Indiana men’s basketball wasn’t good enough last year.
I’m aware that’s not exactly a hot take. What might surprise you, though, is they knew it too, even in the moment.
“We probably wasn't the best team, the most talented team, the biggest team, the fastest team,” then-senior forward Sam Alexis said in the locker room March 11 moments after the Hoosiers fell to Northwestern to end their season in the Big Ten Tournament.
Looking back, I’d say Alexis was spot on.
Not the best is a foregone conclusion. Indiana (18-14, 9-11 Big Ten) finished 10th in the conference and missed the NCAA Tournament for a third consecutive season.
Talent is trickier to measure, so I’ll propose two ways to quantify it.
First, I’ll point out their rankings as high school recruits. Of the nine players head coach Darian DeVries gave real minutes to, only three had a rating coming into college.
For clarity, that means zero stars. For any of them. Former Indiana guard Khristian Lander had five.
Another way to look at it is based on where they came to Bloomington from. Every single player on the roster was new to Indiana. Eight of the nine had multiple years to develop and transfer to power conference programs. Only three actually did — Tucker DeVries, Conor Enright and Alexis.
The best players play in the best conferences. Unsurprisingly, 2025-26 Indiana didn’t buck the trend.
Admittedly, there is a flaw in this way of thinking. It would lead you to believe the Big Ten’s second leading scorer — Lamar Wilkerson with 20.9 points per game — isn’t talented. So, let’s move on to the next category: size.
The tallest player in the Hoosiers’ rotation a season ago was 6-foot-10 Bailey. He averaged 3.4 rebounds per game. As a team, Indiana was 13th in the Big Ten in total rebounds and 17th in offensive rebounds.
While DeVries trotted out a small lineup incapable of effectively rebounding, Michigan won the national championship with its dominant 7-foot-3 center Aday Mara.
It’s safe to say getting bigger was a priority for Indiana in the offseason. The Cream and Crimson added 7-foot-2 junior center Samet Yigitoglu, 7-foot junior forward Aiden Sherrell and even went overseas to add German 7-foot freshman center Clemens Sokolov as a developmental piece.
“We just have more girth, more size, more physicality on the interior,” DeVries said Oct. 8 at Big Ten Basketball Media Days. “From the three, four and five we get very long, very big, very fast.”
The shift was on full display during Indiana’s exhibition win over Butler University on Sunday.
The Hoosiers outmuscled the Bulldogs on the boards, outrebounding them 53-33. That’s nine more total rebounds than Indiana had in any game last year. Yigitoglu scored 12 points in the paint. Sherrell added 10 points and nine rebounds.
It’s only an exhibition game. But every bit of game action tells you something, no matter the stakes.
Talent? Check. Size? Check.
As for speed? Just watch senior guard Markus Burton play.
“He’s so quick and he knows how to get to his spots,” junior guard Jaeden Mustaf said of Burton on Sept. 29.
The former Atlantic Coast Conference scoring leader regularly blows by defenders and can stop on a dime to fool would-be shot blockers. Against Butler, he tallied 13 points in 15 minutes.
Burton’s role with his new team couldn’t be clearer.
“Markus Burton scores,” DeVries said. “That’s the option he brings.”
The theme of year two of the DeVries era is improvement. Although year one didn’t go to plan, Alexis highlighted areas to focus on as the team hopes to grow into a perennial contender.
However, that doesn’t happen overnight. And certainly not with a single victory in an exhibition game. Well-made plans fail. Just ask Matt Rhule.
It’ll take time for Indiana’s improved traits to make it a championship contender. At this point, most fans would be pleasantly surprised by a Sweet 16 contender. For now, DeVries’ plan is in motion.
“Hopefully moving forward, Indiana can be one of the best teams in the country,” Alexis said in March.
By his standards, the Hoosiers are on the right track.
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.
