Indiana
Pacers News: Indiana Adds Additional Games After NBA Cup Elimination
A year after making the Finals of what was then the NBA In-Season Tournament, the 2024-25 vintage of the Indiana Pacers didn’t even get out of the group play stage in this season’s freshly re-dubbed Emirates NBA Cup.
The 9-14 Pacers, currently the Eastern Conference’s No. 10 seed, went 0-4 in their East Group B NBA Cup bracket, posting a disturbing -60 point differential across the four losses. The Milwaukee Bucks went 4-0 and advanced out of their group — which also included the Detroit Pistons (who finished 3-1 in the group play stage), the Miami Heat (2-2), and the Toronto Raptors (1-3) — to the quarterfinals in Las Vegas next week. They’ll play the Orlando Magic in a quarterfinals matchup on Tuesday.
Read More: Pacers Will Trade For Bucks Star Giannis Antetokounmpo
Per Alex Golden of The Blue And Golden, the Pacers’ schedule for next week has been determined. The team will head to Philadelphia to suit up against the 76ers on December 13, and will host the New Orleans Pelicans on December 15.
Last year, the Pacers fell to the Los Angeles Lakers, 123-109. At this point, the team had yet to acquire two-time All-NBA power forward Pascal Siakam via a mid-season trade, and thus it was starting Obi Toppin at the four spot and eventual Toronto Raptors small forward Bruce Brown at the three. In that game, All-NBA Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton led the way for the losing side, scoring 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field (2-of-8 from long range) and 2-of-3 shooting from the foul line, while also dishing out 11 dimes, pulling down one rebound, blocking a shot and swiping one steal.
All-NBA Lakers center Anthony Davis shown out for L.A., scoring 41 points on 16-of-24 shooting from the field and 9-of-13 from the foul line, pulling down a whopping 20 rebounds, passing for five assists and blocking four shots. All-NBA Lakers forward LeBron James chipped in 24 points on 10-of-21 shooting from the floor and 4-of-5 shooting from the charity stripe, grabbed 11 rebounds, passed for four assists and snagged two steals.
Ultimately, the NBA Cup is a fun if semi-meaningless competition, designed to dress up the doldrums of the overlong regular season. What matters is who’s left standing at the end. Even on that front, however, Indiana has clear room for improvement. The good news is, although the 76ers and Pelicans may be loaded with All-Stars, injuries, age and chemistry issues have taken their toll on both clubs, who now number among the league’s worst. Indiana should be able to beat both of them on its quest to climb to a .500 record.
More Pacers: Indiana Will Trade For Bucks Star Giannis Antetokounmpo
Indiana basketball practice observations from June 25: Freshmen mixing in
IU has a game-changer, Thursday’s practice open to the media showed. IndyStar IU insider Zach Osterman explains what he saw.
BLOOMINGTON — Whatever he can.
That’s the answer. The question — one prompted by an urgency to add strength to his game — is what Vaughn Karvala, Indiana basketball’s athletic freshman wing, is doing to add weight. IU’s highest-ranked signee in the 2026 class, it’s not hard to envision a role for Karvala in Darian DeVries’ second season in Bloomington. The player himself knows that starts with meeting the physical demands of the college game.
Which starts with building onto to his 6-foot-7, 190-pound frame.
“The biggest thing for me is just putting on weight,” Karvala told reporters after practice Thursday. “That’s my biggest thing, getting stronger, trying to play with these guys that are three, four years older than me. I have to get stronger, I have to get faster, everything.”
A three-year letter winner at Oregon (Wisconsin) High School, Karvala spent his senior season at Bella Vista Prep in Arizona, bolstering a profile that saw him ranked No. 62 nationally per the 247Sports Composite.
Karvala averaged 26.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per game in his final season with Oregon, shooting close to 42% from behind the 3-point line. He averaged another 14.7 points per game with Team Herro on the EYBL circuit.
He handed DeVries a major recruiting win last fall, when Karvala picked the Hoosiers over Xavier and Cal. Now, both at the rim and behind the arc, Karvala looks like a player who can contribute meaningfully in his first year in college.
“I know my athleticism catches the eye, but I can still shoot it,” Karvala said. “But another thing is just working on rebounding, trying to get extra possessions for us.”
Whether on the glass or elsewhere, embracing the physical challenge of college basketball has been an emphasis for Karvala since he arrived in Bloomington earlier this summer.
That manifests itself offensively, when he tries to push the ball downhill and leverage that athleticism to attack the rim. It shows up defensively, where Karvala said he’s comfortable guarding the two, the three and, matchup depending, the four.
It even plays out on the glass, battling bigs up to including 7-2 teammate Samet Yigitoglu, who Karvala described with a smile as “the biggest guy I’ve ever seen.”
“Physicality, 100%,” Karvala said, when asked where he’s challenging himself. “Just playing with all these guys that have 20, 30, 40 pounds on me.”
Which starts with the physical demand of more weight. Karvala said he’ll eat chicken, steak or “whatever we have in the locker room” that can help him in that effort. His focus, he said, is simply to “eat a lot, and work out every day.”
As that weight and strength begin to build, Karvala knows the next step — to mentally prepare for the rough-and-tumble nature of life on the floor in the Big Ten — is just as important. Preparing his body comes first. Challenging himself to toughen up once it’s required follows quickly after.
“Just getting fully there, mentally,” he said. “You’re going to have to push your body to get through this.”
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KOSCIUSKO COUNTY, Ind. (WSBT) — It’s fair season and a new law uncorks adult beverage sales!
The new Indiana law will go into effect July 1st, making it legal to sell alcohol at county fairs.
The Kosciusko County Fair is set to kick off in just a few weeks and Indiana is officially allowing alcohol to be sold.
The law is bringing back something that’s not necessarily new to this fair.
Here’s what you need to know
The new law will go into effect on July 1st. It officially allows county fairs to apply for fee-free permits to sell alcohol.
Officials with the Kosciusko County Fair say they are participating this year. They are implementing the same guidelines they used when they sold alcohol just at grandstand events.
The difference now is, you can walk around the grounds with your drink. But strict guidelines will be in place for purchasing a drink.
“Actually, we’ve never had any issues. Because we card everybody, so we take that seriously. We also got the ID guides so we can identify the different types of IDs,” said Sheal Dirck, Treasurer of Kosciusko County Fair.
The Kosciusko County Fair already have guidelines in place, so this was an easy transition for the fair.
They will be the only vendors selling alcohol, which will make it easier to control distribution.
The sales will also bring in more revenue.
“Hopefully it allows to keep our ticket prices where they are because right now, insurance, utilities and everything else is going sky high and it’s hard to make ends meet,” said Dirck.
However, some fairs cannot participate because of the July 1st start date, like the Pulaski County Fair, which is going on right now. Pulaski County officials said it is on the agenda for next year. Whereas other fairs are choosing to sit this year out.
“We wanted not spend some time to, to see what that really means for us. It was not a decision we wanted to rush into. But we are happy for the option of it,” said Shelly Steury, GM of Elkhart County 4H Fairgrounds.
Leaders at the St. Joseph County and Elkhart County Fairs said neither of them are selling alcohol.
The Kosciusko County Fair is the only fair that will sell alcohol in our area this year.
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