Posts Tagged “indiana hoosiers”
UK Weathers First Road Test, Overwhelms IU 90-73
By: Guy | December 12th, 2009 | Category: Cats
Ten and oh. That sounds pretty good, doesn’t it. I had very high expectations for the Kentucky Wildcats this season, but they were based on the maturation of a bunch of young players and the development of a team playing a brand new style over the course of the year. My expectations were not that this team would be this precocious. Every test that is thrown at them, they find a way to pass it, and in the case of today’s game against IU, ace it.
The ‘Cats went into their first hostile environment of the season, facing the also young, but well coached Indiana Hoosiers and their always rowdy fans. They were greeted by a series of less than welcoming chants (such as “S-A-T”, “Cal’s a cheater”, and the ever so original “F*** John Wall”).
IU leapt out to an early 17-9 lead behind lights out shooting and boisterous fan support, but UK was unfazed. Led by John Wall and Eric Bledsoe, UK quickly erased the deficit, and when Wall threw down a fast break dunk all over Jordan Hulls with 4:40 left in the half, UK took a 36-27 lead. I figured that the outcome was no longer in doubt at that point, but in fact, IU hung around for the rest of the first half behind 60% shooting and 17 Maurice Creek points, then even taking the lead early in the second half 48-47.
Then, UK unleashed one of its soon to be patented big runs, going on an 18-0 spurt that put the game squarely in their control.
At this point, people around the country are going out of their way to turn on UK games to watch the John Wall show. Wall did not disappoint, but those that stuck around also got to see what was arguably UK’s best played game to date, at least offensively.
John Calipari got solid contributions from a bunch of his players. First and foremost was Eric Bledsoe. Since his stellar opening game performance, Bledsoe has been a bit inconsistent, struggling with poor decision making and a balky ankly, all the while having to adjust with playing off the ball more than he has at any point in his career. Eric poured in 23 points on 8-10 shooting, 4-5 from three. Coming into this season, outside shooting was a perceived weakness, but to this point, Eric Bledsoe has shown that he has the ability to shoot teams out of a zone, which is exactly what he did in the first half.
No surprise here, but Patrick Patterson pitched in a double-double with 19 points and 11 boards, 8 of which were offensive. Patterson led a stirring Kentucky charge on the glass, as the ‘Cats used their superior size and athleticism to outrebound IU 49-24, and 21-8 on the offensive glass.
Also coming to play in a big way in the second half especially was DeMarcus Cousins. He had 14 points and 8 rebounds overall, 12 and 6 of which were in the second half.
DeMarcus, whether he is playing well or not, continues to be absolutely fascinating to me. I commented during the game that I wish there were two channels that showed each UK game, one showing the regular coverage and the other solely focused on following DeMarcus Cousins the entire time. I would watch that every time, because DeMarcus is just hilarious with his body language and interaction with coaches, teammates, and opponents. At one point today, DeMarcus managed to pick an IU player completely off the grund after tying him up on a jump ball, then putting his hands up as if to say “what did I do?”
Joining the group in double figures was Darnell Dodson with 10 points, who continues to impress me with his ability to score the ball in a variety of ways. He seems to have a knack for finding open space, which is a vital skill when you are playing with guys like Wall and Bledsoe.
Dodson is providing some serious competition for Darius Miller for minutes, but has also shown that he can play alongside Miller or Ramon Harris. Harris is a player that I will admit to not being all that enthusiastic about, but his willingness to rebound, defend, and go hard after the 50-50 balls that Coach Cal so often talks about have won me over. Ramon belongs on this team and he belongs in the rotation.
Can you believe that I’ve written this much and talked so little about John Wall? I can’t really believe it myself, but so many guys played well today. That strong play still doesn’t change the fact that Wall was still the best player on the floor even though he scored only 11 points. He also added 8 assists and 7 rebounds, dominating the game for the 39 minutes he was on the floor in a less “oh my goodness did he really just do that” kind of way.
Wall and the ‘Cats as a unit cut down on the turnovers today, giving up the ball only 13 times against a disciplined defensive squad. Eric Bledsoe was responsible for 6 of the 13. On Bledsoe’s turnovers, Cal said “I told him after the game that if he played that well I’ll take your six turnovers.”
