It’s never been a question of talent.
Darren Harris was a national top-50 recruit, and Virginia’s 2024 Gatorade Player of the Year. In the 2023 Nike EYBL Peach Jam Championship, he scored 28 points and was the MVP.
And it’s no secret why dozens of high major programs were coveting the Herndon, Va. product.
“He’s a big-time shooter,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said when Harris signed with that program ahead of the 2024-25 season.
Harris did not break through to start as an underclassmen at Duke. And that shouldn’t be interpretated as failure.
The Blue Devils had five players selected in the 2025 NBA Draft, and ESPN had three more Blue Devils in the top-60 players for this week’s 2026 Draft. Duke went 70-7 over the last two seasons, with a Final Four and Elite Eight appearance.
As he turned the page and became an upperclassman, Harris was a very good player who just needed the right opportunity.
On an early November Sunday afternoon, he noticed Indiana playing on ESPN.
“I watched some of them (Indiana) last year. I watched their game early in the year against Marquette,” Harris told TDH. “That game really stood out. I saw the way the team was playing, free basketball, free movement, and I became a fan of it.”
Harris says he noticed the confidence the staff had in Lamar Wilkerson, who averaged 20.9 points per game last season and became just the second IU player to make 100 threes in a season. It’s difficult to not notice the similarities in the playing styles of Harris and Wilkerson, and wonder whether Harris can step into that role this year.
With primary ball handlers like Markus Burton and Bryce Lindsay getting paint touches, Jaeden Mustaf doing the same from the wing, and big men Aiden Sherrell and Samet Yigitoglu attracting plenty of attention, the shots are going to be there for Harris’ junior season.
And much like Wilkerson, it takes no time for the 6-foot-5 Harris to get the ball out of his hands.
“I started working on that in high school,” Harris says of his quick release from the perimeter. “I watched a lot of Klay Thompson and I just tried to mimic that and just try to get my shot off no matter how I catch it, no matter what side of my body it’s on. I try to be ready to shoot at all times.”
Harris’ role is one of the unknowns just over four months ahead of the 2026-27 IU basketball campaign. He seems to be in a competition with Lindsay and Mustaf for two wing starting roles alongside Burton, Sherrell and Yigitoglu.
Harris will have a prime opportunity to influence the staff’s perception when the team travels to Peru next month and plays five games against international competition.
IU coach Darian DeVries has said he intends to start the summer with both Sherrell and Yigitoglu in the first five. But with Indiana representing Team USA at the FISU America Games in Lima, Turkey native Yigitoglu won’t be allowed to play in those games. And that means all of Harris, Lindsay and Mustaf could be starting in Peru. In any case there will be more minutes with Yigitoglu out.
For Harris, it’s a chance to prove he’s ready for a breakout season.
And that’s exactly the opportunity he’s been waiting for.
“I definitely have a chip on my shoulder,” Harris said. “I feel like I haven’t proven anything yet producing at a high level. I know I can do it. I’m not really worried about that. I’m just excited to show the country what I can do.”
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