IPFW

State of '08: Indiana

Shawn Siegel — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 09:33:31 -0700

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Duke or Carolina? BC or UMASS? Gonzaga or Washington.. or Washington State? What is the best program in each state? While there's not much competition in Hawaii.. there are great debates to be had in loaded regions like California, North Carolina, and Texas. The State of '08 is a ranking of every program in every state.. based mostly on recent success (the last five years) mixed in with subjective factors such as conference prestige, historical success, and overall program direction.

Up today: Indiana. For more info, check out the State of '08 introduction.

INDIANA

INDIANA - Considering all the turmoil this program has gone through, Indiana's still topped ND in the RPI for 9 of the last 10 seasons. While Indiana will surely struggle this year, and probably next as well, you still have to figure in time the Hoosiers will regain their place on top of the state's basketball pyramid.

NOTRE DAME - From 1991 to 2000, ND missed the NCAA Tournament every season. But in Mike Brey's eight seasons, the Irish have reached the holy land 5 times. This year, expectations are as high as ever, and a Top 10 ranking is not out of the question.

BUTLER - Who has been the top team in Indiana over the last two seasons? Butler, according to the computer rankings. Brad Stevens picked up where Todd Lickliter left off and led the Bulldogs to an amazing 30-4 overall record. In the last 12 years, Butler has made 7 NCAA Tournaments and 3 NITs. In fact, they've had more Tourney wins recently than ND. But I give the Irish the edge for more consistent success, being in a better conference, and because they'll probably outperform Butler in the next two seasons.

PURDUE - Despite getting tons of hype last season, Purdue probably wasn't as good as many think. They mostly beat up on weak Big Ten teams and poor non-conference opponents. But the program is obviously going in the right direction, and a more legit Top 20 finish is likely this season. Still, the Boilers haven't topped ND in the RPI since the turn of the century, and haven't surpassed Indiana since 2003.

VALPARAISO - From 1996 to 2004, Valpo made the Big Dance an amazing 7 out of 8 tries. The last four seasons have been a bit more pedestrian as the program has made the move to the bigger Horizon League. But the Crusaders still knocked off 5 Top 100 teams last year, and should once again make the postseason in 2009 (NIT or CBI).

6. IUPUI - Ron Hunter continues to do a great job in Indianapolis. Since 2003, the same year IUPUI shocked many by making the Big Dance, the Jaguars have consistently finished in the upper half of the Summit League. Without George Hill, their might be a bit of slippage in 08-09, but I still expect an RPI better than 175 or so.

7. INDIANA STATE - In 2000 & 2001, Indiana State was one of the country's darling mid-majors, making the tourney in back to back to seasons, and upsetting 4-seed Oklahoma in 01. But the program has run into some lean seasons, and there hasn't been a .500 or better finish since then. But beginning in 2003, the Sycamores' RPI has improved every year (from 260 to 128), a trend which could very well continue in 2009.

8. EVANSVILLE - The Purple Aces are in the bit of a slump, and Marty Simmons has a lot of work picking up the pieces left by Steve Merfeld. Evansville hasn't reached the .500 mark in MVC play since 2001, and almost certainly won't accomplish that feat in 2009. At least they managed to beat Ball State on the road early last year.

9. BALL STATE - In the 80's and 90's, and really up until 2004 or so, Ball State was a consistently solid program that was always competitive in the MAC. But somewhere along the way, the bottom has fallen off, and the Cardinals haven't even won 10 games in the last four campaigns. Another sub-200 RPI should be expected in 08-09.

10. IPFW - Relatively new to D1 (2004), IPFW has shown signs of improvement every year. Officially joining the Summit League was a big step last year, and finishing 9-9 in conference play was a pleasant surprise.

Last: Georgia - Next: Indiana

State of '08: The Introduction (& State list)

Wright St Wins.. and Everyone Gets Big Macs

Bill Kintner — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 00:00:00 -0800

Dayton -- As the clock wound down, the fans were on the edge of their seat hoping their home team, the Wright State Raiders would hold the visiting IPFW Mastodons to under 60 points.

