Hoosier Hysteria

Last night I had the pleasure to attend Hoosier Hysteria. As a college basketball and IU fan, it was a great night. After all, Indiana fans are unlike any others, especially with the Hoosiers ranked #1 overall in the preseason. The event started at 7 PM, but at four when the doors opened, there were already lines that circled around the stadium, parking lots, and even into other buildings. I got in at 5 o'clock, but they closed the doors soon after cause it was filled up already. Unreal!

With the packed stadium, it was deafening inside as one can imagine. The hallways were packed as player signed autographs for an hour, and when the event started the whole crowd was standing and yelling. After the new IU Women's coach talked (Curt Miller from Bowling Green: Great coach!), it was finally time for the men's team to entertain. Below are my thoughts from the night:

Team - One thing I can say about this team is that they are a family. They are united and stand by each other all the time. They seem to really get along and love each other. And most importantly, the believe in each other. Oh, and they are good too. :)

Coach Crean - Is beloved by fans and deservedly so. Continues to say and do the right things. Is respected for bringing back a dead program and doing so the right way. "He chooses to do the harder right instead of the easier wrong."

Hanner Perea - After hearing so many good things about his practice play from Coach Crean, I was very excited to see this freshman's athleticism and size on display. It didn't happen cause he re-injured his foot in practice and sat out of all activities.

Will Sheehey - Crean says he is among the most improved players on the team. Scary considering how good he already was last year. But just like Perea, he sat out last night due to a minor injury he got late in the week in practice. Bummer cause he will be a major factor for the team this season.

Jeff Howard - Just like during the season, he was a non-factor last night. He did have a nice bucket though in traffic during the scrimmage.

Taylor Wayer - He sat next to Zeller during the autograph session. After talking with Cody, I skipped getting the walk-on's signature. Sorry Taylor!

Raphael Smith - Smith is an athletic walk-on guard that had his biggest moment last night in the dunk contest. He got blindfolded, ran in from the 3-point line, and dunked it one-handed. It was actually pretty impressive. But he missed his next few dunk attempts and that was that. Didn't due anything in the scrimmage.

Jonny Marlin - Marlin is a transfer walk-on from IPFW. And he is a shooter. He outshot Jordan Hulls to set the shooting competition high score last night. He did lose in the finals though. The downside is that despite his shooting in the competition, he didn't do anything in the scrimmage. Non-factor this year.

Austin Etherington - Similar to Marlin, he had his moments in the shooting competition... he is terrible though with interviews. Anyways, unlike Marlin he could see the floor some this year. He has some skill but is way too passive. He needs a killer instinct and some confidence.

Peter Jurkin - The 7-foot freshman participated in the dunk contest and was very unimpressive. He basically looked like he just laid it in without jumping. In the scrimmage, you could see his struggles on the offensive end. In fact, he struggled just catching the ball on dump-offs and even post entries. But defensively he was a major presence inside and blocked a few shots. This will be the only area he can make a difference this year.

Remy Abell - Abell's jumper looked pretty decent in the shooting competition. He knocked down a number of threes there. In the scrimmage, he looked very capable on both ends and seemed much more comfortable out there than a year ago. His problem will be that he is clearly behind Hulls and Ferrell at the point guard spot. But he can definitely contribute when given time.

Derek Elston - His first highlight of the night was the dancing. He was in the hip-hop dancing group and seemed to be a star dancer. Sage Steele also hit on him calling him "Tipton's Finest Looking..." On the flip side, he was made fun of for not knowing what NYC stood for when they flew into New York a couple years ago. Haha. Although he struggled shooting in the competition, Elston looked comfortable during the scrimmage. Like last year, he does a good job stretching the floor and knocking down open jumpers. He's a tough cover because of his size and ability to shoot from deep.

Jeremy Hollowell - This freshman swing forward looked good last night. He showed off some athleticism in the dunk contest despite not winning. In the scrimmage he played very well. He showed a very smooth outside jumper and good athleticism slashing and running the floor. I think he'll be one of the first players off the bench for us this year and could see major minutes.

Maurice Creek - Everyone was waiting to see how he looked returning from injury this time. I thought that he looked much better than last time he tried to return. He seemed to move and run better, his jumper seemed back, and his confidence has clearly returned. Getting back into the rhythm of games will be key, particularly getting experience in the big pressure games.

Yogi Ferrell - Yogi didn't make a great first impression last night in the shooting competition throwing up bricks and losing in the first round. But when the scrimmage began, I was more impressed with him than any player on the court (including Zeller). His quickness is mind-boggling, his basketball IQ is high, and his vision is incredible. He ran the offense well and was even better in the open court. He could easily average close to ten assists this season.

Christian Watford - Watford was pretty quiet last night. He was a non-factor in the shooting competition, and didn't do much in the scrimmage either. Part of that was that he was blanketed by Oladipo for much of the night, but also that he was put in one on one situations as opposed to catch and shoot positions. He did get plenty of cheers though whenever they showed his shot against Kentucky, which was seen a lot!

Jordan Hulls - Hulls was exactly what you would expect. He knocked down 3's with great regularity and showed great leadership and poise. I thought he may have looked a little quicker too which will help him on the defensive end. I guess that's what happens when you guard Yogi Ferrell in practice everyday. He led his team in scoring in the scrimmage but they lost by one.

Victor Oladipo - Victor was the co-star of the night (with Cody). His entrance was memorable. He sang, rapped, and danced too. He played emcee with Sage Steele for the first competition. Then he dominated the dunk competition and got the crowd raging. In the scrimmage, he displayed great defense and also an ability to finish. But we didn't get a chance to see how his jumpshot looked, which will be a big part of expanding his game this year.

Cody Zeller - Zeller is clearly the guy everyone was talking about throughout the night. After all, he's the reason IU fans are expecting Banner #6. His line was the longest during the autograph session, which is what you would expect with a possible #1 overall draft pick. His showed off his much improved outside game by winning the shooting competition. 3-pointers could be a part of his arsenal this year. Then in the scrimmage, he led everyone in scoring. His did well in the post and still ran the floor very well. He was noticeably stronger too. Overall, he proved to be a major stud!

Overall - Last night was filled with energy and emotion. It was fun for the fans and the players, and it only made it harder to wait for the real games to begin. IU proved to me to be a legit favorite this year. It will be interesting to see what they look like though against other teams. Their first scrimmage is November 1 against Indiana Wesleyan University. First real game is November 9 against Bryant. #CantWait

By: Andrew Miller