IU's new faces of hope

Even as the Hoosiers struggled on the court the last two seasons, IU coach Tom Crean told fans to trust him.

Better times are ahead. Success will be in the near future.

They now understand what he was talking about.

Since August 2010, the Hoosiers have landed commitments from 12 of the nation’s top high school basketball players. Nine of those players were raised in Indiana, and two others played AAU basketball for an in-state program. 

“Maybe it’s taken a little longer than they had hoped, but the tide is turning,” Scout.com recruiting analyst Evan Daniels said. “IU is cool again. It’s the place to go in the state of Indiana.” 

On Nov. 24, 2010, guard Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell (Park Tudor School, Indianapolis) became the third Rivals.com five-star player to commit to the Hoosiers in a month.

Forward for 2011 Cody Zeller (Washington High School, Washington, Ind.) and 2012 forward Hanner Perea (La Lumiere School, LaPorte, Ind.) join Ferrell on that list.  
Every other recruit committed to IU for the next four years — the Hoosiers have at least two in every high school class — is highly touted.

“It’s flat out impressive what Tom Crean and his staff has been able to accomplish,” Daniels said.

“They made some headway with some of the right guys, and it’s paying off.”

The Hoosiers, though, are not just landing talent from anywhere.

They are quickly becoming the go-to school for Indiana’s top players, one of Crean’s main goals since becoming coach in 2008.

The state of Indiana has been a hotbed for some of the nation’s best basketball talent for decades. 

Former IU basketball coach Bob Knight was able to bring many of the best. Mike Davis, who coached the Hoosiers from 2000-06, struggled to do the same and faced strong criticism in that aspect.

Crean, however, has made recruiting for Indiana a top priority since he stepped on campus. 

“Indiana and Tom Crean have taken back their home state,” ESPN recruiting analyst Dave Telep said.

“You are not going to get in that border without Tom Crean or his staff knowing about it.”

Both Telep and Daniels said much of IU’s recent success has come from the strong bonds formed between IU coaches and the top AAU programs.

One of those is Indiana Elite, which has eight players — Zeller and Austin Etherington in 2011; Ferrell, Perea, Jeremy Hollowell, Ron Patterson and Peter Jurkin in 2012; Collin Hartman in 2013 — all who have committed to the Hoosiers.

Mike Barnett, a director of Indiana Elite and father of IU player Kory Barnett, said Crean’s hard work is finally paying dividends.

“I think the sky is the limit for this program,” Barnett said. “Crean’s really had to sell people on faith, but I think the product that is going to be on the floor is going to sell a lot of what he has had to get people to envision.

“They’ll be able to watch it for real, right in front of their eyes.”

Other new faces
The Hoosiers will also welcome an old face this season as Calbert Cheaney returns to IU as the new Director of Basketball Operations. He averaged 19.8 points during four seasons at IU from 1989-93, winning the Naismith Award as national player of the year as a senior. He played 13 seasons in the NBA with five teams, retiring in 2006.