With 1:08 left the Raiders led 72-58 and then Wright State’s Scottie Wilson fouled Justin Hawkins as he attempted a shot. The Raider fans groaned and fell back into their seats.

Hawkins made the first shot and the Raider fans moved up to the edge of their seats. Then he missed the second foul shot. The Raiders grabbed the ball and got it to Will Graham who then missed a short jumper with 25 seconds to go, but to the relief of the crowd Wilson came down with the rebound and kicked it out to DeShaun Wood.

Wood dribbled out the clock and the crowd cheered because they just got a free Big Mac from a season long promotion that kicks in when Wright State holds their opponents to under 60 points.

Wright State (8-6, 1-0 HL) led by 12 at the half 35-23. Wood who led all scorers with 24 points including 12 for 12 from the free throw line, got the Raiders going to start the second half with a lay up to send the Raiders up by 14 points 37-23.

Wright State Coach Brad Brownell thought that coming out strong to start the second half was a key to the Raiders’ victory.

“Out of the half I thought our guys did a pretty good job of sustaining it for the first maybe five minutes. We didn’t play great but we sustained our lead and kept them at bay,” explained Brownell.

It would have been easy for Wright State to have a let down against the 4-10 independent Mastodons but to their credit the Raiders managed to put a stop to several runs that IPFW (4-11) made.

“I give Wright State credit. I think the sign of a good team is being able to play against a lesser known team,” said IPFW Coach Dane Fife. “I would imagine there are probably maybe two guys in this room that could pronounce our name right before this game.”

For the record it is pronounced………Mass-tow-dons.

The Mastodons did get the score down to seven points three times during the game, but Wright State managed to respond to get the score back to double digits.

IPFW’s DeWitt Scott scored 21 points and he was the only Mastodon to score in double digits, although Jaraun Burrows did pull down 12 rebounds.

IPFW did lead a few times in the first half. They did get it to three points at the 11:03 mark and that was their lead of the game.

A little over a minute later Wright State took the lead for good on a lay up by Graham when they went up 16-14.

For Wright State aside from Wood, both Jordan Pleiman and Todd Brown scored 10 points.

Notes:

*Wright State leads the all-time series 9-3

*As Dane Fife walked out of the media room he said, “You better jump on board they (Wright State) are a good team.”

*It is a “three thing”……with 3:33 left in the game IPFW’s number three, got fouled by Jordan Pleiman and went to the line to shoot three foul shots.

*IPFW plays their next game at home against Anderson University on Thursday at 7 p.m.

*Wright State’s next home game is Thursday against UIC at 7 p.m.

