Jordan Hulls, who led Bloomington South to an undefeated season and the Class 4A tourney championship, is Indiana’s high school Mr. Basketball for 2009.
The 6-foot guard, who will remain in Bloomington next season as a freshman at Indiana, was the overwhelming favorite in statewide voting announced in Sunday’s editions by the sponsoring Indianapolis Star. He received 131 votes from coaches and media members, while Bruce Grimm Jr. of 3A runner-up Rochester was a distant second with 26 votes.
Tipton’s Derek Elston, also an IU recruit, was third with 18 votes, followed by D.J. Byrd of North Montgomery with 16 and Scott Wood of Marion with 15. Twenty other players received 12 or fewer votes.
“Mr. Basketball is a tremendous honor,” Hulls said. “Without the team success, it doesn’t happen. There are a lot of other great candidates out there that I’m friends with, so to win it means a lot to me and my family.”
Hulls led Bloomington South in scoring (15.8), assists (5.2) and steals (2.6), and the Panthers finished the season 26-0, beating Fort Wayne Snider 69-62 for the championship.
Now he’s ready for the next challenge, helping his hometown college team rebound from the worst season in school history.
“Coming in next year, I know a lot of guys are looking to help get IU back to where it needs to be,” said Hulls, whose grandfather, John Hulls, was an IU assistant coach in the 1970s. “I want to be a part of that.”
IU coach Tom Crean said Hulls “can flourish if he continues to work and do the things he’s always done to make himself better. He’s a very mature young man and that maturity will help him succeed at this level.”
But he said Hulls “will need to continue to get stronger” to compete in the Big Ten.
“He has the ability,” Crean said. “I don’t know that I’ve seen a player able to handle the ball equally well with both hands. He’ll continue to get better as his body matures and he continues to develop.”
Though he was always considered a solid point guard, efficient with the ball and a good shooter, Hulls’ stock improved greatly at an AAU tournament in Pittsburgh last April. Holding his own against the top players in the country, he went from having offers from a handful of mid-major programs to getting recruited by some of the elites.
And the early doubts about his size or quickness have kept him motivated.
“It makes me work that much harder,” he said.
