Hoosier Favorite No. 12? Picking Favorite Indiana Basketball Players, One Number At a Time

There are no names on the Indiana basketball jerseys, just a number, and those digits mean a lot to all Hoosiers fans. We want to know who your favorites are, resuming with the No. 12 in Indiana basketball history that's meant the most to you. Pick your favorite, and we'll do this every day for the rest of the summer.

Haley Jordan | Jul 16, 2022

USA Today

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Welcome back to our summer series where Hoosier basketball fans can vote on their favorite Indiana players to ever wear each number. Today, we resume with all the best to wear No. 12.

Hoosier favorite?

Every day we're going to give you four choices along with a short player bio to pick your favorite Hoosier who wore a certain number.

Here are your four No. 12 jersey choices in alphabetical order so that we're not showing bias. Be sure to take the poll below via Twitter.

(Editor's Note: We'll take results for 48 hours on the poll and then share results on this story the next day, so keep coming back to see the results.)

Steve Alford (1983-87)

We kick off the day with New Castle, Ind. native Steve Alford recruited by former coach Bob Knight in the 80's.

The guard started 120 out of 125 games for the Hoosiers becoming Indiana's all-time leading scorer with 2,438 points in 4,314 minutes played. This record was later surpassed by Calbert Cheaney with 2,613 points.

During Alford's four seasons on the team, the Hoosiers made the NCAA Tournament three times. Alford's first Big Dance was in 1984 for his freshman season where Indiana advanced to the Elite Eight after upsetting top-seeded North Carolina in the Sweet 16 round. The Hoosiers were later sent home by Virginia, two points away from tying the game.

In 1985, Alford and the Hoosiers didn't make the tournament and only saw the first round in 1986 versus Cleveland State who beat Indiana 83-79.

That all changed in Alford's senior season where the Hoosiers won their fifth national title, and Coach Knight earned his third. In the title game versus Syracuse, Alford went 7-for-10 from the three-point line, scored 23 points and had a buzzer-beater triple before the half to give Indiana the advantage.

Alford was awarded the team MVP. After his collegiate career, he was drafted 26th overall in the 1987 NBA draft and played for the Dallas Mavericks for mostly four seasons aside from a portion of one season with the Golden State Warriors.

You can now find Alford coaching the game he loves, right now for the Nevada Wolf Pack after several other teams.

Phil Buck (1948-51)

Forward Phil Buck from Rossville, Ind. played under head coach Branch McCracken. While a valuable member on the team, Buck was perhaps best known for his coaching career beginning on Coach McCracken's staff before pursuing high school coaching at Flora, Rossville, Frankfort and Anderson Madison Heights.

During his 24 seasons at Madison Heights, Buck led his team to nine sectionals, four regionals and a semi-state title. He won 495 games and 13 sectional titles in total, which landed him in the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 1983.

Coach Buck passed away in 2018 from an extended illness. He was 90 years old.

Verdell Jones III (2008-12)

Guard Verdell Jones III out of Champaign, Ill. left his Indiana career with 68 career double figure scoring games and as the 23rd ranked scorer in program history upon his graduation with 1,347 total points. He currently sits at the 28th slot.

Jones stuffed the stats sheet as a freshman, former head coach Tom Crean's first season with the Hoosiers, finishing second on the team averaging 11 points per game.

His sophomore season, he led the Hoosiers with 463 points and was ranked second in assists with 105. He was later named honorable mention All-Big Ten by the conference media.

Following another consistent junior season, Jones and the Hoosiers made it to the NCAA Tournament but lost to Kentucky in the Sweet 16 round. Jones couldn't play in the tournament due to a right ACL tear.

Miller Kopp (2021-current)

You may know him as the Northwestern transfer that made Indiana's starting lineup last season. Perhaps you've seen his viral TikToks during the NCAA Tournament and throughout the season as well.

Kopp, a forward originally from Houston, Texas, will play another year for Indiana alongside fellow starters Trayce Jackson-Davis, Xavier Johnson and Race Thompson.

While at Indiana, Kopp has started all 35 games and scored 209 points averaging six per game. His best stat lies in his free throw shots with 86.5 percent. Between his career with the Wildcats and Hoosiers, Kopp has scored, 1,041 career points and isn't done yet.

All-time No. 12's at Indiana

Here are all of the players who have worn No. 12 at Indiana:

Miller Kopp — (2021-current)
Ethan Lasko — (2017-18)
Hanner Mosquera-Perea — (2012-15)
Verdell Jones III — (2008-12)
Donald Perry — (2001-05)
Luke Jimenez — (1996-00)
Robert Foster — (1993-94)
Steve Alford — (1983-87)
Phil Buck — (1948-51)
Norbert Hermann — (1944-48)
Jim Gridley — (1938-41)
Jay McCreary — (1937-38, 1939-40)
James Birr — (1935-38)
Phil Liehr — (1935-36)
Earnest Youngblood — (1931-32)
Victor Dauer — (1929-32)
Jay Campbell — (1930-32)
George Coffey — (1921-24)

Vote for your favorite No. 12 on Twitter

You'll be able to vote on Twitter for your favorite player with each number. Here's the link to today's poll for No. 12.

Here comes No. 12! Hoosier Favorite #iubb player to ever sport it? Read each blurb, and cast your vote. https://t.co/YAL53iG7DF
— Indiana Hoosiers on SI (@HoosiersNowFNSI) July 16, 2022