Daily Dribble: Independent Update

Shawn Siegel — Sat, 30 Dec 2006 10:02:43 -0800

Last night, Central Arkansas upset potential NCAA Tournament team Bucknell by the final score of 50-48. The Bears (that's Central Arkansas) are a first-time D1 squad that has only beaten one other D1 team this year (Bowling Green.) Central isn't actually an independent because they're playing a full Southland Conference schedule.. but in honor of their win I thought I'd take a look at how the independents and recent ones are doing this year. Like Central Arkansas, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi is playing a full Southland schedule for the first time. The Islanders have been one of the best independent teams over the last couple years, and are considered to be a Southland contender in just their first season. Things have gone well for TAMU-CC, with a 7-4 record overall (5-4 against D1 teams). Their best two wins are at Detroit and South Florida. Like most independents or low-majors, TAMU-CC still has to play most non-conference games on the road.. but they have a rare 3-game home streak coming up, including a big game against Kent State. TAMU-CC is one of the most experienced teams in the country.. with 7 seniors that play at least 15 minutes per game, and all of whom scored 5+ ppg. This experience should put them right in the thick of the Southland title race along with SELU, Sam Houston St, and NW State.. Replacing TAMU-CC as the best independent is clearly North Dakota State, who has an impressive 8-4 record. Unlike the Islanders, the NDSU Bison are extremely young with just one player on their roster whose not a freshman or sophomore. Last year, NDSU got headlines for beating Wisconsin.. and they did it again this year with a big win at a ranked Marquette team. Perhaps more impressive than their 8 wins is the nature of their losses. They have an 85-81 loss at Big 12 Texas Tech, an 83-81 loss against Big 12 Kansas State, and a 82-80 loss at 9-2 Colorado State. The Bison have another chance at the Big 12 as they head to Iowa State on Sunday(this is a definite upset alert game).. and then head to Eastern Michigan before finishing the season against all the other independents. With 16 games left, NDSU has a great chance at making a run at the 20-win mark. South Dakota State hasn't done quite as good of a job representing the Dakotas, though the Jackrabbits do have 4 wins against D1 teams and one of the best mascots in the country. Another young team (just 2 seniors on the roster), the Jackrabbits have won 2 straight including a road win at UMKC. Both SDSU and NDSU will be joining UMKC in the Mid-Contintent conference in 2007 along with IPFW. IPFW (ie, Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne) is just 4-9 and two of those wins were against non-D1ers. The key for the Mid-Con in getting IPFW is their mascot, the Mastadons. It appears the Mid-Con is stockpiling good nicknames like the Mastadons, Jackrabbits, Kangaroos (UMKC), Leathernecks (Western Illinois), and the Gentlemen of Centenary. Unlike the above schools that are joining the Mid-Con, Chicago State is playing an independent schedule after leaving that conference. The Cougars have just a 5-11 record, but thats understandable considering they've played 14 of 16 games on the road. Their biggest win was easily at 7-6 UTEP.. in which Chicago State's little backcourt combined for 44 points. Royce Parran and David Holston are just 5-8 and 5-9 respectively and are generally listed at weighing 160 pounds. Its safe to say Chicago State would dominate the biddy basketball circuit.. The indy team with the 2nd best record is 8-5 Texas-Pan American. UTPA is led by a JUCO transfer, Brian Burrell averaging almost 18 a game. The Broncs have won 3 straight, including most recently at James Madison of the CAA. Some other independent notes that stick out.. Utah Valley State is 7-5 and most recently beat a Southern Utah team that is 9-5. The Wolverines almost had a huge win against Utah State, falling by just 4 against a team that has an outside chance of making the Big Dance. Savannah State is this year's feel good story with a 6-11 record. Two years ago, the Tigers went 0-28 and last year they won just 1 game against a D1 team. Savannah shocked the world by starting 5-0 this year (though 3 were against non-D1 teams).. though they've come back to Earth having lost 11 of 12. The most recent win was at Bethune-Cookman.. an actual D1 team.. though one of, if not, the worst one in America. Bethune has yet to beat a D1 squad this year. Still, 6 wins is still 6 wins for this program. This year's Savannah State is Winston-Salem, off to a dismal 1-16 start.. including 0-16 against D1 teams. The Rams are a provisional team and have the unfortunate burden of playing 22 road games this year.. almost all of which will end up as losses. In fact, the Rams have only come within 10 points once all season against a D1 team, losing by 7 at Georgia State. Perhaps their only a chance for a win is on January 27th when they head to Bethune-Cookman. Of course there's also UC-Davis who has yet to beat a D1 team.. and NJIT who shocked the Northeast by beating Manhattan and Rider to start the season before losing 10 straight. Also there's 5-10 Longwood, who most recently beat Kennesaw State last night (making the jump to the A-Sun from the indy ranks) and who hosts American later today. - Don't forget to Dribble in the New Year -

