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Featured Published Work
From 2-7 to sectional champions, Monrovia football has one question: 'Why not us?'
Devin Voss
Three weeks ago, Monrovia's football team wasn't sure what the future held. It was the start of the IHSAA tournament, which provided a blank slate of sorts, but all for what? Sitting at 2-7, the odds were stacked against them.
Sure, a first-round draw against Purdue Poly was favorable, but what about after that? Speedway, who defeated the Bulldogs' 41-16 in the regular season? Tri-West, Western Boone or Danville, three teams that are a perineal threat in Class 3A? This is Monrovia's first year being classified in 3A, surely, they couldn't compete with the likes of them.
The Bulldogs opened the postseason with a 53-14 win over the Techies, then followed it up with a gutsy 21-20 victory over the Sparkplugs. Last Friday, Monrovia captured the school's first sectional title in Class 3A, taking down Danville 19-14.
The team convinced itself that it can compete with those teams. Now, heading into Friday's matchup with No. 8 Owen Valley (12-0), it's asking itself one question: "Why not us?"
Minnett Looking to Improve as a Leader Heading into Senior Season
Devin Voss
Crossover, step back, swish, a common sequence that IUPUI fans and opposing teams know too well. Quite frankly, there’s not many out there better at creating their own shot than Jaylen Minnett. Minnett, a senior guard for the Jaguars, has spent the last three years of his college career doing what he knows best.
Scoring.
It’s all he’s ever been asked to do. Entering his final collegiate season, Minnett wants to do a little bit more than that. He wants to lead.
“This year’s all about winning,” Minnett said. “All about taking that next step, leading, and winning games.”
Minnett’s no stranger to leading. In 2016, as a junior at Terre Haute South High School, Minnett averaged 21.6 points, 5.0 assists, and 4.8 rebounds, guiding the Braves to their first sectional title since 2009. He also scored 39 points to upset North Central 94-82 in the IHSAA class 4A regional semi-final, a team which had previously defeated the likes of Class 4A giants in Cathedral, Warren Central, and Lawrence Central.
Leading a team in Division I basketball and leading a team in high school are almost entirely different things. It’s more of a challenge, especially when eight of the 15 players are incoming transfers. That hasn’t deterred Minnett though, it has encouraged him. In fact, one player he’s helped make the transition to IUPUI is junior guard Bobby Harvey...
Once An Afterthought, Baylor Reaches First Final Four Since 1950
Devin Voss
INDIANAPOLIS — As the Baylor Bears tossed confetti into the air, cut down the nets, and hoisted their regional trophy following an 81-72 victory over the Arkansas Razorbacks in the South Regional championship game Monday night, a certain year continued to be mentioned.
1950.
That’s the last time Baylor made a Final Four. In those days, 6-foot-3-inch center Don Heathington and head coach Bill Henderson led a 14-13 Bears squad to an improbable victory over a 22-12 BYU team headlined by Mel Hutchins, a four-time NBA all-star and 2nd overall pick of the 1951 draft. A lot has changed in basketball since those Bears last advanced 71 years ago.
The NCAA Tournament now includes 68 teams. Back then the tournament held only eight, grouped into Eastern and Western regions. A four-region format with national semifinal games was two years away. That Baylor team averaged 53 points per game; these Bears average 83. Every player on the 1950 roster was 6-feet-3 or less. Today, the third-shortest player on Baylor’s 2021 roster, guard Jared Butler, is 6-foot-3.
Suddenly, two very different teams have something special to share.
“It means a tremendous lot to me but even more to the program,” senior MaCio Teague said. “No person is bigger than the program. What we did was history here. Really happy for Coach Drew. He’s been here for 18 years.”
After the success of the mid-20th century with its Final Four appearances in 1948 and 1950, Baylor basketball fell off the map. Between Henderson’s departure in 1961 and head coach Scott Drew’s arrival in 2003, Baylor had an overall record of 542-597. Four coaches — Gene Iba, Darrel Johnson, Harry Miller, and Dave Bliss — were hired and dismissed from 1985 to 2003. After their 1950 Southwestern Conference title, the Bears didn’t claim another conference championship win until earlier this month.
Given a chance to rebuild Baylor’s program following a successful one-year stint with Valparaiso, Drew has built one of the strongest programs in the nation. But it wasn’t always easy...
How No. 15 Oral Roberts shocked No. 2 Ohio State
Devin Voss
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — When Oral Roberts arrived in Indianapolis for the NCAA tournament, the Golden Eagles felt there was little significance in being a No. 15 seed. They were aware they would be looked at as an underdog, but the Summit League victors wouldn’t let a number determine their approach against No. 2 Ohio State. That mentality paved the way for the Golden Eagles’ 75-72 overtime win over the Buckeyes on Friday afternoon, an upset that was predicted by few, but fueled by one in head coach Paul Mills.
“I thought we would win, our guys thought we would win,” Mills said.
Mills knew they were going to win the game. It would be difficult to convince him otherwise. He had confidence in his players, especially in star guard Max Abmas and forward Kevin Obanor. Both played pivotal roles in the outcome. Abmas couldn’t be stopped in the first half, scorching the Ohio State defense with 18 points on 5-of-7 shooting from deep.
