Mike Davis' '04 Recruits: Where are they now?

Josh Smith - tearing up the NBA (and winning a slam dunk contest) averaging 18 points, 8 boards, 4 assists, 3 blocks and 2 steals per game. His combined blocks+assists (4.9) leads the league and does wonders for my fantasy team


Robert Vaden - one of the most dangerous scorers in college basketball is in his 2nd season with the Blazers, following former-IU Head Coach Mike Davis from Bloomington to Birmingham.

James Hardy - IU football's stud is entering next month's draft projected as a late-first-rounder. The 3-time All-BigTen Biletnikoff finalist is also the Hoosiers' all-time receiving leader in touchdowns (36), yards (2,690) and receptions (186)

AJ Ratliff - IU student finishing his final semester in Bloomington; one month removed from the Hoosiers squad and 4 yrs removed from Indiana's Mr. Basketball


DJ White - the lone remaining recruit from the c/o '04 is this year's BigTen Player of the Year

IU's James Hardy and Greg Middleton named 2nd Team All-Americans

Sophomore Greg Middleton leads the nation with a school-record 16 sacks and has recorded multiple sacks in six games this season. Middleton's sack total is tied for the fourth-highest in Big Ten history.
Middleton and Junior James Hardy also earned 1st team All-Conference honors, while sophomore QB Kellen Lewis, K Austin Starr and DB Tracy Porter were chosen on the 2nd team.

Rose Bowl?

► IU's defense has emerged as the NCAA leader in sacks thanks to Indy's tandem of Greg Middleton (pictured above) and Will Patterson.
► Kellen Lewis should win BigTen PoW honors after his 5 TD performance, including 200 rushing yards.
► James Hardy is only 5 TDs shy of the school record (30) after only 21 games played.
► Austin Starr (no relation) has missed only one FG in 8 attempts, including a 48-yarder last week vs WMU. This wouldn't be a compelling statistic if you haven't followed IU football for the past decade, but it's a major boost when there's 3 or 4 games each season where IU is on the short end of a single-score deficit. It was so bad that PATs weren't automatic!
► I'm still not a fan of Head Coach Bill Lynch, especially with his horrific play-calling, but Hep's upperclassmen are shining with an undefeated record heading into BigTen play. Without Michigan or Ohio $tate on the schedule this year, the Hoosiers' chances of making a bowl game are as realistic as they've been since the Trent Green era. Speaking of the aging Dolphins QB, I offer you this gem from an IndyStar article regarding Bill Bellicheat:

But Miami Dolphins quarterback Trent Green was among those doubting the sincerity of Belichick's apology, comparing the coach to the megalomaniacal Marine played by Jack Nicholson in the movie "A Few Good Men."

"Belichick is sitting there, and you know he is getting peeved that he is even in there - the audacity to bring him in and question him," Green said, laughing. "The visual I have is that eventually Belichick kind of snapped and said, 'You're darn right I (did).'"

It's a Jeep thing...