Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 1 November 2002 — Page 20

2004 Dig Ten Womens Basketball Tourney coining to Conseco Fleldhouse Special to The Recorder

The 2004 edition of the Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament will be staged in the familiar confines of Conseco Fieldhouse, conference officials announced. ^ It will mark the 11th edition of the Women’s Tournament and the ninth time that Indianapolis has hosted the event. Indiana Sports Corp. (ISC) wil once again work alongside the Big Ten Conference to stage the Tournament. ISC is a private, not-for-profit organization that represents Indianapolis in the national am international sports marketplace. The tournament will take place from Thursday, March 4 through Monday, March 8, with no games scheduled on Saturday, March 6 due to the 2004 Indiana High School Athletic Association Girls State Finals. The women’s event will precede the Big Ten Men’s Basketbal Tournament, which will take place in Indianapolis from March 11-14. It will mark the second occasion that the two events will take place on back-to-back weekends. “The Indianapolis community was highly enthusiastic in its reception of both the men’s and the women’s conference tournaments in 2002,” said Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany. “We look forward to bringing the women back this season and to returning with both events in 2004.” The 2002 Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament was a highenergy affair. Three games were settled in overtime and the homestate Indiana Hoosiers were crowned as tournament champions for the first time in school history. Every tournament attendance record was broken, including the single-session (9,358), av-erage-per-session (7,196) and total attendance (35,846) marks. “We look forward to continuing to host the nation’s finest women’s basketball conference tournament,” said ISC chairman of the board Earl Goode. “We’re also pleased to be able to host the Big Ten women’s and men’s tournaments in the same year again. Together with our partners at Conseco Fieldhouse, we plan on making it an even bigger and better celebration of Big Ten basketball than

2002.”

“This will be the fourth time in five years the fieldhouse will host the Big Ten women ’ s tournament,” said Rick Fuson, executive senior vice president of Pacers Sports & Entertainment. “It’s a great compliment to Indianapolis and our staff to be able to stage girls’ high school and women ’ s collegiate and professional basketball at the highest level.” Conseco Fieldhouse opened on Nov. 6, 1999, and was immediately hailed as one of the world’s premier basketball venues. The Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament has previously been held in the facility in 2000 and 2002. The 2003 tournament will be staged at the Fieldhouse from March 6-10.

The building was the site of this past summer’s World Basketball Championship and will host the 2004 World Swimming Championships. “The Big Ten is excited about showcasing the Women’s Basketball Tournament at Conseco Fieldhouse in 2004,” said tournament director Andrea Williams. “The Indiana Sports Corp. and Pacers Sports & Entertainment are great organizations to work with and have a rich history in organizing successful events. The relationship between the conference and Indianapolis continues to cement the community’s commitment to hosting the best women’s tin the country”

IUPUI Jags get hungry

By JOSHUA COHEN Staff Writer “These kids are the hungriest I’ve seen in the 15 years I’ve been coaching,” said Ron Hunter, head coach of the Indiana UniversityPurdue University Indianapolis Jaguar basketball team. Hunger is a rare commodity in sports these days. Most coaches will tell you they want players who are hungry. Some will even take hunger over talent, because players who want to taste victory will work much harder to get it. But when you got both, it’s a deadly combination. Take David Eckstein, a 5’8" shortstop for the Anaheim Angels who looks and throws like he’s in the Little Leagues. He has hunger

and, despite his stature, gives every game his all and was a major factor for the Angels winning the World Series. Hunger is what counts when the game is on the line. However, experience will get you there and Hunter believes he has plenty of that too. “Experience is the number one factor,” said Hunter. “What’s really important is there are nine kids from Indiana on this team.” No other Division 1 school in the country has that much homegrown talent and you can see the pride and excitement in the coach ’ s eyes when he talks about his team. “With what we did in last year’s tournament, this year we will be the hunted,” predicted Hunter. In the 2000-2001 season the Jaguars finished just 6th in the Mid-Con-

tinent Conference but caught fire at the end of the season and lost in the Mid-Con Tournament championship game vs. perennial No. 1 team the Valparaiso Crusaders. This year, however, the team is confident they can beat Valpo enroute to an NCAA tournament bid. “I would like to say yes, we can beat Valpo,” said Antoine Lewis, senior power forward and one of the team’s top players. The Crusaders aren’t the only point of focus this year for the Jags, as they have been working hard during the off-season, including playing together during the summer to improve team chemistry. Lewis was a transfer last season and feels he had a little trouble fitting into his role. “I was really

quiet,” admits Lewis. This season he feels he has stepped up and knows what he needs to do. “Leadership, rebounding and post defense.” Senior forward Dannorris Harvey has also worked on his game during the summer. “I hit the weight room, worked on my agility and my shooting,” said Harvey. “I wanted to improve my all-around game.” Both players agree the team is working well together and is ready to be the top team in the conference. They are used to being underdogs, however, and Hunter knows they have to stay hungry and leam how to play as everyone ’ s team to beat. This year’s main course: Victory.

Antoine Lewis, power forward for the IUPUI Jaguars, practices his Jump shot.

