IU basketball summer in review: Samet Yigitoglu

Samet Yigitoglu attempts a shot.

Welcome to IU basketball “summer in review,” where we will recap the summer that was for the program’s 2026-27 roster.

The Hoosiers, representing the United States, played an exhibition game in Assembly Hall in July and four games in the FISU America Games in Lima, Peru.

Next up: Samet Yigitoglu

Previously: Prince-Alexander Moody, Vaughn Karvala, Trevor Manhertz, Trent Sisley, Aiden Sherrell, Darren Harris

A 7-foot-2, 280-pound center from Istanbul, Turkey, Yigitoglu transferred to Indiana after two seasons at SMU.

Yigitoglu, who was not able to play with the Hoosiers in the FISU America Games, averaged 10.4 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.2 blocked shots in 26.7 minutes per game for the Mustangs in 66 games.

You can read our summer feature on Yigitoglu from July 13 at this link.

Game-by-game statistics for Yigitoglu this summer

• Exhibition vs. Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf: Six points on 3-for-4 shooting from the field. Yigitoglu added five rebounds and a blocked shot in 22 minutes.

• FISU America Games: Did not play

Notes on Yigitoglu from open practices

• June 18 practice notes: “The SMU transfer is massive and moves well for a 7-foot-2, 280-pound player. He also didn’t operate exclusively on the post and even knocked down a few 3-pointers during live drills. When Yigitoglu sets a screen, the defender cannot get around it. He should be an excellent rebounder on both ends and working against Sherrell every day in practice should only benefit him.”

• June 25 practice notes: “Yigitoglu moves very well for a player of his size. That’s not to say that the IU coaching staff will want him guarding on the perimeter with any regularity, but he can move his feet. The screens he sets can swallow up defenders. It’ll be interesting to see if he can do a better job of defending without fouling next season. Last season at SMU, Yigitoglu averaged 4.5 fouls per 40 minutes, per KenPom.com.”

• July 7 practice notes: “Yigitoglu is always smiling and appears to be having fun on the floor. That’s been the case in all three of the practices we’ve watched this summer. He’s also shown himself to be a pretty good passer from the high post area and isn’t going to be a player who demands the ball to be effective. When he does get position, he will be able to overpower most of the defenders he’ll face and he’s also aggressive on the offensive glass. Most of the shots he will be taking will be from inside of five feet, so expect him to shoot a high percentage and get to the line at a decent clip.”

Five summer quotes from Yigitoglu

On if he feels he’s going to be used differently at IU than he was at SMU:

“Yes, yes, absolutely. In practice right now, the coaches are always trying to put me on the court with Aiden so we can play with two bigs on the court. Right now Aiden (Sherrell) is just killing it, he’s shooting it.

“I’m just trying to make plays for others and to go get my own stuff in the paint.”

On why he wanted to come to IU:

“Indiana is a great program and they have history. Everybody wants to be here. Everybody wants to go to March Madness and play on the big stage. That made me come here and choose Indiana.”

On his experience at SMU the last two seasons:

“I mean, SMU taught me a lot of things about college basketball. You know, it was great two years out there, but I just had to move on from there because if you want to do big things, sometimes you got to change up something or just got to get to another level. And then Indiana was like that for me.”

On what attracted him to IU:

“I mean, playing style and then, you know, they’re patient. They were so patient and they explained the whole story like what they want to do next year and how they want to develop me and how they want to get me better for the next level, which is the NBA.”

On why he’s always smiling and having a good time at practice:

“I mean, it comes from my teammates because everybody’s happy, everybody’s laughing, everybody’s cheering for each other. So, you know, it’s just picking me up.”

Yigitoglu video Q&A

Darian DeVries on Samet Yigitoglu

“Samet, he’s a big, big guy and he’s not afraid of knowing that he’s big either. Like, he knows what he is and he likes it. When he sets a screen, people are going to feel that. He can play in short roll. He can play in the post. He’s great at duck-ins.

“He just gives you that physical presence and I think the two of them together is going to be something that’s going to be a lot of fun for us as we go through the summer workouts and stuff of finding new ways to utilize both of them when they’re out there together.”

(Photo credit: IU Athletics)

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