Yogi being blazing fast. Yogi jump shot. Yogi leading the team. Yogi cared more than anyone else there about good basketball. Yogi free throw. Shabazz. Purvis. Harris. Dunk.

No I did not mess up on his height!  Kyle is a very tall, lengthy guard who you want to have the ball in his hands at all times. He is a “do-everything” kind of player and is a triple double threat every time he walks on the court.

Where he’ll end up: Stays in the Big East- my guess is Villanova or St. Johns

2. Yogi Ferrell – 5-11 165 – Indianapolis, IN (Park Tudor School) – Committed: Indiana University

A very quick PG with outstanding basketball IQ. Usually a pass first type of PG with the knack of getting his teammates involved, but when needed can hit his pull up jumper from anywhere on the court. Despite his lack of size, he posses great elevation on his jump shot and has a smooth release.

3. J-Mychal Reese – 6-1 170 – Bryan, TX (Bryan) – Uncommitted – list: Kansas, Baylor, Texas A&M, Texas, Oklahoma, Louisville, Memphis

A scoring PG, J-Mychal has a wide variety of ways to put the ball in the basket. Loves to get to the hoop using his quick first step, but also has a silky smooth jump shot up to around 20 ft. Even though he’s a score first, pass second PG, he does have great court vision and will always hit the open man. Oh, and by the way he’s a lefty!

Where he’ll end up: Rock Chalk Jayhawk! (Crossing my fingers)

4. Marcus Paige – 6-0 155 – Marion, IA (Linn Mar) Committed: North Carolina

Paige is a very speedy PG with a high basketball IQ. Great pick and roll player, with outstanding handles. A very good long range shooter, but struggles finishing in the paint because of his lack of strength. Seems to be a perfect fit in the Roy Williams system and will be a perfect replacement for when current UNC PG Kendall Marshall is no longer playing.

5. D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera – 6-3 210 – Mouth of Wilson, VA (Oak Hill) – Uncommitted – List: Louisville, Kansas State, Baylor, Xavier, Texas, Georgetown

Best attribute is his strength and vision. Can over power smaller guards and has no real weakness. Excellent passer, with a jump shot that keeps defenders honest.

Where he’ll end up: To be honest I have no clue. My guess is either Louisville or Kansas State

The change in systems actually happened during my time in high school, so I was able to experience playing in both systems. What it did for my team was make it more difficult to win the sectional, but after that it was about the same. For the small schools, it added more excitement because now they had a better chance of advancing. You can argue that it’s teaching kids the wrong lesson by making winning easier if you just change the system. Also, you can easily argue that class basketball lessened the interest in Indiana High School basketball and ruined the so called hysteria we once knew surrounding the sport in Indiana.

What is bothering me on this particular day that happens to be the day of the 4 state finals games in Indiana, is what the class system has created. It’s now created an unfair advantage for the private schools and the charter schools that are popping up. They have an advantage of bringing in a kid from outside of the district, which makes one wonder how much recruiting goes on now.

I’m not opposed to less fortunate kids who might end up going to a charter school having the chance to play and compete. I think it builds character and you can learn a lot of valuable life lessons when participating in a sport like basketball. It can motivate you to get better grades and maybe even participate in other things besides basketball. But I just think the system is flawed and the IHSAA needs to step in and make some changes.

Here is a few ideas that maybe could make the tournament better, more fair and more exciting. First of all, you can keep the 4 classes. But you need to add a 5th class for private and charter schools. I wouldn’t want a kid who has the chance to get a better education to be penalized by not being able to participate. However, instead of proclaiming 5 separate champions, you would take the remaining 16 teams of the 5 tournaments from the 5 classes and put them all in 1 tournament to finish out the year and proclaim 1 state champion. You play the 16 team tournament at Conseco and at Hinkle. This gives the 16 teams a chance to play in cool venues, even if it means a less talented 1A school can’t win the championship. They still have the experience of playing in a cool venue against a good team and maybe a special player.

To get to 16 teams, I would take the final 4 teams left in the 3A and 4A (largest public schools) tournament and combine that with the top 2 teams from each of the other 3 classes (1A, 2A and private/charter). You form a committee of sportswriters, coaches, and whoever else might be qualified to judge, and seed the 16 teams. You then play out the 16 team tournament at the 2 venues, with the championship game at Conseco Fieldhouse.

What I believe this could accomplish is allow the small teams who might have a really good team, to try and knock off the bigger teams which was one of the great things about Indiana High School Basketball prior to class basketball. You don’t penalize small schools who can’t compete against small private/charter schools. You once again streamline the tournament so that people can take interest in 1. If your a small school who isn’t as good as a bigger school you might end up facing in the 16 team tournament, you still get to play in front of a large crowd in an awesome venue with a chance to do something special. Also, by allowing 8 of the larger schools into the 16 team tournament, you are allowing some of the better players and teams in the state to go against each other on a bigger stage. In today’s tournament, you might of had a match-up of Cody Zeller vs. Yogi Ferrell (both highly touted 5 star IU recruits), which we can’t have because of the current system. And basically, I just think it would create a much more exciting tournament and generate a lot more fan interest.

Another idea is creating 2 classes instead of 4. Put the private/charter schools in the big school class. You then take the winner of the small school and big school class and play them in the championship game every year to have 1 champion. It creates the david vs. goliath every year, still gives the small schools a chance to say they were the champion of the small schools and also gives them a chance to knock off the big schools in a big time setting.

