INDIANAPOLIS – It has been difficult for Butler to bring in basketball players from the Indianapolis area, or even to recruit the state. The Butler brand can be stronger elsewhere than it is in Indiana.
Yet consider local contributions of the past decade: Gordon Hayward (Brownsburg), Andrew Smith (Covenant Christian), Kellen Dunham (Pendleton Heights).
None was ranked high nationally coming out of high school. Neither is 6-9 John-Michael Mulloy, a Carmel junior who announced his commitment to the Bulldogs on Wednesday night.
Mulloy is more consequential than a single recruit ordinarily might be. He is the first for new Butler coach LaVall Jordan, and he is local.