Preseason predictions for IU basketball accolades

Coaches and players don’t often buy into the concept of preseason
superlatives.

However, the dissemination of such awards prior to meaningful basketball having been played has become a cornerstone of the beginning of each season.

Coaches will downplay the significance and meaning of these awards, but they’re a stark recognition of the conference’s preeminent players. The majority of these players will come from a select few teams within the Big Ten Conference this season.

The annual Big Ten Media Day, taking place today in Chicago, marks the annual presentation of these superlatives.

Whether any individual Hoosier brings any form of recognition back to Bloomington remains to be seen.

Thus, IU’s own collection of preseason superlatives are in order, beginning with the most celebrated award of them all.

Here’s my list of preseason awards for this season’s IU team.

Preseason Most Valuable Player: Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell
Ferrell, in his second season as the Hoosiers’ starting point guard, will be leaned upon to be a vocal and emotional leader.

Along with being the catalyst of the Hoosier offense, the 6-foot, 178-pound sophomore will be tasked with an increased scoring load given the absence of more than half of last season’s scoring total.

Ferrell’s improvements on the offensive end were apparent during IU’s 83-68 victory against Southern Indiana Saturday evening.

The Indianapolis native led all scorers with 20 points including 6-of-10 from 3-point range.

“He’s made big jumps,” IU Coach Tom Crean said of Ferrell during the postgame press conference. “I think you can all see that. And he’ll continue to make those jumps.
“This past week of practice was his best overall week he’s had since he’s been here, so I think that really gives us something to build on.”  

Preseason Freshman of the Year: Noah Vonleh

Given the almost immeasurable amount of accolades he collected as a high school phenom at New Hampton Prep, Vonleh has been considered the consensus Freshman of the Year since he committed to IU last November.

Nothing has changed since the Haverhill, Mass., native arrived on campus, either.

Vonleh earned a spot in the starting five at center against Southern Indiana but will be played at a variety of positions given his versatility, Crean noted following the exhibition victory against the Screaming Eagles.

With an NBA-ready body and the ability to play all five positions on the floor, one would be hard pressed to argue the claim that the 6-foot-10, 240-pound Vonleh is the best member of IU’s freshman class.

Preseason Most Improved Player: Jeremy
Hollowell
A former four-star recruit per rivals.com, Hollowell struggled through a slow transition to the college game last season.

After averaging a whopping 23.9 points per game as a senior at Lawrence Central High School in Indianapolis, Hollowell scored just 93 points a year ago.

Consistently breaking into a rotation that included Victor Oladipo, Cody Zeller, Christian Watford and Jordan Hulls was a formidable task.

But with a new season comes fresh opportunities, plenty of which will be presented to the sophomore forward.

Crean said during his annual State of Hoosier Nation address Hollowell had been the Hoosiers’ leading scorer through the early portion of preseason practices.

­— ckillore@indiana.edu
Follow columnist
Connor Killoren on Twitter @IDS_CGKilloren.