In so many ways, Indiana basketball has turned the page.
There won’t be any familiar faces on the IU bench Friday evening when the Darian DeVries era unofficially tips off via an exhibition matchup in Bloomington.
Not only is DeVries the new head coach — replacing former star player Mike Woodson — but the assistants are all new, the players are all new (save for a couple walk-ons), and the support staff is all new.
While DeVries has said multiple times he fully embraces IU basketball’s rich history, he’s ushering in this next phase of the program with a total reboot. Literally everyone, from doctors, trainers, graduate assistants — you name it — all the faces have changed.
But fans won’t have to look far on Friday evening when IU faces Marian to find reminders of the past.
In addition to the game being played in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall — on the Branch McCracken Court and with banners aplenty — the opposing sideline will include two well-known Hoosiers.
Second-year Marian head coach Pat Knight, the son of three-time national champion Bob Knight, appeared in 112 games for the Hoosiers from 1991-95. He played on two Big Ten championship teams in Bloomington.
Pat Knight went 11-17 in 2025-26, his first season as head coach at Marian.
Moreover, the Knights are led by Director of Athletics Steve Downing. The 1973 IU graduate was Coach Knight’s first All-American and was named Big Ten MVP. He was inducted into the IU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2009.
This will be Marian’s fourth-straight trip to Bloomington for a preseason exhibition.
What should fans expect when they get their first taste of this new version of IU basketball?
DeVries says his goals are pretty simple on Friday evening.
“The number one thing is I want us to play as hard as we can,” DeVries said Thursday. “That’s number one every single night that we go out there, maxing out on both ends of the floor in terms of our communication and our effort.
“And then especially on the offensive end, the unselfishness and the ball movement. I think that’s going to be a big key for us to be effective as a unit, because we don’t have a lot of one-on-one guys. We really rely on movements and actions and cutting and screening to generate paint touches, which will be critical for us on the offensive side.”
DeVries said in a recent practice, IU charted 31 assists against just three turnovers. He’ll get to see if that translates to the court against another team tomorrow.
Indiana and Marian tip at 7:30 p.m. ET on Friday, Oct. 17, at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. The game will stream on BTN Plus.
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