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    Tuesday, October 14

    Puerto Rico in focus: Thoughts on IU basketball guard Conor Enright

    Mike SchumannBy IU Basketball 14 Comments
    Photo credit - Indiana Athletics

    The Daily Hoosier spent the week in Puerto Rico in connection with IU basketball’s summer tour, and had several opportunities to see the team in action.  Since nothing was televised or streamed, we are going to go player-by-player to share our thoughts on what we saw, and what to expect from Indiana’s 2025-26 roster.

    Next up is senior guard Conor Enright, who transferred to Indiana from DePaul during the offseason.

    BY THE NUMBERS

    MPG – 16.3
    PPG – 3.7
    FG% – 25%
    3FG% – 16.7%
    FT% – 100%
    RPG – 2.7
    APG – 2.3
    TOPG – .3
    SPG – 0
    BPG – 0

    WHAT STOOD OUT

    What immediately stood out was Enright’s place in the starting lineup for all three games.  That was somewhat expected, as we wrote after watching open practice a week earlier.  But if there’s any question about which of the five starters in Puerto Rico will start in November, Enright is the guy we’d circle and say there’s still a lot to play out.

    That’s not a knock on Enright, but more a question about the contenders to take his spot — namely Nick Dorn, who is injured, and Jasai Miles, who ostensibly to this point hasn’t been able to convince the staff he’s the right answer.

    The 6-foot-1 and 180-pound Enright is not big or especially athletic, but he’s a fiery, scrappy competitor above all else, and that was on display on the island.

    In one instance in game two, Enright was intentionally fouled, and rather than letting that go and heading to the free throw line, he immediately got in the face of the offender — and was whistled for a technical foul himself.  He’s a guy that is always going to be mixing it up with the other side.

    Speaking of fouls, Enright fouled out in each of the final two games, highlighting his competitive nature — and also likely indicating he’s still shaking off some rust after missing significant time with a shoulder injury.  Also, the guys were struggling at times with how the international officials were calling the games.

    Enright’s stat line (other than shooting) in Puerto Rico is consistent with his four-year college career.  He is unselfish and always looking for the right basketball play.  He moves the ball and doesn’t turn it over.  And despite being undersized, he is constantly sticking his nose in harm’s way, competing for rebounds.

    As coach Darian DeVries says below, he’s a guy IU fans will grow to appreciate, whatever his precise role ends up being.

    NEED TO SEE MORE

    Enright had only been back playing full contact basketball for around a month when they played the games in Puerto Rico.

    So it was reasonable to expect the week was an opportunity for him to continue to round his way back into form.

    He’ll have some big games, but Enright won’t be someone IU needs to score a ton of points.  But obviously he is going to have to be a much more efficient scorer than what he demonstrated in Puerto Rico.

    He also has a high major track record that is much more instructive than these games.  He was averaging 8.1 points and 7.2 assists per game for DePaul while shooting 40.8% from three ahead of an early January game at Villanova when he suffered the shoulder injury that ultimately ended his season.

    QUOTABLE

    Darian DeVries said this a week before the Puerto Rico trip, and it came to mind time and again watching Enright in Puerto Rico:

    “Conor’s been a great addition for us. He’s just one of those guys that I think fans are going to love to watch him play. He plays so hard. He plays with a fire. And defensively he really is one of those guys that takes pride in it,” DeVries said.

    “Offensively, he’ll do whatever it takes to win. I know when I had recruited him out of high school, I went and saw him play in a summer game. He had zero points and dominated the game. He was diving on the floor, taking charges, making everybody on the other team mad; he’s just one of those guys.

    “He’s just a joy to have in practice every day because he brings that energy, and he’s full-out. He doesn’t know another way. I think people are really going to enjoy watching him play.”

    MORE COVERAGE

    Puerto Rico in focus: Thoughts on IU basketball’s offense, defense and other big picture observations

    For complete coverage of IU basketball, GO HERE. 

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