REVISIONIST HISTORY: What if the Hoosiers still rostered all of its transfers from seasons past?

Note: Yes, I realize some of these players would not still be eligible in 2016-17 if they had not transferred to begin with, and no, I do not care.

Tom Crean is a trendsetter.

For obvious reasons during his first few years at Indiana, the construction of IU’s roster was a constantly-shifting assembly line of moving parts and players. Hell, at one point in the dark season of 2008-09, Crean gave actual playing time to a team manager. Rebuilding an entire identity from the ground up at a high-profile school like Indiana is an insanely difficult thing to do, and is bound to be chock-full of both recruiting hits and misses. When the misses came, Crean did not hesitate to cut them loose.

Every single year, it seemed as if multiple transfers were not only likely, but inevitable. The term “spring Creaning” became commonplace lingo amongst Indiana fans, and many wondered whether Joani Harbaugh’s husband really had a master plan, or whether he was slinging mud at the wall just to see what stuck. The criticism he took was harsh but warranted, because since he took over in 2008, 18 players have transferred from IU under Crean’s watch.

While that number is staggering, in the one-and-done era of college basketball 4-year players are becoming increasingly more rare. Because of this, teams all across the NCAA have taken the transfer market from a rebuilding tactic into the mainstream as coaches seek to maximize efficiency by squeezing out what little eligibility many of these players have left. Now, transfer numbers are at all-time highs, with over 700 in 2015-16 alone, and another 600 prior to this season.

For the Hoosiers, only a select few still hurt to think about after the benefit of hindsight (looking at you, Luke Fischer). Some have moved on to high majors in which they find themselves in important roles for relevant teams, and some have carved out roles of varying sizes at smaller schools. All in all, there are 10 players who started their careers in Bloomington who are still currently active on NCAA rosters.

Because a little revisionist history never hurt anyone, and also because it’s somewhat inspirational to see that the vast majority of these kids didn’t let an unfortunate situation get the best of them as they waited for the other shoe to drop, let’s see how they are faring in 2016-17 and imagine what a bizarro-world team that consists solely of former Hoosier misfits would look like.

Guards

Ron Patterson - After being bounced from IU before ever stepping foot on campus, the first member of “The Movement” in 2012 played two years at Syracuse in a reserve role before transferring yet again back to his hometown to suit up for IUPUI. He seems to have found a comfort level now, and is a key contributor for the Jaguars this year in extended minutes.

2016-17 Stats: 25.6 MPG, 8.9 PPG, 38% 3P, 1.5 APG, 1.4 SPG

Stan Robinson - A member and solid contributor of that bizarre 2013-14 IU team that seemed to be stuck in a perpetually hostile environment, Robinson regressed in his sophomore year before transferring to Rhode Island, where he has settled into a niche role in his first year of action for the Rams.

2016-17 Stats: 17 MPG, 5.0 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 1.3 SPG

Wings

Jeremy Hollowell - The second coming of Christian Watford’s astounding lack of expression, Hollowell never was able to put it together on the court in Bloomington. It wasn’t for a lack of opportunity, though, as he had every chance to become an impact player during his time with Indiana. Whether high-major D1 basketball was too tall a task, or possibly the pressure of playing close to home getting to him, this member of “The Movement” finally found a home away from home with Georgia State, where he is the Panthers’ leading scorer for the second straight year.

2016-17 Stats: 13.5 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 1.8 APG

Devin Davis - Man, I really wanted this one to work out. A career that never really get off the ground at Indiana, Devin Davis never was able to get the chance to make amends with his home-state school. After a bizarre car accident involving another player on this list and another incident in which he became a casualty of Indiana’s newly-instituted zero-tolerance policy involving run-ins with the law, Davis was dismissed from the team in 2015. He has rebounded nicely, though, after a year at Odessa JC, and is now a major contributor for the 7-2 Houston Cougars.

2016-17 Stats: 11.1 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 1.4 APG

Max Hoetzel - Under normal circumstances, Max Hoetzel would have never been an Indiana Hoosier. However, due to decisions of other players on this list, there was wide-open roster spaces available in 2014-15. Hoetzel finished out his freshman year with a few highlights, but transferred in hopes of finding a place that allowed him to make a bigger impact on the court. It seems that being back near home at San Diego State, he has found just that.

2016-17 Stats: 8.8 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 38% 3P

Big Men

Luke Fischer - This one hurts a lot, because Luke Fischer’s fit basketball-wise at Indiana was picture perfect. Maybe if that 2013-14 team wasn’t so damn dysfunctional, Fischer would’ve never gotten as homesick as he did, and would have stuck out his tenure in Bloomington. A perfect prototype for bigs in Tom Crean’s system, Fischer left before Big Ten play even started in his freshman year, and has developed into a big-time player, exactly what people expected him to be all along, in his new digs closer to home at Marquette.

2016-17 Stats: 13.6 PPG, 6.2 PPG, 1.2 BPG, 75% FG (!)

Emmitt Holt - Another painful one, because while some of the players on this list made decisions that warranted being dismissed, Emmitt Holt truly feels like a victim of circumstance. Both of his “incidents” involved some incredibly unclear details in which it’s extremely easy to place Holt as being in the wrong place at the wrong time. A very good kid with a bright future, Holt is now realizing his potential with Providence in the Big East this year, where, in his first year with the Friars, he is putting up big numbers in a power conference.

2016-17 Stats: 14.0 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 1.1 BPG, 52% FG

Hanner Perea - What a whirlwind of a career Hanner had at IU, huh? The final member of “The Movement” on this list, Mosquera-Perea had a steady career that was building toward an important Senior year role on the 2015-16 team when a foolish decision resulted in him being swiftly booted from the team. The insane athlete out of Colombia licked his wounds for a year and landed on his feet at East Tennessee State, where he currently plays an important role for the Buccaneers.

2016-17 Stats: 9.0 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 1.3 BPG

Jeremiah April - Sign me up as a private investigator, because nothing can be harder than finding the whereabouts of Jeremiah April’s community college box scores. A very late offseason addition to the Indiana team in 2014-15 purely as roster filler, April was a non-factor for the Hoosiers, and is much more suited to his current situation at Wabash Valley CC.

2016-17 Stats: 5.8 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 57% FG

Peter Jurkin - Rounding out the all-transfer squad is Peter Jurkin, who although was a part of the 2012 recruiting class, will not get the luxury of being acknowledged as a part of “The Movement”, despite the header photo. A Tom Crean pet project that never materialized, Jurkin only saw garbage time minutes in his two seasons at IU before transferring to East Tennessee State, where he is a teammate of Hanner Mosquera-Perea.

2016-17 Stats: 2.0 PPG, 1.8 RPG, .5 BPG

Honorary members

Remy Abell, Austin Etherington, Maurice Creek, Jonny Marlin, Bawa Muniru, Bobby Capobianco, Malik Story, Nick Williams