‘He’s the same Yogi’: With nostalgia in the crowd and on the floor — Yogi Ferrell leads Assembly Ball to 1st round TBT win

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind — Yogi Ferrell has always been a fan favorite for the Indiana basketball community and even though it has been eight years since he last sported his candy stripe warmups or signature No. 11 jersey, he looked much like the old Yogi on Friday night.

After years of trying to get a team together for TBT, Indiana basketball alum were finally able to put a roster together for a shot at the $1 million prize. Friday’s 89-79 win over The Cru was the first step in achieving that prize.

Despite missing some key players, all that was needed was Yogi — much like his old days in Bloomington. Whether it was a tough shot, signature step back or creating for his teammates, he did everything and more to make sure Assembly Ball was not a one-game wonder.

Ferrell led all scorers with 27 points and was 9-of-14 from the floor while draining four 3s. He scored at all three levels and did so at every moment of the game. He opened with the first three points of the game en route to 18 first-half points — setting the tone for Assembly Ball, in front of a ‘sea of cream and crimson’.

And while not everyone on the Assembly Ball roster knew the ‘old Yogi’ as well as others, his performance was no surprise to former Indiana basketball teammate Juwan Morgan.

“He’s just strong, fast and makes shots that are insane just look normal,” Morgan said after the game. “He’s the same Yogi.”

While playing at Hinkle Fieldhouse and not inside Assembly Hall, you wouldn’t notice as the Indiana fanbase crowded the stands and made it very much a home game for the Hoosiers.

It was no surprise — again — to the IU players who spent their college years playing in front of sold out crowds every night, but for some of the non-Hoosiers on the Assembly Ball roster, they finally got a taste of what it was like to ‘play’ for the historic program.

“Incredible. I think we got here around six, it was all red in the gym. I almost forgot we were at Butler,” Former Miami forward Julian Gamble said. “To be an hour away (from Bloomington) and to have all of these fans come out and support these guys and hearing the noise when you’re running out of the tunnel —  it kinda does give you that college feeling again. Even as a non-IU guy, I’m happy for them. I can only imagine what that feeling is to play back in front of your fans and feel like you’re back at home.”

As for Yogi, the fan base was as expected.

As for his performance, well the same confident and swaggy Ferrell was on display all night. And despite never playing in another historic venue like Hinkle Fieldhouse during his college days — he feels like he would’ve shown out the same whenever he played on that court.

“It was great for the IU fans to come out and support the team … for them to come out and show out was great. And want to thank them,” Ferrell said. “It was electric tonight. I’ve never played here (Hinkle Fieldhouse) in college, but I probably would’ve did the same thing if I was playing back then as I did now.”

Now the page turns to Sunday — a matchup with Men of Mackey (Purdue alum). With one win down, there’s five more to go and with the mindset that this team has, it’s clear they can go the distance — especially with someone like Yogi Ferrell leading the charge.

“The main thing is that we just want to win,” Ferrell said. “There’s no egos on the team. There’s no bad animosity or anything like that. So when you got that, you’ve got a great chance of winning.”

SEE ALSO: Game Highlights — Assembly Ball, Indiana basketball alumni, defeats The Cru in first round of TBT

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