There’s not a ton of great stuff that’s happened for IU Indy basketball in recent memory. The program has certainly stagnated since joining the Horizon League nearly a decade ago, with more than twenty years separating them from their one and only trip to the NCAA Tournament. The sudden dismissal of head coach Paul Corsaro last week cast the future for the Jaguars into further doubt, but perhaps this program has taken a step in a great new direction.
IU Indy is turning their program over to Ben Howlett, a rising head coach from the D2 ranks. Howlett doesn’t have any D1 experience on his resume and has spent the majority of his basketball career in West Virginia at West Liberty. He was a player, student assistant, and assistant coach under Jim Crutchfield, who recently won a pair of D2 national titles leading Nova Southeastern.
When Crutchfield took that job in 2017, Howlett was promoted to West Liberty’s head coaching position and it wasn’t a decision they regret. Howlett racked up over 200 wins with an 85% win percentage in his time leading the Hilltoppers. He took that program to the D2 Tournament in every single season, with a slew of conference titles and a trip to the national title game in 2023.
Recently there has certainly been an influx of coaching talent from the D2 level, evident by the recent rise of Ben McCollum. We’re not saying that Howlett is on McCollum’s level by any means, but he’s helped build and sustain a successful program at West Liberty and has a chance to make a difference now in Indianapolis.
Howlett gets thrown right into the lions’ den, inheriting a basketball program that hasn’t finished above .500 in 14 years. The Jaguars actually made major strides last season in a 10-win campaign, but with Corsaro’s dismissal and several outgoing transfers, all of that progress has been lost. Even more annoying is that Howlett must begin his roster construction months after most D1 programs.
It wouldn’t be shocking to see a few West Liberty players transferring to IU Indy in the weeks ahead. Both McCollum and Tobin Anderson (at Fairleigh Dickinson) achieved quick success leaning on the players they know. West Liberty was very successful at the D2 level and Howlett nearly sniffed national glory, but can he accomplish a much harder feat in turning around IU Indy?