Yogi Ferrell’s return gives Indiana a chance to make strides
Indiana dropped 10 of its final 15 games last season culminating with an opening-round NCAA tournament loss, but April has treated the Hoosiers far better than February or March did.
Not only did they land a commitment from an elite big man who should help shore up their frontcourt woes, they also had each of their top three scorers decide to return to school instead of entering the NBA draft.
The final player to make his decision was point guard Yogi Ferrell, who postponed a planned announcement Saturday night out of respect for the family of the slain Indiana student whose body was found near campus the previous day. Ferrell will stay at Indiana for his senior season, CBSSports.com and other outlets reported Sunday morning.
Whereas forward Troy Williams and guard James Blackmon announced their intent to return earlier in April, Ferrell’s decision dragged out until the deadline for underclassmen to decide whether to enter the draft. The 6-foot point guard averaged 16.3 points and 4.9 assists this past season and improved his 3-point shooting and assist-to-turnover ratio, but he still was unlikely to be selected any higher than the second round.
Ferrell’s return cements Indiana as a preseason top 20 team and a threat to challenge Maryland, Michigan State, Michigan and Wisconsin in the Big Ten title race. This past season’s eight leading scorers are each expected back, plus the Hoosiers add elite center prospect Thomas Bryant and get back redshirt sophomore forward Devin Davis.
What will ultimately determine how good Indiana can be is if Bryant provides the low-post scoring threat the Hoosiers lacked last season and helps improve a defense that was among the nation’s worst.
Indiana surrendered the most points per possession of any Big Ten team this past season because its perimeter players couldn’t stay in front of their men off the dribble and it lacked a true big man to erase mistakes at the rim. The 6-foot-10 Bryant is a McDonald’s All-American with the skill to be a scoring threat at one end and the size, length and motor to contest shots and hit the glass at the other.
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
