NCAA Basketball: 10 best players from state of Indiana of last decade

9. D. J. Balentine – Evansville

Another athlete that stayed in the state, Balentine was a 6’2 guard from Kokomo who found himself quite the home down in Evansville. Balentine played for the Purple Aces between 2012 and 2016, spending four seasons as a highly productive asset. This Evansville team didn’t win a conference title or make any deep runs, but Balentine’s play in itself is justification for his inclusion.

As a freshman, he was a bench player with some great games, but his final three seasons were filled with productivity. In each of those years, Balentine averaged at least 20 points per game, topping at 22.8 per game as a sophomore. He had solid assists numbers and was a walking bucket time after time, scoring a career-high 43 points in a loss at Northern Iowa as a sophomore, just one of many marvelous efforts. In Evansville’s run to the CIT title in 2015, he had multiple games with 35 points.

He was named First Team All-MVC for each of those three occasions, helping lead the Purple Aces to their three most recent 20-win seasons. He was a dynamic scorer, leading the MVC in points, field goals, and minutes played in those final three seasons, while also emerging as one of the league’s best free throw shooters. He spent time playing basketball overseas and has recently begun his coaching career back home in Kokomo.