Nov. 12, 2007

By Fred Huff, Media Coordinator

It's a well-deserved honor, yet one which came as somewhat of a surprise at the Summit League's preseason media day. IUPUI's Jags were voted the conference's # 1 team in preseason voting, topping defending champion Oral Roberts by a slim three points, 396 to 393.

At the 2007 BP Top of the World Classic, IUPUI will be challenged by Portland State in the final first-round game Thursday night at the Carlson Center.

The Jags finished five full games behind Oral Roberts in final standings of the Mid-Continent Conference (now Summit League) a year ago, but there are extenuating circumstances which accounted for support showered on IUPUI this season.

Primarily it's the return to health of George Hill, a first-team all-conference member as a sophomore in 2006 who played only five games last season before being sidelined with an injury. A talented 6-2 guard, Hill averaged 18.9 points, 6 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game in just his second season at IUPUI which led to his being named to the league's first all-conference team.

The fact that the Jags have eight others among their top 11 scorers returning from last season has much to do with pre-season thinking of league followers as well.

Last season: Despite Hill's untimely setback a year ago, IUPUI managed to finish .500 for the season . . . 15-15 overall and 7-7 in the then Mid-Continent. The Jags had difficulty in putting together any kind of a streak as a win-one, lose-one pattern prevailed through much of the season. Only once, in mid-February, did IUPUI win three in a row and just twice during the season won back-to-back games.

Key personnel losses: The Jags had only two players that started every one of their 30 games last season and both have departed. David Barlow was the team's second-leading scorer with a 12.6 points-per-game average while Angelo Smith was the fourth with an 8.3 average. Also, they accounted for almost one-third of the team's rebounds, actually 303 of 1007.

Key returning players: Although he played in only five games last year, Hill is obviously the key returning player for the Jags. He may be in a class by himself as he gained all-conference first-team honors two years ago as a sophomore and has already been named the preseason player-of-the-year in the Summit League.

Nevertheless, he's not alone. Austin Montgomery, a 6-5 senior guard, has impressive credentials as well. He averaged 13.7 ppg last season while connecting on .444 of his field goal attempts and an exceptional .406 from three-point range. Montgomery was named the league's newcomer-of-the-year in 2007 after having transferred from Bowling Green and he, too, has been given preseason first-team recognition. Still a third strong outside player returning for the Jags is Gary Patterson. He averaged 11.4 ppg and, like Montgomery, is a strong perimeter player owning a .400-plus shooting average last season. He has been named to the second preseason team.

Key newcomers: With nine returning lettermen, including three starters, newcomers may have difficulty in gaining much playing time for IUPUI this season, yet coach Ron Hunter particularly likes a pair of freshmen who have joined the Jags. They are John Ashworth, a high-scoring prep standout from Indianapolis, and Christian Siakam, a 6-7, 230-pound inside threat from Cincinnati.

What the experts are saying: The Blue Ribbon Yearbook said: "This is the year for the Jaguars. They have a potential conference player of the year and three potential all-conference players to go along with a deep and experienced group that learned to persevere without its star a year ago. The Jaguars have played in the NCAA Tournament once before, but Hunter says this looks to be his best team ever."