Darian DeVries Touts Indiana Basketball's Character, Habits: 'I Love This Group'

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Before the start of his first season as Indiana basketball's head coach, Darian DeVries' primary goal was the same as it's always been.

Not just wins, not only an NCAA Tournament appearance, but maximizing the talent spread across the Hoosiers' roster. DeVries and his staff didn't know Indiana's ceiling, but they wanted to find it by season's end. All-out effort — laying everything on the line for 40 minutes each game — comprised another core ingredient to the Hoosiers' fabric.

Now, as Indiana (17-9, 8-7 Big Ten) enters an 8 p.m. tipoff Friday against Purdue (21-5, 11-4 Big Ten) at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Ind., the Hoosiers are on track to check several of DeVries' most important boxes.

Barring a late-season spiral, an NCAA Tournament berth appears probable. But just as significant as Indiana's tangible success is the intangible wiring of a veteran-heavy roster, one that gives DeVries reason to smile when he arrives at his office each morning.

"I love this group," DeVries said Monday on the Inside IU Basketball radio show. "They're fun to coach."

There are games Indiana wishes it could have back and play again, DeVries said, and others the Hoosiers feel they snuck away with wins. But their effort never waned, not even during a four-game losing streak in mid-January that could've splintered the locker room but instead served as a uniting force and built a stronger bond.

Each day, no matter the rush of a quality win or the disappointing of a frustrating loss, DeVries said his players arrive solely focused on how best to prepare for their next game. He genuinely, whole-heartedly enjoys the roster he's assembled, in large part due to his players' character both on and off the court.

“I think their intentionality with their prep is pretty awesome," DeVries said Thursday. "They put a lot of thought behind it, a lot of purpose behind it. And that makes it fun as a coach that they're bought into what you're telling them, they're trying to get better every day. And they've been very consistent with that really from June until now.

"It's a long season, and to have a group that stays that committed to it says a lot about them."

Indiana's commitment to the daily process has delivered, in DeVries' eyes, significant on-court progress.

The Hoosiers have won five of their past seven games entering Friday night. Despite difficulties with rebounding and consistent shot-making, DeVries feels Indiana has made strides with its ball movement and paint touches offensively, and it's grown more consistent and connected defensively.

Indiana, DeVries said, has found its on-court identity. But the Hoosiers proved their true colors off the court, too. There's been no finger-pointing, no head-hanging, within their locker room. There's only enthusiasm, energy and a heartfelt love, DeVries says, directed toward both basketball and each other.

"It's a great group. It's a great locker room. And that's been a lot of fun," DeVries said Monday night. "And you can see the joy they play with and the way they celebrate together. Even the way we lose together, they don't point fingers. They just move on. They support one another and then they come back the next day and they're ready to go again.

"But again, they approach it the right way. They're unselfish guys. They work hard and that's what makes them so enjoyable to be around every day."

Before Indiana tipped off its regular season Nov. 5 against Alabama A&M, DeVries said one of the more unique traits his team possessed centered around its feel for the Hoosiers' motion offense and its willingness to share the ball in practice.

Now over three months later, battle-tested and marked by scars from the fire its walked through together, Indiana's first roster under DeVries has developed its own character. These Hoosiers have their shortcomings — size and rebounding chief among them — but they've willed themselves to the NCAA Tournament's doorstep.

DeVries' first team at Indiana promised to hold an important, if not special, place in his heart and coaching career. It's the group responsible for laying the foundation and setting the tone for the remainder of his time in Bloomington, the most prestigious stop in his journey thus far.

And while Indiana may still be searching for its ceiling, it's already cemented itself as a favorite in the eyes of DeVries through effort, consistency and an innate ability to rip off the rearview mirror and set its sights solely on the next mountain to climb.