Recker rampage spells Lion demise

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana's Luke Recker came into last night's game against Penn State with some personal business to take care of.

Consider it done.

The Hoosiers (16-6, 7-4 Big Ten) easily dismantled the Nittany Lions (10-9, 3-6) 95-76 at Assembly Hall. Doing most of the dirty work was Recker.

The 6-foot-6 freshman said, "I wasn't playing up to my expectations or (those of Indiana coach Bob Knight) the last couple of games. It's my own fault."

Recker's personal vendetta on the court was an unfortunate occurrence for Penn State but delighted the Hoosier faithful clad in a sea of red.

Recker scorched the nets for a career-high 29 points on 12 of 20 shooting. His previous high was 27 in a win over No. 10 Purdue earlier this season. Recker came into the game against the Lions averaging 13 points.

"He's an All-American," Penn State coach Jerry Dunn said. "He's a great player. He didn't surprise me at all."

"High expectations" is an understatement for any player coming into a basketball program such as Indiana's after being named the 1997 Indiana Mr. Basketball, a McDonald's All-American and a second-team Parade All-American.

But like any freshman in the Big Ten, it hasn't been all peaches and cream for Recker. In his two performances prior to last night's game, Recker turned the ball over 12 times. A number which Knight was not happy with.

"Never have total confidence in a kid who has turned the ball over an average of six times," Knight said.

Last night, Recker improved on that average by only turning the ball over twice.

Penn State guard Pete Lisicky had the tough task of defending Recker for a substantial portion of the game. At one point early in the first half, the two leading scorers (Lisicky led the Lions with 21 points) appeared to play a role reversal of sorts. The freshman, Recker, beat the experienced senior, Lisicky, off the dribble and drove to the hoop with a move that only seemed possible by a veteran -- guess again.

"He's a smart player," Lisicky said. "He knows how to use the screen. Even without the ball, he's still active. He's a tough player to contain."

Recker did show his youth, though. Early in the first half with Penn State up 16-15 and Indiana guard Michael Lewis having trouble inbounding the ball, Recker didn't make the move toward the ball and forced Lewis to burn an early timeout.

Fortunately for Recker, it didn't cost the Hoosiers.

Indiana got its act together immediately following the break and went on a 21-2 run to widen its lead to 38-18. Recker chipped in with seven points of his own during the run.

Lion forward Jarrett Stephens said it just seemed like Recker couldn't miss.

And neither could any of his teammates.

Indiana shot 56 percent from the field for the game including 61 percent in the first half.

Last season, sophomore A.J. Guyton earned Big Ten Frehsman of the Year honors for the Hoosiers. This season, Recker has an excellent campaign going to make it back-to-back winners for Indiana.

This is an expectation Recker wouldn't mind taking personally.