Welcome to the Mavs, Yogi! He's smarter than your average bear!

Rick Carlisle stood on the practice court at American Airlines Center late in January after his team suffered another injury to its backcourt. The Mavericks were forced to turn to the D-League for reinforcement and found Yogi Ferrell, an undersized point guard nicknamed after the cartoon character.

Though he was a standout collegiately at Indiana, Ferrell went undrafted and spent the majority of his time in the D-League. Because of the injuries, Ferrell was set to be thrust in a starting role against Tony Parker and the San Antonio Spurs less than 48 hours after getting the call from Dallas. Carlisle, raving about Ferrell’s basketball IQ, was confident that he’d be ready to go.

“He’s demonstrated that he’s as quick a study as we’ve ever seen,” Carlisle said.

Ferrell attributed that to his experience prior to the NBA.

“I come from a program where basketball IQ is everything,” Ferrell said about his time at Indiana. “With the years I had back in college, it’s really helping me and preparing me for this level.”

That experience in college was under the direction of head coach Tom Crean, who held back tears when talking about him on Indiana’s Senior Night in 2016.

“He is one of the great competitors that I’ve ever been around,” a choked up Crean said. “He’s as headstrong as anyone I’ve been around, but he’s also one of the absolute smartest basketball players that I’ve ever had the privilege of coaching.”

Ferrell isn’t the only Maverick Crean coached in college. Prior to arriving in Indiana in 2008, Crean was at Marquette where he coached Wesley Matthews, one of the undisputed leaders in the Mavericks locker room. After great college careers, both Ferrell and Matthews went undrafted, something Crean said was personal for him.

“When they didn’t get drafted it hurt me personally for them,” Crean said. “But then the next step comes. They both had paths that were very hard for them. NBA success comes down to mental toughness, consistent improvement, being teachable, being a great teammate and handling success. I never doubted they could do these things.”

Carlisle, who now coaches Matthews and Ferrell, says he sees a lot of similar qualities in the Tom Crean products.

“They’re both hard-nosed,” Carlisle said. “They’re great workers. They both have great toughness. They’re both highly self-motivated. They got a lot of the same qualities.”

In Ferrell’s first two games with the Mavericks, he helped the team beat the Spurs and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Seeing his success against All-Star point guards like Parker and Kyrie Irving caught many off guard, but not Matthews.

“He’s a product of Tom Crean,” Matthews said following a win over the Cavaliers. “Partially being a product of Tom Crean myself, I know he’s been battle tested. I know Crean’s going through a lot of head games and a lot of wild [stuff] down there in Indiana. He’s not going to be scared.”

Ferrell said Crean was a smart coach that demanded a lot of his players and brought energy every day. After sharing experiences with Matthews about Crean, the two came to a consensus.

“One thing that me and him agree on is that being coached by Tom Crean definitely gets you ready for the NBA,” Ferrell said.

Crean said that despite not being with Matthews for his final year in college, he worked relentlessly to get NBA teams to believe in him. At the end of the day, Matthews was denied a draft pick but gained a chip on his shoulder he carries to this day.

Ferrell carries a similar burden, just recently scoring a two-year deal with the Mavericks. As the guy who saw the two players grow, Crean said the similar traits between the two are what made their NBA success a possibility.

“The both have a strong inner fire,” Crean said. “They both are highly, highly competitive and are always looking for ways to win.”

Mentality aside, their work ethic to hone their skill set on the court is also something the two have in common.

“They never get tired of being in the gym, at all hours of the day or night,” Crean said. “If Yogi can learn to improve as much as Wes has throughout his time in the NBA he will have a tremendous career.”

Ferrell will now have that opportunity in Dallas, with a locker just a few feet away from Matthews’ and working with him to try to get the Mavs into the playoffs. With the odds stacked against a team that has dealt with injuries all season long, they will now look to a couple of Tom Crean products to take them home.

Crean has no doubt they can be successful.

“I watched these guys fight through so much in college that them fighting to make it is not a surprise at all,” Crean said. “They work too hard to be denied or to stay down for long.”