Defensively, UK was much, much better in the second half, playing switches better than they have all season and working well as a team. After IU’s 60% shooting in the first half, they allowed only 33.3% shooting in the second.
However, the trend of an opponent’s best wing player going off in a big way against UK continued, as Maurice Creek was the only Hoosier to reach double figures, scoring 31 points on 9-14 shooting. Cal tried a variety of guys against him, but he kept getting it done. UK could have done better, but the freshman deserves a lot of credit, he’s going to be a good one for Tom Crean.
UK has a week off during finals before taking the floor three times in six days starting on Saturday against Austin Peay. The ‘Cats won number 1,998 today and are on pace to win number 2,000 against Drexel a week from Monday.
It also appears that DeAndre Liggins will be available during this stretch of home games in which UK will be favored significantly. He played the last 40 seconds or so today against IU, his first time of the season. I’m not sure if we’ll ever know for sure the reason for his absence, but it’s good to have him back, and I really believe he has a chance to be a meaningful contributor.
Louisville officially hires Shabaka Lands, Marquis Teague’s high school assistant
By: Miller | September 1st, 2009 | Category: Cards
Welp, the recruiting of Marquis Teague may have turned the corner towards the final stretch. Louisville has officially hired Shabaka Lands, an assistant at Indianapolis Pike high school. I wrote last week that there was a lot of chatter about the hiring of Lands, but nothing was official yet. However, Lands is now listed in the UofL online directory as a “Special Assistant to the Coach” in the Men’s Basketball Department.
Teague is set to visit Louisville very soon and I suspect we are quite close to the end of his recruitment. For anyone who still has no idea who we are talking about, Marquis Teague is an elite 2011 prospect from Indianapolis and highly sought after by the Cards, Cats, and Hoosiers. Louisville has been in on Teague for a long time and have long been thought of as his leader, but a recent visit to Kentucky had many Louisville fans worried.
A commitment from Teague would do the Cards some good, particularly for coach Rick Pitino. It would give the fans and writers something else to talk/write about other than some whacked out broad who may be clinically insane. But if Louisville lands this kid, it turns the focus back to basketball and gives everyone a breather from the aforementioned whacked out broad who may be clinically insane.
10:35 Update – I’ve had people inform me there has been no press release regarding Lands being hired, therefore no press release means it is not official. Welp, okay, there has not been a press release, but Lands full name is now listed on Louisville’s online directoy, with his job title, the department in which he will be working, and an email account for him….but there has not been an official press release. MY. BAD.
A hot Marquis Teague rumor
By: Miller | August 27th, 2009 | Category: CardsAs Guy wrote earlier in the week, the first big time three way recruiting battle between Louisville, Kentucky, and Indiana appears to be over Indianapolis Pike high school point guard Marquis Teague. If you haven’t read it, you can right here. If you don’t want to read it, basically Teague is really good and is a top 10 player overall, and arguably the top point guard in the 2011 class.
His recruitment has been very interesting with several twists and turns. Teague’s father, Shawn Teague, played for Rick Pitino at Boston University and speaks very, very highly of the Slickster. After visiting Louisville earlier this year, it appeared Teague was poised to commit to the Cardinals, but backed off doing so because his family wanted him to wait a bit longer. Even without committing to Louisville, many recruiting analysts, including Jody Demling, believed it was only a matter of time before Teague would.
Teague is an elite prospect and will be a big time get wherever he goes
However, once John Calipari was hired at Kentucky, he jumped in the mix for Teague. Prior to Coach Cal being hired, Kentucky had not offered Teague a scholarship, but eventually have. Those efforts culminated in a visit to Lexington this past weekend. By all accounts, the visit went well and Kentucky is now a real player for his services.
Indiana remains a very dangerous in Teague’s recruitment as well. Tom Crean is flat getting it done in recruiting and has made a point to keep the best Indiana players in the state. More than that, Crean is a good coach who is going to win big at Indiana. Couple that with Indiana’s basketball tradition and they are a formidable foe for the Kentucky schools.
