Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer, June 24, 2015
The NBA draft is Thursday. And Jay Bilas thinks Branden Dawson is a second-round pick. Sounds about right. But I wonder: What position will he play? What offensive skills does he possess aside from grabbing rebounds and scoring on putbacks?
***
Sporting News has seven reasons why Michigan-Ohio State meets the hype in 2015-as if you really needed seven reasons. No need to call in Don King. Here is all you need: Jim Harbaugh vs. Urban Meyer. Done.
I just hope Meyer and Harbaugh stick around for 10 more years. Please, football gods. Let it happen.
***
It didn?t take former Purdue quarterback Danny Etling long to find a new home: He?s transferring to LSU.
My take? If the guy was third-string coming out of spring drills at Purdue, how on god?s green earth does he ever expect to play at LSU?
***
Winning big next season is key to the pro aspirations of Indiana?s James Blackmon and Yogi Ferrell.
The Fort Wayne News-Sentinel says both guards considered leaving school early to enter the NBA draft, Ferrell with one college season of eligibility remaining, Blackmon with three. Both decided to stay. What will make them the most marketable for the next level, coach Tom Crean says, isn't the numbers they put up next season, but the victories they help produce. Given IU projects as a top-15 team and a strong Big Ten title contender, and more, plenty of victories are possible.
?The No. 1 thing that will differentiate them is if they win, and win big,? Crean says. ?If you win big, you put yourself in a different realm. That has to be as much of a driving force as anything else. Then it's how you come back. What I've been impressed is the way they've worked.?
***
Draft pundit Lance Zierlein (who?) isn?t impressed with the accuracy of Christian Hackenberg.
Writing about 10 college QBs to watch for 2015 for NFL.com, Zierlein says: Hackenberg is purely a speculative selection for this list based on his size, arm talent and overall potential. Hackenberg's accuracy was absolutely rotten last season and he missed too many opportunities. His footwork and weight transfer are sloppy and he is below average at recognizing what defenses are doing pre-snap. However, that arm strength is a thing of beauty and he showed outstanding promise in 2013. With eight starters back on offense, Hackenberg has a good shot at a big, bounce-back season.
***
Remember when Terrelle Pryor was the No. 1 recruit in America? When he didn?t sign a letter-of-intent until weeks after national signing day? Oh, I sure do. Now, he?s doing anything he can to hang on, ditching his QB dreams and switching to receiver in hopes of keeping a football career that has been largely undistinguished alive. I don?t see Pryor cutting it at wideout.
***
Iowa hoops could be in store for a good run next season. If that happens, it will be because Jarod Uthoff excels. Now is the time to get better. And he knows it, which is why he?s at the Nike camp this summer.
"This isn't going to be a make-or-break moment for me," Uthoff told Rick Brown of HawkCentral.com. "If I don't have a good Nike event, I don't think it's going to be the end of the world. It could help my stock. But at the end of the day I'm worried about the upcoming season, and getting ready for that."
Uthoff is in position to become Iowa's third straight first-team all-Big Ten player, following the footsteps of Devyn Marble and Aaron White. And he'll be the Hawkeyes' go-to guy in 2015-16.
***
Dan Duggan of NJ.com wonders if too many early-season games are a challenge for Penn State.
After opening the season at Temple, Penn State plays five straight games at Beaver Stadium. The Nittany Lions don't leave the state of Pennsylvania until an Oct. 17 game at Ohio State. Duggan says one would think that's a best-case scenario. But Penn State athletic director Sandy Barbour said there are drawbacks to playing home games on five consecutive weekends.
"The first step is recognizing that it's not easy," Barbour said, according to the Morning Call. "It's a challenge for our fans, and frankly it's a challenge for our staff. It's a hand we were dealt somewhat by the Big Ten and somewhat by … the non-conference scheduling. It's one we obviously will seek to avoid in the future."
***
Iowa expected a drop in football season tickets. And, here it is-17 percent drop from last year.
In a release Tuesday, Iowa revealed that it has sold 32,656 season tickets to the general public as of June 19, a 17 percent drop from the 39,364 it sold in 2014. This total includes sales of all seats available in the premium seat areas inside Kinnick Stadium. The total doesn?t include most of the season tickets likely to be purchased by more than 650 new general public season ticket holders, according to the release.
***
On the other hand, basketball attendance at Northwestern is on the rise.
InsideNU.com says Northwestern basketball average attendance has actually increased every single year since the 2006-07 season. And while there hasn't been one big leap like we saw with football attendance, the progress has been remarkably steady.
***
| About Tom Dienhart | BTN.com senior writer Tom Dienhart is a veteran sports journalist who covers Big Ten football and men's basketball for BTN.com and BTN TV. Find him on Twitter and Facebook, read all of his work at btn.com/tomdienhart, and subscribe to his posts via RSS. Also, send questions to his weekly mailbag using the form below and read all of his previous answers in his reader mailbag section. |
