INDIANAPOLIS (WDRB) – Pre-game chatter from the Crossroads
Classic at Bankers Life Fieldhouse where dozens of NBA scouts are filing in to
watch Indiana play Butler, followed by Purdue vs. Notre Dame:
*They're selling standing room tickets for this event.
Bankers Life seats 18,165. Tickets in the lower bowl have been split evenly between
the four participating schools. The upper arena is expected to be 75 percent
Indiana fans.
*Indiana's participation in this event remains a primary
reason that I wouldn't expect an IU-Louisville game in Indianapolis. As long as
his team is playing either Butler or Notre Dame here every season, IU coach Tom
Crean is unlikely to give up a home game to play the Cardinals here.
*Derek Elston, Indiana's senior forward, is dressed and might make his first appearance after having knee surgery in early November.
*Word around the Butler program is that former Bulldogs'
guard Chris Harrison-Docks finished his first-semester classroom work this week
and he is expected to land at Western Kentucky.
Strange case. Harrison-Docks, the son of former Kentucky
guard Chris Harrison, was a true freshman at Butler. But he left the program
before the team's first game. He played high school basketball in Okemos,
Mich., where he was ranked a three-star recruit.
*Game one will be an Eastern High School Class of 2011
reunion – Remy Abell for Indiana, Kameron Woods for Butler.
Wood is averaging about 12 minutes a game for Brad Stevens
off the bench and shooting better than 63 percent from the field. He's yet to
score in double figures.
Abell has made 10 of 15 three-point shots, averaging 7.1
points off the bench.
*This game will be Butler's fifth against a program ranked
first nationally. The Bulldogs are 0-4, but they have won five straight here at
Bankers Life, including a game against Purdue in this event last season.
Copyright 2012 WDRB News. All Rights Reserved.
They're selling standing room tickets for the IU, Butler, Notre Dame, Purdue doubleheader in Indianapolis.
