4 Takeaways from Indiana Basketball at Big Ten Media Day

ROSEMONT, Ill. — Indiana men's basketball coach Darian DeVries, senior forward Tucker DeVries and senior guard Lamar Wilkerson represented the Hoosiers at Big Ten Men's Basketball Media Day on Thursday at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois.

Here are four takeaways from Wilkerson and the DeVries duo, who spoke about the Hoosiers' offensive philosophy, growth and expectations for the 2025-26 season.

Indiana plans to be aggressive beyond the arc

The Hoosiers ranked third-to-last in the Big Ten in three-point shooting percentage in each of previous coach Mike Woodson's final two years at the helm. Darian DeVries intends to change that.

"We love to shoot threes," DeVries said. "I mean, that's what we believe in. That's what we recruit to. So, you'll see that as we continue forward too. Like, this year's team was put together with the idea that we want to have a lot of guys that can really shoot it, a lot of guys that really understand how to play, have a great IQ, unselfish, and then we'll recruit to that moving forward, too.

"But I just believe if you can have a group that's willing to play together and they can all shoot it, it makes you really challenging to guard for a defense."

DeVries wants Indiana to be the aggressors. His brand requires the Hoosiers to play in transition, and they've proven in exhibition games and open practices they can run the floor.

The best way to get open 3-pointers, DeVries said, is against broken floors, which stem from tempo. Two of his core principles — pushing tempo and shooting triples — go hand-in-hand.

"You'll see from us throughout the year just a huge emphasis on wanting to get up and down and to shoot threes," DeVries said.

To Wilkerson, who shot 44.5% from 3-point range last season, DeVries' offense is a shooter's dream — part of the reason he committed to Indiana as a highly-touted transfer portal target this past spring.

"A lot of our offense is made to create open threes," Wilkerson said. "We run in transition. We try to score early in the shot clock. So, he's not one of them coaches that'll tell you, ‘Don't take this shot, only shoot these shots.’ But he's going to let you play freely and let you play within the game as long as you're just taking good shots."

Tucker DeVries healthy and experienced — but not "old"

Earlier Thursday morning, the 23-year-old Wilkerson called 22-year-old Tucker DeVries "old," and DeVries didn't like it.

“He's older than me, so that's why I got a little upset,” DeVries said, laughing.

The context centers around experience. Wilkerson ultimately changed his phrasing to describe DeVries as a veteran, be it how he carries himself off the court or the way he plays on it.

DeVries' experience within his father's system has been integral to Indiana's offseason development. Wilkerson compared the situation to a crutch he can lean on — he sought DeVries' assistance with terminology and described DeVries' presence as a "major" benefit.

"He has that leadership that every team needs, that he's familiar with stuff," Wilkerson said. "So even as me being older than him, I still can go to him and be like, ‘Hey, how do I do this? How do I do that?’ But he also can stretch the floor. He has a lot of gravity to him, and he's a great player. So they got to respect him.

"And then he can also make the right reads. So, he can play on ball, off ball, he can do whatever we need him to do to help this team be successful.”

DeVries had a healthy offseason for the first time in three years. He suffered a shoulder injury early in the 2024-25 season at West Virginia and underwent surgery in January. He was cleared to lift weights and do training drills for nearly the entire summer, a significant boost after being forced to wait until fall practice the past two seasons.

The results are noticeable.

"You can just see it in his body," Darian DeVries said. "He's really filled out. He's gotten a lot stronger. Maybe even more importantly, he trusts having collisions and making contact. Both offensively, being able to bump people off, and rebounding, all the things. Defensively, getting through screens, not having to avoid contact to protect the shoulder.

"So that's the part I think he feels great about right now, and excited for him to hopefully be able to play a season injury-free."

Tucker DeVries said he feels "about as good as you can feel" in this stage of Indiana's pre-season practice, and he's grateful his health gave him the chance to create relationships on and off the court with his teammates this summer.

