Dana Hunsinger Benbow

dana.benbow@indystar.com

He was watching a Major League Baseball game on TV Wednesday night when the news flashed across the ticker at the bottom of the screen.

What? Larry Bullington blinked, opened his eyes, and there it was again.

Jeff Teague, his former, quiet, lightning quick, stellar ballhandling phenom, was coming home.

Teague, according to unofficial reports, was being traded to the Indiana Pacers in a three-way deal that would send George Hill to Utah.

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Teague would be the Pacers' elite starting point guard, whisking in to set up Paul George's shots, to create the offense for a team the way Larry Bird wants. He would be back in Indianapolis after seven seasons with the Atlanta Hawks, intended to catapult the Pacers to NBA champion caliber.

Bullington was ecstatic. How amazing and humbling to see a kid he coached at Pike High School return to star as a pro in his hometown.

Because the last time Teague played in Indiana, he wasn't exactly a guy who burst onto the court and made people talk — the way people usually talk about kids who end up going pro.

"He wasn't one that, man, you come out on the floor and there he is," said Bullington, who coached Teague through his junior season. "He earned all of his stripes the hard way."

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Maybe that was because Teague wasn't a showboat. He liked to play ball old school, as in more drive to the lane and fewer 3-point shots.

To those who watched him make his way up through Lincoln Middle School, Teague was good. Solid. But he wasn't a Damon Bailey. He wasn't an Eric Gordon.

Heck, Teague played on the freshman team as a freshman.

But Bullington remembers that skinny kid with braids who weighed 125 pounds sopping wet. He remembers seeing something in those oversized hands and feet when Teague was an eighth grader.

"He wasn't very big at that time, but my gosh, his ballhandling skills were unbelievable," Bullington said. "I thought, even then at that time, he had a chance to play pro ball."

He sure did.

* * *

You hear about kids who always have a basketball in their hands. It's a cliche. But that's who Teague was. He loved the game. He studied the game. He carried a basketball everywhere he went, starting at age 5.

He came from basketball stock. His dad, Shawn Teague, led Anderson High School to the 1979 state championship game before spending a year at Missouri, playing with Steve Stipanovich and Jon Sundvold. Shawn Teague then moved to Boston University to join his older brother, John, where they were coached by a young go-getter named Rick Pitino, who wasn't yet 30.

Basketball and Teagues just go together. Take the court in the backyard of his childhood home on the northwest side of Indianapolis. Jeff Teague was 10 or so when the family moved into the house where the half-court was being built. It didn't have lights. That didn't matter.

Jeff Teague and his brother Marquis, younger by five years, would play and play and play. They would be there at midnight playing in the dark, unable to see the rim.

"Neither wanted to lose, and with Marquis being that much younger, a lot of times he kind of resorted to some tricks to compete," Shawn Teague said, recalling those backyard games in a 2012 IndyStar story. "There were fouls in most games. They were very competitive." Marquis went on to play for the Chicago Bulls and is now with the Oklahoma City Blue of the NBA Development League.

Maybe it was those backyard games that did the trick. By his sophomore year, Jeff Teague was playing some varsity — but not starting — on a team that was ranked second nationally and had just finished as runner-up in the Class 4A state tourney in 2002 and then won a state title in 2003.

Teague said at the time the transition from freshman to varsity was tough.

"I was basically better than everyone (on the freshman teams) because the other good players my age were playing varsity," he told IndyStar as a 6-1, 155-pound sophomore. "Now people are bigger and stronger than (I am), and it's been a (learning) experience for me."

But his raw talent shined through.

Troy Inman, who was assistant principal at Pike, would sit in the stands and watch Teague. He was seeing exactly what Bullington had seen. Maybe this kid wasn't splashy, but he definitely could go somewhere with those skills.

"I remember seeing him playing as a sophomore; he wasn't starting and he would come in and just score at will," said Inman, now the principal at Pike. "I remember asking coach Bullington, 'What about Jeff?' "

What about Teague as a starter?

Bullington was hard on Teague; he wanted him to step up. Teague needed to be a leader if he was going to be on the court. He needed to yell instructions on the court, be a Type A personality.

"(Bullington) wants me to be a coach on the floor," Teague said at the time. "He says I'm too quiet (on the court), but in the hallways I talk."

