Aaron Shifron

Indianapolis – Tom Crean’s 2015 recruiting class was not a highly rated one, but all the players in it have found their way to the NBA, including OG Anunoby, who scored a career-high 25 points on February 10 as his defending champion Toronto Raptors won their 15th straight game.

Indiana’s 2015 class — which also included Thomas Bryant (Wizards) and Juwan Morgan (Jazz) — is Indiana’s only class since 247sports.com began tracking recruiting rankings that has seen all the members move on to the NBA. And the class ranked just 32nd collectively in the country at the time in 2015.

While Bryant was hyped and ranked no. 20 nationally in the class, Morgan was ranked #117 and Anunoby was even lower at #294.

Anunoby said he is happy to be see an entire class play at the highest level.

“It’s cool, we’re all excited,” Anunoby said. “We all like the NBA so it’s cool.”

Morgan said he is happy to follow the path of his former IU teammates Anunoby and Bryant.

“It speaks to the level of development that’s happening at IU and the amount of talent that comes out each and every year,” Morgan told assemblycall.com when interviewed about his IU career on November 27.

Bryant said despite his success, he is still just attempting to carve out his niche at the pinnacle of basketball.

“I’m still working to try to make it big in the NBA,” he told assemblycall.com when interviewed on November 6. “Always have a real great work ethic. Just always try to work as hard as you can day in and day out, and always believe in yourself.”

For Anunoby, he was part of the Big Ten Title team his freshman season at IU along with Bryant and Morgan. After a slow start to the season for the team and himself personally, Anunoby came into his own in Big Ten play averaging 5.8 points during conference games (up from 4.8 overall). His biggest contributions, of course, came on the defensive end and Anunoby’s emergence was pivotal in helping to secure the conference crown.

Anunoby said coming out on top in the Big Ten was a season highlight for him.

“Just winning the Big Ten. That was my favorite moment,” he said.

His sophomore season saw his scoring up to 11.1 per game. However, opposite of his freshman year, the team started strong with wins over highly ranked Kansas and North Carolina before tailing off in Big Ten play and missing the NCAA tournament.

Anunoby also dealt with injuries all year and played in just 16 of 35 games, missing three games in December following a knee injury. He then suffered a serious knee injury against Penn State that caused him to miss the rest of the season.

Anunoby believes the season may have had a different outcome for the team had he not been dealt these setbacks.

“I think we would have made the tournament if I didn’t get hurt, but that’s what happened,” he said.

Despite the injury, Anunoby still shot up draft boards and declared for the NBA the following year, where he was selected 23^rd overall by the Raptors.

He said working back from the setback was trying, but very rewarding, as he got his pro basketball career started.

“Recovering from the injury was a lot of hard work but it was worth it,” he said.

Anunoby continues to play a significant role for Raptors. He has also become just the seventh former Hoosier with an NBA title and the first since IU great Isiah Thomas in 1990.

Anunoby has a career average of 7.4 points and has upped his scoring average each season while starting 61% of the games in his NBA career.

He said contributing to a championship team has been a great experience.

“It’s always fun to win so I enjoy that a lot,” he said.

He returned to Indiana on February 7 to play the Pacers in Indianapolis. In doing so, he became the first former Hoosier player to play against Pacer star and former IU player Victor Oladipo during the 2019-2020 season following Oladipo’s return from his year long injury absence.

Anunoby said playing against Oladipo was a cool experience.

“It (was) fun to play against him,” he said.

For the game Anunoby scored 16 points while Oladipo added 15.

Indianapolis IN-He’s not the most celebrated Hoosier, but he nonetheless would not trade his time at IU away.

Former Hoosier Noah Vonleh played one season for the Hoosiers in 2013-2014 and had positive experiences donning the Cream and Crimson in the short time he did.

“The whole college experience was great,” he said. “Coming in with that freshman class, we were pretty talented. I just loved going to Indiana University. Indiana breeds basketball players and I just love the fact that they worship basketball so it was just a great environment playing in Assembly Hall.”

Vonleh ended up at IU following a long recruiting process with former Indiana coach Tom Crean and former assistant Kenny Johnson, who he praised for helping him work up to his potential.

“Still talk to (Crean and Johnson) every once in a while,” he said. “They pushed me to the limit when I was at IU and it was a great experience overall.”

