Zach Osterman

zach.osterman@indystar.com

So deep was Indiana's 1989 recruiting class -- so vested and accomplished -- that the player who would eventually become its star wasn't always sure he measured up.

"I was in awe of those guys," former Hoosier Calbert Cheaney said in a recent phone interview.

College basketball's fall signing window opens next week, on Nov. 12. Indiana is expected to sign two players from Missouri, wing/forward Ogugua Anunoby and power forward Juwan Morgan.

That small class can't compare, but even the biggest groups coach Tom Crean has signed at IU (six, in 2009, '13 and '14) don't match the size and accomplishments of Indiana's 1989 class, a group featured in a May 15, 1989, Chicago Tribune piece under the headline "Greatest Recruiting Class Ever?"

Indiana's class 25 years ago was seven players, five of them from the state. Those five were all Indiana All-Stars. Pat Graham was that year's IndyStar Mr. Basketball. Two of those five – Pat Graham and Greg Graham (no relation) – were McDonald's All-Americans. Cheaney, who would become Indiana's and the Big Ten's all-time leading scorer, wasn't always convinced he could match his classmates' talent.

"But then we got a chance to meet them and we started playing a little bit, I knew it was a good fit for all of us," he said. "I said to myself, 'I think I'm gonna be OK.'"

Surrounded by talented teammates, Cheaney – less well-known than some of his classmates because a broken foot cost him the end of his senior season at Evansville Harrison – exploded in college.

"I can remember after practices or after workouts, walking to the locker room with everyone kind of smiling like, 'Are you serious?'" Pat Graham said. "I was ecstatic. … We knew a week into practice, open gym, who the guy was."

Wall-to-wall coverage of high school prospects and their college decisions wasn't mainstream then, so players needed some acclimatization.

Now, because of camps and showcases, cell phones and social media, recruits from different parts of the country can band together in recruiting. Tyus Jones and Jahlil Okafor, two of the most talented players in the 2014 class, committed to Duke together, despite playing their high school basketball in different states.

Members of the '89 class don't remember such direct communication, but they were certainly aware of one another. Elite players saw each other at AAU tournaments – the two out-of-state signees were from Illinois and Ohio – and several even played together on Bloomington Red, a well-known summer team at that time.

Greg Graham recalled the class growing organically.

"I can't tell you who signed first or whatever," Graham said, "but it was kind of like a ripple effect. Once guys starting committing, the number got to seven."

Pat Graham, Greg Graham, Cheaney, Todd Leary, Chris Lawson, Lawrence Funderburke and Chris Reynolds -- more than half of Indiana's 13 scholarships, all in one class.

Greg Graham remembered committing to Indiana after one phone call from then-coach Bob Knight. Funderburke, who was considering IU and North Carolina, keeps to this day a letter Knight sent him during his recruitment.

"He said, 'Lawrence, I've never wanted to coach a player as badly as you, not just because of your physical abilities, but your intellectual abilities,'" Funderburke said, recounting the letter.

Greg Graham said Knight's sway was undeniable, given his success and stature at the time.

"It's playing for a legendary coach," he said of picking IU. "It was one conversation and I committed to him."

Heavy expectations attached themselves to that group before it ever arrived on campus. Indiana had just won a national title in 1987, and the '89 class looked capable of repeating that feat.

It didn't quite reach those heights. Funderburke (Ohio State) and Lawson (Vanderbilt) wound up transferring. Pat Graham struggled with a recurring foot injuring and had to redshirt one year.

But as a group, those Hoosiers still reached the 1992 Final Four and the 1993 Elite Eight. Between 1989-93, Indiana went 105-27, and after an 18-11 first season, the '89 class finished its next three ranked in The Associated Press top five each time. During that three-year span, the Hoosiers lost just 16 games, and they finished the 1992-93 season ranked No. 1 in The AP poll.

"I think they met all the expectations, and exceeded them in Calbert's case," said Bob Hammel, a former Bloomington Herald-Telephone and Herald-Times sportswriter who covered Indiana for several decades. "I don't think anybody anticipated that 25 years later, he'd still be the Big Ten's leading scorer."

Greg Graham insists -- and Hammel doesn't disagree -- that Alan Henderson's knee injury in 1993 was the only obstacle between that group and a national title.

"You ask any of those guys, the one thing that was missing from that class and those teams was a national championship," Greg Graham said. "Probably one of the greater teams that didn't win it."

Follow Star reporter Zach Osterman on Twitter: @ZachOsterman.

CALBERT CHEANEY, EVANSVILLE HARRISON

The player Greg Graham swears would have been Indiana's third McDonald's All-American in 1989 if not for injury, Cheaney arrived in Bloomington to dampened fanfare after missing the back half of his senior season at Evansville Harrison because of a broken foot. Yet he went on to enjoy the most illustrious career of his class.

Cheaney finished his four-year career as Indiana's and the Big Ten's all-time leading scorer, with 2,613 points. For his career, he shot 55.9 percent from the field and 43.8 percent from behind the 3-point line. When Cheaney set the record, against Northwestern, Knight stopped the game to honor the accomplishment. It was the only time Hammel could remember Indiana's legendary coach going so far to celebrate an individual accomplishment.

"That's the only time in his 29 years when a game was stopped for an individual performance," Hammel said.

Cheaney enjoyed a 13-year NBA career that took him to Washington, Boston, Utah, Denver and Golden State. After retiring, he worked in the Warriors' front office before returning to his alma mater as director of operations under Tom Crean in 2011. In 2013, he left Indiana for an assistant coaching position at Saint Louis, under former IU assistant and Evansville head coach Jim Crews. Cheaney is married, with two children.