Having said all that, here is the new rumor being floated and it appears to be picking up steam. It appears Louisville may be set to hire Indianapolis Pike high school assistant Shabaka Lands for a graduate assistant position on the basketball staff. Lands is reportedly close to the Teague family and him being on Louisville’s staff…well, I doubt I need to explain further. Again, this is still in the rumor stage, but it is one of those rumors no one has been able to shoot down yet. We will continue to monitor that situation closely.
Sorry Shabaka, but this was the best photog I could find
Also, per Jody Demling’s great recruiting blog, it appears Teague will take another visit to Louisville within the next month. I think the upcoming Louisville visit will tell us a lot. Marquis was poised to end his recruitment earlier this summer, then middle of summer, then later this summer, but nothing has happened yet. I think when Teague visits Louisville there’s a better than average chance he commits. However, if he does not, then I think Kentucky and Indiana greatly improve their chances.
Three way match between UK, UofL, and IU shaping up for Marquis Teague
By: Guy | August 25th, 2009 | Category: Cats
Do you remember those Triple Threat matches they used to have in the WWF when you used to watch it back in middle school (or last week)? It seemed like every one of those matches would end with one guy screwing another one and allowing the third guy to win, which would inevitably lead to a heel turn.
With the way things have come together in the recruitment of top 2011 point guard Marquis Teague, it looks like we may just have a little Triple Threat match brewing between John Calipari of UK, Rick Pitino of UofL, and Tom Crean of IU. The question becomes, when does Crean break out the proverbial steel chair and crack supposed friend John Calipari over the head?
Teague is ranked in the top 10 of any ranking of the 2011 that matters and is believed by man to be the top point guard prospect in the class. You likely know his brother, Jeff, who was recently picked in the first round of the NBA Draft after a short career at Wake Forest. Jeff flew a little under the radar coming out of college, Marquis, on the other hand, is not. He plays an exceptionally smart game and runs the point to near perfection.
You may be wondering why Teague is such a hot topic since he is only a junior, but Teague seems to be wanting to commit sooner rather than later. Many believed he would have made a commitment by this time. It’s lucky, though, for Calipari and UK that he didn’t, because they have shown interest but had not yet offered. UK now has offered, and soon after, Teague scheduled a visit this past weekend at UK, which went well according to all accounts.
UofL is all in with Teague. Pitino and company thought they may have a commitment by now, but they still see him as a cornerstone of their 2011 class. Needless to say, UofL fans cannot be excited that it has dragged on this long, and they have to be even less excited about UK’s involvement.
IU is another school that will receive strong consideration, especially given that he’s from Indianapolis, but that picture of a three way battle I painted is not entirely accurate. Wake Forest, Ohio State, and Purdue are also in the mix. Teague is looking to make a decision before his junior year gets underway, so we could know something by November. Teague has also coyly said he has a leader, but that his father does not yet want him to reveal it.
Here are some other pieces of UK related news/rumors floating around:
-The football news today that caught everyone’s attention was Rich Brooks revelation that “it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility that both (freshman quarterbacks Morgan Newton and Ryan Mossakowski) could redshirt” due to Will Fidler’s strong play and the difficult adjustment period of both Newton and Mossakowski.
HT to John Clay for the YouTube
I had pretty much expected that Mossakowski would redshirt this season, but in the back of my mind I always believed Newton would take the backup job and even see the field in a change of pace capacity. We’ll see how this pans out in the coming weeks. Brooks doesn’t need to make a decision soon, so it could stretch out for a while.
-Top 2010 target Brandon Knight will not be at UK’s Big Blue Madness this year, which comes as a disappointment. Even more disappointing is that he will instead visit Kansas for Late Night in the Phog. I still feel good about UK’s chances here, but Bill Self is good at what he does.
-One top 2010 recruit that has escaped mention here on the Pinkie is Enes Kanter. Kanter is a 6-10 Turkish forward who last week decided to forgo the opportunity to earn millions playing in Europe right now to attend DeAndre Liggins former school, Findlay Prep, and eventually play college ball here in the States.
