Top high school recruits reflect on Hoosier Hysteria experience

As the IU men’s basketball team began its first official practice of the season, the chants started.  

“YO-GI…FERR-ELL.”  
“YO-GI…FERR-ELL.”

Many of the 13,100 fans at Hoosier Hysteria Friday joined in to let one of the top recruits in the class of 2012 — Park Tudor High School (Indianapolis) guard Kevin ‘Yogi’ Ferrell — know that IU was where he needed to play college basketball.  

But that chant didn’t happen one time. It happened on two other occasions.

And by the Hoosier fans providing that simple gesture, it showed Ferrell — and the dozens of other highly-touted recruits sitting together in Assembly Hall — that despite IU’s losing record the past two years, support for the team remains.

“That was a lot of fun,” Ferrell, who www.rivals.com ranks as the No. 2 point guard and No. 17 overall player, said of the chants.  “I really liked Hoosier Hysteria a lot. Even though they didn’t win that many games last year, it shows that the fans still give a lot of support.”   

Similar to a football game, an event like Hoosier Hysteria is immensely important not just for who is playing but also for who is watching. On Oct. 2 when IU lost to Michigan, 42-35, many of the state’s top high school basketball players were at Memorial Stadium.

Friday was no different.  

At least 20 highly-ranked recruits were in Bloomington to take in the action. By seeing Hoosier Hysteria, they were able to interact with the IU players and coaching staff, other potential recruits and the fans.  

Some, like Heritage Christian High School (Indianapolis) small forward Basil Smotherman, were even treated like celebrities.  

“I signed my first autograph to a little kid on his poster,” Smotherman, one of the top 2013 players in the nation, said. “People were just telling me to come here, saying ‘Basil, you’re the next Calbert Cheaney.’ That just made me very happy. I felt like I was at home.”

But talking to the crowd was not the only thing the recruits did Friday.

They were able to see the Hoosiers compete in a scrimmage, dunk contest and three-point contest.

Jeremy Hollowell, a 6-foot-6 small forward from Lawrence Central High School (Indianapolis), could not pinpoint one particular facet of Hoosier Hysteria that was better than the rest.  

“I liked it all,” said Hollowell, the No. 39 overall player in the 2012 class. “It was cool to see the players interact with each other and have fun out there while getting ready for the season.”

Some of the recruits who attended the event were also able to see a glimpse of what a real college practice looks like.  

Trevon Bluiett, a freshman guard from Park Tudor, said he was able to watch practice at Cook Hall before the event for more than an hour.  

He said the one thing that stood out was the overall intensity of both the coaches and players.

“It was pretty intense,” saidBluiett, who ESPN ranks as the No. 23 overall prospect in the 2014 class. “They were going over plays and getting straight to it. Coach Crean never takes a minute off, even for the first practice.”

Smotherman, who also saw a portion of IU’s practice, said he was very impressed with what he saw out of the Hoosiers’ third-year coach.

“I really liked the practice,” Smotherman said. “I see Coach Crean at some of my games and think of him as a nice person, but when he’s in practice with the players he’s totally different. He’s yelling at them and trying to help them get better. I like that.”