Summer workouts begin for Indiana basketball: 'I can't wait for this group'

The summer session has arrived for Indiana basketball as workouts get underway on Monday ahead of year two for Darian DeVries.

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Following a first year that was filled with inconsistencies, the staff attacked the transfer portal by brining in the top-rated class as the portal closed. Now, it’s a consensus top-5 class in the country in addition to bringing three four-star freshmen in, an international addition and one returning player.

“We get started on Monday. We’ll have the whole team here, so we get our workout started this Monday,” DeVries said at Huber’s Winery last week. “So excited about year two, excited about the guys that we have coming, but so thankful for all of you in this room that represent what we want to represent, and that’s just doing it the right way, coming out and earning everything we get.”

Indiana is aiming to improve from an 18-14 record a season ago with resulted in a second-round exit in the Big Ten Tournament and failing to reach the NCAA Tournament. The Hoosiers, who were primed to reach postseason play with about a month left in the season, lost seven of the final eight games.

After bringing in numerous mid-major players and portal additions with just one year of eligibility remaining, it was a vastly different approach this cycle. Every addition from the portal has two years of eligibility remaining, while every player played high-major basketball for at least two years. Only one player has a year of mid-major experience.

Leading the pack is Alabama transfer forward Aiden Sherrell, one of the top players in the country entering this offseason. The 6-foot-11 and 255-pound big who averaged 11.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game in 23.9 minutes and 34 starts.

He ranked third in the SEC in block rate and offensive rating and was 14th in the country in blocks.

In the backcourt is the second-highest rated player in Indiana’s class; Markus Burton from Notre Dame. Burton is a 5-foot-11 guard who is a terrific scorer with the ball in his hands. He averaged 18.5 points this year while while appearing in just 10 games but was a 37.5 percent three point shooter as a sophomore while averaging 21.3 points a game.

Indiana paired SMU big man Samet Yiğitoğlu with Sherrell in the front court. The 7-foot-2 and 265-pound big man averaged 10.7 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 29 minutes per game this season. He was 3rd in the ACC in offensive rebound rate and 9th in block rate. 

Georgia Tech combo guard Jaeden Mustaf (10.4 ppg) and Villanova guard Bryce Lindsay (12.3 ppg, 35.6 percent from three) round out the core of the backcourt rotation, while Duke transfer Darren Harris adds versatility, depth and shooting on the wing.

Indiana’s incoming freshmen are expected to have different roles, with four-star guard Prince-Alexander Moody and 7-foot German center Clemens Sokolov preparing to see spot minutes at their respective positions. Four-star wings Trevor Manhertz, a terrific shooter, and Vaughn Karvala, a versatile athlete, are expected to compete potential back-end of the rotation minutes.

“We’re looking forward to doing that this year, and I can’t wait for this group, these two young men, and the rest of the guys to get started,” said DeVries. “You start June 1st, it ends somewhere in that April range is what we’re shooting for.”

With so many new faces, Indiana will once again be taking a foreign trip and head to Peru as part of the FISU America Games, representing Team USA later this summer.

This allows for additional practice time, in addition to five games.

“June 1st, we get a little extra practice time because we’re taking a trip to Peru. We’ll be putting on USA jerseys and representing the USA team,” said DeVries. “So it allows us more practice time, which again, for us having an almost entirely new roster, it’s going to be a great opportunity for us to get that extra practice time, get some more time together in the film room, all those things, so that we can gel a little bit quicker.”

Indiana looks to make it back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2023 and will look to advance into the second weekend for the first time in a decade.

“It’s a place where you can win at a high, high level,” said DeVries. “Fans are very passionate. People in the recruiting space recognize the brand of Indiana, and that’s exciting, and you’ve certainly seen that as we’ve gone through the portal. The attraction to Indiana is real.”

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