Despite a season that had its ups and downs, one thing that stood out was playing with former Hoosier star and current fellow NBA player Yogi Ferrell, who along with Vonleh were the two leading scorers for that year.

“Yogi’s a great point guard,” he said. “He can really play-make, he can score the basketball. People take his size for granted but he is a hell of a basketball player and it was a great time playing with him here at Indiana.”

While Crean was known for his team’s offensive prowess, with four of his last six teams finishing in the top eight in KenPom’s adjusted offensive efficiency, Vonleh’s team was an exception as they finished outside the top 100 in offense — the third worst in the Crean era. However, like current squads under current Indiana coach Archie Miller, Vonleh’s team was top 40 in defense, which was second-best during Crean’s nine-year tenure as Hoosier coach.

Vonleh said he has nothing but praise for Miller and the job he is doing with the Hoosier defense and thinks he is the right man to lead the program.

“Archie’s a hell of a coach,” he said. “He’s gonna figure it out. He’s gonna recruit the right guys to come in there and fit into their system.”

During his season as a Hoosier, Vonleh averaged 11.3 points and nine rebounds. However, his team finished with a disappointing 17-15 record. This followed two seasons where former IU stars and current fellow lottery picks Victor Oladipo and Cody Zeller led the Hoosiers to a Big Ten Championship, two Sweet 16’s, and their highest rankings since Bobby Knight roamed the sidelines.

Vonleh said he was happy with his season as a Hoosier despite the struggles, but does imagine what it would have been like if he had been added to the elite 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 rosters.

“I am happy with the year I played,” he said. “I watched Cody and Vic the year before. It would have been fun to play with those guys. It would have been fun and interesting to see me, Vic, Cody, and Yogi playing together. That would have been a fun team to watch.”

After his season as a Hoosier, Vonleh departed for the NBA draft, where he was the ninth pick of the Charlotte Hornets. He has since played with five more organizations (Portland Trail Blazers, Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks, Minnesota Timberwolves and now Denver Nuggets) with a career average of five points a game in his sixth season.

Vonleh is content to see where his NBA path continues to take him.

“I’ve been on a few teams,” he said. “I’m just going with the journey and seeing where it takes me. I hope to be in this league as long as I want.”

More than anything though Vonleh, who measures 6-10, had advice for any future Hoosier big man who is an NBA prospect.

“Just continue to work hard,” he said. “Listen to your coaching staff and the sky’s the limit.”

He’s finally made it to the big show.

After a long and winding road at both IU and along his path to the NBA, former Hoosier Juwan Morgan has achieved his dream.

It all started for him in Waynesville, Missouri, where as an undersized forward who was ranked no. 117 by 247sports.com out of high school. With his final five schools being Harvard, Creighton, Arkansas, and Vanderbilt, along with the Hoosiers, he chose to don the Cream and Crimson.

Morgan said he picked the Hoosiers for a couple reasons and he always knew he was better than the recruiting services thought.

“They had the best of both worlds in academics and athletically just being ready to get on the court,” Morgan said. “I don’t believe in rankings. I believe every hooper is equal. If they think they are going to beat me or be better than me just because they saw three stars or 117, they are in for a rude awakening.”  

IU’s best season was Morgan’s freshman year when the Hoosiers won a Big Ten Title and advanced to the Sweet 16. However, Morgan had a limited role as a bench player averaging just 2.4 points and 2.1 rebounds a game and ended up with a shoulder injury that had to be popped back into place several times.

While he upped his scoring his sophomore year, his breakout came as a junior when he emerged as the team’s principal star following the coaching change from Tom Crean to Archie Miller. Morgan averaged 16.5 points and 7.4 rebounds per game.

Morgan said maturity helped improve his game despite the change, and he has equal respect for both coaches — but the switch was not the reason he blossomed.  

“(My role) changed a lot and it just came with getting older. It’s one of those things you have to grow into,” he said. “Both coaches were different. I picked up a lot from both of them and it helped me become who I am today.”

After declaring for the draft following his breakout junior season, Morgan ultimately returned to school playing alongside freshman phenom Romeo Langford. He averaged 15.5 points and 8.2 rebounds his senior year.

