Jordan Hulls was once an overlooked, scrawny quarterback looking for someone to give him a shot. He would send out highlight tapes to anyone who wanted to watch it. ESPN ranked 33 quarterbacks ahead of him.
Playing at an AAU tournament in Pittsburgh, Pa. For the Indiana Elite, the Hulls were finally spotted alongside their talented teammates and more physically imposing opponents. Still, only two schools awarded him scholarships – Indiana and Purdue – and over 100 players outranked him in the class of 2009. Hull’s recruitment continued to differ from most. A Bloomington, Ind. Native, Hulls didn’t wait more than two weeks to announce his commitment to the Tom Crean-run Hoosiers.
He would go on to win a Big Ten title in Indiana and make two Sweet Sixteen games in his career as a 44 percent three-point shooter. After a nine-year professional career that included stops in Poland, Belgium, and Germany, Hulls returned to his hometown and joined Mike Woodson’s team as the recruitment coordinator for Indiana University basketball.
“This is a great phase for me and my family,” Hulls said. “This is the next phase of life that we’re very excited about and I’m just going to attack like I do when I’m out on the field and I’m going to do my best and everything will be alright. path.”
Hulls made his first recruiting trip to the Charlie Hughes Indiana Boys’ High School Shootout last week, where he followed Cathedral forward Xavier Booker among the nation’s top five players and other in-state basketball players. But in addition to trying to secure the nation’s best talent, Hulls’ experience and knowledge can also be used to find overlooked players like him.
“You’re looking at a guy like me who isn’t the most physical looking person in the world,” Hulls said. “But you can tell some people, whether they’re super athletes or not, they’re just getting it.”
During the first weekend of Hulls’ recruitment, he kept a close watch on how a player could control the game, their fundamentals, turnover tendencies, and whether they were good teammates. Hulls believes absorbing this kind of personal insight can go a long way. It focuses on features some of which may have appeared in the past, such as how a player interacts with their teammates or even how they flee the field.
“This is the fun part for me,” Hulls said. “To really dive in and see a player that I think might have the intangibles that will help us succeed.”
Swipe to continue
Whether it’s work or hiring, relationships are everything to Hulls. Above all, he wants to understand potential recruits on a personal level – what drives them. Beyond basketball, Hulls realizes the importance of academic and personal fitness because newcomers dedicate their lives to school. Therefore, he will also pay attention to business ethics when examining the recruiting environment.
“I know you have to go out and work, and I know it worked for me, and I know this is still a good recipe for kids today,” Hulls said. “I think learning more about kids and how they work for me is something I’ve been looking for too.”
Hulls thinks her strong ties to the state of Indiana will also help her new role. He connected with statewide high school coaches not only throughout his playing career, but also while running his own training business, JH1 Dream Big Skills Academy.
And during his four-year college career and nine-year professional career abroad, Hulls adapted to different playing styles and learned how to relate to his teammates. As a point guard, this was an important aspect of team chemistry and something he hoped to translate into recruiting.
“Being the quarterback out there and having a lot of different guys I need to connect with is like, ‘That’s how he likes to play. That’s what motivates this guy,’” Hulls said. “I think I can really, really be a good advocate for that and try to get these guys to act.”
On his return to Bloomington, Hulls and the rest of Woodson’s coaching team hope to bring Indiana basketball back to the top of the Big Ten. Senior leaders like Trayce Jackson-Davis and Race Thompson haven’t been shy in expressing their Big Ten and National Championship goals, and Hulls is working to prove what Indiana can be.
“For me it’s just to instill that when this place is gone, it will go,” Hulls said. “There is no other place you would rather play basketball.”
Stories about Indiana basketball:
- BODY RETURN ALLOWS FOR INTERNATIONAL RECRUITMENT: Former Indiana quarterback Jordan Hulls has been a world traveler throughout his nine-year professional career, after playing college basketball in his hometown of Bloomington, Ind. With connections in four different countries, Hulls can help Hoosiers gain international talent. CLICK HERE
- BODY DID NOT SAY NO: Former Indiana quarterback Jordan Hulls was heading into his 10th season of professional basketball, but the opportunity to join the coaching team at Mike Woodson’s grad school was too good to be denied. CLICK HERE
- GUNN WORKS TO BECOME A 3-POINT SHOOTER NEEDS INDIANA: Lawrence North High School product CJ Gunn joins Mike Woodson and the Indiana basketball program with a reputation based in part on his 3-point shooting skills. It’s an area where Indiana has struggled lately, but Gunn is working to fill that gap. CLICK HERE
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