Kanter is widely regarded as one of the top European prospects around and instantly becomes a top 20 (and likely even higher) talent in this year’s class. Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, is all over him, and he will have quite a task in even beginning to trim a list of schools that includes every major program. He will play one year of high school before moving on to college, and could make a decision as early as this fall.
It’s really a complete guessing game at this point as to which schools he will consider, but when he does move forward, things are going to happen quickly. Keep an eye out for news soon.
Here’s a video of Kanter that I found of his performance in the FIBA Europe U-18 Tournament. He won MVP honors with double-double performance after double-double performance.
-Finally, I bring to you a fun link to blog post by Jeff Goodman. Goodman interviewed DeMarcus Cousins’ high school coach, Otis Hughley, and discussed UK freshman point guard Eric Bledsoe at length. Hughley (who may have fallen into the trap of exagerration a bit) said Bledsoe “may be better” than John Wall.
We all know Bledsoe is awesome and has been consistently impressive all summer, perhaps giving John Wall more competition in pickup games than he’ll see in almost any game this season. However, John Wall is John Wall, and it’s hard to imagine him being upstaged by anyone. Even so, both may be point guards, but everyone expects the two to play and play well together:
Bledsoe, an Alabama native, single-handedly knocked off LeFlore in the state semifinals.
“He beat us by himself,” Hughley said. “John (Wall) couldn’t have done what that boy did.”
“He killed us,” Cousins added. “Destroyed us. He was a one-man show.”
Trust me, it’s not that Hughley isn’t a Wall fan. In fact, Hughley feels as though Wall and Bledsoe could quickly become the top backcourt in America.
As if we needed another reason to get excited about basketball season.
“That’s what they’re going to do,” Hughley said. “They’re going to play together.”
Updates on Kyrie Irving, Tobias Harris, Justin Martin
By: Guy | August 21st, 2009 | Category: CatsIt’s that time of year where the top rising seniors in the country start cutting their lists and scheduling visits, and today news has come out about three UK recruits doing just that.
UK has made the final 6 of third ranked point guard Kyrie Irving, along with IU, Duke, Seton Hall, Georgia Tech, and UConn.
Indiana and Duke still have the inside track due to a lot of time spent watching his games this summer. However, the fact that UK is in the final 6 means that UK stands a solid chance of scoring an official visit. If that happens and Irving watches as point guards John Wall and Eric Bledsoe thrive in Calipari’s offense, anything could happen.
One of the hottest names in the game this summer has been power forward Tobias Harris. Harris made an unofficial visit to UK in recent weeks and last night announced that he has “cut” his list to 10 schools. Not a huge cut here, but UK did make it and will get an in home visit with the Harris family. This is good news, because UK has some ground to make up on schools like Syracuse, St. Johns’, and West Virginia that have been all over him even before his meteoric rise this summer.
Finally, a note on Justin Martin. Martin is a former UofL commitment who opened things up in late May. He is an ex-teammate of erstwhile UK commit Dominique Ferguson in Indianapolis and is a 4 star player, 17th ranked among small forwards.
We really haven’t spoken much about him as an option for UK since his decommitment, but according to the Indianapolis Star, UK is firmly in the mix. Martin told the Star that he plans to take official visits to Kentucky, Marquette, and Xavier. He does not yet have an offer from UK, but the staff is in contact.
Fighting Rick Pitino fatigue with a few UK recruiting nuggets
By: Guy | August 13th, 2009 | Category: Cats
Is anyone else besides me past the saturation point when it comes to coverage of this Rick Pitino thing? I know there are some UK fans who have died and gone to heaven getting to see UofL and Pitino suffer, but I, for one, am not enjoying a thing. The story, however, has been utterly inescapable. Everybody has an opinion, everybody wants to pontificate, but this is one train wreck that I am completely ready to take my eyes off of.
This really has been a unique story in the way that it has been covered over the last 48 hours. It’s been strange because of the range of information that people had about it BEFORE it broke.
On the national scene, many people remembered something about some extortion attempt from back in May that made the rounds. Few details emerge back then, and it died quickly. On the local scene, casual sports fans had largely the same experience.
However, anybody who really cared to know what was going on (media, bloggers, message board goers, and generally obsessive fans like me), found out pretty quickly what the deal was early this summer, or at least knew another shoe was going to drop sooner rather than later.
