Indiana University Women’s Basketball commit Lenee Beaumont named Illinois Ms. Basketball
After leading her team to a runner up finish at State this winter, Benet Academy senior guard Lenee Beaumont was named the 2023 Ms. Basketball of Illinois by the Chicago Tribune and the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association. Beaumont averaged 19 points per game and 7 rebounds for the Redwings, who made it to the State championship game, before falling in double overtime to O’Fallon. The Indiana University basketball commit scored 27 points in the game to lead the team. The senior also had the assist that led to the game-winning basket in the Supersectional victory over Kenwood.
Beaumont is the second Ms. Basketball of Illinois winner for Benet Academy. Kathleen Doyle earned the award in 2016 after leading the Redwings to back-to-back State championship victories. Doyle then went on to be an All-Conference performer at Iowa and was selected in the 2020 WNBA Draft. A first team All-State selection, Beaumont was also named the 2023 Illinois Gatorade Player of the Year earlier this season.
Indiana University Football’s Tervell Mullen enters the Transfer Portal
The college football transfer portal reopened on Saturday following spring practice, and Indiana had its first entry on Wednesday. Cornerback Trevell Mullen announced on Twitter that he has decided to enter the transfer portal. Mullen was Indiana’s seventh-highest recruit in program history, a consensus four-star recruit and the No. 254 player in the class of 2022 out of Coconut Creek High School in Florida, according to 247Sports. Mullen is listed at 5-foot-11 and 163 pounds.
Coach Tom Allen recruited the highest-ranked class in program history in 2022, but its top two players, Mullen and Dasan McCullough, who now plays for Oklahoma, both left the program after one season. Trevell is the younger brother of former Indiana cornerback Tiawan Mullen, who was a first-team All-American during the 2020 season and declared for the NFL Draft following his senior year in 2022. Trevell redshirted the 2022 season in his first year at Indiana. He was named special teams scout team player of the week against Western Kentucky and co-defensive scout team player of the week against Rutgers. With the departure of his older brother Tiawan, as well as Jaylin Williams, Indiana has two starting cornerback spots up for grabs. Allen added Texas transfer Jamier Johnson and Texas Tech transfer Kobee Minor to the roster this offseason to compete for those spots, along with returning players like James Monds III and Jamari Sharpe.
Indiana University Baseball gets midweek win at Cincinnati
It got a little tense in the ninth inning, but a flyball to center field ended an 11-9 victory for the Indiana baseball program at Cincinnati on Wednesday evening at UC Baseball Stadium. Indiana (27-11) scored in each of the first three innings to build a 7-0 lead, thanks in large part to a five-run second inning. Cincinnati (15-23) got four runs in the bottom of the fifth, but IU got those runs back with four runs in the top of the seventh. The Bearcats put up five runs in the ninth inning to cut into the final deficit.
Senior Phillip Glasser set the top at the top of the lineup with two hits, one walk, one hit-by-pitch and four runs scored in the contest. His first inning baes hit moved his reached base streak to 37 games. Freshman Tyler Cerny had two extra base hits – including a home run – and drove in three RBIs. With three RBIs in a return to his hometown, freshman Devin Taylor now has 11 multi-RBI games on the season, and he hit his ninth home run of the season to move his reached base streak to 27 games. Freshman Baryden Risedorph (2-0) picked up the win with four scoreless innings of work in the start. He allowed just two hits and struck out a career-high seven batters. Four Indiana relief pitchers allowed nine runs on nine hits with five walks and nine strikeouts.
Kerrington Cross drove in five RBIs in the contest on a 3-for-5 night at the plate and Kameron Guidry drove in two RBIs. Cole Harting and Lauden Brooks each scored two runs, with Brooks posting a two-hit night. Starting pitcher Tommy O’Connor (0-1) took the loss with six runs allowed on three hits over 1 1/3 innings of work. A three-game series with Ohio University kicks off this evening with a 6pm first pitch. All three games can be found on B1G+ and can be heard on the Indiana Sports Radio Network via IUHoosiers.com/Audio.
Indiana University Men’s Basketball commit Gabe Cupps wins Tournament in Italy
Indiana University Men’s Basketball Commit Gabe Cupps and Team Ohio won the Junior International Tournament in Lissone, Italy. Cupps was selected to play for Team Ohio, which featured some of the top players in the state and his father, Brook, as the coach. Team Ohio started the tournament on April 6 with a dominant 120-54 win over AP Galvi Lissone, and Italian team. Cupps scored 16 points on 7-for-14 shooting, 2-for-4 from 3-point range, with seven assists, six rebounds and zero turnovers. He said the style of play was definitely different from the United States. Every player could pass and shoot, and there was constant screening, moving and cutting, with little focus on isolation basketball.
Cupps thought the biggest adjustment was how the game was officiated, saying the referees called more hand-checks and didn’t allow contact at the rim. Different from high school, there was also a 24-second shot clock, the lanes were wider with more lenient rules on lane violations and there was no goaltending violation. Although the style of play was different, Cupps said it didn’t take long for him to adjust. Team Ohio advanced to play on April 7 against Bayern Monaco, a German team with players from various youth national teams. Team Ohio took care of business with a 102-74 win, as Cupps scored 16 points on 7-for-14 shooting, 2-for-5 from three, with three assists, three rebounds, two steals, one block and zero turnovers.
