IU basketball non-conference review: Nick Dorn

Photos of IU basketball's win against Incarnate Word at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.

IU basketball has completed the non-conference portion of the schedule and the Hoosiers are 10-3.

Ahead of the restart of Big Ten play against Washington on January 4, we’re taking a player-by-player look at each rotation player on the roster’s performance thus far this season.

Up next: Nick Dorn

Previously: Tayton Conerway, Lamar Wilkerson, Tucker DeVries, Reed Bailey

Dorn’s numbers through 13 games

A transfer from Elon, Dorn missed the first two games of the 2025-26 season while completing rehab for offseason surgery to repair a Jones Fracture in his foot.

Since the Lindenwood game on November 20, Dorn has logged double-figure minutes in nine straight games. He’s averaging 8.2 points and 2.2 rebounds in 15.8 minutes per contest off the bench.

The 6-foot-7 native of Charlotte, North Carolina, is shooting 44.7 percent on 3s with 47 attempts from distance over 11 contests.

What’s gone right for Dorn

Dorn has proven himself to be a very good 3-point shooter over the first 62 games of his career at Elon and Indiana.

He’s made four or more 3-pointers in three games, including five against Louisville in a loss on December 6 and five against Chicago State on December 20.

Dorn is almost exclusively a 3-point shooter through 11 games, with 47 of his 54 field goal attempts (87 percent) coming from the perimeter.

He’s also shown himself capable of drawing fouls and getting to the line. Over 11 games, he’s 17-for-20 from the stripe and has a free-throw rate (FTA/FGA) of 37 percent. With his size and strong frame at 225 pounds, Dorn can overpower smaller defenders if he drives to the basket.

Areas of concern for Dorn

Through 11 games in an IU uniform, Dorn has just two assists compared to 10 turnovers. He functions best as a complementary scorer alongside Lamar Wilkerson and Tucker DeVries.

If opposing defenses are able to bottle him up on the perimeter, he’s limited in his ability to impact the game in other ways on offense. So far, that hasn’t been an issue, as IU’s opponents have tried to make everything difficult for Wilkerson and DeVries, which has helped free Dorn for open 3-pointers in the corner.

Defensively, Dorn has made progress since the start of the season when he was returning from injury. As he continues to improve his conditioning, he’ll have to show he’s capable of guarding his position at the high-major level for his minutes to continue to grow.

Like everyone on the roster, Indiana also needs Dorn to continue to make strides on the glass. Rebounding wasn’t a major strength of his at Elon, but on an IU roster with limited size and depth, Dorn is a good enough athlete to be a net positive on the boards in Big Ten play.

Outlook for the rest of the 2025-26 season

Dorn has shown steady improvement since returning from offseason surgery in mid-November. He has a picture-perfect release and plays the game with enthusiasm on both ends of the floor.

He has presented a strong case for more minutes when Big Ten play resumes with his play over the last couple of weeks. With Conor Enright’s offensive limitations and Tayton Conerway’s inconsistent 3-point shooting, the Hoosiers may opt to explore more lineups featuring Dorn, Wilkerson and DeVries in the coming weeks to improve spacing on the floor.

As one of just two regulars in the current IU rotation with eligibility remaining beyond this season, Dorn is a building block for the Hoosiers in the Darian DeVries era.

Shot chart for Dorn through 13 games

Shot chart via our friends at UMHoops.com

Nick Dorn shot chart.

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