TERRE HAUTE —
Indiana State’s R.J. Mahurin has played basketball for the majority of the calendar year for the majority of his life, so sitting out last winter as a redshirt was predictably not an easy thing to do.
He dealt with it, though, and has continued to work on his game to get ready to make his collegiate debut this winter for the Sycamores.
Now a much more solid 6-foot-9, 215-pounder, Mahurin took full advantage of his break from game competition and is glad it worked out that way.
“Not getting to play last winter was really tough on me at first,” Mahurin said. “However, as the year went along, I began to notice the advantages of being a redshirt.
“I loved being able to just work on my game all year with [other redshirts] Jake [Odum], Lucas [Eitel], and Logan [Eitel] as well as the team during practices. In the league we play in, you have to be strong to be competitive, and I was focused on getting in the weight room and putting some size on. I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to redshirt.”
One of the highlights for Mahurin was a trip with Athletes in Action to play a three-game series in Poland earlier this summer.
Some of the players on the team were from Missouri Valley Conference schools Missouri State and Wichita State, as well as top programs such as Illinois, Colorado, Baylor and Utah State.
“Going overseas was one of the best experiences of my life,” he said. “I met a wonderful group of people that I will remain friends with for a very long time. It was also cool to get to meet some of my future opponents in the Valley.”
Mahurin feels he played well overseas, and was glad to be able to take the court again in a game situation.
“I just went out and tried to contribute any way I could,” he said. “We won every game, and 12 points was the closest game we had. I hated to see the trip come to an end. It was fun.”
ISU Coach Greg Lansing is happy with Mahurin’s work in the past year and is expecting good things from him in the upcoming season.
“Our weight people tell us he has put on 25 pounds, and you can just look at him and tell his body has gotten better,” Lansing said. “He could have helped us last year with his skill level, but he has gotten stronger and worked on the things he had to work on.”
Lansing considers Mahurin as one of the team’s best scorers with his back to the basket, like he played in high school at Rockville, but doesn’t see that being his biggest role.
“He’s so skilled facing the basket, you’re going to see him on the perimeter a lot,” Lansing said. “He is now much more mature and ready for the pounding of the Missouri Valley Conference.
“There’s some misconception that he can’t score around the basket for us since he played at a smaller high school,” Lansing added. “But he can. He’s a very hard working kid, a talented kid, and he’s a good player for us. We are really happy with where he is.”
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• Akers on display — The city of Las Vegas has adopted a well-known slogan that “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.”
Northview grad Austin Akers hopes that slogan doesn’t always hold true, and that word of his performance at the Top 100 JUCO Showcase last month spreads to Division I college coaches everywhere.
Coming off a stellar freshman year in which he averaged 14 points and 3.7 assists per game and was first-team all-Great Rivers Athletic Conference and first-team all-Region 24, Akers was invited to the camp as one of the top 100 junior college players nationwide.
The Olney Central college sophomore enjoyed his time in Vegas, and hopes it turns into a big-time scholarship for his final two years of college.
“I played pretty well, but you split time evenly so it's hard to get a rhythm going,” Akers said. “Overall it was a great experience with coaches from every D-I college conference there.”
OCC finished 16-15 last year, 5-11 in the GRAC (seventh place), and returns several top performers along with the addition of some familiar Wabash Valley opponents.
“This upcoming season should be a great one,” Akers said. “We have a lot of key players coming back and the addition of some more local talent [North’s Thomas Anderson and South’s John Michael Jarvis]. I have to thank [Terre Haute North assistant coach] Michael Mender for prepping me all summer for this upcoming season.”
OCC Coach Mike Burris was pleased with Akers’ play last year, and is glad to have him back for one more season.
“He had a very good freshman season for us,” Burris said. “He handled the ball well and made the right decisions with it. We think he could be one of the best points in our league this year.
“We expect him to be a floor general and be able to provide some scoring for us, and we also need to him to take on a vocal leadership role,” Burris added. “We need him to compete hard and instill a refuse to lose attitude within our team. He has gotten stronger and more explosive since the end of last season.”
Joey Bennett is a former Tribune-Star sports reporter and copy editor who now teaches at Northview High School in Brazil. He can be reached at tribstarcollegereport@yahoo.com.
College Report
College Report: ISU hoops’ Mahurin sees benefits of redshirting
- College Report
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Catching up as the school year winds down
Odds and ends from here and there as the school year quickly winds down. For starters, high jumper Nick Jaeger of Terre Haute South was named the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference’s male track & field newcomer of the year:
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College Report: Lively earned collegiate upgrade with strong play
Hillary Lively signed to play Division II basketball at Maryville (Mo.) during her senior year at North Vermillion, but those plans changed and she would up at nearby Danville Area Community College — where she recently concluded an outstanding two-year career.
Lively was impressive enough to earn a Division I scholarship to Southeast Missouri State of the Ohio Valley Conference, and both her future and past college coaches think she will continue to succeed there.
“She fits what we need,” SEMO coach Ty Margenthaler said. “She has college experience, she is strong and physical and plays well around the basket and moves well.
“Her strength, rebounding and touch around the basket will be a big help. On the defensive end, she’ll be able to guard a true center.” -
COLLEGE REPORT: Valley prep athletes getting ready for next level
The NCAA “regular” signing period begins Wednesday for all sports except football, field hockey, soccer, track and field, cross country and men’s water polo.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Conferences honor Valley softball players
Several Wabash Valley area college softball players have been honored by their respective conferences for outstanding play this spring.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Jake Newton makes big impact for Lincoln Trail College
Jake Newton had a long time between playing in competitive basketball games, a span of about 18 months, and used the frustration from that long dry spell to produce a stellar freshman season for Lincoln Trail College this winter.
