TERRE HAUTE — Former Marshall, Ill., high school standout Jake Kelly is considering asking Iowa for a release from his national letter-of-intent, according to an Associated Press report.
Kelly, a dazzling floor leader when we saw him in the Pizza Hut Wabash Valley Classic as a freshman, is a 6-foot-6 guard who finished his prep career at Carmel.
Alford made what he called a “courtesy call” to Kelly the night he bolted Iowa City for the head coaching job at New Mexico. Kelly, who didn’t return messages to his cell phone, said in the AP report that he doesn’t want to “leave Alford hanging.”
That’s understandable. When players sign with a school, most of the time they are really signing with the coach who recruited them.
The player shouldn’t have to ask for his release from a letter-of-intent. It should be granted as soon as a coaching change is made.
In Kelly’s mind, he was going to play for an Indiana basketball legend in the Big Ten. Now he’s got a dilemma. Stick with a new coach at Iowa, who might not be familiar with Kelly, or follow Alford to New Mexico.
Kelly said he is taking a wait-and-see approach to see whom Iowa might hire. He could go an entirely different route and ask for his release and open recruiting to anyone. Someone close to Kelly told me that he has had a good relationship with Greg Lansing — a former assistant for Alford — who is listed as associate head coach on the updated bios on the men’s basketball home page.
Rumors have circulated that Creighton coach Dana Altman might be offered the Iowa job. Altman’s assistant Kevin McKenna arrival at Indiana State could be a sign that Altman is comfortable with the pay, job security and resources to succeed he has at Omaha, Neb., because McKenna would have to have been the favorite to take over the reins at Creighton.
But one has to think that it’s becoming a now-or-never time for Altman to step up into the Big Ten, where he could join a fraternity of some of the best basketball coaches in the country with Tubby Smith’s addition at Minnesota.
Another very good coach is considering a move to the Big Ten. According to a CBSSportsline.com report, Kevin Stallings is Michigan’s No. 1 target.
Stallings, a Purdue graduate and also a former Missouri Valley Conference coach at Illinois State, would definitely be an upgrade from Tommy Ammaker. After leading Vanderbilt to the Sweet 16 this year, Stallings’ departure could prevent the Wolverines from taking Chris Lowery from Southern Illinois.
I I I
• New ISU coach Kevin McKenna’s best line of Thursday’s press conference was that he, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson combined for 50 points a game during his rookie NBA season with the Lakers.
McKenna had many good things to say, especially about the style of play his team should bring to Hulman Center. McKenna said he learned a lot in his first coaching job — in the CBA for current Detroit Pistons coach Flip Saunders.
“I learned a lot from Flip Saunders in how to play the game, and play it really fast. This is going to be a really good thing. I think that we have a lot of pieces in place,” McKenna said.
One of the few games I got to watch last year’s team play this past season was the home victory against Purdue. The Sycamores pushed the tempo on the Boilers, but ISU defended well in that game to get those opportunities.
Gabe Moore, Harry Marshall, Marico Stinson and Cole Holmstrom are good enough athletes to push the tempo and get good shots. But that all starts with making plays at the defensive end.
It was hard to see coach Royce Waltman let go, especially with memories of two NCAA Tournaments as an ISU student. But he future looks bright with McKenna and Lansing.
It’s an excellent hire, but ISU’s best long-term hire might prove to be finding Ron Prettyman.
• Thatcher close to making cut — Former ISU pitcher Joe Thatcher appears to have a good shot for a job in the Milwaukee Brewers’ bullpen as was reported here two weeks ago. Thatcher is still in the major league camp, and the southpaw has pitched in four exhibition games. He has allowed four hits in 22/3 innings and struck out five. Thatcher has a 6.75 ERA.
The Brewers’ Web site reports that the last bullpen job is between three right-handers.
Craig Pearson can be reached by e-mail at craig.pearson@tribstar.com. Read his blog at blogs.tribstar.com/craigpearson
Given to Fly
March 31, 2007
Given to Fly: Could Kelly follow Alford to Southwest?
- Given to Fly
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GIVEN TO FLY: Come to expect new standards of excellence
Records are definitely meant to be broken; athletes today are faster and stronger than those in the past in many endeavors in athletics.
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GIVEN TO FLY: ISU women have solid recruiting class
The caliber of athletes that the Indiana State women’s basketball coaching staff is bringing in is on an upswing.
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GIVEN TO FLY: Major leaguers John, Dorsett meet up at tonight’s game
Terre Haute’s only two big leaguers of the last 50 years — Tommy John and Brian Dorsett — will catch up with one another today.
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FOOT NOTES: Valley natives perform well on national stage
Several Wabash Valley natives continue to shine on the national track and field scene.
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'Til It's Over: Sycamores ‘in a good place,’ but searching for more in MVC
Can Teri Moren lift Indiana State, last year’s seventh-place team in the Missouri Valley Conference, to one of the league’s contenders in her first year on campus?
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'Til It's Over: Two sets of identical twins should keep North Central baseball a contender
The last high school baseball team standing in the Wabash Valley was the North Central, the Thunderbirds falling short 4-3 in the Class A Semistate on Saturday just one game shy of Victory Field.
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'Til It's Over: Jarvis, Anderson confident Olney, hard work leads to Division I dream
Olney, Ill., population 8,000-plus and known for its population of white squirrels, might not be the dream destination for high school basketball players in Indiana.