IPFW showcases strength in comeback, immaturity in loss

Dan Vance — Sun, 19 Nov 2006 18:35:36 -0800

IPFW's season has really been like a rollercoaster, just without so many ups and with downs that would plummet a ride at Six Flags into the core of the earth. They had a chance to change that Sunday night (November 19) when they hosted Indiana State, themselves just coming off a stiff loss at the hands of IU. But instead, they couldn't keep up the momentum of a monumental comeback and let their weaknesses leak out in a 67-61 loss. IPFW had a hold of things early, going up 13-8 with a lot of momentum on a Tyler Best to Quintin Carothers back door play that led to a bigtime dunk. They pulled ahead again (and for the last time) on a DeWitt Scott three-pointer midway through the first half. And then they saw setback after setback kill most of their hopes before the halftime buzzer even sounded. But after that buzzer is when the Mastodons showed that afformentioned strength by slashing away at an Indiana State lead that had grown to 15 in the second half. After slashing away at that lead, IPFW pulled within nine points on one of two late Pat Lepper three-pointers. They kept chipping away until about the three and a half minute mark when they let their adrenaline die during a media time out, a critical and infant mistake for a team searching for stability. Senior Tyler Best, who scored eight of his 10 points in the second half, highlighted that lack of energy by missing a wide open layup just after the timeout. A minute later, Trent Wurtz put down a dunk for Indiana State that completely took IPFW out of the game emotionally. And instead of trying to change that, they let backfiring situations get to them moments later when Wurtz and Carouthers were both forced to come out of the game (Wurtz for bleeding, Caruothers for having blood on his jersey). Coach Dane Fife spent half the time yelling at the trainer and the other half complaining to the referees, which is only going to (if anything) take you furhur out of control of the game. When Carouthers did come back in the game a minute and a half (or so) later wearing #52, it was almost as if he had lost his mojo along with his usual jersey. His only offensive play of note was a sloppy turnover that was only part of what cost IPFW down the stretch. Carouthers led IPFW with 14 points, but had 12 of them in the first half. ISU even shot free throws in a fashion that can nearly be descirbed at horrific down the stretch. The Sycamores missed 7 of their last 10 free throws in the game, including a stretch missing 5-of-6 in the final minute all while leading 64-58. And IPFW did nothing. Instead, they tried too hard to play in the post, an obvious Mastodon weakness. Despite solid second half play from Best and Jaraun Burrows, who totalled 14 rebound and 20 points as a pair, the bigs just did not seem as focused and controlled. The Mastodons also shot too many three-pointers (7-for-25 in the game), while ISU shot only two long range shots in the second half. Strike three? The Mastodons did not push the ball on transition and played half court offense way too much. And oh yeah, senior captain Justin Hawkins played just 12 minutes in the entire game including sitting the whole second half. If anything, IPFW displayed immaturity by going away from their strengths. And that, above all else, is likely what cost them an important game.

Independents Preview

CHN — Fri, 03 Nov 2006 11:00:06 -0800

Conference Previews | Top 144 | 06-07 Preview Home

Independent Preview

"Conference" Rank: 32nd

Conference Page

All-Conference

Player of the Year - Ben Woodside, North Dakota St, G

Royce Parran, Chicago St, G

DeWitt Scott, IPFW, F

Ben Beran, South Dakota St, F

Clayton Morgan, Longwood, F

Nat'l	Team (Click for Preview)	Conf	Tourney
197	North Dakota St	1
247	IPFW	2
270	Utah Valley St	3
277	Longwood	4
291	UC Davis	5
294	Chicago State	6
317	South Dakota St	7
325	Texas Pan Am	8
330	Savannah St	9
331	Winston Salem St	10	Provisional
335	New Jersey Tech	11

IPFW to Join Mid-Continent Conference

Dan Vance — Thu, 31 Aug 2006 00:00:00 -0700

IPFW athletic department officials held a 3 p.m. news conference yesterday to announce that the school has been officially offered a spot in the Mid-Continent Conference effective for the 2007-2008 school year and athletic season. Mid-Con commissioner Tom Douple made the announcement in the packed ballroom of the Walb Student Union on the school’s Fort Wayne, Indiana campus.

“We had put so much effort into this and we had worked so hard to get it done this time that it was so great to hear those words you’re in,” said Mark Pope, the school’s Athletic Director.

Pope was given the news by Chancellor Michael Wartell in the morning and had to prepare for the news conference later in the day.

