The Daily Hoosier spent the week in Puerto Rico to bring back an inside look at the 2025-26 edition of IU basketball — the first year of the Darian DeVries era.
Below are some of our key big picture, team-wide takeaways from the trip.
ONE WORD: RESILIENCE
I had the opportunity to watch Darian DeVries’ Drake team play an NCAA Tournament game on press row in 2023, and his West Virginia squad from the same courtside perspective in the Bahamas in 2024. I remember noting in both cases how hard his teams played. Effort was never in question.
It’s only August, but I can tell you I see that same grit and determination already imprinted on this 2025-26 IU team. And it played a role in two incredible comebacks.
In their first game against Mega Superbet, IU trailed 44-21. In the second, they trailed 50-28. Scarred by the last four years of too many blowout losses to count, it was impossible in those moments to not feel a sense of doom. Here we go again. Forget about the last four years, those are just massive holes that teams rarely dig their way out of at any level.
Obviously getting down big early is suboptimal, but along the spectrum of figuring things out vs. getting figured out, the IU staff was clearly on the right side.
And the combination of Indiana’s staff having the ability to diagnose the problems, deliver the message and for the team to respond — all of that matters. There were valuable lessons learned and identities formed in those moments. That seems translatable to the season.
IU showed it has an edge, with several spirited moments on the court. There was diving on the floor, stare downs, and plenty of physicality. And Indiana’s bench pouring onto the floor to celebrate a win after a defensive stop at the buzzer in the final game stood out too. Winning wasn’t necessarily supposed to matter in these games, but it clearly mattered.
OFFENSIVE NOTES
Indiana’s shot selection was perhaps the most notable thing on this trip from an overall playing style standpoint, especially when juxtaposed against the program’s recent history.
In three games, the Hoosiers only took a total of 11 shots from inside the 3-point arc and outside the paint (i.e. long or midrange twos). And I can think of at least a couple examples when the shot clock or game clock forced those attempts. Basketball analytics have long shown that shots either in the paint or from beyond the arc are the way to go, and IU appears to be moving in that direction.
If it held into next season, Indiana’s Puerto Rico three-point attempt rate (3FGA/FGA) of 40.7% would be their highest since 2015-16, and more than six percentage points higher than any Archie Miller or Mike Woodson team. And even 40.7% would have only ranked No. 139 in college basketball last year. IU will probably end up higher than 40.7% this year. DeVries’ West Virginia squad was at 49.4% last season in the first eight games before his son Tucker was injured and lost for the year. Obviously IU is going to need to shoot better than the 29.9% they posted from three on the trip, but they appear to have the personnel to get that done.
Almost all of the shots in the paint came from dribble penetration. The post feed appears to be a thing of the past at Indiana. Sam Alexis has back-to-the-basket skills, but he was typically dribbling himself into those looks from the perimeter when the spacing was right.
There was a clear focus on ball movement, and off the ball movement as well. You’re not going to see a lot isolation, nor a lot of standing around off the ball. In fact, DeVries tagged a lack of off ball movement as the reason why IU’s offense was not efficient in the first halves against Mega, so that’s clearly an area that will be focused on in the fall. Indiana wants to get the defense in rotation with paint touches and the extra pass. And the shooters have clearly learned the art of filling open space when their man turns his head.
Finally, the intent to push the pace was clear. DeVries probably has a sore shoulder from the amount of times he implored his team to run off misses. And that includes players like Reed Bailey and Tucker DeVries leading the break after they pulled down a defensive rebound. DeVries said in March he wants to try to score in the first 12 seconds of the shot clock, and you can see things are headed in that direction.
DEFENSIVE NOTES
The rallies against Mega were in large part made possible by Indiana getting stops on the defensive end. Tactical adjustments were made, but the effort level was ratcheted up too as IU fought off fatigue due to a lot of time in the sun and water.
Indiana probably isn’t going to very gimmicky on the defensive end. You won’t see much zone or full court pressing. There was none of that in Puerto Rico, beyond some token full court ball pressure at times to eat into the shot clock.
DeVries is still experimenting with his roster in terms of man principles. There was some switching one-through-five, and a lot of fighting through screens and handoffs as well. That aspect of the defense appears to be more personnel driven rather than unshakable principles.
DeVries has acknowledged this team probably won’t have high-end rim protection. And IU averaging just three blocks per game is further evidence — although opponents on the island shot nearly 50% of their attempts from three, so that played a part too. But Indiana seems clearly focused on mucking things up on the perimeter with aggression and help to avoid dribble penetration. Mega didn’t get off many attempts at the rim, and when they did some were wide open because they had unlocked all of the levels to get there.
Given how long Mega was, Indiana did a good job limiting second chances. Defensive rebounding is a non-negotiable with DeVries, and IU did a nice job with that on the trip. To be sure, Mega wasn’t placing a heavy emphasis on crashing the offensive glass. Teams that do could present a challenge.
Overall, Indiana doesn’t look like a great defensive team. But they have impactful players, especially Tayton Conerway. His ball pressure, along with solid defensive rebounding and an overall “bought-in” mindset should at least allow IU to be respectable on the defensive end. DeVries had the KenPom No. 15 team in terms of defense efficiency a year ago. We’ll see how much of that was personnel vs. things he’s figured out along the way.
Look: IU basketball’s cumulative team and players stats from Puerto Rico tour
For complete coverage of IU basketball, GO HERE.
The Daily Hoosier –“Where Indiana fans assemble when they’re not at Assembly”
- Join our Premium Discord Chat by GOING HERE.
- You can follow us on X: @daily_hoosier and find us on Facebook and Instagram
- Seven ways to support completely free IU coverage at no cost to you.
