Indiana Basketball's 2 Injured Players 'Getting Closer' to Return

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana basketball's biggest present this holiday season may be a return to full health.

The Hoosiers have played this season without junior guard Jason Drake and sophomore forward Josh Harris, each of whom suffered lower body injuries during the offseason. Drake sustained his ailment in late July while Harris went down in late September.

At his radio show Monday night, Indiana coach Darian DeVries offered positive injury updates on Drake and Harris.

"They're both progressing," DeVries said. "When the trainers tell us they're ready, they'll be ready, but they're both getting closer and closer. So, that's great to see."

Drake participated in pre-game shootaround before Indiana's 72-60 loss to Kentucky on Dec. 13 at Rupp Arena, joining sixth-year senior guard Lamar Wilkerson and forward Tucker DeVries as the last group of Hoosiers working around the perimeter.

Harris, meanwhile, sat on the bench during pre-game warmups. He's often sported a boot on his right foot.

Indiana nearly had a third serious injury to worry about. On the Hoosiers' first offensive possession against Kentucky, senior forward Sam Alexis went down on the floor and stayed down for an extended period.

Alexis eventually rose to his feet, but he had his arms around trainers and couldn't put any weight on his left leg, which hung in the air as he was helped to the locker room. Shortly thereafter, Alexis jogged out of the tunnel and joined his teammates on the bench, and he returned to the game three minutes after he initially left.

The 6-foot-9, 240-pound Alexis finished with 6 points and five rebounds on 3-for-4 shooting while adding two blocks in 30 minutes of action.

However, Darian DeVries and the Hoosiers are still approaching Alexis' health with caution.

"When you watch it on film, it certainly looked like it could have been much, much worse," DeVries said Monday night. "So, we're still hopeful that he's going to be all right there. We'll see as it continues to go.

"If he is able to get through that, he was very fortunate, because that was one that could have been very bad."

Indiana (8-3) won't play during finals week, and it has only two games remaining on its non-conference schedule — a 1 p.m. tipoff Dec. 20 against Chicago State and a 6 p.m. tipoff Dec. 22 vs. Siena.

The Hoosiers have a near-two-week break thereafter before opening Big Ten play Jan. 4 against Washington — and they may have their roster at full health for the first time in DeVries' debut season.