After his first year at the helm of Indiana men’s basketball, head coach Darian DeVries knew he had to bring in more size, length and versatility.
Last season, the Cream and Crimson averaged 32.4 rebounds per game — the sixth-lowest mark in the Big Ten.
Despite a lack of offensive depth, Indiana remained competitive in games last year with its high-volume, perimeter-shooting style of play.
Fifth-year senior guard Lamar Wilkerson averaged 20.9 points per game on 46.3% shooting and 37.8% from three-point range. Redshirt senior forward Tucker DeVries averaged 13.7 points across 32 games played. Wilkerson and DeVries were the only Hoosiers to average double-digit points.
Darian DeVries knew his team struggled shooting-wise last season, especially when Wilkerson or Tucker DeVries had an off night.
“If we weren’t making threes, there weren’t a whole lot of places we could get to offensively,” DeVries said during Big Ten Media Days on Thursday in Rosemont, Illinois.
The Hoosiers were also routinely beat on the glass.
Indiana’s leading rebounder was Tucker DeVries, who pulled in only 5.3 rebounds per game. Senior forward Sam Alexis’ 4.8 boards per contest ranked second. Freshman center Andrej Acimovic and senior forward Reed Bailey, both 6-foot-10, were Indiana’s tallest players, but Acimovic didn’t appear in a game, and Bailey averaged only 3.4 rebounds.
Indiana had its lapses defensively as well. The Hoosiers allowed 72.2 points per game — the 129th highest mark in the nation.
During the offseason, Indiana overhauled its roster through the transfer portal to solve those discrepancies. The Hoosiers brought in seven new transfers — including three players 7-foot or taller — who all fit in DeVries’ high-scoring system. As a result, the Hoosiers’ identity changed.
“Physical, tough, gritty,” DeVries said. “That’s what we have to be.”
For DeVries, the emphasis on physicality stems partly from navigating the Big Ten’s grueling schedule. Competing against some of the tallest and strongest teams in the nation exposed flaws in Indiana’s roster last year, especially around the basket.
“The Big Ten from a physicality standpoint is as physical of a league as there is in the country,” DeVries said. “You have to be able to match that.”
Indiana’s approach in the portal reflected that. The additions of junior center Samet Yigitoglu and junior forward Aiden Sherrell bring greater flexibility in the frontcourt, leading to stronger interior defense.
For Sherrell, practicing against taller players like Yigitoglu, and even freshman center Clemens Sokolov, has given him a glimpse of the physicality needed in Big Ten play after transferring from the University of Alabama.
“Just competing against those guys every day has helped,” Sherrell said. “Like, in the Big Ten, I’ll definitely see a lot of solid guys. So, just getting a lot of reps, that helps a lot.”
In practice, DeVries has preached the importance of offensive rebounding, which creates second and third opportunities that are more likely to be converted off a missed shot.
Even with the size upgrade, the Hoosiers still have plenty of sharpshooters, like last season.
DeVries called former University of Notre Dame point guard and senior Markus Burton’s midrange game his “superpower.” DeVries also said former Duke University guard and junior Darren Harris has the “green light from anywhere.”
Across his three seasons at Texas A&M University, James Madison University and Villanova University, senior guard Bryce Lindsay shot 37.7% from three. Last season with Villanova, the Baltimore native averaged 12.3 points on 35.6% from deep.
Even Sherrell can space the floor. The 7-foot big man shot 33.8% from beyond the arc last season with the Crimson Tide. DeVries called Sherrell the “perfect fit” for his system.
Still, the Hoosiers have a new identity they lacked last year — a physically imposing frontcourt that can be a three-level threat.
“Now we have more post-up opportunities, ways to get to the free throw line, dribble drives, just those types of things,” DeVries said.
Follow reporters Elakai Anela (@elakai_anela and eanela@iu.edu) and Kasey Watkins (@KaseyWatki87731 and kaslwatk@iu.edu) and columnist Nathan Shriberg (@NShriberg and naashri@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s basketball season.
