Indiana Basketball: Top 5 teams of the decade
5. 2016-2017 Team
The 2016-2017 Hoosier squad showed a great deal of promise. Head coach Tom Crean and company began the season ranked No. 11 and boasted a ton of talent. Junior guard James Blackmon was a key player, and he scored an average of 17 points per game. Blackmon was supported by guard Robert Johnson and future NBA starters Thomas Bryant and OG Anunoby.
Other notable Hoosiers played smaller roles for this team due to their youth. Juwan Morgan, a sophomore at the time, averaged 7.7 points and 5.6 rebounds over the season. Pitt transfer Josh Newkirk was a good backcourt piece, a freshman Devonte Green played 15 minutes per game with little to show for it (4.4 ppg), and a freshman De’ron Davis played all 34 games.
This team certainly didn’t lack talent, which has been especially proven through the NBA success of both Bryant and Anunoby. They started off hot, winning an overtime battle with No. 3 Kansas and shooting all the way up to No. 3 in the polls. However, the Hoosiers were stunned by Purdue-Fort Wayne just a few games later. They redeemed themselves by beating No. 3 North Carolina in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, but crumbled in conference play.
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The Hoosiers lost seven of eight games in the middle of their Big Ten slate, dropped from the rankings, and ultimately missed the NCAA Tournament. Thomas Bryant, despite his talent, had somewhat of an underwhelming year, and the team lacked cohesiveness. They averaged an astonishing 15.2 turnovers per game, nearly dead last in the NCAA.
After failing to meet expectations with a talented team, Tom Crean was fired after nine seasons at the helm for Indiana. Still, this team was ranked at No. 3 in the polls at one point, far better than many Indiana teams in the 2010-2020 decade. It also contained two solid future NBA players, who are still making IU fans proud at the next level.