After coming off the bench early in the season, Teague stepped up as a leader and got his shot, becoming Pike's starting point guard in December.

"He was so quick," said Inman. "I still think he's one of the fastest kids in the league with a basketball."

Inman watched Teague in awe.

"When you're that quick, you get your shot off," Inman said, "and make people miss you."

But what Inman and Bullington were seeing in Teague wasn't necessarily translating in the world of high school recruitment. Even by Teague's junior year, no big colleges were scrambling to get him.

Insider: Three Pacers takeaways after trades, draft

* * *

The Teague brothers, Marquis and Jeff, are an interesting study in how tough it can be to divine a future career in high school.

Marquis Teague was highly touted and recruited — ranked as a five-star recruit by Rivals.com and listed as the No. 1 point guard and the No. 5 player in the nation his senior year of 2011.

Jeff Teague was ranked a four-star recruit by Rivals, listed as the No. 9 point guard and the No. 57 player in the nation his senior year. He was a standout locally, but not in basketball circles where Eric Gordon was being talked about.

That changed after Teague's junior season, when he made his way onto national recruiting lists after stellar performances during the offseason evaluation periods. Coaches from all the major college programs were scouting camps and tournaments across the country. A few started noticing Teague.

His senior year, Teague averaged 22 points and four assists per game. Meanwhile, he had a decision to make: Indiana University or Wake Forest.

With IU's basketball program up in the air (Kelvin Sampson was coach at the time, leaving later amid recruiting violations) his dad encouraged Teague to play at Wake Forest. Teague agreed.

As a freshman, Teague was second on the team in scoring, averaging 13.9 points per game, and was named to the Atlantic Coast Conference's all-freshman team. As a sophomore guard in 2008, he was averaging a team-high 21 points on 49 percent shooting

Before Wake Forest played IU that December, coach Tom Crean summed up Teague's performance.

"Jeff Teague is playing as well as anybody I've witnessed to this point in the season,'' Crean told IndyStar. "In terms of being able to get 3s, being able to get to the rim and keeping his teammates involved in a big way."

That season, Teague led Wake Forest in scoring with 18.8 points per game, in passing with 3.5 assists per game, in steals with 1.9 per game, and in 3-point percentage at 48.5 percent. He was named an All-American, selected as a finalist for the Bob Cousy Award, the John Wooden Award and the Oscar Robertson Trophy. He was chosen for the Naismith Trophy.

On April 8, 2009, Teague declared for the NBA draft, forgoing his final two years of college eligibility.

This pretty good high school player turned college standout was ready to be an NBA star.

* * *

Teague was taken as the 19th pick in the first round of the 2009 NBA draft.

He started just three of 71 games in his first season with the Hawks, averaging 3.2 points, 1.7 assists and 0.9 rebounds. But Teague quickly earned more playing time and a starting post.

In February 2015, Teague became the first Indianapolis-bred NBA All-Star since George McGinnis in 1979. He was chosen after leading the Hawks to the East's best record, highlighted by a 19-game win streak.

This past season, Teague finished with averages of 15.7 points and 5.9 assists in 79 games. Teague helped the Hawks reach the Eastern Conference semifinals, where they were swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Now the Pacers are ready to bring Teague back to Indy and try to make the most of this hometown player.

Teague has a large tattoo on his left arm, the area code 317 alongside the Indianapolis skyline. Those who know Teague said there is no question: He is thrilled to get the chance to play in Indianapolis again.

Even while in Atlanta, Teague would come back to speak to players and run basketball clinics at Pike.

Pike coach Bill Zych said that same quiet, unassuming guy shows up — and then steals the show.

Not long ago, Teague was back at Pike shooting around. Zych saw him and asked, impromptu, if Teague would speak to his players.

Teague gave 45 minutes, talking about overcoming obstacles, how he wasn't highly recruited, but how he kept giving it his all.

It was a perfect summary of Teague's path in life, Zych said. It was just like Teague.

"He doesn't seem to be a very outgoing person, but he was really good in a situation we put him in," Zych said. "We'll be glad to get him back here in Indianapolis."

Follow IndyStar reporter Dana Benbow on Twitter: @DanaBenbow.