Yogi Ferrell only stands a modest 6’0, what he lacks in size, he makes up for in heart, as he is leading the charge for a hungry Indiana Hoosier team.
Coming out of Park Tudor School, Ferrell was rated the nation’s 19th best player in the class of 2012 by Rivals.com, and was also considered the best passer and top point guard in Indiana. His high school career was good enough to earn him the honor of being selected a McDonald’s All-American.
Ferrell didn’t waste time in choosing Indiana as his college destination, picking the school at the beginning of his senior year. Ferrell also had offers from Butler, Florida, Virginia, and Wake Forest, but the temptation of playing for the state school drew Ferrell in.
The 2012-13 season saw the Indiana Hoosiers finish as the regular season Big Ten Champions, and Ferrell was a big reason for that. His averages of 7.6 points and 4.1 assists were good enough to garner him a place on the Big Ten All-Freshmen Team. He also received honorable mention honors for the All-Big Ten team by the media.
Coming into his sophomore year, Ferrell needed to step his game up in a big way, as Indiana was losing its star guard Victor Oladipo and big man Cody Zeller to the NBA. Ferrell did just that, he picked up the slack and averaged 17.2 points a game for the Hoosiers, and while the team didn’t make the NCAA Tournament, Ferrell did receive All-Big 10 Second Team honors.
This season, the Hoosiers are sitting pretty in the Big 10. Already with wins over Nebraska and Ohio State, Indiana is the highest scoring team in the conference with 82.9 points a game. Ferrell contributes 15.9 of those points, and does so shooting 43.6 percent from the field.
It’s almost impossible to say whether Ferrell will stay for his senior year at Indiana, as the temptation of going pro is sometimes too great for one to pass up. Ferrell does sometimes become too reliant on the three-point basket, as he shot 220 from beyond the arc during his junior year.
For the most part, Ferrell is still an unknown to many NBA scouts, but to fans in Indiana he is always the best player on the court.