During a night meant to be oriented around fun and games, there was a serious aura surrounding senior point guard Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell at Hoosier Hysteria.
Yes, every player gets applause when they are named, but the mere image of Ferrell’s face during a video segment ignited an excitement in Assembly Hall as loud as the response to a Troy Williams alley-oop.
For player introductions, Ferrell was saved for last. The announcer even called Ferrell “the leader.” He didn’t dance or goof around as much as some other players. He threw a few t-shirts and calmly joined his teammates.
This is his final season at IU. And the crowd loves him.
My personal favorite moment came when Ferrell went up to perform in the 3-point shooting contest. A boy no older than 10 years old leapt up from his seat in the south corner of Assembly Hall and pointed towards the court. His father had to give him a slight tug backwards to prevent him falling over the row in front of him.
The point of all of this is Ferrell will be under a huge spotlight this year, and there will be pressure to perform well. There has never been much doubt Ferrell can play with the best of them. It comes down to a matter of how well the team does under his leadership.
But now for the fun stuff.
Bryant steals the show
Freshman center Thomas Bryant comes into this season with as much hype and expectations to fill a certain role as any freshman since Cody Zeller. Most of what we have heard before Saturday, though, was hearsay and narratives provided by coaches and players that he is a true energy guy.
Those narratives were more than just narratives. He is a blast.
It started with the team dance skit that at one point involved a chest-to-chest dance off between Bryant and fellow freshman O.G. Anunoby.
It escalated with Bryant’s personal introduction, which concluded with Bryant bringing down the house to The Sugarhill Gang’s “Apache.” His million-dollar smile radiated as he lowered to his squat position and rotated around while “Tonto, jump on it. Jump on it” blared.
It was not just his personality, though. Bryant’s interior game seemed remarkably polished for a freshman as he scored consistently down low, and he flew down the court with the energy of a wing player.
The icing on the cake? IU Coach Tom Crean pulled him aside afterward to work individually with Bryant on his perimeter defense.
Bryant can be a special player for IU. At the very least, he will be an impact player.
Who takes the dance-off?
In terms of players, I actually give the victory to Bryant’s “Apache” performance.
But overall, it’s a no-brainer. Women’s basketball coach Teri Moren dominated the evening when she “Hit the Quan,” with transfer guard Tia Elbert.
Moren didn’t just go through the motions out there. She absolutely brought out the dance moves and held nothing back. When she performed the fake rifle fire part of the dance, I nearly fell backward from my press row seat.
I covered Moren last season on the women’s basketball beat, and I did not see that coming. Blew me away.
Honorable mentions were senior forward and Michigan transfer Max Bielfeldt banging his head to “What is Love?” like in the movie, “A Night at the Roxbury” and Anunoby performing Drake’s dance from the “Hotline Bling” music video.
All in all, it was Hoosier Hysteria. We didn’t learn much in terms of basketball, but were able to enjoy some fun moments. Now, let’s hope opening day comes sooner.
