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Top 40 Indiana basketball players of all-time: Who lands in the 20’s?

By Connor O’Keefe

DAYTON, OH - MARCH 24: Victor Oladipo #4 of the Indiana Hoosiers walks off the court after defeating the Temple Owls during the third round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at UD Arena on March 24, 2013 in Dayton, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
DAYTON, OH - MARCH 24: Victor Oladipo #4 of the Indiana Hoosiers walks off the court after defeating the Temple Owls during the third round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at UD Arena on March 24, 2013 in Dayton, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /
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Indiana basketball
Indiana U. vs. Oklahoma in the NCAA semifinal game at the Georgia Dome. // Hoosier’s Dane Fife, left, and Kyle Hornsby celebrate in the closing seconds of a victory over OK. /

Indiana basketball career stats: 5.6 PPG, 2.3 AST, 1.4 STL, 131 GP

Dane Fife, along with Victor Oladipo, is one of the best Indiana basketball defenders of all-time, winning the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year award in 2001-02, and ranked in the top 10 in the Big Ten in steals and three-point field goals made in that same season.

In the 2002 NCAA Tournament, Fife led the Hoosiers to the national title game, averaging 7.3 points, 2.6 assists, and 1.0 steals in 34.3 minutes per game. His best game for the Hoosiers came against Kent State in the Elite Eight, where Fife made five three-pointers and led IU in scoring with 17 points.

Though he didn’t score much in the game against Duke in the Sweet 16 and fouled a three-point shooter with four seconds remaining, it’s worth the five minutes to relive this incredible moment in Indiana basketball history.

The former Indiana basketball assistant coach is ranked in the top 10 in the following statistical categories for career and single season numbers:

Games played: 131 (tied for 9th)
Steals: 180 (1st)
Steals per game: 1.4 (6th)
Minutes played (single season): 1,209 in 2001-02 (5th)
Steals (single season): 53 in 2001-02 (tied for 8th)
Steals per game (single season): 1.8 in 1999-00 (4th)

Fife spent his post-playing career as a head coach for Purdue-Fort Wayne for six seasons before joining the coaching staff at Michigan State. In ten seasons with Tom Izzo and the Spartans, Fife helped lead them to nine NCAA Tournament berths, multiple Big Ten titles, and two Final Four appearances.

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