DAYTON, Ohio — Yogi Ferrell is often ignored and overlooked because, frankly, you can’t talk about everybody at the same time. Ferrell happens to play on a team with guys named Victor Oladipo and Cody Zeller with a coach named Tom Crean. There aren’t enough headlines to go around.
But if you spend any amount of time around the Indiana program, you know how important Ferrell is to this program. How valued he is. How loved.
Ferrell’s first-half burst against 16th-seeded James Madison in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday was probably viewed by some as a coming out party of sorts. His name was trending on Twitter nationally by halftime. He finished with 16 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
“I helped recruit and coach Jameer Nelson for four years,” said James Madison coach Matt Brady, a former assistant at St. Joe’s. “He’s got some of Jameer’s qualities. He’s got that same burst of speed. Jameer’s probably a little better long-range shooter, but he seems to have the leadership skills that Jameer had. He seems to have control of that team. It’s fun to watch.”
Ferrell’s performance on Friday was impressive, but what is often forgotten is that Ferrell has been one of the steadiest forces on this team all year long. He’s quarterbacked the Hoosiers from the start, despite his youth and inexperience. When Ferrell comes off the court, the team doesn’t function nearly as well on either end.
“He’s always on the attack,” junior Will Sheehey said. “He makes everyone so much better when he drives in the lane and kicks, gives everyone else opens shots. I know I always benefit off of Yogi’s drives.”
Crean, Oladipo and Zeller have gotten the majority of the credit for Indiana taking the next step this season, and rightly so. But don’t forget about Ferrell, who has quietly become one of the nation’s best on-ball defenders and more efficient point guards.
“The stars were out, the lights were on, and he came to perform. He did a great job for us,” Oladipo said.
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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.
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