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ROSEMONT, Ill. – IU basketball coach Darian DeVries, along with seniors Tucker DeVries and Lamar Wilkerson, addressed the media at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center on Thursday afternoon as part of Big Ten Basketball Media Day.
Darian DeVries spent the first 30 minutes in a breakout session with the media. His two player representatives followed with their own 20-minute session.
The first year IU coach addressed a range of topics surrounding the program ahead of his first season in Bloomington.
Indiana’s identity on offense is perimeter-heavy
Darian DeVries has emphasized putting together a roster with a surplus of players who can shoot from outside the arc. Whether at Drake or West Virginia, DeVries’ teams have been identified as 3-point threats.
Bringing in shooters like his son, Tucker, and Lamar Wilkerson, Darian DeVries spent the summer stressing the importance of being a team that can knock down shots from distance.
DeVries outlined in Thursday’s breakout session that almost everyone on the roster has the green light to take 3s in game situations.
He hopes that having five shooting threats on the floor will help space the court. That spacing, in turn, should create more opportunities for Tayton Conerway to attack the basket.
“Some are naturally going to take more than others,” Darian DeVries said. “But, we want everybody to be a threat out there.”
Wilkerson, a career 40 percent 3-point shooter, has noticed the coaching staff’s desire to take – and more importantly, make — 3s in its fast-paced offense.
“Our offense is made to create open 3s,” Wilkerson said. “(Darian DeVries) is going to let you play freely and let you, you know, play within the game as long as you’re just taking good shots.”
Indiana as a team shot 10-for-26 in last Friday’s cream and crimson scrimmage at Assembly Hall.
Tucker DeVries completes his first full offseason since 2022
This summer marked the first time since 2022 that Tucker DeVries had the opportunity to participate in all of the offseason activities.
With multiple shoulder surgeries over the past three years, Tucker DeVries has been unable to lift or practice with his team in the offseason.
“You can just see it in his body. He’s really filled out. He’s gotten a lot stronger,” Darian DeVries said. “Maybe even more importantly, he trusts having collisions and making contact, both offensively, being able to bump people off and rebounding, all the things, defensively, getting through screens, not having to avoid contact to protect the shoulder.
Despite a season-ending shoulder injury suffered at West Virginia last year, Tucker DeVries was an active participant in all of Indiana’s workouts and the three games in Puerto Rico in August.
“I feel about as good as you can feel in the middle of the six-week pre-practice,” he said. “It feels great. I’m ready to go, and I’m excited for the season to get going.”
There will be no restrictions on Tucker as he enters his final season of collegiate eligibility.
IU has worked on a two-big lineup with Alexis and Bailey
Despite not having eye-popping size on the roster, Darian DeVries remains high on the capabilities of Florida transfer Sam Alexis and Davidson transfer Reed Bailey.
Although Bailey is the tallest member on the roster at 6-foot-10, Darian DeVries is comfortable with where Indiana stands because of the size of its guards.
The two games against Serbia’s Mega Superbet in San Juan provided the coaching staff with an opportunity to assess how the team handled size and length. After finding success with both Alexis and Bailey playing together, Indiana has begun implementing a system that features the duo simultaneously.
“We used it a lot in Puerto Rico and it was pretty successful for us,” Darian DeVries said. “They both complement each other in different ways. They both play well within our offense in what we do.”
Though there are similarities between the two, Bailey’s ability to hit the three allows him to operate as a stretch five. Alexis, meanwhile, will remain the primary back-to-the-basket big as the Hoosiers enter the season.
Injury Update
Darian DeVries provided a brief injury update during Thursday’s session.
Though not much has changed since last week, he provided more insight into how many of his players won’t be available for the beginning of the season.
“There’ll be two or three that probably won’t be available right at the beginning of the season,” DeVries said. “Most of the guys will be getting back closer to, you know, maybe not right at the start, but close to the start by December type timeline.”
DeVries remains optimistic that Indiana will fully integrate Elon transfer Nick Dorn into practices in some fashion within the next week. He noted that Dorn is ‘really close’ to returning, but it will take time to get him back to full speed.
His status for the exhibition opener next week remains uncertain.
The Hoosiers will begin preseason play next Friday at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall against Marion University.
(Photo credit: IU Athletics)
See More: Media, Darian DeVries, Lamar Wilkerson, Tucker DeVries