With his college career over, Morgan had to prove himself all over again as an undersized big man.
And just like at IU, he was doubted and not selected in the 2019 NBA draft.

He eventually landed a spot on the Utah Jazz’s summer league team, which afterwards signed him to an exhibit 10 contract with the Jazz G-League team. After a strong performance with the Salt Lake City Stars to begin the season, he landed an NBA contract with the Jazz on November 21.

He made his first appearance on November 27 against the Indiana Pacers in a blowout loss playing three minutes and grabbing a rebound.
Morgan said his path to the NBA very much paralleled his IU career being doubted but proving everyone wrong.

“It was the same road I took even from freshman year to senior year in college,” he said. “Doing all the dirty work, getting on the offensive glass, doing whatever coach asks of me.”  

Morgan said he is happy to follow the path of former IU teammates like OG Anunoby and Thomas Bryant. He also said that everyone from IU can succeed even, if they are not a superstar like current Pacer and former Hoosier star Victor Oladipo, who Morgan talked to before his NBA debut.

“It speaks to the level of development that’s happening at IU and the amount of talent that comes out each and every year,” he said. “Even when they are not front liners like Victor Oladipo they still are guys that get the work done. I saw (Victor) and chatted him up with him a little bit.”

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Here is the video of my interview with Juwan Morgan:

Indianapolis IN-

He’s found a home in the nation’s capital as a pro.

After being the 42nd pick of the Utah Jazz in the 2017 NBA draft, former Indiana Hoosier Thomas Bryant was quickly traded to the Los Angeles Lakers.

In the City of Angels, a rocky start ensued as a rookie. Bryant appeared in just 15 games and averaged 1.5 points a game. He also spent significant time in the G-League and was waved the following summer.

Fortunately for Bryant, the Washington Wizards claimed him off waivers a few days later. The change of teams and Bryant’s own persistence paid off in his second season.

Bryant said a good attitude and belief will help you succeed in the long run.

“Try and stay positive with your work,” Bryant said. “The work always shows no matter if it’s early, no matter if it’s late. It’s going to be a long tough road, but you always have to stay positive and know that your time is always going to come.”     

Bryant’s time has come with the Wizards. He averaged 10.5 points a game and 6.6 rebounds while starting 53 of the 72 games he played in during the 2018-2019 season.

The current 2019-2020 season has seen him rise to even higher levels. Through seven games he has started each one and is averaging 13.6 points and 9.9 rebounds.

Despite his success, Bryant said he is still just attempting to carve out his niche at the pinnacle of basketball. And his advice to anyone trying to follow his lead is that there is no substitute for hard work.

“I’m still working to try to make it big in the NBA,” he said. “Always have a real great work ethic. Just always try to work as hard as you can day in and day out and always believe in yourself.” 

Before succeeding in professional basketball, it all began as a Hoosier for Bryant.

“I ended up at IU through a long recruiting process with coach (Tom) Crean,” he said. “I felt real connected with everyone there.”

It ended up being a match made in heaven, as Bryant helped lead the Cream and Crimson to a Big Ten Title his freshman season in 2015-2016. As the starting center he averaged 11.9 points and 5.8 rebounds.

That season also included a Sweet 16 appearance after knocking out rival Kentucky in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. In that game, Bryant scored 19 points and hit the game-sealing free throws with 10 seconds left.

After a strong sophomore season at IU, Bryant declared for the draft.

Then, on Wednesday night, almost three years since his last game as a Hoosier, Bryant returned to Indiana to play the Pacers, where he received an ovation when introduced in the opposing team starting lineup.

He said he is glad to return to the state of his alma mater, which breathes and respects the game so much.

“It feels good to be back around the friends and the guys I spent a lot of time in college with,” he said. “It feels good to be back in the state where real basketball started and you got the most love.”

In this homecoming game Bryant had a terrific night, scoring 20 points and grabbing 11 rebounds while recording a double-double. However, the Wizards fell to the Pacers 121-106.

With a long basketball future ahead of him, Bryant said he is doing the best he can everyday and hopes to continue to succeed. 

“It’s a blessing to put on this uniform,” he said. “My future plan is always just trying to keep building and help this team win as many games as they can.”

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Here is the full video of my interview with Thomas Bryant: