Indiana men’s basketball looks different than it did just seven months ago.
All-new roster. All-new coaching staff.
And an all-new belief around first-year head coach Darian DeVries’ program. One that was far from present in former head coach Mike Woodson’s last season at the helm of the Hoosiers.
While DeVries brought in 13 brand new scholarship players, three guards from the 2024-25 season transferred to other Big Ten schools.
Gabe Cupps returned home to Ohio State. Myles Rice departed for Maryland. Bryson Tucker moved across the country to Washington.
The Indiana Daily Student spoke with each of their new head coaches and teammates at Big Ten Media Days on Oct. 9 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois.
Each raved about the transfers.
Gabe Cupps
Coming off a freshman year in which Cupps was “thrown to the wolves,” Woodson said then, the Dayton, Ohio, native played four games before undergoing season-ending surgery to repair his left meniscus. He previously played 33 games, starting in 22 in 2023-24 and averaging 2.6 points per game.
Cupps was the first Hoosier to enter the portal, doing so less than four hours before Indiana hired DeVries.
Ohio State head coach Jake Diebler originally recruited Cupps, a four-star prospect, out of high school when he was an assistant under former Buckeyes head coach Chris Holtmann.
Diebler identified a theme for his second offseason at the helm of Ohio State: raising the Buckeyes’ collective basketball IQ.
Cupps fit the bill, as Diebler “trusts” his knowledge of the game.
Coming off injuries is different for all athletes, but Diebler said Cupps was hungry and eager to return to the court — this time with a whole new team.
Diebler sensed excitement in Cupps. It's excitement Cupps can display this season behind starting guards senior Bruce Thornton and sophomore John Mobley Jr., as Diebler wanted a guard to complement both returners. Cupps does just that.
In terms of lineups and specific roles, Diebler said he and his staff are still “ironing some of that out.” Still, he raved about his squad’s versatility, which Cupps will “certainly” be a factor in.
“He’s a blender,” Diebler said. “He brings people together on the team. He helps build chemistry, which is so important, and you want that to develop quickly.”
Donning an all-gray suit over a white button-up shirt, Thornton couldn’t help but smile when asked about the 6-foot-2 guard.
“Gabe’s my guy,” Thornton said. “Unique guy. Great energy all the time. Sometimes, though, very unhinged. You need guys like that on your team. I love him.”
Thornton said what Cupps brings to the Buckeyes’ squad is “very, very special.” He creates energy, produces on both ends of the floor and is the most energetic player Thornton has seen, he said.
In total, the Buckeyes like what they’ve seen from Cupps, who played at Centerville High School less than an hour and a half from Ohio State’s Value City Arena.
“He’s improved his 3-point shooting, and you can really trust him when the ball is in his hands, and he plays with great toughness defensively, too,” Diebler said. “So, all around, we saw a good player who we’re excited about the impact he’s going to have on our team.”
Myles Rice
In Rice’s first portal experience ahead of the 2024-25 season, Rice visited with other coaches before ultimately landing at Indiana — one of those being Buzz Williams, with whom Rice spoke twice.
Williams, who was then at Texas A&M University, took over at Maryland in early April. So, when Rice entered the portal again in late March, Williams and his staff already had an established relationship with Rice and his parents.
So, when Rice entered again in late March, Williams and his staff pursued him faster than they previously did, Williams said.
Williams loves Rice’s personality and story of overcoming cancer. He described the guard as someone you want in the locker room and on the team, even after a rather tumultuous lone season at Indiana.
Rice started 25 of his 32 appearances in Bloomington, averaging 10.1 points and 2.8 assists. He notched just 7 total points in the final three games of the year.
Williams wasn’t at practice inside Cook Hall or games at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. He doesn’t know who Rice was on the floor or how he was asked to play, Williams said. The first-year Terrapins head coach said he’s instinctual with players, particularly with Rice.
“I probably didn’t investigate the basketball enough because the first time he was in the portal, I just admired who he was,” Williams said. “And when we took the job, we needed to sign 15 players, so I was comfortable with who he was.”
Graduate student guard David Coit, who transferred to Maryland after averaging 5.1 points in his lone season at the University of Kansas, said the Terrapins know what they’re going to get out of Rice.
Coit sees Rice being one of the primary guards on the squad that will make a significant impact.
“He definitely can change the game for us,” Coit said. “His playmaking ability, his ability to guard the ball, his ability to be a good teammate and good leader.”
Bryson Tucker
Tucker arrived at Indiana as a four-star recruit, ranked 30th-best in the country, according to 247 Sports. He played in 23 games, averaging 5.4 points before entering the portal after just one season.
To Washington sophomore guard Zoom Diallo, who said he played with and against his new teammate in high school, Tucker’s freshman year didn’t go as he thought it would.
Senior guard Desmond Claude arrived in Seattle with Tucker as part of the Huskies’ transfer class. Claude said he and his teammates didn’t need to change anything within Tucker.
“He was always able to do what y’all will see him do in games, but I think the opportunity is there now where he has a little bit more of freedom to actually do it, and coach actually trusts him to let him play his game,” Claude, who played at USC last season, said. “I feel like he probably didn’t have that last year for the most part.”
Washington head coach Danny Sprinkle didn’t see rewiring Tucker as a necessity. Tucker moving across the country for a new start was “really good” for him.
Sprinkle, who’s entering his second season, said Tucker can play any position two through four because of his 6-foot-7 frame and athleticism. But his natural position is small forward, Sprinkle said, because of his instinctual cutting ability.
Tucker’s self-confidence hasn’t changed. It’s what makes him “special,” Sprinkle said. But he can also score. And Sprinkle thinks the tangible skills to become a great offensive rebounder are within Tucker.
“He’ll play a pretty big role, significant role,” Claude said. “I mean he’s super athletic, fast-twitched, he plays hard, he can play defense, he blocks shots, he rebounds. He’s kind of in the area where he can do everything.”
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.
