Trayce Jackson-Davis announces return to IU Men’s Basketball for 2022-23 season
Indiana University men’s basketball All-American forward Trayce Jackson-Davis has announced he has withdrawn from the 2022 NBA Draft and will return to play his fourth season with the Hoosiers. Due to COVID, Jackson-Davis will technically have two years of eligibility should he choose to use it. Jackson-Davis enters his fourth season with the Hoosiers ranked 15th all-time at IU in scoring (1,565), 19th in scoring average (16.9), 9th in rebounds (797), 7th in blocked shots (178), and 7th in field goal percentage (55.8). He was named a third-team All-American as a sophomore, has earned All-District honors each of the last two seasons, and has been a third-team, first-team and second-team All-Big Ten choice in his first three campaigns with the Hoosiers. He will be the third leading returning scorer in college basketball next season behind Antoine Davis from Detroit and Max Abmas from Oral Roberts.
The Center Grove product ranked among the conference leaders in points per game (18.3; 6th in the Big Ten), rebounds per game (8.1; 6th), field goal percentage (58.9%; 4th), free throws made (147; 5th), free throws attempted (218; 2nd) and total blocked shots (81, t-1st) in 35 starts for the Hoosiers in his third season on campus. Jackson-Davis anchored a Hoosier defense that was ranked as the most efficient in the league by KenPom (24th in the nation) and held opponents to a league-low 39.6% shooting from the floor. Jackson-Davis has recorded 32 double-doubles and two 30-point/10-rebound performances in his career.
During the 2022 Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament, he averaged 25.3 points and 8.3 rebounds per contest on 34-of-51 shooting (66.7%) from the floor. Jackson-Davis broke five program records during the tournament run, including: single game points (31), single game made field goals (15), total points (76), total made shots (34), and total rebounds (25). He was named All-Tournament for his efforts. The Hoosiers finished 21-14 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2016 defeating Wyoming before falling to Saint Mary’s. The Hoosiers advanced to the Big Ten Tournament semifinals for the first time since 2013 after knocking off Michigan and top-seeded Illinois.
Ali Patberg joins IU Women’s Basketball staff as Team and Recruiting Coordinator
Former Indiana standout Ali Patberg has joined her alma mater on staff as a team and recruitment coordinator. Patberg wrapped up her career at IU as a four-time All-Big Ten honoree in 2021-22 as she led Indiana to back-to-back Sweet Sixteen appearances and three NCAA Tournaments. She finished ninth in all-time scoring at IU with 1,752 points, third in assists (527) and a career average of 14.2 points per game which ranked eight. She was a two-time Nancy Lieberman Award finalist and WBCA All-American honorable mention. Patberg was drafted 33rd overall in the 2022 WNBA Draft by the Indiana Fever.
In her final season in 2021-22, Patberg native averaged 11.6 points, 3.4 assists, 3.2 rebounds and shot 42.6 percent from the floor. She was one of three players all-time to earn four All-Big Ten honors in her Indiana career and started in 123 career games. The Columbus, Ind. native also excelled in the classroom where she was a 2019 CoSIDA Academic All-American, four-time All-Big Ten selection and is a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar. She holds a pair of degrees from Indiana, a bachelor’s degree in finance from IU’s Kelley School of Business in May 2022 and a master’s degree in recreational administration in May 2022.
Indiana Women’s Basketball lands Texas Guard Juliana LaMendola for 2023
Indiana women’s basketball has added its second player in the class of 2023. The Hoosiers picked up a commitment from 6-foot-1 guard Julianna LaMendola from Coppell High School in Coppell Texas which is a suburb of Dallas. She visited IU’s campus in late April and relayed her decision to IU’s staff on Saturday. Indiana recruited her for more than a year.
LaMendola joins guard Lenee Beaumont, who committed from the Chicago area in April. LaMendola plays with ProSkills 17U on the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL) circuit, and her team recently won the prestigious Boo Williams event in Hampton, Va.
She led Coppell to the area championship this year before the Cowgirls fell in the Class 6A regional quarterfinals. LaMendola was named District 6-6A MVP, and she was selected to the Texas Class 6A All-State team. She scored 16.5 points, grabbed 9.1 rebounds, dished four assists, and swiped 1.9 steals per game, and she recorded a 54.7 shooting percentage. LaMendola Chose the Hoosiers over Northwestern, Illinois, Penn State, Vanderbilt, TCU, SMU and South Florida.
Indiana Cutters game at Cin City Buccaneers canceled due to weather
The Indiana Cutters game at Cin City Buccaneers was canceled Saturday Night due to the weather. The Game was scheduled for 7 pm at Walnut Hills HS in Cincinnati. The Blue-Collar Football League announced at 1 pm Saturday afternoon that all five games that were scheduled would be canceled because of the line of storms that moved across Illinois into Indiana and were headed into Ohio late Saturday afternoon and early evening.
The Cutters and the rest of the league will be off for the Memorial Day Holiday and will host the Columbus Gladiators Saturday June 4th in the Home Opener.
Indianapolis Indians Coverage
Indians Take Two Out Of Three Over the Weekend to Win Series Over Toledo
The Indianapolis Indians closed out the six-game series with a 7-1-win Sunday afternoon over the Toledo Mudhens to win the series 4-2. The Indians won Friday Night 5-2 while Toledo won Saturday Night 12-2. Both Teams are 21-19 on the season. The Indians travel to Saint Paul Minnesota tomorrow night to start a seven-game series with the Saints. The teams will play a doubleheader Wednesday Night to make up for the April 14th game that was postponed due to inclement weather from the previous series in Saint Paul between the two teams.
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