"That's just how I was raised. I feel like Northwood, the basketball gym felt like my home since I'm there so much, before, during and after school... I just wanted to help out. That was really it."
You'd have to catch me off the record to answer that question. The implication was clear: Now that every school can pay players -- either through direct revenue share or name, image and likeness dollars -- Big Ten schools are no longer disadvantaged in recruiting by everything from booster bag men to shoe company AAU connections.
When people think about Larry Bird, they think, 'Well he must have been an instant success, he must have been an instant star. He certainly was in the NCAA Tournament and played on national TV [right away].' All of those things are false. There is a very real reality in some alternative universe where Larry Bird doesn't become a basketball star at all.
Jaden Ivey hunts through a bible for passages to share with his followers. He evidently did not do the prep-work to place sticky tabs or bookmarks in there, so there are awkward moments of silence while Ivey flips back and forth and sniffs and mutters.
Michigan enters the afternoon tilt as a solid 7.5-point favorite against a red-hot Tennessee squad, backed by a significant home-region advantage in Chicago.
Oscar Cluff scored 21 points, Trey Kaufman-Renn had 20 and No. 18 Purdue topped No. 3 Michigan 80-72 on Sunday for the Big Ten tournament championship. Braden Smith had 14 points, 11 assists and three steals as Purdue (27-8) added to an impressive turnaround after closing the regular season with four losses in six games.
Green Bay has a +299 scoring differential, topping opponents by 9.6 points per game. It is putting up 68.9 points per game to rank 127th in college basketball and is giving up 59.3 per outing to rank 55th in college basketball.
After USC leading scorer Chad Baker-Mazara went down early in the second half with what appeared to be a knee injury, freshman Alijah Arenas knew what he needed to do. When Trojan starters Ezra Ausar and Jacob Cofie fouled out late in the second half, nothing changed. USC's game against Indiana (15-8, 6-6 Big Ten) Tuesday night at the Galen Center was close early.
Nebraska averages 79.7 points per game (19th in college basketball) while giving up 67.6 per outing (258th in college basketball). It has a +352 scoring differential overall and outscores opponents by 12.1 points per game.