Does Indiana University need Indiana kids?

Written By: Joel Wonder (@Cabbyfromgreene)

I’m sure most of you have heard the recent news of Trey Galloway and Anthony Leal. I promise you, I’m not going to rehash those recruiting details that have been covered extensively by the local media. But the phenomenon surrounding Indiana basketball, when a local prospect commits, is an interesting subject. Why do some fans put a special emphasis on Indiana high school kids going to Indiana University? Does Indiana University need Indiana kids? I think this program needs local players and I think Indiana born player will lead this program back to prominence. 

The first reason would be the fact that the state of Indiana produces great talent because this is a basketball state and it’s no secret. The overall competition level in class basketball is at a level that many other states just can't match. Kids grow up playing, watching, talking and thinking basketball. Other big time college programs also are aware of this state abundance of talent and they recruit accordingly. When news of the recruitment of a 5-star players is made public the same blue-blood names always pop up.

Secondly, there is a segment of IU fans who are not used to seeing the best Indiana High school kids wear the candy stripes. If a fan was born before 1990, the only real memories of players raised in the state who made a Sweet 16 at IU would have been 2002, ‘12, ‘13 and ’16. Those same fans would have only watched one Final four in that span with Bloomington North product Jared Jeffries leading the way. This is not enough to make a real statement in their memory banks.

Any fan born in the 60's or 70's knows the feeling of watching their hometown heroes have great success and they all yearn for those feelings to return. From 1973 to 1990, there were 10 Sweet Sixteen appearances and six Elite Eight appearances. The 70’s and 80’s brought three banners and in the mid 90’s IU was graced with an abundance of great Hoosier born and raised talent. From 1992 through 1994, IU had 11 players from the state and went on to a Sweet Sixteen and an Elite Eight. We all know what could have been if Henderson hadn't have injured his knee. 

Lastly would be the simple fact that all fans love a hometown hero and Indiana University has had plenty of basketball heroes in the past. Dating back through the years there are many names that stand out like Jimmy Rayl, the Van Arsdale brothers, Kent Benson, Steve Alford, Calbert Cheaney, Cody Zeller, and Yogi Farrell and just to name a few. The current IU roster is stacked with in-state players which, in time, could provide some lifetime memories for those of you that haven’t experienced what Hoosier nation can be like at it's peak level. Just imagine Kirkwood being a sea of red from Sample Gates to Walnut.

The idea of someone like Anthony Leal or Trey Galloway hitting the winning shot in a big game is nirvana to the IU faithful. If an out of state player hits that same game winner, will I be disappointed? No, but it's not like the hometown kid Jimmy Chitwood saying “I'll make it". If that happens, you will all know why some fans put a special emphasis on Indiana University getting Indiana kids!