Collin Hartman’s career at Indiana reached the same end as that of most any college player: senior night honors, a thank you to the crowd that supported him over the years.
His even included a relatively rare Hollywood touch: proposing to his college girlfriend, who happened to be a member of the cheerleading squad.
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There is one thing that separates him from nearly every other player who has enjoyed such an evening.
He’s not done.
(He’s not married yet, either, but it’s coming).
Hartman still is very much a member of the Indiana Hoosiers. Nearly five years after enrolling at IU, he will try again to play his senior season in 2017-18, albeit under far different circumstances than were in place a year ago. His coach then was Tom Crean, not Archie Miller, who was hired in March after the Hoosiers finished with a 18-16 record.
“It’s been a little bit of a change, obviously,” Hartman told Sporting News. “But it’s been good. I haven’t regretted a minute of it.”
A 6-6 forward from Indianapolis, Hartman missed all of 2016-17 with a knee injury that required surgery just as practice was beginning. It was a substantial blow to the Hoosiers’ campaign to return to the NCAA Tournament. People were well aware of the damage done by the injury that ended OG Anunoby’s season in January, but Hartman’s absence largely was forgotten.
His teammates and coaches noticed, though. Hartman is a remarkably versatile player who spent significant time at center as a freshman, but also can function at the wing positions because of his shooting ability. Ideally, he’d be a slightly undersized stretch-4.
He showed he's built for that with 3-of-3 shooting from long distance and three rebounds in 16 minutes of play in a Sunday exhibition victory over UIndy — his first competitive action after recovering from an ankle injury. Hartman not only can shoot from long range, but can also put the ball on the floor and advance past closing defenders.
“I think the great thing about him is — and it’s what everybody told me about him — the confidence he can give a locker room, the experience level that he has, what he’s about personally in terms of commitment to his teammates,” coach Archie Miller told Inside The Hall. “He’s like having another coach. He really is.”
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Hartman was in position to play his final college season anywhere he wanted as a graduate transfer, but he chose to stick through the transition and remain a Hoosier. There are about 25 top-25 teams that would have loved to have him coming off their bench, but he never gave them much of a thought.
“I’ve spent four years here, and I don’t think I could see myself in any other situation. It’s close to home. It’s a special place in my family’s heart. It just would be weird to be somewhere else.
“It’s been a change. I had a coaching change in high school, but this is a bigger scale, obviously. More publicity, all that stuff. But it’s a change that everybody had to make, and at the end of the day you come in and work hard, do what you’re told to do, try to be a sponge and learn.”
In his junior season, Hartman played 22 minutes a game for a team that won the Big Ten Conference championship, averaging 5 points and 3.1 rebounds and about a 3-pointer per game. He believes he's the same player as before his surgery — if not better — because he watched for a year. He learned, and built up a greater hunger to compete.
The personal transition from Crean to Miller has not been dramatic. Hartman is having to adjust to the pack-line defense, and some different play calls.
“I don’t think there’s anything that’s super new,” Hartman said. “It’s just the different schemes Coach Miller runs.
“I’ll probably play mostly 4, kind of play my role and my size. But I always try to keep myself into shape and ready to play any position Coach needs me to. Because you never know. One thing I’ve learned in these four years of college basketball: You never know what you’re going to be needed for.”
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Hartman doesn't know what he'll do after completing his IU career, but he does believe he’d like to stay around the game. However, like someone who understands what marriage will entail, “Whatever I do, she’ll have to check off on."
Hartman and Hayley Daniel are set for a Sept. 1, 2018 wedding. A June wedding might have meant some of the planning spilt over into the season, so even a Final Four run would give them five months to cover the details.
If it goes as well as the proposal, it should be a heck of a day.
“Assembly Hall and IU basketball is a special thing in both of our families,” Hartman said. “Having her family there, my family, all of our friends, teammates — it was a perfect setting. That was the best possible solution to get all the factors in.”