To sum up my point, I think the system has failed, it’s not the best they can do, and it’s only going to get worse. Why not think outside the box and create something different?

Now in his third season as head coach, Crean has begun to show flashes of what he is capable of putting together. Thursday, the Hoosiers beat #21 Illinois 52-49 for their first win versus a ranked opponent since Crean took over. While Illinois has been inconsistent this season to say the least, this win cannot be overlooked.

“There were a few years back where people were used to these kinds of wins,” Tom Crean said. “And we’ll get it back, but to get it tonight and get it this way is really important. I’m just so proud of these guys.”

Not much is expected of Indiana this year, but with the abundance of talent they have coming in over the next three years, laying the foundation for a winning culture is important as the young players on the roster now will be thrusted into leadership roles in the near future.

On November 11, Cody Zeller announced that he will play at IU next year. The 6’11′ Zeller is ranked as the #12 overall recruit for 2011 by ESPNU, and should provide the Hoosiers with some much needed size and rebounding, as well as the ability to step out and hit jump shots. He has good hands that allow him to make tough catches on the inside and in the post and can pass out of double teams, which he commanded many of at the high school level.

More importantly, the Zeller commitment opened the door for other recruits to choose IU. Point guard Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell and power forward Hanner Perea have already verbally committed for 2012. Ferrell, the #23 recruit according to ESPNU, is listed at only 5’11” and 160 pounds, but has plus speed and ball handling skills, in combination with the ability to penetrate and score at the rim. He also has a very impressive midrange game for his size and will make you pay from three if left open.

Perea, #30 on ESPNU’s list for 2012, is an athletic FREAK. At 6’8”and 210 pounds, he has an unbelievable vertical leap, which makes him a force around the basket on both ends of the court. His offensive game is still very raw, but his ability to play above the rim translates into an exciting player with a massive upside.

An important point to note is that all three of these recruits are from the state of Indiana. In past years, aside from Eric Gordon (who was essentially stolen from Illinois), IU has missed out on the elite basketball players from Indiana.

While Crean has not produced winning basketball at IU thus far, the future is bright. With good role players in place and future playmakers on their way, the Hoosiers have a lot to look forward to.

So far this year Coach Crean has officially signed/received verbal commitments from four 5 star recruits, as well as several 4 star commits who “will probably end up being better than some of the 5 star guys” according to my dad and his glass of bourbon.

The commits:

Cody Zeller ’11- A dominating force inside and outside of the paint, Cody Zeller is a 5 star recruit and the centerpiece of Crean’s 2011 recruiting class. Watching Zeller play is a lot like watching former UNC ballplayer Tyler Hansbrough on the court, except he’s talented and I don’t pray for Cody to succumb to neurosyphilis.

Pictured: Talent.

Pictured: Someone whom I wish tremors, paralysis, and incontinence upon.

Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell ’12 – Our most recent 5 star recruit, Yogi Farrell is nationally ranked as the #2 point guard for the class of 2012. His presence on the team will draw many defenses’ attention and also assure that at least one asshole in the stands will have a poster with some sort of stupid “Yogi: Score Us a Picnic Basket” pun on it.

He's counting the rows he'll have to climb to strangle that guy.

Ron “The Buss” Patterson ’12- History has proven there are two certainties in the wide world of sports- Group showers and the skill of an athlete nicknamed after public transit vehicles. For clarification’s sake, those two certainties I listed aren’t connected. Patterson is a dangerous guard with good range and ball control in transition. He also looks like a lot of like Lil Wayne which I believe we can all agree is enough right there.

It's close enough.

Trey Lyles ’14- Committing to IU before even playing a single game of high school basketball, Trey Lyles is a 6’7 freshman from Indianapolis who Tom Crean has had his eye on since an almost reprehensibly young age. “You’re damn right I was there at his birth,” said Crean during a press conference following Lyles’ commitment, “I might have even cut an umbilical cord or two.”

Most of the recruiting conversations took place on a private trampoline.

Hanner Perea ’12- Where to start with this guy. Well, Hanner is a Pisces… He likes Cuban food, Eagle Eye Cherry, and dunking on defenders so hard that their family stops celebrating their birthday. Standing at 6’8, 210lbs, and possessing a vertical leap of 40+ inches, this sophomore from Colombia is a selfless individual who plays basketball “for the love of elevation.” Perea spends most of his time flying through the air in slow motion on Youtube and blocking (read: throwing) the opposing team’s shots of bounds, with most of these blocked balls usually ending up in purgatory or the future. If I haven’t made it clear already, Perea can JUMP. Seriously, ever since this kid committed to IU I’ve been on EBay searching for pre-owned DeLoreans and a reasonably priced flux capacitor so  me and Hanner can go back in time, just so I can watch him jump up and sack tap a diplodocus.

Just so you can picture what it would take to get a handful.

To this day, #3 still blows out his birthday candles in the darkness of a closet just to keep his parents from intervening

Gary Harris ’12- I’m just going to say he committed and see if it sticks.

According to Coach Crean, there is still plenty of work to do for IU basketball’s recruiting-

“They’re still a lot of players I have my eyes on,” said Crean, “And after I get all the real people I’m going to start signing some of the Monstars.”