Author: Collinisl

Five Indiana signees show well in Derby Festival Classic

By COLLIN O’CONNOR ISL Correspondent With the departures of Victor Oladipo, Cody Zeller and Remy Abell all occurring within a week-and-a-half span, it has been a sad off-season for Indiana fans up to this point as they have watched the core from its 2012-13 Big Ten Championship team all decide to explore opportunities outside of Bloomington. However, Friday night […]

O’Connor: Catching up with 2013 Butler signee Andrew Chrabascz

By COLLIN O’ CONNOR ISL Correspondent With Thursday being the beginning of the spring recruiting period, it seemed like a good time to catch up with a Butler signee. Andrew Chrabascz contributed to Cushing Academy’s (Mass.) 24-5 season after committing to Brad Stevens this past August. Listed at 6-7 and 210 pounds, Chrabascz may be […]

Oladipo and Zeller gone, Hoosiers will bring new identity in 2013-14

By COLLIN O’CONNOR ISL Correspondent Just a few days removed from the NCAA Championship game that Indiana fans envisioned watching their team compete in at the beginning of the season, the Hoosiers’ biggest stars have decided that it is in their best interest to declare for the NBA Draft. Cody Zeller and Victor Oladipo both […]

Hoosiers: Beating Syracuse’s 2-3 zone is key

By COLLIN O’CONNOR ISL Correspondent Ever since Jim Boeheim took over the Syracuse basketball program, his famous 2-3 zone has become synonymous with the program’s success. Through recruiting long, athletic players that perfectly fit into this defensive system, Boeheim has built up a program that features a team this season that he says is good as […]

With win over Michigan, Indiana wins Big Ten

By COLLIN O’CONNOR ISL Correspondent It’s hard not to look at sports romantically sometimes. There’s just some stories that come from these games that are hard not to look back on with a story-book feel. This group of seniors for Indiana comes with a story like that, and it’s hard to ignore. Each one of […]

Indiana Hoosiers: Five things to watch for Tuesday night vs. Ohio State

By COLLIN O’CONNOR ISL Correspondent With Michigan’s win over Michigan State and Wisconsin’s loss to Purdue on Sunday, Indiana clinched a share of the Big Ten Championship and a shot at winning it outright if the Hoosiers are able to come away with a victory on Tuesday at home against Ohio State. The significance of this […]

O’Connor: Breaking down VCU’s HAVOC defense

By COLLIN O’CONNOR ISL Correspondent HAVOC, what VCU head coach Shaka Smart calls his team’s intensity on defense, is something that has made this basketball program well known over the past few years and during its Final Four run in 2011. “We are going to wreak havoc on our opponents’ psyche and their plan of attack,” […]

Andrew Smith likely to play as Butler looks to bounce back against Fordham

By COLLIN O’CONNOR ISL Correspondent Signs are pointing to Butler center Andrew Smith playing against Fordham on Saturday after he sat out Wednesday’s game against Charlotte with an abdominal injury. Part of that may have to do with the Bulldogs’ poor performance this past week without him. He also has improved much faster than coaches initially expected, definitely […]

Indiana’s Victor Oladipo flying up NBA draft boards

By COLLIN O’CONNOR ISL Correspondent Everyone has seen his highlight-reel plays: the steals, the dunks, the acrobatic passes on the interior. Victor Oladipo’s athleticism has never been in question since he arrived at Indiana, but his abilities as a basketball player were very raw coming out of high school. Two years into his career with […]

Hoosiers look to continue impressive run in Champaign

By COLLIN O’CONNOR ISL Correspondent Indiana this season has become what some people probably never expected: an elite half-court defensive team and a team that is undefeated on the road, the last remaining team in the Big Ten with that mark. A lot of that has to do with the emergence of Victor Oladipo as […]