Last summer, Indiana’s recruiting class, called “The Movement” by some, was getting ready to take on the Indiana campus. That class was expected to add to an already strong roster and give the Hoosiers incredible depth.
But there wasn’t much talk of “The Movement” after the summer was over, and it wasn’t just because Will Sheehey and other veteran guys told the freshmen not to call themselves that anymore.
It was because the class, and the depth it was supposed to provide, never fully materialized during the course of the season. Yogi Ferrell was solid and Indiana’s starter at point guard from day one, but Tom Crean didn’t get the kind of production or development from the other three players that he expected.
Peter Jurkin wasn’t a highly-ranked recruit and wasn’t expected to provide much. But he was injured for most of last season and continues to be less than 100 percent.
“Peter, it’s slow, but he is shooting more,” Crean said at Tuesday night’s Tailgate Tour event in Indianapolis. “The rehab is the most important thing for him. We’re going down that line where we’ve got great support for him medically, and we need to keep him on a pace where he doesn’t get frustrated because he’s really trying.”
For the 2012 class’ other two members — Hanner Mosquera-Perea and Jeremy Hollowell — last season’s struggles were more surprising. Crean talked about both guys as being potential starters for the team in the preseason, but neither guy played more than 9.7 minutes per game.
Both Mosquera-Perea and Hollowell will have to play a bigger role this season if the Hoosiers are to maintain their level of play from the last two years. For them, though, its less about their abilities and more about their competitive fire, Crean said.
“Both of them have pretty good bodies, both of them have good length and good athleticism,” Crean said. “Now it’s time to really take that demeanor and show their competitiveness on the defensive side, show their competitiveness in things like conditioning. There’s a reason why guys like Cody [Zeller], Yogi and Noah [Vonleh] make McDonald’s All Americans. Those guys have some uncommon desires to compete. Certainly, Victor has that. Will Sheehey, Jordan Hulls.
The Inside the Hall Mailbag is a collection of questions tweeted to us via Twitter (
Much of the preseason talk about Indiana centered on the team’s anticipated depth. The Hoosiers added a highly-touted freshman class to a roster full of returning veterans from last year’s Sweet 16 team.
Freshman forward Jeremy Hollowell missed his second consecutive game Friday night due to what Indiana coach Tom Crean said was a “personal and private matter.” Unlike Wednesday night, Hollowell wasn’t even in uniform for Friday’s game against Florida Atlantic. He sat on the bench in sweats.
