There are no freebies in the paint this year at IU basketball practice.
“I got to make sure I’m going off two feet,” guard Jaeden Mustaf said. “Because if not, they’re blocking it. They’re not going to let me just get no free layups.”
“They” is 7-foot-2 center Samet Yigitoglu, 7-foot forward Aiden Sherrell, and 7-foot center Clemens Sokolov. And you can add 6-foot-9 center Sam Alexis, who is a respectable rim protector in his own right.
The 6-foot-6 Mustaf arrived at Indiana this offseason with a reputation as a slasher and strong finisher in the paint. He sees the value of practicing every day against a massive frontcourt.
“It’s good for me because we get into real games and I’m going against other seven footers. I know how to play and make sure I make the right decisions,” Mustaf added.
All of Indiana’s players are benefitting from the presence of all that size.
On offense, the shooters are getting more space, and seeing the ball come their way more often.
“When you’re on their team it creates spacing with the gravitation they cause down by the rim,” second year forward Trent Sisley said. “So people are trying to over help and then you get open shots. And they’re all willing passers, too. So that makes it even more fun.”
And the big men themselves are seeing in practice the same kind of size they’ll face against high major competition in the months to come.
The battles down low at practice have been intense.
“We’re going at it every day,” Yigitoglu said. “We’re fighting every day. Especially in the paint. There’s always fights going on. But we’re getting better, and it’s always better to fight at practice so you can have better games.”
Head coach Darian DeVries said last spring job one was to add more size to the roster.
Indiana struggled on the glass in his first season as head coach. Going against massive teams like Michigan, Michigan State and Purdue, he quickly found out small ball wasn’t always the answer.
On a radio appearance Wednesday on The Fan in Indianapolis, DeVries noted some of the same benefits as his players provided by size at practice, namely added physicality and forcing his guards to finish against shot-blockers.
He expanded on the added value he is seeing in Bloomington.
“It gives us a game-like look on a daily basis just because we have so much depth there,” DeVries said. “It also allows us to rest guys during practice. You go for three minutes, and then you get a rest to make it more game-like, instead of just having to be out there the whole time because we don’t have any backups for you.”
In the interview, DeVries indicated he’s still planning to start Sherrell and Yigitoglu at the four and five respectively to open the season.
But he likes how he can stay big on the floor this year while giving teams multiple looks to contend with. That’s a luxury Alexis provides with his skilled approach to the center position.
“There is some some versatility there,” DeVries said of his frontcourt. “We can go with some skill at the five. We can do different lineups and throw different things at you, present different ways you have to prepare for us as well.”
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