Indiana University Athletics
Freshmen Have Had an Impact For Tom Crean’s Hoosiers
8/2/2016 10:48:00 AM | Men's Basketball
BLOOMINGTON, Indiana - As the Indiana men's basketball team enters its ninth season under Coach Tom Crean, IUHoosiers.com takes a look at some of the top seasons of true freshmen who saw significant playing time right out of high school...
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 Thomas Bryant
(Fr. Year: 2015-16) |
CAREER NOTES • 2016-17 Preseason All-American As a Freshman: Center Thomas Bryant started all 35 games in 2015-16 for the Hoosiers. He was a third-team All-Big Ten pick and member of the league's All-Freshman team. He averaged 11.9 points and 5.8 rebounds and set an IU record by making 68.3 percent of his field goal attempts. He had 23 points and eight rebounds in a home win against Minnesota, but his most memorable outing was in the NCAA Tournament where he had a huge second half and had 19 points, five rebounds and two steals in the round of 32 win over Kentucky.
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 James Blackmon Jr.
(Fr. Year: 2014-15) |
CAREER NOTES • 2016-17 Preseason Big Ten Comeback Player of the Year As a Freshman: Guard James Blackmon Jr. was named honorable mention All-Big Ten and ranked sixth in the country in scoring among freshman at 15.7 points per game. He established a new IU record for 3-point field goals made by a freshman when he drained 77 triples in helping the squad to an NCAA Tournament appearance. Twice he was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week and was a member of the Big Ten All-Freshman team. He scored a season-high 26 in a win against nationally ranked SMU and he had 22 points in Madison Square Garden against Georgetown.
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 (Fr. Year: 2014-15) |
CAREER NOTES • 2016-17 Big Ten Sleeper of the Year As a Freshman: Guard Robert Johnson started 33 of 34 games as a freshman and finished second on the team with 79 assists and 29 steals. He also was one of the top three-point shooters on the team making 38.8 percent of his long distance attempts. In the second game of the season, he dropped in 21 points against Texas Southern and his 14 points in the Big Ten opener at Nebraska were critical in the Hoosiers road victory. He also added 20 points against Penn State and 18 versus Minnesota. He averaged 8.9 points during the season.
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 Troy Williams
(Fr. Year: 2013-14) |
CAREER NOTES • Scored over 1,000 points at IU • Signed with Memphis Grizzlies As a Freshman: Forward Troy Williams started all 32 games for the Hoosiers and averaged 7.3 points and 4.4 rebounds while shooting 50.9 percent from the floor. On the big stage at Madison Square Garden, he scored 22 points against Washington and also grabbed eight rebounds. He was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week after averaging 17 points and four rebounds in games against Nebraska and Michigan in the final week of the regular season.
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 Noah Vonleh
(Fr. Year: 2013-14) |
CAREER NOTES • Lottery Pick in NBA Draft • Currently plays for Portlant Trailblazers As a Freshman: Forward Noah Vonleh was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year and third-team All-Big Ten in his only season with the Hoosiers. He averaged 11.3 points and led the Big Ten in rebounding at 9.0 per game. He also was third in the league in field goal percentage and eighth in blocked shots. In his first game at Madison Square Garden, he had 18 points, nine rebounds, two assists and two steals against Washington in leading IU to the win. He also had 17 points and six rebounds at Syracuse and 18 points and 5 rebounds at Wisconsin.
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 Kevin "Yogi" Ferrell
(Fr. Year: 2012-13) |
CAREER NOTES • Named All-American & Scored over 1,000 points • Signed with Brooklyn Nets As a Freshman: Guard Kevin Yogi Ferrell was the lone freshman to start on a team which spent the bulk of the season as the top ranked team in the country. His play in the final 52 seconds on offense and defense allowed the Hoosiers to win its first outright Big Ten title in more than 20 years with a come-from-behind win at Michigan. He was an honorable mention All-Big Ten pick and member of the league's All-Freshman team after averaging 7.6 points and was third in the Big Ten in assists at 4.2 per game. He also had a knack for making big shots early in his career, knocking down a key 3-pointer as the shot clock expired at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn against Georgetown and a 3-pointer near the end of regulation against Butler to send that game in OT.
