverdale’s first half performance is one of the best halves of basketball an IU guard has ever played in the NCAA Tournament.
— The play Jared Jeffries made in the 2nd half that was the best individual basketball play of the night.
— The understated brilliance of Kyle Hornsby.
— Kudos to Mike Davis for a well-coached game and a smart offensive gameplan.

We also point out a few meaningful moments you may have missed, go inside the numbers, hand out our game balls, and discussed what aged the best and worst from this game and season. All of that, and more, on this edition of The Assembly Call.

(Music provided by Bob Thompson — die-hard Hoosier fan and longtime Assembly Call listener.)

Listen to the podcast here:

Or watch the video:

Rewatch Prepper: Indiana vs Kent State on March 23, 2002

March 28, 2020 By Chris Williams Leave a Comment

This is the fourth in our series of posts that “preview” notable NCAA Tournament games in Indiana’s storied history. These are companion posts for our live rewatch series that we are doing in place of the cancelled 2020 NCAA Tournament.

Today, we will preview the Elite 8 matchup of the 2002 NCAA Tournament — the game after Indiana’s epic comeback against Duke: Indiana, the #5 seed in the South Region, against Kent State, the #10 seed in the South Region.

The live rewatch and postgame show for the IU-Kent State game takes place on Sunday, March 29th at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time. (Click here to access the YouTube replay of the game.)

Breaking down the matchup:

Indiana (23-11) vs. Kent State (30-5)

Coaches:

Indiana- Mike Davis (2nd season)
Oklahoma- Stan Heath (1st season)

Last matchup:

Indiana lost to Kent State during the opening round of the previous year’s tournament in 2001, 77-73.

Indiana probable starters:

G. Dane Fife (Sr.)
G. Tom Coverdale (Jr.)
G. Kyle Hornsby (Jr.)
F. Jared Jeffries (Soph.)
F. Jarrad Odle (Sr.)

Kent State probable starters:

G. Andrew Mitchell (Sr.)
G. Demetric Shaw (Sr.)
F. Trevor Huffman (Sr.)
F. Eric Thomas (Sr.)
F. Antonio Gates (Jr.)

Indiana game notes:

The Hoosiers finished tied for first in Big Ten play, clinching their first conference championship since 1993. Entering today’s game, Indiana is riding a wave of emotion after taking down #1 seed Duke Blue Devils on Thursday night, 74-73.

In their first two round matchups, IU defeated Utah (75-56) and UNC-Wilmington (76-67). Should Indiana defeat Kent State, the Hoosiers would reach their first NCAA Final Four in 10 years.

Kent State game notes:

Stan Heath’s first season at Kent State has been nothing but memorable as their 30-win season is the highest mark in school history. The Golden Flashes took care of business in the Mid-American Conference going 17-1 overall.

NCAA Tournament victories over Oklahoma State (69-61), Alabama (71-58), and Pittsburgh (78-73) have led Kent State to their first ever Elite Eight appearance.

What to expect — Indiana:

Indiana is led by Big Ten Player of the Year Jared Jeffries, and his inside-outside scoring threat will cause matchup problems for the undersized Golden Flashes, who must also watch for kickouts to Kyle Hornsby and Tom Coverdale, both of which can get hot from downtown.

The Hoosiers committed 23 turnovers against Duke. A repeat of this could drastically hinder Indiana’s chances to reach Atlanta.

Defensively, Indiana must deny Trevor Huffman’s looks early, while also not forgetting about interior scorer Antonio Gates who scored 22 points in Kent State’s win Thursday over Pitt.

What to expect — Kent State:

The Golden Flashes are not the deepest team in the field, so keeping their starters out of foul trouble will be key.

Antonio Gates may be undersized, but has the ability to create his own shots around the rim making him a threat. Trevor Huffman and Andrew Mitchell are both capable shooters, but have lacked consistency at times during the season.

Indiana’s interior size poses challenges to Kent State, but this is a hurdle that Stan Heath has been able to work around all season.

Result

If you want to know the result of the game and see the box score, click here.

IU-Louisville 1993 Postgame Show: Calbert Takes Louisville’s Manhood

March 28, 2020 By Jerod Morris Leave a Comment

On Friday night, we hosted our live rewatch of the IU-Louisville Sweet 16 game in 1993. Andy Bottoms, Galen Clavio, and Chris Williams reflect on the final win for Bob Knight’s last great team, which featured an iconic Calbert Cheaney moment within an iconic Calbert Cheaney game.

On the mics: Andy, Galen, and Chris

Listen to the podcast here:

Or watch the video: