Will Sheehey shines in dunk contest, team scrimmage

Sophomore Victor Oladipo sang like Usher, freshman Cody Zeller dunked repeatedly and junior Derek Elston drained half-court shots.

But Hoosier Hysteria belonged to Will Sheehey.

The sophomore forward put on a show for the crowd of 16,100 that filed into Assembly Hall on Saturday  for the annual basketball kick-off event. Not only did Sheehey steal the slam-dunk crown from the reigning champion Oladipo, he also unofficially poured in 12 points in the team scrimmage.

Senior forward Kory Barnett said a little imagination was the only way Sheehey was going to be able take down Oladipo.

“I give it all to Kory Barnett,” Sheehey said. “He was like, ‘Will, to win, you’ve got to do something more creative than (Oladipo),’ which is tough.”

The dunk Sheehey referenced was a dual effort from himself and senior guard Daniel Moore. A former high school soccer player, Moore received an underhand toss from Sheehey off the backboard. Moore then headed the ball back to Sheehey, who threw it down for the alley-oop.

While the multi-sport alley-oop was a new sight to Hoosier fans, Sheehey also gave IU fans a blast from the past.

Sheehey reenacted the Feb. 5 dunk against Iowa’s Melsahn Basabe that made him a YouTube sensation. This time, however, the role of Basabe was played by 6-foot-9-inch senior Tom Pritchard.

The dunk once again ignited a Hoosier Hysteria crowd that freshman Remy Abell said was at a capacity he had never witnessed before.

“I really was surprised,” Abell said. “I expected it to be packed, but not that packed.”
The raucous crowd also saw a side of Sheehey it hadn’t seen before. Keeping up with the creativity mantra of the evening, Sheehey snapped away his candy-stripe pants to show off a pair of retro IU shorts that reached his mid-thigh.

Sheehey said Barnett provided the inspiration behind the wardrobe alteration.

“I don’t know where he got them from,” Sheehey said. “I think he’s got a red and a white pair. I think they were Calbert (Cheaney’s) shorts, to be honest with you. No, I’m just kidding. They’re not.”

Sheehey did his best imitation of Cheaney, the Big Ten’s all-time leading scorer, in the team scrimmage to conclude the event. The 6-foot-6-inch forward, who averaged 4.8 points per game as a freshman last season, was the main source of offense for the white team.

Sheehey led all scorers, with the exception of junior guard Jordan Hulls, who scored 13. For a player who scored in double-digits three times during his freshman campaign, the night was an offensive outburst for Sheehey.

IU fans came to Hoosier Hysteria in larger numbers than any previous year in the Tom Crean era.

All were eager to get a sneak peak of what was new about the 2011-12 IU squad. Sheehey said he did everything he could to try to show them.

“It’s kind of hard to explain,” Sheehey said. “Anytime you see a crowd that big — and it grew so much since last year — it’s a good feeling to know that many people back you up.”