Indiana men’s basketball began its first season under head coach Darian DeVries with a bevy of Hoosiers out with injury, but none more important than junior guard Nick Dorn.
Dorn, who transferred to Indiana from Elon University, arrived in Bloomington this season widely regarded as a knockdown 3-point shooter. However, he missed the first two games of the season as he recovered from offseason foot surgery.
Since he returned for the Hoosiers’ third game of the 2025-26 campaign, he’s turned in six double-digit scoring performances in 17 games for the Cream and Crimson.
With sixth-year senior guard Tayton Conerway battling an ankle injury, Dorn started his first game as a Hoosier on Friday against Rutgers. He took full advantage of his opportunity, scoring 23 points and knocking down six 3-pointers in the Hoosiers’ 82-59 win over the Scarlet Knights inside Jersey Mike’s Arena in Piscataway, New Jersey.
“My teammates were believing in me,” Dorn said during a postgame TV interview.
Dorn made just one of his first four shots from beyond the arc. Then, he made five attempts from the free-throw line.
“I saw some of the early ones go down, and it just kept giving me confidence,” Dorn said,
“especially getting to the free-throw line and seeing some go down.”
Not only was Dorn connecting, but so were fifth-year guard Lamar Wilkerson and redshirt senior forward Tucker DeVries.
Wilkerson and Tucker DeVries have commanded much of the opposition’s attention throughout the season. The duo entered Friday averaging 19 and 14.2 points per game, respectively. And with the attention on them, opponents often lose track of Dorn or leave him alone on the weak side.
‘It just opens the floor up even more,” Dorn said. “I love it. I love playing with them.”
Just over a month ago, after Indiana finished its regular-season nonconference slate with a dominant victory over Siena University, Darian DeVries felt Dorn was “doing a really good job” providing points from beyond the arc.
Darian DeVries described Dorn as a player who can knock down many 3-pointers in quick fashion.
“Nick, and we all can see he can certainly shoot the ball,” Darian DeVries said in December. “His minutes from a rotation standpoint, as his minutes are growing, we're trying to figure out some of those rotations to get him the amount of minutes that he probably needs to be getting.”
Now, following a loss to Michigan on Tuesday and the victory over Rutgers on Friday, Dorn has made his way into the lineup in an increased role with Conerway’s injury.
While Conerway played 16 minutes against the Scarlet Knights compared to just two against the Wolverines, Dorn has stepped up and delivered. He’s a “really good shooter and very confident,” Darian DeVries said.
It’s shown, as Dorn is averaging 18.5 points across the last two contests.
“I thought the guys did a really good job of finding him, you know, a lot of times in those corners and things,” Darian DeVries said. “And Nick was able to get them off and convert on a good high percentage.”
The Hoosiers have four days until their next test — a 9 p.m. matchup with No. 4 Purdue on Tuesday. The Boilermakers sit at 17-2 ahead of their next contest with Illinois on Saturday.
Darian DeVries’ first meeting with Purdue provides the Hoosiers the opportunity to notch their first marquee win of the season. Dorn’s increase in production could help the Cream and Crimson to victory over one of the nation’s top teams.
Although the Hoosiers just broke their four-game losing streak, Dorn sees Indiana as a “really good basketball team.”
“Just staying consistent in my work and believing in it every time I step out on the court and trying to get what I've been working for,” Dorn said, “so, I feel like the ceiling is as high as anybody's for the Hoosier team.”
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.
