3 Things To Watch When Assembly Ball Plays The Cru in The Basketball Tournament

Indiana basketball’s alumni team, Assembly Ball, begins its pursuit of $1 million Friday in The Basketball Tournament against The Cru, a Valparaiso alumni team. Here are three things to watch.

Indiana Hoosiers guard Jordan Hulls (1) calls a play during the second half against the Penn State Nittany Lions at the Bryce Jordan Center. Indiana defeated Penn State 74-51. / Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Former Hoosiers have joined forces to form Assembly Ball, an Indiana University alumni-based team competing in The Basketball Tournament (TBT).

TBT began in 2014 and annually features former college basketball stars, NBA players and players from professional leagues around the world. It’s a 64-team, single-elimination tournament with teams competing for a $1 million winner-take-all prize.

Assembly Ball’s first game is Friday at 8 p.m. ET at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis against The Cru, a Valparaiso University alumni team. The game can be seen on Big Ten Network.

Here are three things to watch.

Hulls, Ferrell backcourt duo

Jordan Hulls and Yogi Ferrell most recently teamed up in 2012-13, the last time Indiana earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Starting alongside each other, Hulls was a senior and Ferrell was a freshman on a Tom Crean-coached team that won the Big Ten regular season title but lost in the Sweet 16 to Syracuse. They finished their careers as two of the best 3-point shooters in program history, as Ferrell ranks second all-time with 272 3-pointers made and Hulls at No. 3 with 254. Ferrell is also Indiana’s all-time leader in assists.

Following their Indiana careers, Ferrell played in 259 NBA games with 53 starts across five seasons with the Brooklyn Nets, Dallas Mavericks, Sacramento Kings, Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Clippers. As an undrafted free agent, he finished eighth in 2016-17 Rookie of the Year voting and averaged 7.7 points per game on 36.5% 3-point shooting in his NBA career. 

Hulls played professionally in Poland, Kosovo, Belgium and Germany from 2013-22 after graduating from Indiana in his hometown, where at Bloomington South High School he won 2009 Indiana Mr. Basketball. He returned to Bloomington to serve as the team and recruiting coordinator on coach Mike Woodson’s staff, a position he’s held the last two seasons. Together, Ferrell and Hulls should bring back good memories of that 2012-13 team and form a strong 3-point shooting duo. 

Which non-Hoosier stands out?

Assembly Ball consists of eight players who attended Indiana during their college careers and six players who went to different schools. The non-Hoosiers include Julian Gamble (Miami, 2008-13), Rion Brown (Miami, 2010-14), Kristian Doolittle (Oklahoma, 2016-20), Keith Hornsby (UNC-Asheville, LSU, 2011-16), Tyrell Terry (Stanford, 2019-20), Dakota Quinn (Samford, 2015-16).

I’ll pick Kristian Doolittle as the player who will stand out among non-Hoosiers. At 6-foot-7, Doolittle did a bit of everything for coach Lon Kruger’s Oklahoma Sooners. As a senior in 2019-20, he averaged 15.8 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.3 steals per game while shooting 37.5% from 3-point range. Doolittle was named to the All-Big 12 first team, which included Baylor’s Jared Butler, TCU’s Desmond Bane and Kansas’ Devon Dotson and Udoka Azubuike. 

Familiar faces on The Cru

Although Indiana hasn’t played against Valparaiso since 2000, there are a few recognizable names on the opposing bench. Eron Gordon, the younger brother of former Hoosier Eric Gordon, will play for The Cru. Eron began his college career with two seasons at Seton Hall before wrapping up with three seasons at Valparaiso from 2019-22. 

Indiana fans might also remember Derrick Nix. He played center for coach Tom Izzo at Michigan State from 2009-13, starting 52 games and playing in 139. Nix’s most productive season came in 2012-13, when Michigan State finished tied for second behind Indiana in the Big Ten standings and reached the Sweet 16. He averaged 9.9 points and 6.6 rebounds.

Former Iowa and Nebraska guard Bakari Evelyn is a third member of The Cru that has previously competed against a few Hoosiers playing for Assembly Ball. In 2019-20, he was one of coach Fran McCaffery’s top options off the bench on an Iowa team led by Big Ten player of the year Luka Garza. Evelyn averaged 3.7 points for Iowa that year after playing two seasons at Valparaiso and one at Nebraska.

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