Following a day off on the 8th, Cupps and Team Ohio resumed play on April 9 against KK Rijeka, a Croatian team. And again, Team Ohio put up impressive numbers in the 117-84 win. Along with five other players at 15 points or more, Cupps scored 17 points on 7-for-12 shooting, 2-for-6 from three, with three assists, three rebounds and zero turnovers. Cupps felt these games helped him develop as a player, especially because of the level of unknown in a new environment. Later that day, Team Ohio had its closest game of the tournament at that point, but still managed a 113-99 win over College Borgomanero, an Italian team. Cupps had his highest-scoring game of the tournament, dropping 23 points on 9-for-18 shooting, 3-for-8 from three, seven assists, four rebounds, one steal and zero turnovers. With this win, Team Ohio advanced to the championship of the Junior International Tournament in Lissone, where they’d face UEB Cividale, another Italian team. As Cupps stood on the court before the championship game, he took a second to embrace the moment.
As the title game carried on, it became clear that Team Ohio was in for a challenge. UEB Cividale took a five-point lead into the fourth quarter, and Team Ohio was in the midst of its worst shooting game of the tournament. With Team Ohio going 3-for-35 from 3-point range, and Cupps shooting 3-for-14 overall, his long-time friend and AAU teammate Reed Sheppard started to take over in the fourth quarter. He finished the game with 26 points, sinking four three pointers and going perfect at the free throw line. Cupps found other ways to contribute, grabbing five rebounds, dishing out three assists, and perhaps most importantly, continuing his run of taking care of the ball as the team’s point guard. Across five games and nearly 150 minutes of action, Cupps finished the tournament with zero turnovers. And by the time the final buzzer sounded in Lissone, Team Ohio was crowned champions with an 83-75 win. Like so many times before, Cupps, who had a 95-18 record at Centerville High School, went out as a winner in his final game playing for his father, alongside Sheppard who was named tournament MVP.
This tournament would mark the last time he played for his father, Brook Cupps, who has coached Gabe his entire life. The two recently wrapped up their final season together at Centerville High School, where they were 2021 Division I state champions, state runners-up in 2022 and reached the state semifinals in 2023. Cupps will graduate as the program’s all-time leader in wins (95), points (1,593), assists (576), steals (199) and career free throw percentage (83.3). Cupps will be playing in the OHSBCA North-South All-Star game on April 28, and will head to IU on June 1.
Penn’s Markus Burton named 2023 Indiana Mr. Basketball Markus Burton of Penn HS in Mishawaka has been named 2023 Indiana Mr. Basketball during the Indiana High School Sports Awards banquet presented by the Indiana Pacers Wednesday night at Clowes Memorial Hall on the Butler University Campus. Burton is the first prep player from the South Bend/Mishawaka area to earn the coveted No. 1 jersey as the state’s top senior since 1978, when former South Bend LaSalle forward David Magley was recognized. Magley went on to play collegiately at the University of Kansas. Burton will stay closer to home and play next season at Notre Dame for new head coach Micah Shrewsberry. He will be the first Indiana Mr. Basketball to play at Notre Dame since 2009 when former Washington High School standout Luke Zeller closed his collegiate career. Zeller earned Mr. Basketball in 2005.
Burton will be the third Indiana Mr. Basketball to play at Notre Dame since 2000. The last point guard to earn the honor and play for the Irish was former Indianapolis Pike standout Chris Thomas. A four-year starter, Thomas ranks fourth in Notre Dame history for points (2,195), first in assists (833), steals (244) and minutes played (4,814). He started all 128 games of his collegiate career and has the only triple-double in Notre Dame history, recorded in his first collegiate game. Prior to winning Mr. Basketball in 2001, Thomas helped Pike to a state championship with a victory over Penn.
Burton led the state in scoring (30.3 ppg.). He scored a school record 909 points. He finished his prep career as the leading scorer in Saint Joseph County history (2,273), good for 20th in state history. He shot 58.2 percent from the field, 42.5 percent from 3 and 87.1 percent from the foul line. He led the Kingsmen in assists (154), rebounds (171), steals (108) and minutes (782). Penn lost only to eventual Class 4-A state champion Ben Davis in late December and to Class 4-A runner-up Kokomo in the Michigan City semi state. All of it wasn’t enough to earn Penn, which finished a program-best 28-2, its first state championship, but it was enough to earn Burton the state’s highest individual honor. He couldn’t get the Kingsmen to Indianapolis to win the state’s top team award as he was one of six Mr. Basketball finalists. Also considered were power forward Xavier Booker (Indianapolis Cathedral), swingman Myles Colvin (Heritage Christian), power forward Zane Doughty (Ben Davis), swingman Joey Hart (Linton-Stockton) and forward Mason Jones (Valparaiso).
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