Home-grown talent puts Indiana University back in the bright lights

I was a junior basketball manager at Indiana University during the 1959-60 season. Our team was loaded with great home-grown talent. We had terrific guards like Bob Wilkinson (LaPorte) and Gary Long (Shelbyville), great forwards in 6-foot-8 Frank Radovich (Hammond) and Charlie Hall (Terre Haute Gerstmeyer). The lone non-Hoosier starter was 6-11 center Walt Bellamy (New Bern, N.C.), a future Hall of Famer who lived below me in the men's quad.

We had lost our first three Big Ten Conference games by a total of eight points, including a wild 96-95 affair at Ohio State. At that point, coach Branch McCracken switched to a zone defense and the Hoosiers were unbeatable the rest of the season. With just two non-Hoosiers on our roster, we buried Ohio State 99-83 before a rabid crowd of 10,556 in our final home game.

I had the "privilege" of cleaning up the Buckeyes' locker room that night. I never had seen such shell-shocked looks on the faces of future Hall of Famers like Jerry Lucas and John Havlicek as they wearily got dressed for the long trip back to Columbus. One of the reserves, Bobby Knight, wasn't too happy, either.

Unfortunately, at that time only conference champions qualified for the NCAA tournament, allowing Ohio State to not only represent our league but go all the way and win the national championship. I have no doubt that we could have beaten the Buckeyes again if we had today's wide-open qualifying format.



The point here is that Hoosiers know how to play the game and Indiana's rise the past two years - even being ranked No. 1 this season - is due in large part to recruiting some of the state's best players after losing that battle to arch rival Purdue during the rebuilding years.

I give great credit to Jordan Hulls, who chose his hometown university - when it was at its lowest point - to help restore the glory days. Hulls had led Bloomington South to the Class 4A state title as a senior and earned Indiana's coveted Mr. Basketball honors. As a senior guard today, Hulls is the heart of a team that could win its sixth NCAA basketball crown.

The big key, however, was landing 7-foot Cody Zeller, who played for three Class 3A state champions at Washington (Ind.). He was the third Zeller brother to be named Mr. Basketball and was recruited by nearly every major college. Like Hulls, he also chose to help the Hoosiers regain the heights and had the strength to pass up the NBA draft after a great freshman year. This guy can run like a deer and is a can't-miss pro star.

And don't forget magical freshman guard Kevin "Yogi" Ferrell, who won a pair of state titles at Indianapolis Park Tudor. He could have gone to many other major colleges. And the beat goes on.

Indiana high school basketball has been the pride of Hoosiers, seemingly forever. That pride long ago also attached itself to Indiana University. As long as coach Tom Crean continues to mine the fertile fields of Hoosierland, he will continue to keep his program in the bright lights.

Regardless of what happens in this year's NCAA tournament, the Hoosiers are back, thanks to their home-grown talent.