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Trayce Jackson Davis Named Preseason All-Big Ten
Indiana Men’s Basketball sophomore forward Trayce Jackson was one of five players unanimously selected to the 2021-22 Preseason All-Big Ten Team. Jackson-Davis, the leading returning scorer in the Big Ten, has also been named first-team 2021-22 Preseason All-American by noted analyst Dick Vitale and ESPN.com, Preseason First Team All-American by Athlon’s, Preseason FAP First Team, and Second Team by the Blue-Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook. The Center Grove standout was also selected to the Karl Malone Watch List. He started all 27 games last season and was the only high major player to average at least 19.0 points and 9.0 rebounds during last season. He was fourth in the Big Ten in scoring (19.1), second in rebounding (9.0), fifth in field goal percentage (51.7%) and blocked shots (1.4) and was third in minutes played (34.2). In league games only, he finished third in scoring (18.4), second in rebounding (9.2), fourth in field goal percentage (50.6%) and blocked shots (1.4) and third in minutes played (34.2). He is the first returning first, second, or third team All- American for the Hoosiers since Calbert Cheaney in 1993. TJD became the first Hoosier to be named to the preseason AP All-American team since Cody Zeller was selected in 2012. He is also the first two-time preseason All-Big Ten pick since Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell was selected in both 2015 and ’16.
IU’s Assembly Hall Turns 50 This Year
IU Athletics is set to celebrate the 50th birthday of its most iconic facility. On September 12th 1971, the doors opened for the first time at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, Indiana University’s new $26.6 million, 17,500-seat indoor arena. Originally designed to host athletic contests, concerts, conventions, and other large campus and community events, it welcomed many big names outside of athletics in its early days. Bob Hope, Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, the Rolling Stones, the Eagles, and Elton John is just a sampling of the big-name entertainers that wowed crowds when the building was in its infancy. In more recent years The Dalai Lama, Barack Obama, Bill and Hillary Clinton, and John Mellencamp have filled the seats for events. But for all the legendary performers, politicians, and dignitaries that set up stage in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, what the facility is best known for is serving as the home of Indiana Basketball for the last half century. The facility’s opening coincided with the arrival of legendary IU Men’s Basketball Coach Bob Knight and a nearly unequaled era of men’s basketball dominance followed. Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall was home to three IU men’s basketball NCAA Championship teams, 14 men’s regular season Big Ten Championship teams, a 50-game winning streak from 1991-95 and a 35-game win streak from 1973-76. On the women’s side, the facility welcomed 13,007 fans to see Coach Teri Moren‘s team win the 2018 WNIT Championship team, and it has also been the home of two women’s Big Ten Championship squads (one regular season, one postseason). For both men’s and women’s basketball, it has consistently attracted some of the nation’s largest and loudest crowds, creating a homecourt advantage and atmosphere that is second to none. After a year away due to the COVID-19 pandemic, those large and loud crowds are set to return to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall during the 2021-22 season. Throughout the course of the upcoming men’s and women’s basketball seasons, fans will be treated to a birthday celebration of sorts, as many of the great moments from the last 50 years of basketball in the facility will be recognized. Starting with Men’s Basketball’s November 9th season opener against Eastern Michigan, IU Athletics will unveil its ranking of the top men’s basketball games ever played at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. The game-by-game countdown, which is being sponsored by Indiana Kitchen, will culminate with the announcement of the Number 1 men’s basketball game ever played in the building during the March 2, 2022, regular season home finale against Rutgers. A recap of each game, along with video and/or photos from the contest, will be played on the video board during each home contest. An expanded version of the account of the game, including commentary from former IU players who participated in the contest, will be released the following day on IU Men’s Basketball’s social media channels. A similar Indiana Kitchen-sponsored countdown and announcement plan will occur for IU Women’s Basketball, which played a handful of games in the building in the early 1970s before moving full-time into the building in the mid-1970s. Throughout the course of the season, IU Athletics will reveal the top women’s games ever played in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, culminating with the announcement of the No. 1 women’s game ever played in the facility at the Feb. 20, 2022, home finale against Iowa. An expanded version of each top game will be shared on the IU Women’s Basketball social media channels the following day as well.
Indiana Pair Chosen to Represent USA Diving
Indiana University freshman divers Carson Tyler and Quinn Henninger will represent Team USA at the upcoming 2021 Junior Pan American Championships, November 25-December 5 in Cali, Colombia. Tyler will compete in the Platform dive, while Henninger is set for the 3-Meter dive. Tyler has recent experience in USA Diving competition, winning two golds and one silver medal at the UANA Pan American Diving Championships in early October. Not long after, the Moultrie, Georgia, native was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week after setting a pool record in the 3-Meter dive (408.00) in Indiana’s win at No. 24 Northwestern, his first collegiate dual meet.
Like Tyler, Henninger has posted NCAA Zone Qualifying scores in every event he’s competed in for Indiana this season. Henninger set his highest marks at the Northwestern dual meet, with marks of 360.70 and 350.00 in the 3M and 1M, respectively
NFL Combine to Stay in Indianapolis for 2022
The NFL Scouting Combine will be back in Indianapolis for 2022 at Lucas Oil Stadium. The Combine was canceled in 2021 due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. The league says the location of the 2023 combine will be determined through a bidding process involving Indy, Dallas and Los Angeles. Indianapolis has been the home of the NFL Combine since 1987. Earlier this year, the NFL announced the combine would be open to bids starting with the 2023 event. The league did not say when the winning bid for 2023 would be announced. While this would be the first official bidding process for the combine, it is not the first time Indy has had to compete for the event. In 2019, Visit Indy told Inside Indiana Business the city was competing with other major cities, including Dallas and Los Angeles, to host the combine. According to Visit Indy, the NFL Combine generates about $10 million in economic impact for the city.