Indiana men’s basketball is not at full strength to begin the 2025-26 season. With injuries to freshman guard Aleksa Ristic, sophomore forward Josh Harris and junior guards Jason Drake and Nick Dorn, the Hoosiers’ lack of depth will make it difficult to get off to a strong start.
In the Hoosiers’ 76-74 exhibition victory over Baylor University, four of the five starters played 32 or more minutes, with redshirt senior forward Tucker DeVries logging a team-high 38 minutes.
But the starters can’t play all 40 minutes, and the down-to-the-wire exhibition gave some insight into who first-year head coach Darian DeVries trusts off the bench.
Sam Alexis
Standing at 6-foot-9, the senior forward is one of the taller Hoosiers. On a team without a trusted true center, Alexis may prove vital in the Hoosiers’ rotation.
Coming off a national championship season at the University of Florida, Alexis brings a veteran toughness that only comes with experience in the biggest moments.
“Sam's been great as far as just bringing that SEC (Southeastern Conference) physicality, just showing us how a championship team practices every day as far as intensity-wise,” fifth-year senior guard Lamar Wilkerson said of Alexis at Big Ten Basketball Media Days on Oct. 9. “He comes in with the same energy every day. You know what you’re gonna get out of Sam.”
When Indiana was struggling on the defensive glass against Baylor, DeVries turned to Alexis to play a bigger role. He grabbed a team-high seven rebounds off the bench, stepping into a larger role as senior forward Reed Bailey struggled to make an impact on the boards.
Against teams with a more post-heavy offense, Alexis' role could expand to prevent easy scoring in the paint. He tallied six blocks across the two exhibition games.
Trent Sisley
As the lone Mike Woodson recruit to crossover into the DeVries era, Sisley is a highly touted true freshman out of Montverde Academy — the same high school as former Hoosier guard Jalen Hood-Schifino and forward Malik Reneau.
A versatile 6-foot-8 forward, Sisley’s preseason performance has indicated that he can hang with more experienced players. In the Hoosiers’ first exhibition game against Marian University, Sisley’s 23 points tied DeVries for a team high, and he didn’t miss an attempt from the field until the final six minutes of the game.
Sisley is a capable scorer at all three levels, and his combination of length and size enables him to guard multiple positions on the defensive end.
Nobody else
Alexis and Sisley were the only subs to play substantial minutes against Baylor — junior guard Jasai Miles checked in for one minute. As the team struggled to secure defensive rebounds, that could signal a lack of faith in freshman center Andrej Acimovic. At 6-foot-10, the Bosnian big man has the size to alleviate rebounding troubles. However, DeVries leaving him on the bench shows that Acimovic might not be ready yet.
As Indiana awaits the return of its backcourt depth, DeVries anticipates a “seven to eight” man rotation, and Miles will likely be number eight. The junior scored 15 points per game at the University of North Florida and possesses the scoring talent to be a sparkplug off the bench.
Miles, a shifty ball handler, can score from inside and out. In his sophomore season, Miles averaged 2.4 3-pointers per game on high volume, but with the total shots likely to decrease, expect his career 32.5% mark from distance to improve throughout the season.
While DeVries may not have a full arsenal of weapons at his disposal to begin the season, there’s plenty of talent at the top-end of the roster for him to utilize in the rotation. And after the Indy Showdown, DeVries remained optimistic.
“I think we’re getting better.”
Follow reporters Dalton James (@DaltonMJames and jamesdm@iu.edu) and Nathan Shriberg (@NShriberg and naashri@iu.edu) and columnist Kasey Watkins (@KaseyWatki8773 and kaslwatk@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s basketball season.