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COLLEGE REPORT: A.J. Reed earns SEC Player of the Week honors
After belting three home runs during a five games last week, Kentucky sophomore left-handed pitcher/first baseman A.J. Reed was named Southeastern Conference Player of the Week.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Spring newcomers making marks
Several freshman baseball and softball NCAA Division I players from the Wabash Valley have already made immediate impacts at their new schools, while others are waiting for their turns to shine.
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COLLEGE REPORT: A.J. Reed named third-team preseason baseball All-American
Two-way sophomore standout A.J. Reed was one of three University of Kentucky players named third-team preseason All-America by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Sponsler honored after big week for Wabash men's hoops
Wabash College freshman Ross Sponsler of Terre Haute North was named the North Coast Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the period ending Jan. 6.
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COLLEGE REPORT: North grad Hughes finds success after facing preseason adversity
A.J. Hughes knew he was in for a battle as he competed with three other walk-on punters in the preseason for the lone starting job on the Virginia Tech football team.
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Etling, Meggs enjoying great year
It’s been a great year so far with more to come for a pair of longtime friends and St. Patrick’s School classmates.
Former Terre Haute resident Jack Meggs quarterbacked the Bellevue Wolverines football team to the Washington Class 3A state championship this fall, culminating with a 35-3 win over Sammamish Eastside Catholic — Bellevue’s fifth straight crown.
Danny Etling, meanwhile, has completed graduation requirements at Terre Haute South and is preparing for an upcoming high school all-star game and his first college classes in a couple of weeks. -
COLLEGE REPORT: Valley’s women’s college hoops players start strong
Several women’s college basketball players from the Wabash Valley have gotten off to good starts this season on the hardwood. Highlights:
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COLLEGE REPORT: Mayhew, Mascari provide fall highlights
Several dozen Wabash Valley athletes enjoyed successful fall seasons collegiately in cross country and tennis this year. -
COLLEGE REPORT: Former North teammates start strong in college
Former Terre Haute North teammates Ross Sponsler and Matt O’Leary made their college basketball debuts last week and had outstanding initial performances. -
COLLEGE REPORT: Shoemaker OBP leads Chisox farmhands
Former Indiana State, Olney Central and Northview baseball standout Brady Shoemaker opened a lot of eyes last summer in the Chicago White Sox farm system, earning him a spot on a mlb.com blog team that highlighted the team’s outstanding minor leaguers at each position.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Boeglin has plenty of ISU memories, but not all are related to basketball
Melanie Boeglin, an All-American who played on the women’s basketball team at Indiana State from 2002-2006, will be inducted into the 21st class of the Indiana State University Athletics Hall of Fame on Thursday.
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COLLEGE REPORT: North grad leading DePauw volleyball in winning streak
DePauw’s volleyball team has won seven straight matches entering this weekend’s DePauw Invitational, including four straight wins last weekend to capture the Rose-Hulman invitational title.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Engle moving up football coaching ranks
Michael Engle graduated from DePauw University in the spring of 2011 with a degree in political science and future plans to advance his studies in law school.
Being a coach’s son and a competitive athlete by nature, Engle has put those plans on hold for now. -
COLLEGE REPORT: From Terre Haute South to Division I competition to coaching careers
Adriane Wunderlich and Katelyn Bishop both turned stellar high school careers at Terre Haute South into Division I collegiate careers at Indiana State and Southern California, respectively.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Former prep athletes getting ready for fall college season
An impressive total of at least 122 Wabash Valley athletes and coaches will be competing collegiately for the first time during the upcoming school year or have changed schools to continue their careers.
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COLLEGE REPORT: SP’s Boetjer is Indiana’s Miss Softball
South Putnam’s Brooke Boetjer, who will be a freshman on the Indiana University softball team next spring, was named the 2012 Indiana Miss Softball last month between games at the North/South All-Star games in Carmel.
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College report: North grad Mayhew is second team all-American at IU
Indiana University running standout Zach Mayhew of Terre Haute North was honored earlier this month as a second-team All-American by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
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College report: Bloomfield runner to join IUPUI track, cross country teams
Bloomfield track/cross country standout Julie Riggins will be joining the developing IUPUI program next fall as one of six incoming recruits.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Roberts takes coaching position at UNC-Greensboro
Terre Haute native Mike Roberts is continuing his climb up the college basketball coaching ladder, recently departing Rice for a spot as the associate head coach at North Carolina-Greensboro.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Valley grads playing role for No. 13 Vincennes
A few springtime odds and ends:
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COLLEGE REPORT: Shouse making his mark for Danville Community College
Derek Shouse definitely flew under the radar in his one season of playing for the Terre Haute South boys basketball team last winter.
Not highly recruited, he made his way to Danville Area Community College as a walk-on with the hopes he could find his way onto the court at some point. -
COLLEGE REPORT: Bullock finds sunny home to continue tennis career
Most college athletes progress along similar paths to get to their final destinations athletically, but Terre Haute South grad Taylor Bullock’s route to the Eckerd College women’s tennis team was a little different than most.
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COLLEGE REPORT: TH South QB entertains Division I offers
Danny Etling’s trek to being a big-time college quarterback took a huge step this week when the Terre Haute South junior picked up a scholarship offer from Purdue, according to 247sports.com.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Seibert stepping up her game
Terre Haute South grad Haley Seibert has seen the usual ups and downs of her freshman basketball season at Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne and is making the most of her opportunities this season.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Vikings Waters, Barton excited about college basketball
West Vigo grad Lauren Dailey helped the Lady Vikings basketball program to a lot of success at the end of the 1990s, and went on to play for Eastern Illinois from 2001-2004.
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Catching up as the school year winds down
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