Quotes: IU basketball’s Darian DeVries addresses media at “Victory and Vision” event in Carmel
- Alex Bozich
- 1h ago
Second-year IU basketball coach Darian DeVries addressed the media on Thursday evening at IU’s “Victory and Vision” event in Carmel, Indiana.
Here’s everything DeVries said to the media at the event:
On what he likes the most about the 2026-27 roster: “I think what I like the most is just the balance. I think we got a lot of ways to score. We got some guys that can post, some guys that can go get in the paint, draw two, get a shot for themselves or create for others.
“So I think we got great depth, too. And, I like the experience we have, but we also have different classes too where we have some freshmen, some sophomores, a lot of juniors. So the opportunity is there for not only this year, but also for retention and starting to sustain some of that. So I’m excited about how the group came together for sure.”
On the opportunity for practice time with the Peru trip coming in late July: “It just allows us more time really for film work and then just everything from install to individual workouts and things.
“I think the thing you got to be most careful of is it’s still summertime, but it just allows us just more time to do a lot more teaching and coaching because you’re not so constricted by time. So you can really take your time and really, for a new group, really kind of install all the details of everything you’re wanting to do. And you get to do it over a six-week period in the summertime, which is a huge advantage for us. And so I’m excited about that opportunity that we’re going to have with this group.”
On what he’s learned from previous international trips that can be applied to this year: “I think the biggest thing is we actually get more time because you’re not really restricted at all.
“On previous trips, you had 10 practices or 10 days. So we get more of an opportunity to spend time with them, especially in the film, that side of it, where you can really sit down and break down individual workouts, what you’re doing, team workouts, those type of things. So it’s just a great learning opportunity for our team to take advantage of.
On the event in Carmel: “Yeah, it’s exciting. I mean, we’ve got a great group in the summertime. You’re starting kind of the next season almost. It’s early for us, but we’ve got guys coming in June 1 and starting workouts. So it’s fun to talk about the group we have coming in and what that looks like as we get started to start our summer workouts. But, yeah, overall, it’s a great feel, great vibe, celebrating.
“Cig’s got the center stage tonight with a national championship and he should. So that’s kind of fun, and I know he’s looking forward to his upcoming season as well.”
On Cignetti driving the pace car at the Indy 500: “I haven’t ridden with him in a car, so he’s got to watch that, maybe turn four, make sure he doesn’t get too wide there. So there’s a lot of pressure on that. I don’t think anybody’s ever wrecked the pace car.”
On the May evaluation period and a potential class size for 2027: “Overall, we’ll see how that shakes out (the class size). But, in the ideal world, every year we’re kind of getting two, three, four freshmen, depending on what you got returning and what you got coming back.
“But, again, just trying to build that stability each year. We have three incoming freshmen, actually four now, for this upcoming season. So excited about that and this first opportunity getting out there and seeing all the kids again. You haven’t seen a lot of them for a while now. So that’ll be good to be back in the gym again.”
On the major difference between this year’s portal class versus last year: “I think the number one thing is, we prioritized just making sure that we had some size and get a little more depth at that position. And then just being able to get more guys that can maybe create on their own, too. So I thought we were able to accomplish both those things with the class that we have coming in.
“It just gives us great versatility in what we’re able to do on the offensive end. So we can throw it inside. We can still play in space the way we love to play and shoot threes like we like. But to also be able to get guys that can go create on their own, especially late clock, having somebody that can go by somebody, get in the paint, create for themselves, create for others. So I like how this group, again, came together on paper, and now it’ll be fun to watch it develop over the course of the summer.
On playing Aiden Sherrell and Samet Yigitoglu together: “Yeah, we’d love to play them together and that will be what we’ll start out the summer doing and seeing how that plays out. But the more we can have both those guys out there together, the better.
“Aiden has that ability to stretch the floor as well. So it’s not like you’re giving up some of the spacing, because he can certainly step out and shoot it and drive it. And I think there’s going to be a lot of things that he’s going to surprise people on what he can do out on the perimeter, as well as taking advantage of just his size on switches and posting and those type of things.
“So, again, just from a lot of different areas, from the rebounding aspect to what we’re able to do, just the pure size, having both them out there is something that we’re looking forward to having.”
On next season’s non-conference schedule: “I think we got some, I’m not sure what’s all concrete, but I think we have some good opportunities out there, again, some really good games, some challenging games that we’re excited about as that gets us ready for Big Ten play. So it’s in a lot of ways similar to what we had last year.
“They added a non-conference game for us, too, so there’s one more opportunity there for us to play another non-conference game, as well.”
On the biggest thing he learned from his first season at IU:” It’s what we talked about. It’s a place where you can win at a high, high level. Fans are very passionate. People in the recruiting space recognize the brand of Indiana, and that’s exciting, and you’ve certainly seen that as we’ve gone through the portal, like, the attraction to Indiana is real, and people are very excited about getting the opportunity to play in one of maybe the greatest home court venues in all of college basketball.”
On the expanded NCAA tournament: “They’re one year too late. Yeah, I think it’s been in the works for a while. So it is what it is. When it expanded from 64 to 68, it was different, and now it expands again.
So, it’s just different. So, it’s still going to be a great tournament regardless. So our goal is to make sure that we’re in it.”
On prepping for a season without his son, Tucker DeVries: “We haven’t had a lot of workouts because we didn’t have a lot of guys to work out here this spring. So certainly excited for his next adventure and things.
“It’s definitely different. That opportunity you get to coach your son in college goes by fast. And now he’s moving on to his next chapter and things, as are we. But certainly we’ll miss having him around in the locker room every day.
On the potential impact of Markus Burton: “I think what Marcus does is, again, just that ability to go get a basket. But also he’s, when you watch his games last year, he made a lot of really good reads in pick-and-roll and the decision making, I thought was really impressive.
“Sometimes you think 20 points a game and stuff, but he does the other stuff really well, too. And I think he’s also one of those guys, seven seconds on the clock, he’s one of those, he can bail you out a lot.
“And you need to have guys like that that can go get one when stuff breaks down and you need to be able to get in the paint. But, again, either for him to score or to go play make for somebody else. He also has an elite mid-range game.
“I mean it’s one of those guys that he gets to 15 feet, that’s kind of his money shot. So excited about that and what that leads to, especially in pick-and-roll opportunities. So there’s so many teams that play and drop coverage. He’s going to put a lot of pressure on that type of coverage all season for us.”
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