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'Til It's Over: Robinson 7-footer more focused in postseason; 6-foot Jones keeps producing
Robinson 7-footer Meyers Leonard is not going to be the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA some day, but his odds of reaching the league are pretty solid if his game continues to evolve as it has during high school.
- 'Til It's Over: ‘Stepping stone’ game points Sycamores in right direction Whether the win comes against a top-25 team or a conference pushover, ending a four-game losing streak is always a relief.
- 'Til It's Over: Indianapolis ISU recruit rolling along in senior season As Indiana State recruit Anna Munn approached Christmas with the Decatur Central basketball team, the senior guard didn’t seem to need much of a wishlist.
- 'Til It's Over: Magic’s still there for '79 Sycamores For the former Indiana State players who visited the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in late November, the weekend was a chance to relive memories with teammates and see Larry Bird’s career with the Sycamores celebrated again.
- CRAIG PEARSON: North has strong history in cross country state finals Vigo County is home to just four IHSAA state championships in team sports. Most recently, Terre Haute South won girls titles in basketball (2002) and tennis (2001).
- 'Till It's Over: It’s been rough year but no need to break up Cubs' core Chicago Cubs general manager Jim Hendry is only in the first year of a three-year contract, and aren’t back-to-back division championships enough to keep him around despite this year’s season filled with bad luck?
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'Til It's Over: Hansbrough, Hibbert give Pacers glimpse of future
You might have heard of the Indiana Pacers’ 2009 first-round draft pick. He was on the television once in a while during his four-year career at North Carolina.
- 'Til It's Over: Bertoli, Moore put on show in abundance of events “Anthony and Erica” may not have the marketing capability of “Dan and Dave,” but neither of Indiana State’s outstanding multi-event participants had let-down performances this weekend in the Missouri Valley Conference Championships.
- ‘Walking wounded’: ISU seniors return to provide spark All three ISU seniors will graduate in May, and all three will be in uniform today as Indiana State battles Bradley in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament quarterfinals.
- Given to Fly: Northview standout runner Thacker coming to ISU Doc Brown told an old-timer in a saloon in “Back to the Future III” that despite having automobiles in the future people run for recreation.
- Given to Fly: Schilli’s Rodman-like performance aids ISU With Indiana State’s women’s basketball team ranking eighth in the Missouri Valley Conference in field-goal percentage (36.5), the Sycamores need as many shot attempts as possible to maintain their standing on top of the league.
- Given to Fly: A classic in every sense of the word What tournament director and co-founder Gary Fears had in mind when creating the tournament came to fruition Tuesday. Marshall, with an enrollment of 438 students, became the smallest school to win the Pizza Hut Wabash Valley Classic in the ninth season of the tourney.
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Given to Fly: ISU women should build confidence off strong outing
Indiana State did not pull off the monumental upset Saturday against No. 23 Kansas State, but the Wildcats are —aside from Connecticut in 2005 — the best team the Sycamores have played in the Jim Wiedie era.
- Given to Fly: ISU women's hoops team slides onto commercial radio Coach Jim Wiedie expects the Indiana State women’s basketball team to have a bit of a retro feel this season, meaning the Sycamores have the potential to get back to creating havoc with their full-court press.
- Given to Fly: ISU vets hope to prove pundits wrong Indiana State’s only two seniors were surprised to see they were picked ahead of just three Missouri Valley Conference women’s basketball teams Tuesday morning.
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Footnotes: In first marathon, former Sycamore comes out a winner
Indiana State graduate Dani Prince made her debut in the event with a victory in the Columbus Marathon on Sunday.
Prince’s goal was a time under 2 hours and 50 minutes, and she ran a 2:48.56. -
Given To Fly: ISU volleyball turning things around
It was an extremely busy weekend for Indiana State athletics this weekend.
- Footnotes: Here’s hoping perfect weather is still around for Nationals in November The weather made for a perfect fall afternoon Saturday at LaVern Gibson Championship Course. For what it’s worth, the Farmer’s Almanac calls for more sunny conditions from Nov. 20-24, with the NCAA Championships falling on the 24th this year.
- Terre Haute natives cherish memories of ‘House that Ruth Built’ Yankee Stadium was packed as usual on Easter Sunday in 1979. George Steinbrenner’s Yankees were one loss away from being swept by the Milwaukee Brewers to start the season. That was no way for the two-time defending World Series champions to perform, so the boss had a conversation with his new veteran left-handed starting pitcher prior to the game.
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Footnotes: Oregon men and women have strangehold on preseason NCAA cross countryrankings
The Oregon men and women were almost both unanimous picks as the No. 1 teams in the nation in the preseason cross country national rankings released recently.
- Given to Fly: Bronze medalist has strong ISU ties One of the remarkable American medalists of this 2008 Olympics thus far also provided one of the most sparkling stories in the brief history of the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course here in Terre Haute.
- Former ISU QB gets back to Amarillo This week, Indiana State signed its most highly-touted football prospect in years, and former quarterback Julian Reese is ripping it up for the Amarillo Dusters of Arena2.
- Indiana State track sending strong group to NCAA regional Three sophomore women and three senior men lead a large Indiana State contingent of track and field athletes into the NCAA Mideast Regional this weekend at Fayetteville, Ark.
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