Indiana Farmers Coliseum / Photo: Scott Agness – Vigilant Sports

The Horizon League officially announced on Wednesday that Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) will join the conference on July 1^st and will compete in the league this upcoming season.

The Jaguars become the tenth member of the league, replacing Valparaiso who accepted an invitation to join the Missouri Valley Conference last month.

“We are excited to welcome IUPUI to the Horizon League family,” Horizon League Commissioner Jon LeCrone said in a statement. “The Jaguars bring us tremendous competitive potential, particularly in men’s basketball, along with an engaged and energized city. Their addition solidifies our broad community partnerships in Indianapolis and is the right school at the right time.”

It was a puzzling addition for a league that values mens basketball above any other sport. The Jaguars have had just two 20-win seasons since 2004: one in 2008 with George Hill on the roster – he’s now entering his tenth NBA season – and again in 2010. Since then IUPUI has not won more than 19 games and has finished under .500 for six consecutive seasons. Their lone NCAA Tournament appearance came way back in 2003.

The Jaguars finished 14-18 overall and 7-9 in the Summit League last season, good for 7^th place.

“I know our department and basketball program are excited to make the move to the Horizon League,” Jason Gardner, IUPUI’s current men’s basketball coach and former Loyola assistant, said in a statement. “The Summit League has provided us fantastic competition since long before I was the head coach, but we’re excited about what the future holds. I had the opportunity to coach in the Horizon League and understand just how strong the league is from top to bottom. We’re going to work hard to improve every single day to be competitive with our new league rivals.”

IUPUI plays their home games at the off-campus Indiana Farmers Coliseum at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. The arena seats 6,800 for basketball and recently underwent a $53 million renovation.

Carlos Curtis visits Green Bay

Green Bay is keeping up its recruiting efforts for the 2018 class and recently had 6’2” point guard Carlos Curtis on campus for an unofficial visit.

The Milwaukee native was offered a scholarship from head coach Linc Darner last September and had a stellar junior season at Milwaukee Riverside, helping the Tigers to an 18-7 record and a trip to the sectional semi-finals. He averaged 19.0 points and 6.5 assists per game this past season and was named a Milwaukee City Conference first team all-league selection.

Curtis currently holds scholarship offers from Green Bay, IUPUI, and Drake but is gaining some high major attention as he as seen his stock soar this summer.

Green Bay has at least two scholarships available for the 2018 recruiting class and has extended several scholarship offers to Wisconsin prospects.

Green Bay’s 2020 recruiting is off and running

The Phoenix coaching staff opened up their 2020 recruiting in a big way last week by extending scholarship offers to five prospects in Wisconsin’s soon-to-be sophomore class.

Green Bay offered scholarships to the sharpshooting twin duo of Mason and Gabe Madsen from Bloomer who impressed in a big way during their first season of high school basketball.

A 6’3” combo guard, Mason averaged 17.7 points per game this season as a freshman and scored a career high 33 points in Bloomer’s playoff loss to Mauston in March. Gabe averaged 18.1 points per game and had a 50 point outing during his sixth varsity game, going 13 of 18 from beyond the arc.

The Phoenix also offered scholarships to Jamari Sibley, a 6’8” power forward from Nicolet High School in Glendale as well as 6’3” guard Desmond Polk of New Berlin West. The final scholarship offer was extended to Whitefish Bay Dominican’s Alex Antetokounmpo.

Antetokounmpo, the youngest brother of Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis, played sparingly at powerhouse Dominican last season as a freshman but figures to see an increased role this season as he continues to grow taller. He is currently listed at 6’5”.

Green Bay was the first to offer a scholarship to all five prospects.

Alfonzo McKinnie will play with Toronto in the NBA’s Vegas Summer League

After an impressive first season in the NBA D-League with the Windy City Bulls, Alfonzo McKinnie will play in the NBA’s Vegas Summer league with the Toronto Raptors next month.

McKinnie and fellow former Phoenix star Alec Brown both attending a mini-camp workout with the Utah Jazz earlier this month before McKinnie attended another mini-camp with the Raptors and earned a spot on their summer squad.

McKinnie was a D-League All-Star and averaged 14.9 points and 9.2 rebounds in 50 games last season while shooting 51 percent from the floor and 30.8 percent on threes.