Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell didn’t have to stay.
The now-senior guard considered cutting his Indiana career one year short and declaring for the NBA draft after his junior season.
Initially, Ferrell was tempted to leave, allured by the professional game, professional contracts. People he trusted told him he had a shot at making his boyhood dream of playing in the NBA come true.
“I thought about it a lot,” Yogi said before the season began. “It’s the dream. But the more I talked to people and thought about it, the more I felt like it was the best option for me to come back.”
I wanted to leave a legacy as a player and a person.
Yogi Ferrell, IU men’s basketball player
Yogi met with his coaches, family, and friends as he reflected on his Indiana journey. He evaluated the things he had already accomplished, and those that remained undone. He saw the talent that would be returning to the Hoosiers in his final season, and embraced the opportunity to cement himself as one of Indiana’s all-time greats.
“I wanted to leave a legacy as a player and a person,” he said.
With his legacy incomplete, it was not his time to leave Indiana. The NBA would have to wait.