DeVries: Nick Dorn Has Been 'Really Good' for Indiana Basketball Despite Slump

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — The moment almost felt like poetic injustice, a cruel play where the highest basketball power stared and laughed at Indiana junior guard Nick Dorn.

Trailing by 18 points with less than four minutes remaining in Sunday’s 71-51 loss to Illinois at State Farm Center, Dorn caught and fired a 3-pointer from the right corner.

But while the ball floated through the air, the referee’s whistle blew. Dorn’s foot was out of bounds. Fittingly, his shot swished through the net. It didn’t count, much less serve as a bright spot in a 1-point, 0-for-5 shooting performance or help bring the Hoosiers any closer to pulling their marksmen out of his shooting slump.

It did, however, feel symbolic of recent life for Dorn, who’s struggled finding the bottom of the net over the past four games — and when he thought he finally did, he cruelly had it taken away by the ear-piercing whistle.

After his struggles against Illinois, Dorn is averaging only 4.5 points, 2.3 rebounds and 0.8 assists over the Hoosiers’ past four games. He’s only 4-for-28 shooting from the field and 4 of 26 from 3-point range.

Indiana coach Darian DeVries said following the Hoosiers’ loss to Illinois he’s confident Dorn will eventually flip the script on his struggles, and DeVries feels he has a grasp on why Dorn’s efficiency has dwindled the past two weeks.

“I think getting some good quality ones and stuff is part of it. Maybe a little anxious at times,” DeVries said. “But Nick's a great shooter. He's 0-for-4. We'd love to see those get knocked down, and he will. He'll come back.”

Before Dorn’s four-game slump, he thrived in his first three games as a starter. In wins over Rutgers, Purdue and UCLA, Dorn averaged 22.3 points and 3.7 rebounds per game while shooting 50% from the field and making 16 of 34 triples.

Dorn, DeVries said on the Inside IU Basketball radio show, was “red hot.” Then came the shooting woes.

The 6-foot-7, 225-pound Dorn went 2-for-12 shooting against USC on Feb. 3 and 0 of 4 against Wisconsin on Feb. 7 before inspiring confidence he’d broken free of his slump Feb. 9 against Oregon.

Dorn scored 11 points, all in the second half, during the Hoosiers’ win over the Ducks. After being fouled on a 3-point attempt with just under 12 minutes remaining, he made all three free throws then knocked down a triple just 30 seconds later. All of his points came in a six-minute span thereafter.

The spurt gave DeVries confidence that Dorn was on track to get back to the heights he’d previously reached as a starter. DeVries said he was unconcerned about Dorn after “a couple games he didn’t shoot it as well,” during which he battled the flu bug that spread through the Hoosiers’ locker room.

Dorn’s free throws-turned-scoring burst appeared the start of his return to form.

“Those three free throws, like, a lot of times, just seeing the ball go through the net is a good thing, and that can lead to more opportunities,” DeVries said Feb. 13. “And I thought after those three free throws, he knocked a couple down. So, I never worry about Nick shooting. Like we said, game to game, you're going to have an off night or two.

“But he's a good shooter, and we want him to keep letting them fly.”

Dorn followed his coach’s instructions early against Illinois. The Charlotte native drew a foul and made a free throw less than three minutes into the game, and then he took three shots — two triples — within the first 10 minutes. But he only attempted two more shots, both 3-pointers, the rest of the way.

DeVries has expressed, at least not publicly, no interest in removing Dorn from the starting lineup. And despite Dorn’s scoring struggles, DeVries believes the Elon transfer brings plenty of additional value to the Hoosiers’ offense.

“I think what Nick's really given us is that floor spacing,” DeVries told Don Fischer on Monday night. “And when you watch the tapes, it's not always about just him scoring, it's about how he's being guarded. So it just opens up the floor a lot more for us. Now we get more driving lanes with Nick standing in the corner a lot of times or providing some of that spacing because they don't want to leave him too far.

“So, you can just really tell as we're running offense and stuff, those driving lanes are getting created. That allows us to get in the paint a little bit more, which we weren't able to do there for a little while. So I thought during this little stretch run, we've been able to be more successful getting some paint touches, getting to the rim, getting to the free throw line, which also leads to some kick out threes.”

At his best, Dorn has the shooting and scoring ability to take over games. He’s proven he can be the complementary scorer Indiana desperately needs outside sixth-year senior guard Lamar Wilkerson and, at times, fifth-year senior forward Tucker DeVries.

Dorn remains one of the Hoosiers’ biggest X-factors. And while he works to rediscover the jump-shooting form he showed to end January, Indiana’s coaching staff remains firmly behind him — and appreciative of the value he brings even when his shots aren’t falling.

“Sometimes, you go through those little stretches,” DeVries said. “But he's been really good for our offense. It’s not just what he's doing. It's the opportunities he frees up for Lamar, Tucker, Conor (Enright), even Sam (Alexis), when he can get down in the post now and he's got some room to operate because there's so much shooting out on the floor.”

Dorn starred in the Hoosiers' first meeting with Purdue, scoring 18 points on 6-for-11 shooting while making four triples. He was a key piece to the first marquee win of DeVries' tenure.

Now, as Indiana (17-9, 8-7 Big Ten) prepares for its 8 p.m. Friday tipoff against Purdue (21-5, 11-4 Big Ten) inside Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, the Hoosiers are seeking another crucial win: Their first road win over a ranked team under DeVries.

Dorn, be it for better or worse, figures to play a central part in the outcome. And the Hoosiers, despite Dorn's slump, remain confident he'll be a strong answer to their scoring questions Friday in West Lafayette.