Indiana men’s basketball is slated to begin its two-game exhibition slate against Marian University at 7:30 p.m. Friday inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington.
However, Indiana head coach Darian DeVries’ squad is hindered by numerous injuries. Of 13 scholarship players on DeVries’ first roster at the helm of the Hoosiers, at least three are out for Friday’s contest. A fourth’s status is uncertain.
Nick Dorn
Dorn missed most of the offseason recovering from a previous surgery to repair a Jones fracture in his foot. At Big Ten Media Days on Oct. 9 in Rosemont, Illinois, DeVries said he hoped the junior guard would be cleared to practice during the week ahead of the exhibition.
“We're certainly getting closer to getting him to full practice type stuff,” DeVries said during a Zoom press conference Thursday, “but we still got a little bit of time to go there yet.”
DeVries said he doesn’t anticipate Dorn taking to the floor against the Knights on Friday. He also said the Elon University transfer is doubtful for Indiana’s final exhibition matchup against Baylor University on Oct. 26.
Aleksa Ristic and Jason Drake
Ristic arrived at Indiana ahead of the Hoosiers’ trip to Puerto Rico in August and played in all three of the Hoosiers’ contests on the island. However, the freshman guard suffered a right leg injury during a September practice and has since sported a boot.
Drake, conversely, didn’t travel with the Hoosiers to Puerto Rico. During Indiana’s open practice Sept. 30, the junior guard only participated in stretches. He did not play in the Hoosiers’ intrasquad scrimmage Oct. 3.
Both Ristic and Drake are likely out for a “little while yet,” DeVries said.
“Certainly not going to have them for the start of the season and probably a few weeks into it for sure, which does make it challenging,” he said. “Those are two guys that we're counting on to hopefully give us some minutes and some depth, and so we got to be a little creative until one or two of those guys get back and give us a little more flexibility with our lineups.”
Josh Harris
Like Ristic, Harris has worn a boot on his right leg after suffering an injury during practice in September. The sophomore forward didn’t play in the scrimmage two weeks ago.
DeVries said Sept. 30 that the Hoosiers would “see how that (Harris’ injury) shakes out here for us for the next foreseeable future.” He didn’t provide an update on the University of North Florida transfer Thursday.
How do the injuries impact Indiana?
After having four players sidelined, Indiana’s practice depth has been challenged.
“We've been a little more careful maybe with how much up and down we do every day,” DeVries said Oct. 9. “A little more drill work, so you're more in three-on-three type stuff.”
DeVries said his squad’s practice time — around an hour and a half — has remained the same, but the amount of five-on-five work in practice has been affected.
With the season on the horizon, Dorn has participated in non-contact portions of practice. As he’s starting to work his way back into some action, DeVries said, there’s challenges with how quickly Dorn can get into “game conditioning.” The Hoosiers are also tasked with understanding where to “best utilize and plug him in.”
DeVries said Oct. 9 he thinks most sidelined Hoosiers will return close to the start of December.
“The other two guys (Ristic and Drake), they're going to be a while, so then how quickly can they just get thrown in there and find their roles and be able to fit,” DeVries said. “So, those are things that we don't know yet; because of injuries we're going to be a little bit limited on our depth right now.”
To begin the season, DeVries anticipates seven or eight players to be in the Hoosiers’ rotation. As the injured players begin to return to the court, the first-year Hoosiers head coach anticipates eight or nine players — possibly 10 — to see the floor during contests.
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.
