We are now 40 days away from Indiana basketball tipping off the 2022-23 season against Morehead State on Monday, November 7th at Assembly Hall. Our 40-day countdown will consist of the top 40 Hoosier basketball players of all-time.
Now hang with me on this, as we are going to take into consideration single season performances, along with career numbers as part of the Indiana basketball program and where they rank in certain categories. Yes, this is an opinion piece based on player ability and talent, but impact on the program as a whole is a way to earn your spot on my top 40 all-time list.
Top 40 Indiana basketball players of all-time
Indiana basketball career stats: 13.1 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 1.2 3PM, 42.3 3P%
The most memorable moment in Christian Watford‘s basketball career was the iconic “Wat Shot” against #1 Kentucky, where Watford knocked down the game-winning buzzer-beater three-pointer to give then-unranked Indiana a historic 73-72 win over top-ranked Kentucky and Anthony Davis. What most people don’t remember is that Watford was the leading scorer in that game with 20 points, more than Anthony Davis (6 points), Cody Zeller (11 points), and Victor Oladipo (13 points).
🔴 Indiana Memorable Moments ⚪️
— Barstool IU (@IUBarstool) August 12, 2020
December 12, 2011 • Do we need to explain this one? Christian Watford stuns Kentucky on one of the most electric buzzer beaters in college basketball history pic.twitter.com/4yIf2HZbJc
It’s interesting to think about such an important moment in Indiana basketball history, but that’s not all Christian Watford did at IU. Watford ranks in the top 10 in the following categories:
Games played – 132 (tied for 5th)
Minutes played – 3,759 (9th)
Free throws made – 504 (3rd)
Free throws attempted – 616 (3rd)
Free throw percentage – 81.8 pct (6th)
Offensive rebounds – 191 (8th)
Defensive rebounds – 586 (1st)
Total rebounds – 777 (10th)
Points – 1,730 (10th)
If a guy can go to school for four years and rank in the top 10 in nine pretty important statistical categories, he absolutely belongs on a top 40 list of all-time players in Indiana basketball history. In his four-year career, Watford registered 14 20+ point games and 22 games with three or more three-pointers made.