Five takeaways from IU basketball’s two open practices in June

Aiden Sherrell dunks the ball at an IU basketball practice.

The month of July will be busy for IU basketball.

The Hoosiers, who are in full prep mode for a trip to Lima, Peru, for the FISU America Games, will play an exhibition in Bloomington in less than two weeks.

IU will host Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf from Montreal on July 15 at 7 p.m. at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.

Following that exhibition, the Hoosiers will depart a few days later for the FISU America Games. A schedule for the games in Peru has not been finalized. The games are expected to be available to stream.

As part of its preparation for the FISU America Games, IU basketball opened its doors to the media for two practices in Cook Hall last month.

Here are five takeaways from IU’s two open practices in June:

IU’s new frontcourt is impressive

One of the key weaknesses for Indiana in the 2025-26 season, the first for Darian DeVries in Bloomington, was its lack of size and inconsistency in the frontcourt.

The additions of Alabama transfer Aiden Sherrell and SMU transfer Samet Yigitoglu should have the Hoosiers better positioned to compete in a rugged Big Ten.

Sherrell, who is expected to play the four, can step out on the perimeter but is also a handful at the rim.

Yigitoglu is 7-foot-2, sets powerful screens and should be a strong addition on the offensive glass. Indiana didn’t crash the offensive boards hard last season but there should be more opportunities next season to extend possessions and get some easy buckets with Yigitoglu in the paint.

The one outstanding question for the IU frontcourt is depth. Incoming freshman center Clemens Sokolov isn’t on campus yet. Trent Sisley should be able to give the Hoosiers minutes at the four. IU also added walk-on Ben Winker, who played at Cal State Fullerton last season.

Markus Burton looks fully healthy

One of the most frequent questions we’ve received this offseason: Is Markus Burton healthy?

The former Notre Dame standout played in 10 games for the Fighting Irish in the 2025-26 before undergoing surgery on his ankle.

In the two practices we watched, Burton appeared to be fully recovered from the injury.

The Mishawaka native plays with tremendous pace, puts pressure on defenders with his ability to penetrate off the dribble and has a smooth midrange game.

Striking a balance between scoring and playmaking will be the key for Burton next winter. The IU coaching staff has surrounded him with a strong supporting cast and the ball will be in Burton’s hands to run the team. The 2023 Indiana Mr. Basketball looks ready to meet the challenge.

Darren Harris is shooting the ball well

All of IU’s transfer portal additions who are expected to be in the rotation have proven track records at the high-major level, except for one: Darren Harris.

The 6-foot-5 guard from Herndon, Virginia, spent his first two seasons at Duke, where he never saw the floor consistently.

The path to minutes in Bloomington has fewer obstacles than it did in Durham.

Whether Harris is starting or coming off the bench, he will be a key part of the IU rotation next winter. He has excellent size for a guard, a quick release and has been shooting the ball well this summer.

It still has to translate to game action – Harris is a career 30.8 percent 3-point shooter on more than 90 attempts – but the early returns are favorable.

Trent Sisley has made strides with his strength

The lone returning scholarship player on the roster, Trent Sisley experienced an up-and-down freshman season.

He began the season playing a significant role off the bench but was mostly out of the rotation by season’s end as Tucker DeVries logged nearly all of the minutes at the four.

Sisley has added noticeable bulk to his body this offseason – he’s up 15 pounds – and that added size and strength should have him better prepared to compete in the Big Ten.

The key areas to watch with Sisley this month are his defense and perimeter shooting.

Most freshmen struggle with the adjustment to college defensively and that was the case with Sisley last winter. A year of experience and a better understanding of what’s expected defensively should help Sisley become more consistent on that end.

Sisley was just 5-for-23 on 3s in Big Ten games last season, a mark he’ll need to improve upon in his second season in an offense that prioritizes perimeter shooting.

The roster makes more sense than it did a season ago

Darian DeVries bet heavily on experience when assembling the roster for the 2025-26 season.

It looked to be paying off as the Hoosiers were well-positioned to make the NCAA tournament in mid-February, only to collapse late in the season and miss the tournament.

There’s no guarantee things will go better next season for Indiana but the roster for the 2026-27 season is better constructed, on paper.

Lamar Wilkerson’s graduation leaves a scoring void unlikely to be filled by a single player. But with Harris, Jaeden Mustaf and Bryce Lindsay, DeVries has three guys who all bring a little something different.

The improvement should come from the point guard and post play.

Indiana got solid play down the stretch at the five from Sam Alexis last winter after the Reed Bailey experiment flopped. The duo of Sherrell and Yigitoglu should be an upgrade.

And in the backcourt, Tayton Conerway fell out of favor in the second half of the season, forcing Conor Enright into a more prominent role than expected. Enright maximized his talent and competed as hard as anyone on the roster but wasn’t a scoring threat.

In Burton, IU now has a point guard who owns career averages of 19.1 points, 3.8 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 1.8 steals in 69 games at Notre Dame. That’s a significant upgrade at arguably the most important position on the floor.

(Photo credit: IU Athletics)

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