As Ohio State’s defense keyed in on Abmas, Obanor stepped up. He scored an impressive 20 points in the second half and overtime combined while going 7-for-7 from the free-throw line, including two with 14.9 seconds left, tying the game at 64 and sending the game into overtime.
In seeing Obanor make clutch free throws, Mills alluded to his early season work ethic as a source.
“When our players get to campus, we ask them to make 20,000 shots and they got a six-week period to do it,” Mills said. “Kevin Obanor did it in six days. Going 7-for-7 from the free throw line kind of speaks to his level of work ethic.”
Mills enjoys the other traits which Obanor and Abmas share...
Non-sports Featured Work
GLANCING AT HISTORY THROUGH A VIRTUAL LENS
Devin Voss
As tourists wander the streets of modern Rome, imaginations go rampant trying to recreate the rubble that remains from one of the world’s largest empires. The republican Forum Romanum, once adorned with lavish basilicae, massive temples, and decorative monuments, is all but column bases, temple fragments, and acid-washed monuments. However, Dr. Elizabeth Thill, a classics professor at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, is working with a team to recreate what was once the largest city in the western world.
The application of virtual reality has created new possibilities for scholars and students alike to dive into history books. VR provides an opportunity to interact with history in a way that once was thought possible only by time travel. Fortunately for Thill, an Oculus device can now serve as a virtual playground of endless opportunity, eliminating any need for a magical time machine.
“VR is definitely going to change the way we learn,” Thill said. “If I can show my students the actual buildings in Google Earth, there’s really no justification to make everyone go back to staring at 2D pictures, angle by angle.”
Thill developed her love for archeology through reading books and watching programs on TV, notably on The Learning Channel, now TLC, and the History Channel. Her interest in classics grew during high school due to a three-year Latin requirement. With a strong interest already brewing for archaeology, a family trip to Ireland sealed her passion.
“We visited a lot of archaeological sites,” Thill said. “I was hooked after that. I liked archaeology’s mixture of storytelling and quantitative data.”
Following high school, Thill obtained her bachelor’s and master’s in classical archaeology from the University of Michigan. Five years later, she earned a doctorate from the University of North Carolina. During her time in college and thereafter, Thill gained valuable experience within her field by taking visits abroad to Italy and Cyprus to excavate, study, and perform research.
“I love working abroad,” she said. “It’s always a challenge and you learn so much, about archaeology, about other cultures, about yourself. It requires a lot of flexibility and faith that things will turn out ok in the end, and it always has for me.”
Thill always knew she could follow similar footsteps as her father, who was also a professor. In 2013, Thill landed a job as an Assistant Professor of Classical Studies at IUPUI. One year later she became the Program Director of Classical Studies, a title which she continues to retain...
More Published Works
For the UCLA Bruins, Another Final Four — The Hard Way
It has been 10 years since Virginia Commonwealth University, led by coach Shaka Smart, made one of the greatest, and improbable, runs in NCAA Tournament history. The 11th seeded Rams were the first, and only, team to make it from the First Four to the Final Four...
Arkansas Survives Oral Roberts Bid, Reaches First Regional Final Since 1995
With less than five seconds left on the clock, Arkansas freshman guard Davonte Davis found the ball in his hands. Just a year ago, Davis led his high school basketball team at Jacksonville to the Arkansas state tournament. With the surge of COVID-19, that game was canceled. But now, a year later, Davis, with three seconds left, pulled up for a fadeaway from mid-range, hand in his face, in the biggest game he has ever played in up to this point in his career...
Michigan Advances, Guided by Howard’s Six Pillars of Success
When Juwan Howard returned to the University of Michigan as its head basketball coach last season, he made it a point of emphasis to establish six pillars of success — discipline, family, all-in, sacrifice, trust, and accountability. The No. 1 seed Wolverines showcased a little bit of each pillar in their 82-66 victory Saturday over No. 16 seed Texas Southern, notching their 62nd all-time tournament win...
Unsatisfied, Unexpected: Oregon State Reaches First Elite 8 Since 1982
As the Oregon State Beavers extended their unexpected journey, coach Wayne Tinkle’s response to a question helps explain how his team is making history.
“Somebody asked me if I was going to be satisfied,” Tinkle said. “Kind of challenged me. You probably are satisfied with Sweet 16, a couple wins…I almost wanted to jump through the phone and knock him out.
“These guys aren’t satisfied,” he went on. “They’re not going to be. We challenged them in the Pac-12 championship. Don’t be satisfied.”
A coach’s challenge and his team’s confident response changed the storyline of the NCAA tournament on Saturday afternoon...
IUPUI Volleyball Falls to Youngstown State in Heartbreaker
The IUPUI volleyball team lost 3-2 to Youngstown State at home Wednesday evening, dropping their season record to 6-12 and 2-3 in the Horizon League. After taking the first two sets 25-21 and 28-26, the Jaguars dropped the remaining three 25-19, 25-22, and 15-13...
Crossroads College Football: Purdue Loses Leader to Injury
The world of sports can often be unpredictable.
Some could say that unpredictability is what drives the passion of fanhood, others may say unpredictability is what keeps sports trucking. Underdogs win, competitors rise from the depths of the unknown, and new champions are crowned on a yearly basis. Unfortunately, there’s another set of unpredictable circumstances that surround sports: injury...