Darian DeVries Updates 2 Indiana Basketball Injuries, Status of International Signees

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — While Indiana basketball went through practice Wednesday, two junior guards were forced to watch from the sidelines.

Jason Drake, wearing his red No. 2 jersey, rode a stationary bicycle in the corner of Cook Hall's practice court. Nick Dorn, meanwhile, sat near the scorer's table in street clothes.

Indiana head coach Darian DeVries was relatively mum on the long-term statuses of Drake and Dorn, though neither appear poised to linger into the regular season.

"The timeline on both of them is a little up in the air, I guess," DeVries said Wednesday after practice. "We'll see where that leads. We're obviously hopeful that both of them will be back in a relatively good timeline. But I don't anticipate — with Nick, especially, that would be something more in the fall.

"So, we'll see how that shakes out as we move forward."

The clock is, however, ticking for Drake, Dorn and Indiana's two international signees, guard Aleksa Ristic and center Andrej Acimovic, to play in the Hoosiers' three-game international series in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Indiana will face a Puerto Rican All-Star team Aug. 6 before two contests with Serbian professional team Mega Superbet on Aug. 9 and Aug. 11 as part of a bonding and chemistry-building experience.

DeVries said he doesn't yet have a clear-cut answer regarding availability for the Puerto Rico trip, and he plans to let the situation unfold before making official declarations on the quartet's status.

Acimovic, a Bosnian native, is still awaiting his visa and has no timeline to arrive to Bloomington. However, the Hoosiers are optimistic Ristic will join the team Thursday or Friday, but with minimal time to learn and adjust to his teammates and system, he's questionable to play in Puerto Rico.

"We'll get him acclimated as quickly as possible," DeVries said. "If that means he gets the opportunity to play in Puerto Rico, great. If we can't get him close enough there, the last thing we want to do is put him in a position where he's just not ready."

If Indiana is forced to play without Drake, Dorn, Ristic and Acimovic, it will have nine scholarship players active in Puerto Rico: Guards Jasai Miles, Lamar Wilkerson, Conor Enright and Tayton Conerway, and forwards Reed Bailey, Sam Alexis, Josh Harris, Trent Sisley and Tucker DeVries.

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