Takeaways from IU basketball’s open practice and player observations

IU basketball's Lamar Wilkerson takes a jump shot during practice at Cook Hall.

For the second time this offseason, IU basketball opened its doors to the media on Tuesday afternoon for practice at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.

The team practiced on Branch McCracken Court, with nine scholarship players participating. Nick Dorn, who is recovering from foot surgery, did not do any drills with contact.

The players who did not participate due to injury: Aleksa Ristic, Josh Harris and Jason Drake. Jasai Miles was ill and did not attend practice.

Here is a rundown with several takeaways from the 90-minute practice, along with some observations on each player.

A rundown of practice

On separate ends of the floor – one under the guidance of Darian DeVries and the other with assistants Drew Adams, Kenny Johnson and Rod Clark – the Hoosiers started the afternoon with walk-throughs of various offensive sets.

That included half court sets and also baseline out of bounds plays. None of the action was at a game-speed, but it was clearly scripted and a timer kept everything on schedule.

Once the walk-throughs were completed, music played in Assembly Hall and strength and conditioning coach Ryan Horn led the team through a warm-up routine.

Drake participated for parts of the stretching, while Harris and Ristic did not.

The intensity quickly picked up as the focus shifted to defense. A quick drill emphasized stopping passes for back door cuts followed by a shell drill timed for 15 second reps.

Up next was work on transition defense. In a timed 20-second drill, the scout team went the length of the floor in an effort to score. In the four reps of that particular drill, the defense earned stops on three occasions.

The focus moved to ball screen offense next, with 2-on-2 work designed for making various reads out of ball screen situations. Dorn was a participant in this drill and his defender avoided contact. On one rep, Conor Enright found Trent Sisley with a perfect pass off a roll for a dunk.

The action shifted to the south end of Assembly Hall for the next drill, a highly-competitive 2-on-2 situational drill in which the action didn’t stop unless the offense scored or defense got a stop. On one sequence, freshman Andrej Acimovic got a defensive stop against Reed Bailey, drawing some applause from teammates.

In the next drill, 5-on-5 in the halfcourt, Lamar Wilkerson drained 3-pointers on the first two possessions, was fouled going to the rim on the third and then scored at the rim on the fourth. The crimson team – which included Conor Enright, Trent Sisley, Reed Bailey, Sam Alexis and Tayton Conerway – didn’t get a stop until their sixth defensive possession.

From there, the work continued in the halfcourt with scholarship players in crimson jerseys facing off against the scout team in cream jerseys. Acimovic worked with the scout team for this drill as the crimson team consisted of Tucker DeVries, Enright, Conerway, Wilkerson, Sisley, Bailey and Alexis, with two players rotating in and out.

It’s clear from watching two practices this offseason that IU’s offense will emphasize floor spacing, ball movement, moving without the ball, 3-point shooting and putting pressure on the defense by getting the ball into the paint.

After the crimson team beat up on the cream team with countless scores in the halfcourt, DeVries shifted the scholarship players to the defensive side of the ball. “Let’s get stops, let’s get stops,” DeVries instructed.

In the first five possessions with the crimson team on defense, the scout team scored three times, forcing the crimson team to get on the line to run.

On several occasions, DeVries stopped play to tell his team to get into the ball and the intensity picked up considerably. To end practice, a brief full court scrimmage, perhaps offering a glimpse for what fans can expect on Friday night, took place.

Player observations

DeVries: His release is efficient and almost always looks like it’s going to go in. He probably doesn’t get enough credit for his passing ability and unselfishness and he almost always makes the correct read. DeVries will be one of IU’s most productive players and a team leader.

Bailey: The Davidson transfer handles the ball like a guard. While he isn’t the most physical player in the paint, he’ll cause matchup problems for some opponents because he can pull defenders away from the rim and is a very good passer.

Wilkerson: Wilkerson is the most talented scorer on the roster and it’s not particularly close. Wilkerson can stroke the 3-pointer, thrives in the midrange and is also strong enough to finish at the rim. Wilkerson gets to his spots on the floor and puts relentless pressure on the defense.

Conerway: Conerway made a 3-pointer early in the brief scrimmage at the end of practice, does a nice job of getting the ball into the paint and is a willing passer. Most importantly, he’ll spearhead the IU defense and is a very good on ball defender.

Enright: Enright is a pest, even with his teammates in practice. He provides constant energy, is a communicator and knows where he is supposed to be at all times.

Sisley: The Montverde Academy product doesn’t look like a freshman. He’s extremely active on both ends, had several offensive rebounds and putback buckets and looks to be in position to be firmly in the rotation.

Acimovic: The Bosnian born freshman is probably a year away from contributing. He showed soft touch at the rim and had a few good passes, but will need to get stronger to compete in the paint in the Big Ten.

Dorn: Dorn looks to be close to returning to the floor, although he didn’t give a firm timeline on when he’ll be back in the open media availability before practice. He shot the ball well in drills and has excellent size for a wing scorer. When healthy, he’ll be an asset.

Alexis: The Florida transfer is the most physical player the Hoosiers have in the paint. He’s a strong finisher, above average rebounder and can shoot the ball from the midrange. He may not start at the five, but he’ll play plenty of minutes because he’s the best interior defender and rebounder on the roster.

(Photo credit: IU Athletics)

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