It's no secret that many of the nation's top high school basketball players reside in the state of Indiana. And since being hired as IU coach, Tom Crean has made it a point of emphasis to recruit and get those players to come to Bloomington.
It's worked so far with Broad Ripple's Ron Patterson. It's worked so far with Hamilton Heights' Austin Etherington. It's also worked for freshman AAU teammates Trey Lyles and James Blackmon Jr.
One of the top remaining targets the Hoosiers hope to add soon to that list is Park Tudor (Indianapolis) junior guard Kevin 'Yogi' Ferrell. The Indiana Elite AAU prospect ranks as Rivals.com's No. 2 point guard and No. 17 overall player in the class of 2012.
I spoke with Ferrell on Sunday night about his visit to Bloomington for Hoosier Hysteria and his expectations for the high school season.
IDS: What were your overall impressions of Hoosier Hysteria?
Yogi Ferrell: I was great to see so many people there. Even though they didn't win that many games last year, it shows that the fans still give a lot of support.
IDS: What was it like to hear the crowd chanting your name during the event?
YF: That was a lot of fun. I really liked that a lot.
IDS: Did you have a chance to talk with Coach Crean before or after Hoosier Hysteria?
YF: Yes I did. He was just saying how much the fans support the team. He said, 'You won't get this anywhere else. Indiana is the place.'"
IDS: Was there any part of Hoosier Hysteria that stood out for you?
YF: Nothing really. Everything was just great.
IDS: Did you get to spend any extra time in Bloomington after Hoosier Hysteria?
YF: I stayed overnight down there with Jeremy Hollowell. It was a lot of fun. We just hung out and chilled.
IDS: How nice was it to be able to spend more time with him?
YF: It was a lot of fun. We played AAU together in third, fourth and fifth grade, but I hadn't really talked to him much until this weekend. We've talked before, but really hadn't hung out. He's a real fun dude.
IDS: Did you and Jeremy talk at all about possibly playing college basketball together?
YF: A little. We talked about where each other was going to go and maybe going together.
IDS: Obviously you are considering a lot of different schools. How high on the list is IU at this point?
YF: I'd say its up there, but I don't really have any favorites right now.
IDS: What type of expectations do you have for yourself this season?
YF: We are definitely going to try to make it back to state, that's for sure. That's the No. 1 thing. We are kind of small this year, but we are going to try to win more games.
