Quick Rundown of Hoosier Hysteria

I made it out tonight to Hoosier Hysteria, and wanted to recap some of my observations for those of you who couldn't be there. Attendance was pretty strong, maybe not as good as last year, but I was surprised at how many students lined up well before the doors opened. I don't remember the line being quite that long in the last couple years, so it was good to see that. The entire lower level was pretty much full except for the top couple rows. There were a handful of people scattered around the balcony.

Anyway, there were quite a few highlights from last season on the video board, along with a couple of interviews featuring Vic and Cody. The most controversial event of the night was the raising of the individual B1G championship banner from last season. This is only the 2nd time that this has happened in program history; Bob Knight did a similar thing for the 1983 B1G championship team. That team lost Ted Kitchel to injury, but was able to win the conference crown, which Bob Knight attributed to the great atmosphere fans created in Assembly Hall. It is often referred to as the "Fans Banner". So, the 2013 B1G champion Hoosiers will also have their own banner, even though the year "2013" is already included in the list of years on the other B1G title banner. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of the individual banner. I don't think with everything that this basketball program has accomplished that a B1G championship is worth celebrating to that extent. But I don't really think it's a huge deal. It's not something I see Crean doing every year that we win the conference. I think he sees last year as kind of unique, and he wants to celebrate in his own way.

Back to actual basketball talk, Yogi Ferrell won the 3 point contest (defeating Kaila Hulls, who could give Jordy a run for his money). It's pretty obvious that this team won't be as lethal from the 3 point line, but I was encouraged to see Yogi shoot so well. His shot looked a lot better, and really smooth. Devin Davis won the dunk contest, beating out Hanner Mosquera Perea in the final round. We all knew Hanner was pretty athletic, but I was impressed by Devin's athleticism. It's hard not to be excited to see him on the court after that.

The night ended with a scrimmage. It was good to see Peter Jurkin out there; he looked pretty active, and didn't seem to be bothered by any injuries. He also looked like his hands had really improved. Stan Robinson and Jeremy Hollowell also really impressed me. Stan was very active on defense and was aggressive in attacking the basket. The same goes for Jeremy Hollowell. I thought Jeremy had some issues with his dribble last season, but he showed no signs of that tonight. He looked much more confident, and I think he'll take a big step forward this season. Yogi was his normal self: really quick off the dribble, really good handles. Anyway, those are the guys that really stood out to me. It will be fun to watch the Hoosiers of 2013-14 grow and hopefully be prepared to make a tourney run come March.