Flash forward to August 11 when the Courier-Journal broke the story, at long last, reactions ranged from shock on the part of the lesser involved to “yeah, that’s about right” from the above mentioned crowd. It was such a strange dynamic in my office this week. It was the casual sports fans that couldn’t stop talking about Pitino. They had no concept of the situation bubbling below the surface, so once it did erupt, they were taken aback.
The serious sports fans, on the other hand, had some fun exchanging jokes about Porcini’s, but after that, we were pretty much done. It was a rare time when those that don’t care as much about sports were boring us with water cooler talk about the latest UK or UofL happening.
Anyway, what I’m saying is that I’m completely tired of talking about Rick Pitino. It’s essentially to the point where all I see is the human suffering element of it all, and when it gets to that point, it wears on me.
On that note, we are on the cusp of one of the key periods in college basketball recruiting (not to mention the fact that we are agonizingly close to football), and today we have a few bits of news from the trail. John Calipari finally has returned from China and he won’t have any time to relax, because the staff is planning a massive weekend of visits next weekend (August 21st-23rd).
-The thought that Kyrie Irving favors IU and Duke is becoming more and more popular. Both schools made it absolutely clear to Kyrie that he is a prime focus for their 2010 strategy during the AAU season. Kyrie has said that he plans to take all 5 of his official visits, but that he is not going to hesitate to pull the trigger if the time is right.
The 2 schools that he has said that he WILL officially visit are IU and Duke. It looks like UK will likely get a visit, which means I would not rule out UK, but, as I’ve said before, I think Tom Crean is the coach to beat on this one, because of Duke’s recent inability to land a player like Kyrie.
-UK’s second of 3 point guard targets, Josh Selby, begins an unofficial visit to UConn today and will be in town for 2 days. The popular thought was that UK had in the inside track after his UT decommitment, but ZagsBlog has a post about Selby that suggests a spring decision is a distinct possibility:
Josh Selby could wait until the late signing period to pick a school, according to Herman Harried, Selby’s coach at Baltimore (MD) Lake Clifton.
“I don’t think he’s going to decide early,” Harried said Thursday by phone. “It’s up to him and his mom.”
While Selby could be wowed on a visit and commit, there are a couple things that could prompt a late decision:
(1) The firestorm after his commitment – Lots of people raised questions about the meeting with Worldwide Wes immediately before his commitment and possible less that up front dealings. Selby and his mother will want to distance themselves as much as possible from those issues. Waiting until after a full set of visits and due diligence could help to fight those types of perceptions.
(2) A too early commitment – Selby already committed too early once and no one wants to be the guy who commits 5 different times. He’s going to make sure he has the right and final decision this time around.
-Jeff Goodman reports that top ranked (according to Scout) 2010 player Harrison Barnes plans to narrow his list to 5 by the end of this month. Duke and Kansas are thought to be in the lead here; Kentucky should be one of the schools competing for the other 3 of his official visits.
-2 top ranked 2011 players, Marquis Teague and Quincy Miller, say that UK is in the mix. Teague is a point guard and a top UofL target as well whose father says he will soon make an unofficial visit to UK. Miller is a power forward who lists at least 14 schools, including both UK and UofL. There’s still a lot to shake out for these rising juniors, but don’t discount the possibility that UK’s next commit could come from 2011 instead of 2010.
ZagsBlog: UK in mix for teammates Kyrie Irving (’10), Michael Gilchrist (’11)
By: Guy | July 3rd, 2009 | Category: CatsTwo names that UK fans will come to know well as the summer progresses are 2010 point guard Kyrie Irving and 2011 small forward Michael Gilchrist. Both are top level prospects (Gilchrist may be the best prospect in high school, independent of class) and happen to be teammates in New Jersey.
Here are some highlights of Gilchrist:
The two are also best friends that are considering the possibility of playing together in college. UK is thought to be in excellent shape for Gilchrist, but may be behind Indiana for Irving, even though Irving’s godfather is UK assistant Rod Strickland. Even so, UK is the one school that the two really have in common, so it has the best shot of nabbing both.
