With NBA on hold, Yogi Ferrell aims to leave Indiana legacy

Nicole Auerbach | USA TODAY Sports

No one denies that the NBA's allure is intoxicating. No one faults a college basketball star for being tempted by it, no matter how many cautionary tales exist about players who weren't quite ready for the big leagues.

Yogi Ferrell thought about declaring for the draft. The Indiana point guard heard he had a shot to make his dream come true by playing in the NBA.

"Early on, I was leaning toward leaving and declaring," Ferrell says. "But as time went on, talking to my family, talking to the coaches and just seeing where I wanted to be as a person, and for the development of my game, I felt like it was the best option for me to stay."

He looked at what he had accomplished at Indiana — and what he hadn't. He looked at his teammates and the amount of talent that would be coming back for the Hoosiers this season. He looked in the metaphorical mirror.

"I wanted to leave a legacy, being a guy who graduated from college and stayed all four years, one of the top players in the country," he says.

Indiana coach Tom Crean says Ferrell handled his decision with class and thoughtfulness.

"Certainly, he would have liked to been a guy who knew his future was set this last year, but at the same time was realistic and mature enough to know that it wasn't, that there was more risk than potential reward," Crean says. "When you look at the potential of what he can do as far as leaving a legacy as somebody that was a huge winner (at Indiana).

"I think that's a big pride point for him, to be absolutely known for a lot more than games, statistics, three-point shooting, but to be really known for winning and to have his name and his team be recognized as being a great winner in the end. I think that drives him, too."

Indiana's roller-coaster 2014-15 season resulted in a Round of 64 exit in the NCAA tournament, a loss to No. 7 seed Wichita State. The Hoosiers finished the season 20-14, an improvement from 17-15 (and no postseason) the year before.

Still, the fan base has grown restless since Indiana's Sweet 16 run in 2013 (during Ferrell's freshman year). The last two years have featured frustrating losses and off-the-court incidents.

This season, though, expectations are high, as the Hoosiers bring back more talent than anyone else in the Big Ten. They could enter the season ranked in the top 15, thanks to their offense, led by guards Ferrell, James Blackmon Jr. and Robert Johnson and forward Troy Williams. Freshman center Thomas Bryant, a top-10 recruit, should provide a big boost to the frontcourt, particularly on the glass and defensively.

But the key will be Ferrell, the 6-0 guard who averaged 16.3 points and 4.9 assists a game last season. He'll be relied upon to run the team and be one of its leaders.

"He's really taken ownership of his own actions and his skills, but more importantly he's been able to lead us," teammate and close friend Nick Zeisloft says. "At the gym every day, he gets every guy on the same page on this team.

"That's just what sets Yogi apart. He's talented, but it's not just his skill and talent that he really uses all the time. It's his leadership skills. It's his ability to affect the team in a positive way."

Beyond improving as a leader, Ferrell hopes to take the lessons learned from his decision to forgo the draft and apply them when he puts in his name next spring. He can't make himself any taller, but he can try to make himself a small scoring guard at the next level.

"The feedback I got was to mix up my game," Ferrell says. "Basically, showing them that I could switch guys up really up really well for them to be able to shoot their best shot. With that, it's knowing where everybody's got to be, just going out there and trying to make my teammates better, and when the opportunity comes for me to knock down a shot, I have to be able to do that."

Crean says the feedback from NBA folks will help Ferrell work on becoming a more complete point guard. Less dribbling. More attacking. Quicker passing. Even better shooting. Lockdown, full-court defense.

"Really showing point guard skills and at the same time being able to mix up the many different ways he can score," Crean says, "he's attacked that."