It’s easy to see why Tom Crean hired Je’Ney Jackson as his basketball strength and conditioning coach. The guy is really good. He makes hard work, conditioning and strength training fun.
We got an up-close-and-personal look at Jackson’s approach during this week’s Survivor-Crean and Crimson Media Challenge. Conceived by IU assistant athletic director for media relations J.D. Campbell and endorsed by Crean, it was a chance for 25 media members who regularly cover the Hoosiers to showcase their fitness and athletic skills.
Or, for some, their lack of it.
IU basketball players helped out. Guard Jordan Hulls worked specifically with our group. He is, like all the players, a great guy.
Everybody seemed to enjoy themselves except for team trainer Tim Garl, who, for good reason, worried about somebody getting hurt, being hospitalized or worse.
We did sign a waiver absolving IU from responsibility in the event something bad happened.
In the end, nothing bad happened except for a few sore muscles and bruised egos. We lifted some weights, did some agility drills, ran a little, sweated a little and kept alive our dream that the 2012 Olympics is not out of reach
We told you Je’Ney is good.
*****
What’s it like to be Tandon Doss these days? Indiana’s junior receiver just got honored by the Biletnikoff and Paul Hornung Awards, which leads to an obvious question -- what are the Biletnikoff and Hornung awards?
The Biletnikoff Award goes to the nation’s top receiver. The Hornung Award goes to the nation’s most versatile player. Doss was honored by both in the wake of his jaw-dropping performance against Michigan.
Doss had 15 catches for 221 yards, the biggest day any college receiver has had this season. He also added 21 rushing yards (he runs the Wildcat formation), 111 kickoff return yards and 10 punt return yards. The total of 363 all-purpose yards was a career high. He’s second nationally by averaging 211.0 all-purpose yards a game.
For the season Doss has 23 catches for 323 yards and one touchdown in three games. He certainly can’t complain that IU coaches don’t use him enough.
Figure he’ll get used a ton as the Hoosiers (3-1) try to upset No. 2 Ohio State (5-0) in Columbus.
*****
In case you missed it, former IU assistant basketball coach Royce Waltman is the new addition to the Hoosiers’ radio broadcast team. He’ll join Don Fischer and Joe Smith in covering basketball games.
Waltman coached at Indiana under Bob Knight from 1982-87 and was on the Hoosiers’ 1987 national title team. He was the head coach at DePauw from 1988-92, the head coach at the University of Indianapolis from 1992-97 and the head coach at Indiana State from 1997-2007. He won more than 100 games at each school and led each to the NCAA tourney.
He recently returned to high school coaching as an assistant coach at Indianapolis Roncalli.
“Royce is one of the most highly respected coaches in his profession,” Fischer said in a university release. “His knowledge of basketball and his background at almost every level of the game will add much to our broadcasts.”
Waltman replaces Todd Leary, the former Indiana player whose broadcasting duties ended after his arrest last February for, and subsequent guilty plea to, a multi-million-dollar mortgage fraud scheme.
“As an assistant basketball coach at IU, I gained great admiration for the program and all its tradition,” Waltman said in the release. “It’s with great player that I return to the IU family.”
No comments:
Post a Comment