Five takeaways from Thursday’s IU basketball spring update with Darian DeVries

• Alex Bozich

• 53m ago

 

Second-year IU coach Darian DeVries addressed the media via Zoom on Thursday morning for a lengthy spring update.

You can watch the full media availability here and we’ll have plenty of additional coverage in the days ahead, but here are five takeaways from what DeVries said on Thursday:

The full coaching staff being in place this spring was impactful for portal recruiting, according to DeVries

For the third straight offseason, Darian DeVries rebuilt a roster in the transfer portal.

In the spring of 2024, DeVries was putting together a staff and a roster in Morgantown, West Virginia.

Last spring, in 2025, he completed the same task ahead of his first season in Bloomington.

It’s been well documented that Indiana recruited the portal last spring without a full coaching staff in place. The final assistant IU hired last year, Rod Clark, wasn’t in place until late April.

On Thursday, DeVries acknowledged that he believes having a full staff in place this year, ahead of the portal opening, was impactful.

“I think the biggest thing is just, when you’re taking a job in the spring, it’s a lot different scenario than having a staff in place,” DeVries explained. “And now when the portal season comes, you’ve got everything aligned with what you need to do, what you’re trying to get done and accomplished from a staff standpoint. So I think that’s the biggest difference in the scenarios is we had a full staff in place for this time around.”

DeVries confirmed IU’s participation in the FISU America Games in late July

Earlier this week, word began to trickle out that the Hoosiers would be taking a summer trip again this year.

While details are still scarce, the core detail is that Indiana will represent the United States in the FISU America Games in Lima, Peru, from July 20 through August 1.

Additional information won’t be released until a later date – including details on how fans will be able to watch the games and a schedule that isn’t yet finalized.

On Thursday, DeVries expressed his excitement for the opportunity to bring a new team together and the offseason work that lies ahead.

“I think this is going to be an incredible opportunity for us,” he said. “In addition to the games that we’re going to get to play, it’s the practice time and the ability to do all those things. Again, with a lot of new guys on the roster, just that ability to spend more time with them, whether it be in film or on the practice floor, that’s going to be a critical piece for us as we’re continuing to get this group to come together.”

“So I’m excited about it for a lot of different reasons. I think it’s going to be an awesome opportunity for us.”

The FISU – or International University Sports Federation – America Games are a multi-sport event that brings together collegiate athletes from North and South America.

Indiana is still looking to fill additional scholarships for the 2026-27 roster

The core of the 2026-27 IU basketball roster.

The Hoosiers currently have 10 scholarship players signed for next season: Aiden Sherrell, Markus Burton, Samet Yigitoglu, Darren Harris, Bryce Lindsay, Jaeden Mustaf, Trent Sisley, Vaughn Karvala, Prince-Alexander Moody, and Trevor Manhertz.

That leaves three potential scholarships still available for next season.

On Thursday, DeVries said that he and his staff are still looking to fill additional roster spots with the primary focus being on quality depth.

“Yeah, we’re still trying to add some depth on the interior, so that’s something we’re very actively doing, and so that’s a priority for us,” DeVries explained. “And then, again, just maybe adding a little more depth in a couple areas there just to cover us from a practice standpoint, from an injury standpoint. That’s kind of our priority with these last couple.”

While the transfer portal is closed to new entries, there’s no firm deadline for those already in the portal to commit to a new school.

DeVries is excited about the frontcourt duo of Aiden Sherrell and Samet Yigitoglu

Indiana’s frontcourt will look completely different next season.

In the first season of the DeVries era, the Hoosiers went with Tucker DeVries at the four and either Sam Alexis or Reed Bailey at the five.

That often left IU undersized defensively in the post and on the boards, too.

Now the Hoosiers will have a former McDonald’s All-American in 6-foot-10 Aiden Sherrell at the four with 7-foot-2 Samet Yigitoglu at the five.

Near the end of last season, DeVries acknowledged that his program needed to become more formidable in the post.

DeVries is hopeful that the duo of Sherrell and Yigitoglu will have the Hoosiers ready to compete against the Big Ten’s best frontcourts on both ends of the floor.

“I think it creates a lot of things for us,” DeVries said. “It certainly opens up the playbook when you’re utilizing both of those guys out in space, but also now we have much more of an ability to throw the ball inside in multiple ways and also create opportunities where if teams are going to switch us, now we have different ways that we can punish switches.

“So if we can get a switch with a big, the guards can go by, but now we also have the ability to, ‘hey, we can go post guards in multiple ways’. So I’m certainly excited about what that does for us on the offensive end.

“I love what it does for us on the defensive end, too, especially from a rebounding standpoint. We had to put so much focus on trying to help our guys on the interior defensively last year, whether it be coming with double teams and things like that, that we’re going to have much more of the ability to play one-on-one and this doesn’t create those kick-out threes and everything that comes with it from having to bring two guys to the ball on the interior. So I think our rebounding gets better and also just our different ways that we can be more explosive on the offensive end with those guys out there.”

DeVries views Markus Burton as a scorer – and a playmaker for others, too

Indiana is also hopeful that it can make a leap with its point guard play next winter and signed Burton from Notre Dame, who is coming off a season-ending injury.

The 2023 Indiana Mr. Basketball has averaged 19.1 points over 69 career games for the Fighting Irish.

DeVries is intrigued by the scoring – he called Burton one of the more elite mid-range shooters in the country. He also has the quickness to break defenses down in late shot clock situations to go get a bucket.

Beyond the scoring, DeVries is also hopeful that Burton will be a facilitator for others.

The 6-foot Burton has averaged 3.8 assists over his career and Indiana will surround him with a strong supporting cast.

“The thing that was impressive, though, is he can play make for people, too,” DeVries said. “It’s not just score. Like, when you watch the film from his games before he got hurt last year, he made a lot of really good decisions with the ball and pick and roll and I’m excited about that.”

See More: Former Hoosiers, Aiden Sherrell, Darian DeVries, Samet Yigitoglu