Worth the Watch
Despite there being rumors of an Indiana team forming for The Basketball Tournament for the last couple of summers, last Friday night was the first time fans got to see it materialize.
Having been a student during the Yogi Ferrell era, I was excited to get a chance to see him play again, but a bit apprehensive.
Nostalgia trips don’t always work out in the real world, a fact that my hometown Chicago Blackhawks have learned the hard way in numerous failed attempts to bring back players from the 2010s Stanley Cup teams. I didn’t want to see that happen to my favorite college basketball player of all time.
Compounding my fears, this roster is also full of guys like Devonte Green and Juwan Morgan who deserved better during their time at Indiana. I’d seen them suffer on a basketball court enough times and prefer not to think of the Archie Miller era, when given the choice.
Turns out, all of this worrying was unfounded. The Basketball Tournament is fun and Assembly Ball had a good team.
Yogi doesn’t appear to have missed a beat, leading both teams in minutes played, 3-point makes, points, and assists in Assembly Ball’s first game. Juwan also appears to be close to his basketball prime, displaying more range and athleticism than he did during his college career.
I was also pleasantly surprised by the overall skill and competition level of the Tournament from what I saw. Assembly Ball was clearly the more talented team, but The Cru, a team of Valparaiso alumni, kept it close enough to make our former Hoosiers work for it.
Assembly Ball’s win against the Men of Mackey was a little less crisp, but it wasn’t for lack of effort – the shots just weren’t falling. Hearing Robbie Hummel call a game featuring Sasha Stefanovic and Yogi Ferrell in July 2024 is enough to help me overlook a bad shooting night.
The production quality of the tournament as a whole is worth remarking on. Aside from being broadcast nationally, the tournament has live stats available during the games, team sites with merch, and is centrally located, allowing guys like Trayce Jackson-Davis and Trey Galloway to catch a game from the sideline.
The coolest thing about the event, though, was watching Hoosiers from across generations play together. When Assembly Balls’ forward-heavy roster struggled from deep, Yogi was able to kick out to Miller Kopp for a late game 3-pointer to help ice the win over the Men of Mackey.
In that way, it fulfills an essential fantasy for Indiana fans: imagining ideal lineups of our recent favorites. Ever wonder how Crean’s last point guard would look next to some of the staples of the Archie era? TBT has you covered.
It ended in heartbreak with an 82-80 loss to Eberlein Drive, but Assembly Ball made a spirited comeback that brought Hinkle to its feet for the last ten or so minutes of the game. With a full roster, that’s a game I think Assembly Ball would’ve won.
Hopefully this won’t be a one and done type deal from the Indiana alumni in TBT. Assembly Ball has already posted that they’ll be back next year, so let’s hope we get to see Yogi and the gang one more time. At least.