That’s A Wrap: Yogi Ferrell
Welcome to “That’s A Wrap,” our player-by-player recap of the 2012-2013 Indiana Hoosiers. Today: Yogi Ferrell.
Ferrell (36 games): 7.6 ppg, 4.1 apg, 2.8 rpg, 40.3% FG, 79.8% FT in 28.1 minutes per game.
Indiana’s 2012 recruiting class was tagged as “The Movement” because it was expected to help take the program back to its elite status. But for the most part, Indiana’s freshman class failed to live up to lofty expectations in its first season.
The class once called “The Movement” effectively became “Yogi Ferrell and Co.” based on production on the court. Ferrell had almost an instant impact for the Hoosiers when the season began, and he played a large role in Indiana’s success throughout the season.
Ferrell served as Indiana’s starting point guard, and he showed remarkable growth and development with his court vision, defense and leadership. Ferrell was Indiana’s second best on-ball defender behind Victor Oladipo, and he did a solid job of taking care of the ball in the majority of the Hoosiers’ games this season.
Ferrell’s passing skills and instincts are nearly impossible to teach, and he figures to be a large part of Indiana’s future. But like every college freshman, Ferrell experienced some bumps in his mostly-successful freshman campaign.
At times this season, Ferrell shot the ball very well from the outside. He knocked down 3-of-4 of his attempts from beyond the arc against both Penn State and Purdue, and he had two 3-pointers in three other games. But Ferrell’s outside shot is wildly inconsistent, and something that hurt the Hoosiers at times this season.
Some teams played off of Ferrell on top and dared him to shoot from the perimeter. When he shot it with confidence, it often went in. But Ferrell too often turned down open looks and instead tried to force it elsewhere. With a large portion of Indiana’s scoring likely to be gone when next season rolls around, Ferrell needs to develop a much more consistent perimeter shot to be a multidimensional Big Ten point guard.
There’s also no way to ignore the way Ferrell closed the season. After posting 16 points, eight rebounds and six assists in Indiana’s second-round win over James Madison, Ferrell struggled in the Hoosiers’ final two games. He didn’t score in either game, going a combined 0-of-4 from the field with seven turnovers and only four assists.
Ferrell looked especially out of place against Syracuse, which flustered the young point guard with its length and athleticism. When faced to make a quick decision whether to shoot the ball against the zone or not, Ferrell often chose the latter and made things difficult for his teammates as a result. He was yanked from the game late in the first half, and opened the second half on the bench.
Ferrell came in too “hollywood” for Will Sheehey’s taste, and left humbled by the depth of the NCAA Tournament.
Bottom line: Despite his late-season struggles, Ferrell had a strong freshman season for the Hoosiers and figures to be one of their top contributors next season. If Ferrell can develop a consistent outside jump shot to go along with his explosiveness, passing ability, and defensive savvy, he could easily be one of the nation’s top point guards a year from now. Without the jump shot, though, he and the Hoosiers could really have a hard time scoring because of a lack of perimeter shooting threats on next year’s roster.
Previously: Hanner Mosquera-Perea, Peter Jurkin
Filed to: Yogi Ferrell