Former Indiana Guard Yogi Ferrell Ready For NBA Restart, Explains Chosen Social Justice Message
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — When Yogi Ferrell saw De’Aaron Fox go down in practice a week ago, he knew more responsibility would fall onto his shoulders.
Fox is currently dealing with a left ankle sprain, and he should be back at some point during the remaining eight regular season games when the NBA restarts next week, but the Sacramento Kings don’t have much room for error.
That’s where the former Indiana guard comes into play. In 44 games this season, Ferrell has averaged 11 minutes, 4.2 points and 1.3 assists per contest.
Yogi Ferrell is expecting to see more playing time when the season resumes.
Sergio Estrada/USA Today
But Ferrell always prides himself on being ready, and he knows it’s his responsibility to run the Kings’ second unit to the best of his ability for however long the team needs.
“I feel like I’ve been ready the entire year,” Ferrell said in a conference call. “I’ve been wanting to get out there and play, and I’ve been wanting to get out there and win. Just try and contribute and have fun with my guys. Number one thing is obviously to make the playoffs.”
The Kings are currently 28-36 on the season, and they are in a three-way tie for ninth place in the Western Conference with the New Orleans Pelicans and Portland Trail Blazers. They are 3.5 games back from the current No. 8 seed, the Memphis Grizzlies.
It’s going to be a short and hectic race for the final playoff spot, and Ferrell thinks the Kings have the mental fortitude to capture that final spot.
When Ferrell played at Indiana from 2012 through 2016, he helped lead the Hoosiers to two Sweet Sixteen’s and two Big Ten Championships. More importantly, what made him so effective was he controlled the flow of the game when he had the ball in his hands, and that’s exactly what he plans to do for the remainder of this NBA season.
Yogi Ferrell played at Indiana from 2012 to 2016 and won two Big Ten championships. (USA TODAY Sports)
“The biggest thing is running the team,” Ferrell said. “Me being a point guard, just going out there and running the tempo, knocking down the open shot, but really I want to go out there and control the pace of the game.”
The Kings will play three scrimmages before starting the season back up on July 31 against the San Antonio Spurs at 7 p.m.
Their first scrimmage will be Wednesday night against the Miami Heat at 8 p.m. Their other two scrimmages will be against the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Clippers.
“We can look forward to busting somebody else’s ass,” Ferrell said on the upcoming scrimmages. “We’ve been going at each other’s necks for about two weeks now, so I think it’ll be really fun for us to go out there and show what we’ve been working on. I think these scrimmages will really help us going into this eight-game stretch trying to make the playoffs.”
In early July, the NBA agreed that 29 social justice messages can be worn on players' jerseys when the season resumes. Most players are being asked during their media session which phrases or messages they are using for their jerseys.
Yogi Ferrell is hoping to help the Sacramento Kings make the playoffs in the final eight games of the NBA regular season.
Sergio Estrada/USA Today
Ferrell said he will be wearing “How Many More?” on the back of his jersey.
“I felt like that statement spoke out to me just because it displays the frustration that myself and a lot of African Americans have for what’s been going on the last 400 years of just discrimination and not having equal rights,” Ferrell said. “So, I just chose ‘How Many More?’ just to display that frustration and try and open up that dialogue to see what we can do to make things better.”
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