“Being part of a conference will really allow us to garner some much deserved respect,” men’s basketball head coach Dane Fife said.

“It is for the student athletes,” Fife added. “I couldn’t be happier for the ones that are here everyday pouring their hearts out for the university.”

At the beginning of August, Douple and other officials from the conference visited Fort Wayne in the process of discussing and determining expansion for the conference that lost Chicago State in the spring and will lose flagship program Valparaiso to the Horizon League next fall.

During the visit, Douple and others visited with over 100 people associated with the university including athletes, faculty and boosters.

“Those people saw what a neat town Fort Wayne is and what a neat part we play in it. Those were the real selling points,” Pope said.

IPFW fully joined the ranks of Division I in 2002 and has had four sub-par seasons as an Independent program. After two and one half seasons into their time as a DI program, the school fired head coach Doug Noll. He was replaced by then-assistant Joe Pechota for half a season and the school then hired Fife, a former standout guard at Indiana University, in March 2005 to take over.

In his first season at the helm, Fife led the program to its first 10-plus-win season since 2000, when they were still a member of Division II’s Great Lakes Valley Conference. At 25, Fife also became the youngest Division I coach upon his hiring.

Fife and his coaching staff met with the team early in the day after receiving the news from Athletic Director Mark Pope. While Fife said that the there were a lot of smiles in the room, that he wants the younger players to understand the importance of the seniors, who will not be around for conference affiliation, to go out with a bang.

“We can’t forget this coming year and the importance of this coming year. It is important that Justin Hawkins, Quintin Carouthers and Tyler Best go out with what they deserve,” Fife noted several times. “When the time comes to play in the Mid-Con, that’s down the road. Right now, we have to work for this season.”

While Fife does not want to look past or coast through the coming season, he did note the importance to grooming current and future players a different way.

“We have to get our kids groomed to winning the Mid-Con as opposed to winning the UBC, it’s a different mindset.”

IPFW will be part of the UBC (United Basketball Conference) this season, but will cut off affiliation at seasons end. The UBC is not an official conference, but more of a scheduling agreement between independents.

IPFW will be immediately eligible for conference tournament play in men’s basketball and the 14 other sports that the Mid-Con offers.

“First we need to take a step back and realize what has happened and then what we need to do to win Mid-Con Conference championships. To not just participate but win,” Pope said.

“From our men’s basketball standpoint, it gives every one of our players the chance to fulfill the dream of playing in the NCAA tournament,” said Associate Head Coach Jeff Tungate. Before being hired as Fife’s first assistant a little over a year ago, Tungate was part of the Mid-Continent’s Oakland University coaching staff.

While the current senior class will not see conference play, junior DeWitt Scott, the leading scorer from Fife’s first season will be heading IPFW as they begin conference play. Junior transfer Demetrius Johnson is the only other potential starter who will be around when the school officially begins conference play.

Based out of Elmhurst, Illinois, the conference will now have eight schools next fall but is also looking at South Dakota State and North Dakota State as other possible expansion schools. The majority of schools currently in the Mid-Con are Midwest based. The school furthest away from the others is Southern Utah.

An Independent Summer

Dan Vance — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 00:00:00 -0700

Just as things started to look up for one of the youngest Division I programs and as things started to look better for the youngest Division I coach in Dane Fife, the summer of 2006 has been a trying time.

IPFW is seemingly on the verge of conference affiliation with two spots opening up in the Mid-Continent Conference by the start of the 2007-2008 season. But now, as summer workouts rage on in Fort Wayne, Indiana, the ever-changing roster continues to do just that and change. There still are the familiar and solid faces like seniors Quintin Carouthers and Justin Hawkins and juniors DeWitt Scott and Zeljko Egeric, but no other Mastodon has seen more than a year of service in blue and white at this school.

