Indiana head coach Tom Crean has a well-known reputation for his ability to develop players and get them to the next level.
This week is yet another example of that.
NBA players officially reported to training camps Tuesday, and six of them feature former IU players coached by Crean – Yogi Ferrell, Victor Oladipo, Noah Vonleh, Troy Williams, Nick Zeisloft and Cody Zeller.
Among those players, Oladipo and Zeller represent the two highest NBA draft selections under Crean. Oladipo was chosen second overall in the 2013 NBA Draft by the Orlando Magic, while Zeller was selected fourth overall by the Charlotte Hornets in the same draft.
Zeller will begin his fourth season with the Hornets. Oladipo, however, will begin his first with the Oklahoma City Thunder after the Magic traded him there over the summer. Oladipo previously spent the first three seasons of his professional basketball career in Orlando.
The upcoming season will also be a compelling one to watch for Oladipo, who will be a restricted free agent next summer. This means Oladipo can sign an offer sheet with any team, but he can be retained by the Thunder if they match the terms of the offer sheet from the other team. In other words, Oklahoma City has a “right of first refusal.”
Vonleh, selected ninth overall by the Hornets in the 2014 NBA Draft, begins his third season as a pro and second with the Portland Trail Blazers. However, an injury sustained from a loose bone spur during offseason workouts has sidelined him indefinitely, and there’s no timetable set just yet for when he’ll be able to rejoin the team.
Ferrell, Williams and Zeisloft all begin the first season of their professional basketball careers. All three were members of Indiana’s Big Ten championship team from last season, and, though they went undrafted during the most recent draft in June, each eventually inked an NBA contract.
Ferrell has a partially guaranteed deal with the Brooklyn Nets after competing on their summer league team in Las Vegas in July. Williams landed a partially guaranteed contract with the Memphis Grizzlies after spending the NBA’s Las Vegas Summer League with the Phoenix Suns, and Zeisloft also inked a partially-guaranteed deal with the Indiana Pacers earlier this month.
In total, seven former Hoosiers will be in NBA training camps this fall. The seventh player is former IU guard Eric Gordon, who will begin his first season as a Houston Rocket after spending the previous five years with the New Orleans Pelicans.
Gordon, Oladipo, Vonleh and Zeller all remain firmly under contract for the upcoming NBA season. However, players under partially guaranteed deals like Ferrell, Williams and Zeisloft will have to survive roster cuts by the end of the preseason.
NBA franchises can have a maximum of 20 players on their roster during training camp. However, those rosters must be narrowed down to 15 by opening night, which falls on Wednesday, Oct. 26.