Zach Osterman

zach.osterman@indystar.com

BLOOMINGTON – Max Bielfeldt attended his first Big Ten tournament when he was “5 or 6,” and hasn’t stopped going since.

He was in the crowd for four of Illinois’ six NCAA tournament games in 2005, in his childhood team's run to the national title game.

He grew up an Illini fan, came of age as a Michigan Wolverine and is now aiming to win a conference title with Indiana. There might not be a more consummate Big Ten man.

“The Big Ten definitely runs in our family,” his father, David Bielfeldt, said.

No Bielfeldt has traversed the conference quite like Max, the graduate transfer forward who has become a critical piece for the championship-contending Hoosiers.

After Indiana’s upset loss to Wake Forest in Maui, Bielfeldt fielded six of the seven postgame questions asked to players, handling them with poise. He jokes with Yogi Ferrell about being old, while taking some of the burden of leadership off of the senior’s shoulders. He knocks down 3-pointers and bulls past 7-foot big men, and talks about a Final Four run like he’s been through one before, because he has.

All of this, from a player that got to campus in June.

“Mentoring is a very nice fit for Max,” said his mother, Julie. “He considers, he listens to people and he likes to analyze.”

Added David: “Max was always the steadying influence.”

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That began at Notre Dame High School in Peoria, Ill. When players had a problem, they went to Bielfeldt. After games, the gym would empty out while David and Julie waited on their son – he was still in the locker room, talking with his coaches long after the final horn.

Ties to Illinois ran strong. David’s mother was homecoming queen there, and his father played multiple sports for the Illini. Julie’s father graduated from Illinois’ law school.

Two of his sisters went to Illinois. One, Matti, played volleyball there. Former Illinois center and current Portland Trail Blazer Meyers Leonard is his brother-in-law.

The Bielfeldt Athletic Administration Building sits just across Fourth Street from the State Farm Center, where IU and Illinois will meet Thursday.

So when it came to recruiting, the natural assumption was Max would follow the family.

“Michigan came in and he had a great game, and (U-M assistant coach) Jeff Meyer said, ‘We want to see you up at Michigan on Sunday,’” David said.

The camaraderie he felt in Ann Arbor appealed to Bielfeldt. Blue-collar players like Chesterton's Zack Novak and Carmel's Stu Douglass spoke to his style. The Wolverines pulled him out of Illinois.

Over four seasons at Michigan, Bielfeldt was a part of three NCAA tournament teams, two Big Ten championships and a run to the national title game.

Bielfeldt himself struggled with health. As his father put it, he was “fighting the pain and not knowing why.”

Finally, in the summer of 2014, he had hip surgery to repair a torn labrum and shave down a hip bone. Basketball felt good again. And Bielfeldt responded with his best season in Ann Arbor, averaging 5.1 points and 3.6 rebounds. He started three games and appeared in 30, winning Michigan’s Sixth Man of The Year award.

After four years with the Wolverines, including one redshirt season, coach John Beilein let Bielfeldt know he would be classified as a senior. If he wanted to play out his final season of eligibility, he would have to do it elsewhere.

Bielfeldt was recruited by Nebraska, Iowa State and DePaul. He never closed the door on a return to Michigan. And he won a waiver that allowed him the right to transfer, without penalty, within the only conference he’d ever known.

“A week after graduation, he’s packing up his apartment,” David Bielfeldt said. “He calls me on the way home, I believe it’s Tuesday morning, and he says, ‘You’re not going to believe who just called me.’”

Indiana had just dismissed two forwards, Devin Davis and Hanner Mosquera-Perea, for off-the-court indiscretions.

The Hoosiers had a very good core returning, with Ferrell, Troy Williams, James Blackmon Jr. and freshman Thomas Bryant headlining. They needed post depth – fast.

"The coaches just jumped into it, his development," Julie Bielfeldt said. "(IU) coach (Tom) Crean was breaking down every little thing in film and excited."

He committed in early June.

“I’ve played against the (Big Ten’s) coaches and systems before,” he said then. “I know what to expect.”

That so far has rung true. He’s playing more minutes in Big Ten games, rebounding the ball better than his overall percentages for the season and proving a nice compliment to Bryant in the post.

He's shooting 3-pointers better and more prolifically now than at any point in his career, and for a frontcourt that also includes three freshmen, the former Wolverine has been critical.

“Max has been excellent,” Crean said recently. “Max has been, I hate to use the term big brother, but I've said this before: We didn't need him to come in here and be a babysitter, we needed him to come in here and show leadership with a bunch of young guys. That's exactly what he's done.”

With three games left, Max Bielfeldt wants to add one more Big Ten title to his trophy cabinet.

Starting with a trip to Illinois on Thursday, the Hoosiers can clinch an outright league championship with a clean sweep of their last three games. Winning at Illinois and then at Iowa next week would ensure at least a share of the conference crown.

It is an achievement that seemed far away in November, after losing to Wake Forest. It seemed unlikely even earlier this month, after the Hoosiers lost at Penn State.

Speaking before their next game after stumbling in State College, Bielfeldt matter-of-factly pointed out that, the last time he lost to Penn State (in 2013), his team advanced to the national title game.

The moment was a quiet reminder of where he has been, what he has seen and Bielfeldt’s importance, for a team that never knew how much it needed him, until he arrived.

“He loves this team. The families are amazing. He’s so embraced,” Julie Bielfeldt said. “We’re having a blast.”

Follow IndyStar reporter Zach Osterman on Twitter: @ZachOsterman.

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