ZagsBlog has an article today about this very subject:
Kyrie Irving and Michael Gilchrist have already teamed up to lead Elizabeth (N.J.) St. Patrick to the New Jersey Tournament of Champions title.
Could they be pairing up together in college, too?
“We’ve considered it. We’ve talked about it,” Irving said in a recent interview. “We’re trying to do it but right now we’re just open in our recruiting process.”
And what school might the dynamic duo wind up at?
“Me and Mike, we talk about Kentucky mainly,” Irving said. “Coach Cal [John Calipari], he’s a great coach. And the whole coaching staff when I got to know them at Memphis, I have a great relationship with them. It’s just a top program.”
The 6-foot-1, 175-pound Irving is the No. 4 point guard in the Class of 2010 according to Rivals.
He transferred to St. Patrick from Montclair (N.J.) Kimberley prior to last year and helped the Celtics win the New Jersey TOC. He and Gilchrist became fast friends.
“We became best friends when I transferred in,” said Irving, who along with Gilchrist, will be at the LeBron James Skills Academy beginning Sunday. “When we played in the first tournament together, I just got to know him and things developed from there.”
Irving’s complete list looks like this: UConn, Georgia Tech, Duke, Indiana, Seton Hall, Texas A&M, Notre Dame, Florida, Marquette and Kentucky.
He has taken unofficials to UConn, Indiana and Texas A&M and says he plans to take more in August.
Kentucky has connections to both players. Assistant Rod Strickland is Irving’s Godfather and William Wesley, aka “Worldwide Wes,” is a very close family friend of Gilchrist and his parents, and is also close with Calipari.
The 6-6, 190-pound Gilchrist is the consensus top player in the Class of 2011.
His mother, Cindy Richardson, emphasizes that her son is still young and not thinking about the recruiting process.
She said in a text message that it’s “not true” that Irving and Gilchrist are thinking of playing together.
St. Patrick coach Kevin Boyle confirmed that Gilchrist is still open.
“I’ve talked to mom about Mike and the recruiting recently,” Boyle said. “When he was young he said he was going to Memphis and a lot of people automatically have him going to Kentucky now.
“She’s adamant that that’s not true and that he’s open to schools of high quality who have interest in him. It’s a little early I think.
“Now you have a lot of people calling, asking ‘Do I have a shot? Obviously, anybody would take him if they can get him.”
Boyle said Villanova coach Jay Wright, Georgetown coach John Thompson III and West Virginia coach Bob Huggins are among those who have expressed the strongest interest in Gilchrist and Boyle said he also needed to speak more with North Carolina coach Roy Williams.
Kentucky remains a strong player as well.
“Kentucky and Coach Cal, without question, are going to make a strong play for him,” Boyle said.
Could Kentucky land both players?
“I don’t know,” Boyle said. “Kentucky is recruiting both of them so that’s not an impossibility there. I do think Kyrie does want to go somewhere that he’s going to have a chance to get the ball and run the offense his freshman year.
“Will Kentucky have that available? I don’t know. You might have John Wall there a year or two.”
The Pinkie Interviews the IU Gorilla
By: Carl H | March 4th, 2009 | Category: SportsAs the only resident of the Hoosier state I would like to give my boys some props for their effort last night. They treated last night’s game as their National Championship and nearly pulled off a monumental upset.
This has been a tough season for the Hoosiers but throughout the year the team has played hard and the fans have cheered hard. One fan who is beginning to gain more and more publicity is that zany Hoosier Gorilla who sits in the front row of the student section each game. I had the pleasure of sitting down with the Gorilla last week.
Pinkie: According to the IU cheerleading coach, IU’s Athletic Director (Fred Glass) recently said that he thought the IU Gorilla was “great” and very enthusiastic during the games; Is this the backing you need to make a full out push to become Indiana’s official mascot?
IU Gorilla: Of course, why not!? What is a “hoosier” anyway? IU needs a mascot that people can associate with the team, and what could be better than a gorilla in the home whites wearing white stunner shades.
Pinkie: How can you get excited for every game when the team is struggling so mightily?
