PHILADELPHIA — He ripped his shirt out from his pants and was steaming walking toward the IU bench.
Senior guard Yogi Ferrell was upset because he was being subbed out for the final time of his IU career and was letting it show. But he was stopped, along with junior forward Troy Williams and senior forward Max Bielfeldt.
Before those three sat down for the final time in IU’s 101-86 loss Friday night, IU Coach Tom Crean had to tell his players something.
“Just hold your head high,” Williams said Crean told them. “There’s a lot of people to thank, a lot of people you’re an inspiration to and little kids we have to be role models to and all. Just keeping your head up and having great body language.”
It was hard though. Williams couldn’t help but sink onto the IU bench, wrap a towel around his head, bury his head between his legs and slam his fists together repeatedly. It was sinking in that the Hoosiers weren’t going to fight past North Carolina, meaning the end of a season where they fought through everything.
Williams tried leading the Hoosiers back from a double-digit halftime deficit by scoring 14 of IU’s first 16 points in the second half. It wasn’t enough to beat a North Carolina team that couldn’t miss.
Guard Marcus Paige hit four 3-pointers in the first four minutes. North Carolina, a team shooting 31 percent from behind the arc before the game, made its first seven 3-pointers.
“Guys whose numbers don’t exactly say they’re 3-point shooters are knocking them down and they’re getting bounces and offensive rebounds,” Bielfeldt said. “A good team like that — sometimes it’s their night and tonight was their night.”
Sophomore guard Robert Johnson couldn’t play Friday night because of an ankle injury. He said sitting and watching his teammates struggle, knowing he could help if he was healthy, was one of the hardest things he’s ever had to do.
Freshman forward Juwan Morgan couldn’t sit and watch. After separating his shoulder yet another time this season, he had the trainers pop it back in so he could help his team. He didn’t even go back to the locker room.
“I wasn’t about to let that keep me out of this game,” Morgan said. “Before it was kind of unbearable pain and I let it get to me. Tonight I couldn’t let it happen and just kept going.”
It wasn’t enough on a night when the Hoosiers were outplayed. Less than a week after IU willed itself through injuries and adversity against Kentucky, IU couldn’t overcome North Carolina.
It took Johnson until the starters came out for it to finally set in that the season was ending. With how the Hoosiers have fought, and how well they can shoot, he said he believed a comeback was coming.
Johnson didn’t realize the comeback wasn’t going to happen until he saw Ferrell rip his uniform out of his shorts with 23 seconds left after he intentionally fouled to make sure the bench players got in the game.
It took every Hoosier this long to realize the season was ending. With Williams’ head between his legs and the crowd chanting Ferrell’s name for the last time in his IU career after he led the Hoosiers with 25 points, reality set in for a team that wouldn’t listen all season.
But Ferrell was going to try and keep reality at bay as long as he could. Sitting in the locker room minutes after he initially tugged at his jersey walking off the court, Ferrell wasn’t planning on touching it anytime soon.
“I think I might wear this jersey to the hotel,” Ferrell said. “I’m not ready to take it off yet.”