But there at the small forward, where Carouthers, Hawkins and Scott are all fit best is where IPFW is clearly the strongest. Their center Tyler Best (Lafayette, IN) had a mediocre junior year plagued with injuries while Egeric (Split, Croatia) and junior-to-be Armend Ademi (Pristina, Kosovo) have proven very little on the Division I stage with a team who has only three players over 6'9'' and none taller than 6'10''.

Even worse, the team is currently very light in the point guard position, which they were too deep in last season. Since the end of a ten-win 2005-2006 campaign (the first double digit winning season in the school's four year D1 history), the team has lost four point guards. D.J. Posley (Chicago, IL), a high school teammate of Kansas standout Julian Wright, transferred to a community college at the end of his freshman season and starting point man Brad Pompey has also recently left the team for undisclosed personal reasons.

While Posley only averaged 3.2 points and just around 13 minutes per contest, he did play significantly toward the end of the season. Pompey averaged 28.4 minutes/game in his only season at IPFW, averaging 8.7 points and leading the team with 55 assists.

Summertime has also brought about injuries with sophomores-to-be Kyle Savely (Corydon, IN) and Jakari Johnson (Grand Rapids, MI) nursing injured an injured wrist and thumb respectively. Fife said that the two have an unknown return timetable.

So Fife has been forced to turn to the untested in the form of freshman walk-on Keevan Miller (New Albany, IN - Providence HS) to lead the way. Miller may even be the starter for the Mastodons when the season rolls around this October. He has been in Fort Wayne since June 12 working with the team and getting into the flow with the fast-paced Mastodon squad that is on the brink of a major break with the Mid-Continent conference, who's officials will visit the campus this week.

IPFW has lost seven players from last year's opening day roster. Pompey and Posley as previously mentioned, junior Mohamed Esseghir left mid-season for personal reasons, freshmen walk-ons Brandon Schumm and Andy Stroud were dismissed from the team mid-season, a third walk-on Warren Wallace left this off season and senior-to-be Kevin Nelson was recently dismissed from the team. Nelson was a red-shirt last season after a move from Central Michigan where he was the team leading scorer and MVP as a junior.

“I think our goal for these first two years is to get the word out. We want to let people know who we are. I don’t ever want to have to go somewhere out west and people ask who are we and if we are Division I,” Fife said. “And that’s subsiding, but we just have to market this and there are going to be some tough roads.”

Other players next season will include Miller, JuCo recruits Pat Lepper and Jaraun "Keno" Burrows, freshman combo guard Chris Perkins (Triton Central HS – Chicago, IL) and Demetrius Johnson, who red shirted last season after transferring from Kent State. Burrows, a native of the Bahamas, leads the incoming class as a NJCAA 2^nd Team All-American a year ago at in Volunteer State Community College in Tennessee.

“It is unbelievable for us to get him. He is a high level player who plays his butt off,” Fife said of Burrows.

Terry Jenkins (Muncie Central HS - Muncie, IN) will also join the team as a walk-on. The team will also have two new assistant coaches to replace Jermaine Kimbrough (Cleveland State) and Joel Cotton (Anderson University) in Terry Johnson (formerly of Butler) and Dan Bere, who served as a graduate assistant last season.

Their just released 2006-2007 schedule will be a tough one for a still young team with trips to Notre Dame, Air Force, Michigan State and Utah State. The team will also host Indiana State and play home and home games with Valparaiso, IUPUI and Western Illinois. Still, Fife seems upbeat about the program's chances of making a big run this coming season and proving that he and IPFW belong playing with the big boys.

“We take pride in feeling like we can beat these teams and I think we showed it last year,” Fife said.

Last year, IPFW hung with Michigan State for much of their contest, had a chance to beat Notre Dame at the buzzer and even knocked off then 8-1 Indiana State in Terre Haute.

A decision about IPFW’s potential Mid-Continent Conference future is expected before the season kicks off in November. The conference officials officially visit IPFW from August 2-4 and then will make visits with South Dakota State and North Dakota State in August.

“It looks great, it really does and I think we are in great shape.” Fife said about IPFW’s Mid-Con hopes. “We are pleased with where we are at with our development.