IU Gorilla: I get excited because it seems that IU is within grasp of winning a game about every time. Yeah, it’s a big let down when they lose but when you go to the next home game I don’t even think about it. There is always a crowd, the players remain very serious about trying to win, and you can’t do anything but help them out as best you can.
Pinkie: Along with Giant Anteaters and Platypuses, you are in an exclusive group of “knuckle-walkers”; Has there been any talk amongst you to start a movement allowing your fellow knuckle-walkers to have more opportunities in the mascot business?
IU Gorilla: Actually there has. A few months ago we shook some limbs and climbed some trees with the Capital One people, and hopefully next year they’ll let us in the Mascot Challenge. They didn’t let us in last year because they claimed we didn’t officially represent any schools, which was bull because I know there are monkeys all over UK’s campus.
Pinkie: How are you able to sit in the same seat every game?
IU Gorilla: That’s easy; I simply walk down there. After being invited and attending an IU cheerleading practice I pretty much get to go where I please. I’ve made a few friends with some of the ushers and police officers who have seen me conversing with the cheerleading coach, so they just assume I’m supposed to be down there.
Pinkie: How is your relationship with Go, the Phoenix Suns mascot and Gus,the Pittsburg State (KS) mascot? In 2005, Go became one of the three initial members of the Mascots Hall of Fame, what do you think your chances of getting there are? And who’s a better dunker, you, Gus, or Go?
IU Gorilla: Go and Gus are haters and they only wish they could be as cool as me. My chances of getting into the Hall of Fame are VERY slim since a school hasn’t officially picked me up yet, but I’m hoping IU comes to their senses. As for dunking, if someone wants to bring a trampoline down to the court during halftime I’d be more than happy to put on a show.
Pinkie: How much do you hate Captain Leo Davidson (Charlton Heston/Mark Wahlberg)?
IU Gorilla: Lets not go there.
Pinkie: Is your favorite food bananas, or do you just eat them for health benefits?
IU Gorilla: Bananas are good and all but nothing beats a good AMF from The Upstairs. They keep me going throughout the day and during all the games lol.
Pinkie: Being a native of tropical or subtropical forests, how are you making due living in Indiana, where it’s pretty much just cornstalks, farmland, and basketball goals.
IU Gorilla: I make due with what I have, but as time goes on I’m ready to get back down south. I have a coconut tree out back I swing around on from time to time, but nothing beats the rainforest.
Pinkie: How can we get you on an ESPN commercial? And which anchor(s) would you want as your co-star(s)?
IU Gorilla: Next year I plan on contacting ESPN through numerous emails and letters, and I can only hope someone says “oh yea I’ve seen that gorilla guy.” As for help, I need people to pump up the IU Gorilla and spread the word. Also if I were to get into a commercial, Scott Van Pelt would be my #1 choice because he is just hilarious.
Pinkie: What is the craziest request you have gotten from an IU fan?
IU Gorilla: Can I grab your ass?
Pinkie: Do they make you wear pants?
IU Gorilla: Yes, unfortunately they do. At one of the games the ref’s thought I was being inappropriate by bending over during a bad call with only my jersey on.
Fox’s Lockses – Penn St. (-4.5) @ Indiana
By: Carl H | January 17th, 2009 | Category: Pinkie's PicksMy lock is Penn State -4 1/2 @ Indiana.
Indiana is terrible and Penn state is just good enough to win by that much
Career Record 28-25-2 (Thanks LeBron)
Bruce Weber is a Prick
By: Carl H | January 9th, 2009 | Category: SportsBruce Weber is the biggest sour puss in college basketball. The man can’t get over the fact that an 18 year old kid changed his mind about where to play college basketball. Everyone knows he doesn’t like Indiana from his coaching days at Purdue under the great comb over Gene Keady. I hope IU pounds the sh*t out of Illinois tomorrow at the fake Assembly Hall in Champaign. Thinking of the game tomorrow reminds me of something the most unprofessional coach in the big ten said earlier this summer. “I do know one thing,though. I think Indiana will suck.” Thank you Mr. Weber for the bulletin board material.
This is the same man that in 2005 said, “Dick Vitale can take his Dookies and shove it.” I hope he gets what’s coming to him tomorrow!
