Darian DeVries sat alone in a red chair on the east sideline with his left leg crossed over his right.
It was an hour and 15 minutes before Indiana men’s basketball faced Marian University inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington, and DeVries was focused on observing. The Hoosiers’ post players warmed up to his left while the Knights took shots to his right.
Just over three hours later, the final buzzer sounded. Although Friday’s contest was an exhibition, DeVries’ squad cruised to a 107-46 victory over Marian in its first game in front of the Hoosier faithful.
Here are four takeaways from Friday’s dismantling:
Tucker DeVries’ standout performance
It was Darian DeVries who was largely the talk of Indiana men’s basketball’s offseason. He built a new-look roster with 10 transfers and three freshmen and spent the summer readying the Hoosiers for his first season in Bloomington.
But it was his son Tucker DeVries who showed plenty of promise against the Knights on Friday.
The redshirt senior forward scored Indiana’s first 9 points from all levels: beyond the arc, a 2-point basket, inside the lane with a dunk and at the free throw line. Three other Hoosiers accumulated the Cream and Crimson’s next 11 points.
DeVries followed with back-to-back 3-pointers and a pair of makes from the charity stripe. He scored 23 points — tied for the game-high — as he went 7 for 9 from the field and 5 for 7 beyond the arc.
“I thought he (Tucker) did a good job kind of just playing,” Darian DeVries said postgame. “One of his better qualities, I think, is just his feel and his IQ, and his ability to kind of play off of defenses. ...I thought he had a nice, solid floor game tonight.”
For Indiana’s new roster, the first unfamiliarity came in drills at practice and with the playbook. But having players like Tucker DeVries and redshirt senior guard Conor Enright, who have a prior understanding of each, led Darian DeVries to challenge them as leaders.
“I mean, it's great to have a guy like Tucker,” senior forward Sam Alexis said postgame. “He's been playing in this offense for a long time, so he's the guy. He's a great leader on and off the court.”
Trent Sisley
Ahead of the matchup, four Hoosiers were sidelined with injuries in junior guards Nick Dorn and Jason Drake, freshman guard Aleska Ristic and sophomore forward Josh Harris.
With the injuries adding up for the Hoosiers before the start of regular season play, a variety of players are getting the chance to show their capabilities in different lineups.
“We got a lot of people hurt right now, so it's everyone stepping up, playing different roles in practice,” Sisley said postgame. “Everyone's learning new spots. So, I think for me, just getting that experience early, it's been good for me.”
Freshman forward Trent Sisley took advantage of these opportunities in his 23-point performance Friday night.
The Indiana native finished the night shooting 4 for 4 from the 3-point line, 8 for 10 from the field and 3 for 4 from the free throw line in his 26 minutes on the court.
Following the game, Darian DeVries said he was happy about the freshman's performance and looks forward to seeing his development throughout the season.
“I’m really excited about the things he’s doing, and he continues to grow and get better every day,” Darian DeVries said.
Offense (assists and 3s)
Indiana didn’t have any trouble scoring throughout the night and demonstrated its ability to shoot 3-pointers and share the ball.
In the first half alone, Indiana put up 67 points off 64.9% shooting from the field and 60% from 3-point range. Indiana dished 17 assists off 24 made field goals.
The offensive efficiency continued into the second half as Indiana put up 40 more points and shot 50% from the field.
Indiana finished the night with 15 made 3-pointers and 27 assists on 39 field goals.
While the statistics speak for themselves, the players' confidence in their shot making was apparent postgame.
“I feel like we shoot it pretty well in practice — even better than we did tonight,” Alexis said. “So, y'all going to keep seeing us shoot, keep making shots.”
Doesn’t count? Don’t tell the Hoosiers
Indiana played three contests in Puerto Rico in August against two opponents. Since then, the Hoosiers have constantly faced each other in practice and in an intrasquad scrimmage Oct. 3.
Despite the Cream and Crimson overwhelming Marian — a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics program — Friday night allowed the DeVries-led squad to face a team in a different color jersey.
“Our thoughts was just come in, play hard no matter who we play tonight,” Alexis said. “We was just excited to play someone besides us. So we just came in and attacked the game.”
DeVries said exhibition games are challenging because they don’t count toward the Hoosiers’ regular-season record. But taking on the Knights provided in-game repetitions to improve on both ends of the floor.
“Exhibition games are especially really challenging,” DeVries said. “We know it's not counting for anything. We're just working on ourselves. That was a big thing leading up to the game, and every timeout is just focused on us.”
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.
