The Indiana Hoosiers basketball program is rich in history. The program has five national titles, with the most recent coming in 1987.
Depending on their NCAAB odds, the Hoosiers are often a reliable addition to basketball parlays.
Below are my top five Hoosiers players.
Who Are the Best Indiana Hoosiers Basketball Players?
| Rank | Player | Position | Hoosiers Years |
| 1 | Calbert Cheaney | G/F | 1989-1993 |
| 2 | Scott May | F | 1973-1976 |
| 3 | Steve Alford | G | 1983-1987 |
| 4 | Isiah Thomas | G | 1979-1981 |
| 5 | Walt Bellamy | C | 1958-1961 |
1. Calbert Cheaney
Cheaney played for Indiana from 1989 to 1993, scoring 2,613 points (the most in program history), including 785 during the 1992-93 campaign, which is the most points scored in a single Hoosiers season.
Additionally, in 1993, Cheaney was named the National College Player of the Year and Big Ten Player of the Year. He added other accolades, including consensus first-team All-American, second-team All-American, and two-time third-team All-American.
When it was all said and done, over 132 games, Cheaney averaged 19.8 points and 5.4 assists per game.
2. Scott May
May suited up for Indiana from 1973 to 1976.
He was an excellent player over his first two seasons, but he became one of Indiana’s all-time greats during the 1975-76 season, when he was part of the NCAA championship team and was named Naismith College Player of the Year, the Helm Foundation Player of the Year, the Associated Press College Player of the Year, the NABC Player of the Year, the UPI College Player of the Year, and the Sporting News College Player of the Year.
He won the Adolph Rupp Trophy that same season and was a consensus first-team All-American.
During the 1975-76 season, he averaged 23.5 points and 6.6 rebounds per game and shot 52.7% from the floor. He recorded 752 points, the second-most in a single season.
He’s enshrined in the College Basketball Hall of Fame.
3. Steve Alford
Alford played for Indiana from 1983 to 1987, scoring 2,438 points (second) and adding 178 steals (second). He had 749 points (third in a single season) in the 1986-87 season.
Alford was part of the 1987 championship squad. He was also a two-time consensus first-team All-American, three-time first-team All-Big Ten, and the Big Ten MVP.
4. Isiah Thomas
Thomas played point guard for Indiana from 1979 to 1981. He was part of the 1981 championship squad.
Additionally, he was named the NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player, was a consensus first-team All-American, and was named the USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year.
During the 1980-81 season, he recorded 197 assists, the most in a single Hoosiers season.
That same year, he also had 74 steals, the second-most in a single season. Over his career, he had 136 assists (eighth).
Thomas is enshrined in the College Basketball Hall of Fame.
5. Walt Bellamy
Turning back the clock a bit, Bellamy was with Indiana from 1958 to 1961.
Playing center, he recorded 1,087 rebounds (third), including 428 during the 1960-61 season (most in a single season).
He held the rebound record until Alan Henderson broke it during the 1994-95 season—he played one more season than Bellamy.
Bellamy was a consensus second-team All-American as well as a first-team, second-team, and third-team All-American.
He’s enshrined in the College Basketball Hall of Fame.
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