Hoosier State of Mind
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Indiana Basketball: Building an All-Hoosier NBA team

By Zach Breton

DAYTON, OH - MARCH 22: Victor Oladipo #4 and Yogi Ferrell #11 of the Indiana Hoosiers celebrate after a three point basket against the James Madison Dukes Indiana Hoosiers the first half during the second round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at UD Arena on March 22, 2013 in Dayton, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
DAYTON, OH - MARCH 22: Victor Oladipo #4 and Yogi Ferrell #11 of the Indiana Hoosiers celebrate after a three point basket against the James Madison Dukes Indiana Hoosiers the first half during the second round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at UD Arena on March 22, 2013 in Dayton, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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BLOOMINGTON, IN – DECEMBER 28: James Blackmon Jr. #1, Thomas Bryant #31, and OG Anunoby #3 of the Indiana Hoosiers meet in the second half against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Assembly Hall on December 28, 2016 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
BLOOMINGTON, IN – DECEMBER 28: James Blackmon Jr. #1, Thomas Bryant #31, and OG Anunoby #3 of the Indiana Hoosiers meet in the second half against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Assembly Hall on December 28, 2016 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /

PF – OG Anunoby

Since this exercise is happening in a world where “Small Ball” is a thing and you have to be able to shoot the three to be able to see the floor in the NBA, I am playing OG Anunoby at the power forward position. OG Anunoby has proved to be a stud. He’ll provide a much-needed defensive presence for this Hoosier team.

Before the NBA season shut down, Anunoby was in the running for a spot on the NBA’s all-defensive team.  Anunoby played two seasons with the Hoosiers and was excellent when he was healthy. If he had avoided some of his injury woes with Indiana, he would have been a lottery pick in 2017.

However, Anunoby ended up slipping in the draft to number 23 where he was selected by the Toronto Raptors. Anunoby had an excellent rookie year and looked to carry that momentum into his second season but due to the arrival of Kawhi Leonard and a couple of health issues, he had a tough second season.

He did, however, walk away from 2018-19 with an NBA championship ring. This past season, after the departure of Kawhi Leonard, Anunoby thrived. He has to be in our Hoosier NBA lineup, so he’ll slide in at power forward. At 6’7″ and 232 pounds, I think he can handle it. Sorry, Noah Vonleh.

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