Indiana Basketball Has Connection To Duke Transfer Darren Harris

Unlike the long process of high school recruiting, transfer portal recruitments can come together quickly. Because of that, it can help to have a previously established relationship with a player.

Indiana assistant coach Kenny Johnson has a connection to Duke transfer guard Darren Harris due to their shared history with Team Takeover, an AAU team that competes on the Nike EYBL Circuit, and St. Paul VI Catholic High School.

After serving as director and head of travel for Team Takeover for more than six years, Johnson has maintained those ties and successfully recruited the DMV for years as a collegiate assistant coach with Indiana under Tom Crean, as well as Georgetown and Louisville.

Harris was named the 2023-24 Gatorade Virginia Player of the Year while attending St. Paul VI Catholic High School in Fairfax, Va., where Johnson was an associate head coach from 2007-11. As a four-star recruit ranked No. 39 overall by 247Sports in the class of 2023, Harris played for Team Takeover and earned All-EYBL first-team honors.

That connection could help Indiana's rebuilding efforts heading into coach Darian DeVries' second season in 2026-27. Harris entered the transfer portal on Tuesday following his sophomore year at Duke, where the 6-foot-6 guard averaged 3.3 points and 9.7 minutes per game in 36 appearances off the bench.

Harris played sparingly as a freshman, averaging 2.0 points, 1.1 rebounds and 6.1 minutes per game in 21 games off the bench. Across his two-year Duke career, he shot 36.4% (48-for-132) from the field, 30.8% (28-for-91) from 3-point range and 69.1% (38-for-55) from the free throw line.

Darren Harris tonight

17 minutes
16 points (career-high)
2/5 3PT

Yea DH!
pic.twitter.com/VFvq5ir9Jo
— Zion O. (@DukeNBA) February 25, 2026

Standout games from Harris' sophomore season include a 16-point game at Notre Dame, 15 points on 5-for-7 3-point shooting against Army and a pair of made 3-pointers in a dominant win over Virginia. As a freshman, he scored a season-high seven points in Duke's NCAA Tournament Round of 64 win over Mount St. Mary's.

While he may not have lived up to expectations at Duke, he showed flashes of high-level talent and could benefit from a change of scenery. Indiana has needs at every position after losing its top five scorers and starting point guard to graduation.

Here's how the roster is shaping up heading into DeVries second season with the Hoosiers.

Indiana basketball 2026-27 roster outlook

Graduating: Lamar Wilkerson, Tucker DeVries, Tayton Conerway, Sam Alexis, Reed Bailey, Conor Enright

Entered transfer portal: Jasai Miles, Josh Harris, Jason Drake, Aleksa Ristic

Returning: Trent Sisley

No decision announced: Nick Dorn, Andrej Acimovic

Incoming freshmen: Vaughn Karvala, Trevor Manhertz, Prince-Alexander Moody

Incoming transfers: None