IU basketball summer in review: Jaeden Mustaf

Jaeden Mustaf waits to make a pass in the FISU America Games.

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: Jaeden Mustaf

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

A 6-foot-6, 210-pound guard from Bowie, Maryland, Mustaf transferred to Indiana after two seasons at Georgia Tech.

Mustaf averaged 9.4 points, 3.7 rebounds, and two assists in 26.2 minutes per game for the Yellow Jackets in 55 games.

You can read our summer feature on Mustaf from June 26 at this link.

Game-by-game statistics for Mustaf this summer

• Exhibition vs. Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf: Did not play due to a minor injury.

• FISU America Games vs. Peru: 11 points, six rebounds and one steal. Mustaf shot 5-for-6 from the floor.

• FISU America Games vs. Virgin Islands: Eight points and seven rebounds.

• FISU America Games vs. Chile: Nine points, five rebounds, two assists, two steals and a blocked shot.

• FISU America Games vs Virgin Islands: Nine rebounds, eight rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot.

• Final Averages at the FISU America Games: Mustaf averaged 9.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 1.3 steals and 0.5 blocked shots. He shot 14-for-24 from the field (58.3 percent) and 9-for-14 from the free-throw line (64.3 percent).

Notes on Mustaf from open practices

• June 18 practice notes: “The former Georgia Tech wing is very good at probing the defense off the dribble. His ability to attack the rim and draw fouls should be a real asset for Indiana. Mustaf won’t be a focal point offensively for the Hoosiers, but he’s a veteran who knows how to use his body to get into the paint and score. He also knocked down a few perimeter shots in live drills. His 3-point volume wasn’t high last season but he did shoot in the high 30s from a percentage standpoint.”

• June 25 practice notes: “He’s not going to take a high volume of 3-pointers, but he’s made a few in the practices we’ve seen. The bread and butter of his offensive game, however, is using his body and strength to get to the rim. Mustaf has a strong lower body and does a good job of maintaining his balance even when taking contact. He did have a few plays where he drove into too much congestion but his aggressiveness is a plus overall.”

• July 7 practice notes: “Mustaf’s participation in practice was limited as he briefly left early on with a lower-body injury and then observed the rest of practice from the sidelines. It did not appear to be anything serious.”

Five summer quotes from Mustaf

On the energy with this group and the fun they’re having together on the floor:

“I feel like practice is supposed to be hard, but it’s also supposed to be, I mean, you’re playing basketball, so it’s supposed to be fun. You’re supposed to have fun with it. So the coaches, of course, they push us.

“But at the same time, that’s what we need to get better. And so it’s fun, it’s basketball. Doing something we love to do.”

On what drew him to IU out of the transfer portal:

“Of course, the coaching staff. Of course, Kenny (Johnson) was here. But aside from Kenny, I mean, (Coach) DeVries, Coach Rod (Clark), two other coaches.

“I pretty much, I kind of knew some of the guys. And then on top of that, it’s Indiana, it’s a Blue Blood. It’s hard to turn that down twice.”

On what he’s trying to work on this offseason and what the next step is for him as a player:

“I think just growing more and more into a leadership role, using my voice. And then basketball-wise, I would say just fine-tune everything, continue to get shots up, continue to work on the shot, make sure that’s right. And then ball handling, make sure everything, just really fine-tune a lot of things.

“Just wanna be able to help the team out however I can.”

On whether he feels like the 3-point shot can be a weapon for him next season:

“I mean, yeah, definitely. I shoot all the time after practice, all the time. And last year, I felt like I had a good shooting year.

And just how we played in certain roles and stuff like that, it was like, no, I didn’t shoot as many as I probably would have thought from that percentage that I had. But here, they kinda encourage us to be confident and shoot our shots.”

On the importance of putting pressure on the defense and getting to the rim:

“My body is my advantage. So just continuing to learn more and more how to use that, watching film and just seeing different things, seeing how I can use my body more and more to get downhill or also be able to make plays with my teammates. And just putting pressure on the defense, you wanna get paint touches and stuff like that.

“So I’ve kinda been good at that, so I try to continue that.”

Mustaf video Q&A

(Photo credit: IU Athletics)

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