Jordan Hulls, the 6-foot senior guard who led Bloomington South to an undefeated season capped off by the Class 4A state championship, has been named the 2009 Indianapolis Star Indiana Mr. Basketball.
The Indiana University recruit totaled 131 votes to easily outdistance runner-up Bruce Grimm Jr. (26), the Rochester guard who scored 40 points in a classic 3A state final double-overtime loss to unbeaten Princeton. Hulls’ future teammate at IU, Derek Elston of Tipton, was third with 18 votes, while Purdue-bound D.J. Byrd of North Montgomery had 16 and Marion’s Scott Wood (North Carolina State) received 15.
Twenty other players earned a dozen or fewer votes in the statewide balloting of media and coaches.
A three-year starter for long-time coach J.R. Holmes, Hulls this season led the Panthers in scoring (15.8 points per game), assists (5.2), and steals (2.6).
“Mr. Basketball is a tremendous honor,” Hulls told the Star. “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.”
Bloomington South assistant coach Criss Beyers echoed that sentiment.
“Jordan is truly everything Mr. Basketball should be,” Beyers told the Star. “A lot of people will say all they care about is winning, not the personal achievement, but Jordan honestly believes it.”
Added Holmes: “He’s the hometown kid, so that can be tough when you have a bad game. I have no doubt he can handle it, but that's sometimes a tough position to be in.”
Hulls grandfather, John Hulls, was an Indiana assistant coach under Bob Knight back in the early 1970s. Tom Crean, who will be entering his second season at the Hoosiers’ helm, is looking forward to continuing Mr. Basketball’s education.
“Jordan can flourish if he continues to work and do the things he’s always done to make himself better,” Crean told the Star. “He's a very mature young man, and that maturity will help him succeed at this level.”