Just like every other game in his career, Yogi Ferrell was in the starting lineup.
This time, it meant something different for the senior guard.
This time, in IU’s 74-47 win at Illinois Thursday night, Ferrell started the 131st game of his career. That’s more than any other Hoosier in program history.
“I hope people see how valuable he is not only in this league, but nationally, because he deserves it,” IU Coach Tom Crean said. “You can’t argue with the numbers or the record he’s put forth as a senior and you can’t argue with the performances he’s put together.”
And like most other games he’s started, Ferrell led the Hoosiers. He led IU in scoring with 27 points and in assists with five. He had the second-most rebounds and made five of his 10 3-pointers.
He also led the Hoosiers in scoring at the half with eight points, but he was 0-for-4 from behind the arc and had three assists compared to two turnovers.
The Hoosiers were struggling as a whole in the first half and trailed by a point at the end of the half. But Ferrell never stopped talking. Illinois Coach John Groce said he could hear Ferrell all game, whether the Hoosiers were on offense or defense.
“I was out there just talking to those guys all the time,” Ferrell said. “Whether it was defense or offense, just not letting those guys hang their head and moving on to the next play. That’s all I try to do is just lead those guys.”
In the second half he kept talking and leading. But he also started scoring. He scored 19 points to help the Hoosiers outscore the Illini 47-19 in the second half.
All five of his 3-pointers came during the second half. There was a step-back 3-pointer to essentially seal the game with 3:21 left.
There was the contested 3-pointer he made from five feet behind the arc and when he scored eight of IU’s 10 points in about a minute-and-a-half span in the second half.
“Ferrell was an absolute monster,” Groce said. “He gets a lot of notoriety for what he does offensively, and rightly so, but what he does defensively is underrated.”
But it wasn’t a 3-pointer or driving layup that defines Ferrell’s performance, or his Hoosier career.
With eight minutes left, Ferrell was dribbling up the court and attracting the attention of the Illini defense. This meant his teammates were open, one of them senior guard Nick Zeisloft in the corner.
Ferrell found Zeisloft, and he made the open 3-pointer to give the Hoosiers a 17-point lead and force an Illini timeout.
Ferrell celebrated and high-stepped his way toward mid-court, away from the IU bench. Once he finished, he noticed freshman center Thomas Bryant still celebrating, also moving away from the IU bench.
So before he headed back to his team, he walked over to Bryant, celebrated some more and led Bryant back to the bench. He made sure every one of his teammates was in the huddle before he was.
“He carries himself a different way,” Bryant said. “He carries himself in a professional way and I look up to that. We all do.”