LAWRENCE FUNDERBURKE, COLUMBUS (Ohio) WEHRLE

One of just two out-of-state players in the class, Funderburke started quickly at Indiana, performing well in the Indiana Classic and helping the Hoosiers to an undefeated start. But a clash in practice with Bob Knight prompted Funderburke to leave the team midway through his freshman season, a decision he regrets now.

"It was a mental thing, because he didn't want me to get a big head, because I was turning the corner and I was learning the system," Funderburke said. "I don't really have a lot of regrets, other than the fact that I didn't finish what I started at Indiana."

Funderburke spent an extra semester in Bloomington the next fall, so that he could be allowed to transfer. Switching from IU to Ohio State, he helped the Buckeyes win a Big Ten title in 1992.

After more than a decade playing professionally, Funderburke returned home to Ohio. He earned his master's and certification as a financial planner, and he runs the Lawrence Funderburke Youth Organization, where he mentors young people growing up with the same disadvantaged background he did. He lives in Ohio with his wife and two children.

"My passion is really helping kids make the right decision in life," he said.

GREG GRAHAM, WARREN CENTRAL

One of three Indianapolis-area members of the '89 class, Graham enjoyed an illustrious four-year career in Bloomington. He finished with 1,590 career points, landing him on IU's all-time top 15, and his career 3-point shooting percentage is 43.9.

After college, Graham played in the NBA from 1993-98, with stops in Philadelphia, New Jersey, Seattle and Cleveland. His shooting touch didn't follow him to the pros, where Graham shot just 29 percent from behind the arc over those five seasons.

In 2008, Graham was appointed head coach at Warren Central. Returning to his alma mater was a decision Graham called a "no-brainer." At Warren Central, Graham coached and mentored current Hoosier Devin Davis, who graduated from the same school in 2013. Graham remains at Warren Central to this day.

"It was a great opportunity for me," he said. "If I was going to coach basketball, it was only going to be at my high school."

PAT GRAHAM, FLOYD CENTRAL

Pat Graham won Mr. Basketball in 1989, despite competition from several of his classmates. He was one of two McDonald's All-Americans in the class, alongside Greg Graham. Kentucky and Indiana both made it to the wire in Graham's recruitment, before a recruiting scandal in Lexington made Indiana – his likely choice anyway – an easy pick.

A recurring foot injury hampered Graham's IU career, costing him one redshirt season and bothering him in parts of others. As a redshirt senior in 1993-94, he averaged 11.8 points per game and shot nearly 57 percent from behind the 3-point line, including a 6-of-7 shooting performance against Ohio State on Feb. 2, 1994. Indiana won 21 games that season, losing in the Sweet Sixteen to Boston College.

Eschewing opportunities to play overseas, Graham decided to end his basketball career after his time at Indiana. He moved to Evansville, where he works today in marketing for a therapy company. Married with two children, he coaches basketball and baseball, and he's done some coaching work with Evansville Memorial, the high school his children will eventually attend.

"I still stay in with basketball, working with kids," Graham said. "I guess probably I'm smart enough to get out of the basketball thing, but dumb enough to still try and help and teach and do what I can with kids."

CHRIS LAWSON, BLOOMINGTON SOUTH

The only Bloomington native of the class, Lawson was a 6-9 center who drew comparisons to former Indiana Mr. Basketball Kent Benson, an anchor of the 1975-76 undefeated team.

His Indiana career never included that kind of success, but Lawson did win a conference title as a junior at Vanderbilt, after transferring and sitting out the 1991-92 season. That team won a school-record 28 games and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen, after picking up Vanderbilt's first SEC title in men's basketball since 1974. Lawson started all 34 of the Commodores' games that season.

According to the school's website, Lawson now works as a pharmaceutical sales representative, in Salina, Kan.

TODD LEARY, LAWRENCE NORTH

An Indiana All-Star and state champion with Lawrence North, Leary wasn't as heralded as some of his classmates but still brought an impressive pedigree to Bloomington. He wound up making his name as a 3-point shooter and he still ranks as one of the best career shooters from behind the arc in program history, averaging more than 42 percent.

Leary joined the IU Radio Network in 2001 as color analyst, alongside play-by-play man Don Fischer. He served in that position until 2010, when he ran into legal trouble for his part in a mortgage scheme in Allen County and on charges of theft in Hamilton County. Leary served home detention in both cases.

He has not rejoined Indiana radio broadcasts since, but coach Tom Crean has welcomed Leary back into the program. He was at Hoosier Hysteria in October to present an honorary pair of candy-striped pants to a new Indiana player.

CHRIS REYNOLDS, PEORIA (Ill.) HIGH

A two-time all-state selection and a Parade All-American, Reynolds came to Indiana as a point guard and wound up a crucial locker-room presence, according to teammates. He was a four-year letter winner and a member of IU's 1992 Final Four team. He appeared in 129 games as a Hoosier, and finished his career in the program's top 15 all-time in steals and assists.

After college, Reynolds earned a law degree and a Ph.D. from Indiana. He worked in athletics administration for Notre Dame before returning to IU, where he served as a senior associate athletic director. He was the sport administrator for several programs, including men's basketball, and he acted as the department's liaison to the university general counsel's office.

At the end of 2012, Reynolds took a position as deputy director of athletics & recreation, operations, at Northwestern, after nine years at IU. Reynolds is married, with two children.