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 (Fr. Year: 2011-12) |
CAREER NOTES • Named All-American, Scored over 1,000 points • NBA Lottery pick & currently plays for Charlotte Hornets As a Freshman: Forward Cody Zeller earned All-American honors and Big Ten Freshman of the Year accolades after he averaged 15.6 points and 6.6 rebounds. He finished fourth in the country and led the Big Ten in field goal percentage, making 62.3 percent of his shots. He scored a season-high 21 points and had eight rebounds against Notre Dame in the Crossroads Classic and was a seven-time choice for Big Ten Freshman of the Week. He also had 19 points and six rebounds at NC State, as the Hoosiers took home a road win in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. He had 18 points in a win over No. 5 Michigan State and added 20 points and six rebounds in the NCAA Tournament against Kentucky.
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 Victor Oladipo
(Fr. Year: 2010-11) |
CAREER NOTES • National Player of the Year (2012-13) • Scored over 1,000 career points • NBA Lottery Pick & currently with Oklahoma City Thunder As a Freshman: Guard Victor Oladipo was the team's sixth man during his freshman year. He averaged 7.4 points and 3.7 rebounds in 18 minutes off the bench. He shot a team-best 54.7 percent from the field and led the team with 34 steals. He scored in double figures six times that season and posted a season-high 16 points and seven rebounds against Colorado in Las Vegas. He then started Big Ten play with four straight double-figure efforts, averaging 13.5 points during that stretch run.
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 Christian Watford
(Fr. Year: 2009-10) |
CAREER NOTES • Won an ESPY Award • Scored over 1,000 points in his career • Played in NBA with Boston Celtics As a Freshman: Forward Christian Watford was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year and started all 31 games for the Hoosiers He was the top freshman scorer in the Big Ten averaging 12.0 points per game. He also led the league rookies in rebounds (6.0) and free throw percentage (80.0%) and was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman team. He had 19 points in leading the Hoosiers to a home win against Michigan and had 14 points and 11 rebounds as IU defeated Northwestern on Senior Day.
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 Jordan Hulls
(Fr. Year: 2009-10) |
CAREER NOTES • Senior CLASS Award Winner • Scored over 1,000 career points • Academic All-American As a Freshman: Guard Jordan Hulls joined the starting lineup following a season-ending injury to Maurice Creek. The Bloomington native averaged 6.4 points and led the team in three-pointers with 47. He shot 40.2% from long distance that season and his best game was a 24-point effort where he made 8 of 12 from long distance in an overtime win at home against Northwestern.
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 Maurice Creek
(Fr. Year: 2009-10) |
CAREER NOTES • Battled multiple injuries throughout his career and earned his degree As a Freshman: Creek was the top scorer on the Hoosiers at 16.4 points per game when he went down with a season ending injury to his kneecap just before the Big Ten opener. He had a 31-point performance against the John Wall led Kentucky Wildcats and led all freshman in scoring at the time at 17.1 points per game. He followed that up with 29 points against NC Central and 19 points against Maryland and 18 versus Ole Miss.
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 (Fr. Year: 2008-09) |
CAREER NOTES • Scored over 1,000 career points • Play professionally for the last four years As a Freshman: Guard Verdell Jones III started 25 games as a freshman and finished second on the team, averaging 11.0 points per game. He led the team with 100 assists and averaged 15.6 points over the last 10 games of the season and 11.9 points in Big Ten play. In his first collegiate game, he had 18 points, four rebounds, five assists three blocks and three steals against Northwestern State. He also had 18 points against Minnesota and 16 against Wisconsin.
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 (Fr. Year: 2008-09) |
CAREER NOTES • Earned his bachelor's and master's degrees during his four-year career at IU As a Freshman: Center Tom Pritchard was thrown into the fire early in his career and started all 31 games in his first campaign. He became the first freshman in IU history to begin his career with back-to-back double-doubles when he notched his first double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds against Northwestern State and followed it up with a 19-point, 10-board performance vs. IUPUI . He also finished eighth in the conference in rebounding at 6.4 caroms per game He also averaged 9.7 points per game.
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Players Mentioned
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