Pacers not the ‘bad boys’ but tougher style should bring better results

Pacers assistant coach Mark Aguirre

By JAMES M. KEOUGH JR. The new-and-improved style the Sports Writer Pacers have adopted is in force and only time will wimess if the deThe Indiana Pacers are off and sired results are achieved, running as the National Basketball Rough, tough and athletic will Association commences regular- hopefully be synonymous with the season competition. description of the team’s style of

COMMENTARY

play. Pacers head coach Isiah Thomas said during the preseason that last season he didn’t have enough people that were capable of playing a tough, physical style of play. He added that he had “these type of people” on the roster this season. Well, time will certainly tell as the regular season kicked off earlier this week. While not admittedly trying to recreate the “bad boy” image of Thomas and the Detroit Pistons of the late 1980s and early 1990s, he is interested in tough, hard-nosed basketball. And frankly, this team isn’t capable of emulating this era of the Pistons anyway. Thomas’ promotion of assistant coach Mark Aguirre to a position on the bench was not accidental. Aguirre, who won championships with Thomas while with the Pistons and, like Thomas, is also a product of urban Chicago, was a tough competitor as a player. Aguirre has successfully worked

to develop both A1 Harrington and players and earn a little respect Jonathan Bender. around the league. The Pacers have Would it even be possible to re- the capability to become one of the create the “bad boy” era? top young teams in the Eastern First of all, the penalty for fla- Conference, once they rid themgrant fouls in the NBA is more selves of the "soft” image some severe these days. The Pistons of have characterized them as havthe 1980s would hardly ever have ing. players off suspension if today’s Both Thomas and Aguirre are rules were in place then. the appropriate leaders for this Just look at the lineup: Bill group of young men. The Pacers Laimbeer, Dennis Rodman, boast a very talented group (ff young Aguirre, John Salley, Vinnie athletes. Once their collective menJohnson, Joe Dumars and of course, tal toughness catches up with their Thomas. The Pistons of the 1980s proven basketball skills and were very rough, very tough, yet athleticism, championship aspiravery talented and very experienced, tions will become more reasonNow let’s look at the Pacers: able. Jermaine O’Neal, Ron Artest, Brad Are the Pacers in danger of Miller, Reggie Miller, Jamaal becoming the “bad boys” of the Tinsley, A1 Harrington and Jeff NBA? Foster. This writer doubts it seriously. While the Pacers are not short But can the Pacers escalate near on talent, and to some extent expe- the top of the East? rience, these guys are developing With a tougher approach to the their own identities and place in the game, mentally and physically, NBA. particularly from the veteran playComparisons are always tough, ers, the sky is the limit. This one is particularly difficult. These Pacers are not the “bad However, the tough, tenacious boys.” style the Pacers have exhibited thus But in a competitive sense, good far this year is helping to develop guys sometimes finish last, confidence among the younger

Manning presents $42,000 to IPS high schools from 2002 PeyBack Classic

Special to The Recorder On behalf of his PeyBack Foundation, Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning Tuesday presented checks totaling $42,000 to seven IPS athletic departments during ceremonies at Broad Ripple

High School.

The donation came from proceeds of the Sept. 28 PeyBack Classic III in the RCA Dome. The high school football quadruple-header involved the seven IPS high school football teams and Scecina Memorial High School. Indiana Sports Corp. and Indiana Black Expo staged the classic in cooperation with Manning's foundation. American Family insurance, EDS. Huntington Bank, Marsh and St. Vincent Hospital were this year’s presenting sponsors. Combined with $44,000 jreviously donated to underwrite the academic mentoring Play It Smart program at Northwest and Arsenal Tech high schools. Manning’s PeyBack Foundation now has contributed more than $200,000 to IPS schools and their athletic departments in the last three years.

File photo from this year’s PeyBack Classic

“Thanks in large part to the gracious generosity of our sponsors. I’m especially pleased to be able to make these muchneeded funds available,” Manning said. “In just three years, we are approaching the quarter-of-a-million-dollar mark in support of IPS and its athletic programs. As important as the money is, we’re also providing memories, making a positive difference in the lives of young student-athletes and providing opportunities that otherwise might not exist.” In addition to the $42,000 provided to the IPS athletic departments, the PeyBack Foundation donated $44,000 to underwrite the Play It Smart program, which serves the twofold purpose of enabling athletes to achieve academically in high school so that they can qualify to pursue their dreams in college. With the PeyBack Foundation’s funding the Play It Smart program at Manual and Northwest, Indianapolis is the first city in the nation to have all its public schools involved in Play It Smart initiatives. Following distribution in November, the PeyBack Foun-

dation Resource Council will have distributed $100,000 in grants to 17 different community agencies in Indiana, Tennessee and New Orleans. The following grants will be distributed this month. • Shepherd Community (Indianapolis), $5,000 • CASA (Indianapolis), $3,000 • Indianapolis Institute for Families, Inc. (Indianapolis), $5,000 • AYS, Inc. (Indianapolis),

$5,000 • Police Athletic League (Indianapolis), $5,000 • Indiana Youth Institute (Indianapolis), $5,000 • CASA (Knoxville), $3,000 • SOPE Project (Knoxville), $5,000 • Desire Street Academy (New Orleans), $9,000 • For the Children Literacy Program (New Orleans), $5,000 TOTAL: $50,000 The following grants were issued in April of 2002.

• Assistance League (Indianapolis), $7,500 • Day Nursery (Indianapolis), $5,000 • T.O.U.G.H. (Indianapolis), $2,500 • Oaks Academy (Indianapolis), $8,000 • Jireh Sports (Indianapolis), $10,000 • Emerald Youth Foundation (Knoxville), $10,000 • Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeast Louisiana, $7,000 TOTAL: $50,000

f

I