"It's felt great," DeVries said. "Especially with a new roster, being able to do the whole summer with the team and practice with the team and kind of build that chemistry on the court throughout the whole offseason and not just getting thrown in the mix two weeks before the season starts.

"So I think that's been super helpful. I think off the court, strength-wise has been super helpful in allowing me to trust myself a little bit more, especially through contact and defensively. It's been super helpful."

Wilkerson 'one of best in the country'

Wilkerson arrived at Indiana with the reputation of being an elite shooter. He's proven this offseason he's more than just a long-range sniper, be it elevating his defense or creating looks for teammates offensively.

After two years at Three Rivers College and three at Sam Houston State University, Wilkerson is firmly in the spotlight at Indiana. Tucker DeVries feels he's ready for the stage.

"He's one of the best players in the country," DeVries said, "and I think a lot of people will start to realize that pretty soon."

DeVries' reasoning stems from Wilkerson's versatility.

"He shoots it really well," DeVries said. "You have to respect that. When teams try to take that away, he's able to make plays off of that, attacking closeouts, ball screens, making plays for other guys."

Wilkerson has also made an imprint on Indiana's culture, which is particularly important as Darian DeVries tries setting a firm foundation. Both Darian and Tucker DeVries cited the same three redeeming traits in Wilkerson's possession: Energy, enthusiasm and confidence.

The Hoosiers want their identity to include being enthusiastic about practicing every day. Wilkerson does his part.

"He brings a smile to the practice floor, to games every day, and that just makes it more fun to be around," Tucker DeVries said.

Wilkerson's calling card remains his shooting. In September, Darian DeVries said Wilkerson is one of the best shooters he's ever coached because of his ability to take, and make, hard 3-pointers.

Toss in unshakable confidence, and Wilkerson has the mechanics and mentality to validate DeVries' lofty praise.

"He can miss five in a row, and he's going to take the next five," DeVries said. "That's what you need to have from a mindset standpoint as a shooter is the next shot. When you put in that time and the work that he does, I want him to know that it's basketball.

"You're going to have shooting slumps at times, but I don't ever want him to second-guess, and he's one of those guys you don't have to talk too much about that."

Darian DeVries an offensive 'mastermind'

Coordinators and play designs are discussed far more commonly in football than basketball, but DeVries' offensive mind is sharp enough to warrant the conversation. Wilkerson made sure of it.

"(DeVries is) a mastermind," Wilkerson said. "Just with calling plays, drawing up plays to get shooters open, and then just getting playmakers the ball to let them make plays."

The key to maximizing DeVries' system, Wilkerson said, is all in the details. Players must know why they're doing what they're being asked to do, be it screening angles, offensive rebounding or simply court positioning.

When all the ingredients are present, Wilkerson gets to shoot open 3-pointers. It's the way he likes to play and the way Indiana wants to play.

And while Wilkerson is largely viewed both internally and externally as the Hoosiers' best shooter, DeVries feels his team doesn't have a single player who can't knock down triples. After all, that's the idea he had in mind when he assembled his first Hoosier roster.

"Almost everybody on the roster right now has the green light to shoot them," DeVries said. "Some are naturally going to take more than others, but we want everybody to be a threat out there. Even our bigs, like they can all shoot it. They all got skill.

"They've shown throughout practices that we're going to be able to put people out in a five-out situation and everybody on the floor is going to be able to not only shoot it but hopefully shoot it at a high percentage."

Tucker DeVries, who played under his father for three years at Drake University and another at West Virginia, said Darian DeVries doesn't often nitpick shots. He'll address shot selection if it's a team-wide issue, but players know their boundaries.

There aren't many of them. At its simplest level, Indiana's offense is built on trust.

"I think that's one of the great things about our offense is the freedom we have to make plays, take shots," Tucker DeVries said. "I think (it) gives the guys confidence to know they have the green light."

Breathing confidence into players is one aspect of coaching. Designing plays to put them in the best spot to succeed is another. Darian DeVries — ever a mastermind — appears well endowed with both.