4 Takeaways from Indiana Basketball's 93-71 Exhibition Win Over Mega Superbet

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The referees didn’t want him to, but Indiana coach Darian DeVries did it anyway.

As senior guard Tayton Conerway dribbled up the court toward DeVries’ spot in front of Indiana’s bench, the Hoosiers’ first-year boss barked commands. Officials waved him away.

The message still went through.

After a screen created a mismatch for Conerway against Mega Superbet forward Bogoljub Marković, the Milwaukee Bucks’ second-round draft pick, DeVries motioned Indiana forward Reed Bailey to the baseline.

It created space for Conerway to drive into the paint. On the opposite wing, senior forward Sam Alexis set an off-ball screen for senior guard Lamar Wilkerson.

Conerway dished to Wilkerson, who buried a 3-pointer and extended Indiana’s double-digit lead in the fourth quarter of Saturday night’s 93-71 victory inside Coliseo Roberto Clemente.

The play offered a glimpse at the tools DeVries’ first Indiana team has in its box, from poise and floor spacing to shot execution and trust in its coach.

Though the Hoosiers’ trip to Puerto Rico remains more about off-court bonding than on-court exhibition results, the team’s budding characteristics are hard to ignore.

Here’s what Indiana Hoosiers On SI learned from Saturday night’s victory over professional Serbian team Mega Superbet.

Indiana is further along in its belief, trust and togetherness than expected

The Hoosiers have 10 scholarship players healthy and available in Puerto Rico, and most had no live-game experience playing with one another.

Junior guard Jasai Miles and sophomore forward Josh Harris played with each other in high school and last season at North Florida. Senior forward Tucker DeVries and senior guard Conor Enright were roommates and teammates for three years at Drake.

Those two connections aside, the exhibition series offered a chance to learn about one another. The Hoosiers pulled a valuable lesson out of Saturday night’s rapid comeback.

Trailing 44-21 midway through the second quarter, Indiana rode a 70-19 run over two-plus quarters to seize control. DeVries said the Hoosiers could’ve just as easily spiraled downward facing such a deficit.

Indiana chose the hard way. It showed DeVries his team’s character and collective trust in one another is strong — perhaps even stronger than expected for a team with so much still to learn.

“It says a lot,” DeVries said postgame. “When you've got a group of guys, and we're way early in the preseason with things, but for them to pull together in an adverse situation like this, I don't know how they're going to respond, and this was our first opportunity to see. And I like the way they pulled together.”

Indiana’s freshmen may be more valuable than anticipated

There was subtle buzz around the arrival of four-star freshman forward Trent Sisley, but the Santa Claus, Ind., native has made it difficult to temper expectations.

Sisley impressed during Indiana’s open-to-media practice July 30, and he scored 21 points on 9-for-12 shooting in the Hoosiers’ first exhibition victory. He followed Saturday night with 10 points, five rebounds, three assists and only one turnover on 4-for-7 shooting, and he went 2 of 3 from 3-point range.

Through two games in Puerto Rico, Sisley is 5-for-6 shooting from distance. He held his own defensively and didn’t back down against the size or length of Mega Superbet, which gave a majority of Indiana’s roster fits during the first 15 minutes of game action.

Sisley can play in transition, is a potent catch-and-shoot threat and is serviceable defensively. He certainly appears positioned for significant minutes during his freshman season.

His freshman running mate, guard Aleksa Ristic, has delivered similarly surprising returns in his first two college outings.

Ristic arrived in Bloomington on July 30, giving him less than a week to learn the playbook and his teammates’ names before heading to Puerto Rico. DeVries acknowledged there are still times he has to explain Ristic’s responsibilities in the middle of plays.

Yet the 19-year-old Ristic has been unbothered.

He scored six points on 3-for-6 shooting in his Indiana debut, and he added five points, five assists, four rebounds and only two turnovers against Mega Superbet. Ristic can play both on- and off-ball, and he’s made a positive first impression.

“He's done a really good job of adjusting and getting thrown right in there, playing multiple positions,” DeVries said. “So, in a situation that's pretty difficult to do, I think he's done a nice job.”

The two-big lineup returned, but only briefly

Perhaps a minor footnote in the initial run-through of Conerway’s drive-and-kick to Wilkerson for the 3-pointer, both Bailey and Alexis set screens that made it happen.

The 6-foot-10, 232-pound Bailey and 6-foot-9, 238-pound Alexis have rarely been on the court at the same time through 80 minutes in Puerto Rico. The Hoosiers’ offense is tailored more around spacing, which means the traditional two-big lineups common under former coach Mike Woodson won’t often occur this fall.

Bailey and Alexis can both stretch the floor. Alexis took a pair of 3-pointers Saturday, and while he missed both, he didn’t hesitate. Bailey shot 41.5% from distance on 41 triples last season at Davidson.

Don’t expect the two to share much time on-court this fall, but Indiana has the personnel versatility to match up with bigger, more physical Big Ten teams if necessary.

Indiana should — and will — let Wilkerson shoot through slumps

In Puerto Rico, DeVries has found joy in moments of struggle.

When Mega Superbet punched Indiana in the mouth, he wanted to see his team’s response.

When Wilkerson went 3-for-14 shooting from the field and 3 of 13 from beyond the arc in the Hoosiers’ first game of the tour, DeVries said he liked Wilkerson struggling in an exhibition setting, because he doesn’t struggle often. If Wilkerson goes 2 for 20 one game, DeVries said it means he’ll go 18 for 20 the next.

Though not to that extreme, Wilkerson proved his coach right Saturday.

The Sam Houston State transfer led the Hoosiers with 18 points on 7-for-11 shooting from the field, and he went 4-for-7 shooting from distance. He played with infectious energy and scored in various ways, be it as a spot-up shooter, on dribble pull-ups or at the rim.

“Lamar can shoot as many times he wants,” DeVries said. “I have ultimate faith in Lamar making shots. I think you saw a glimpse of why we do in that second half. He can just change a game in two, three possessions. He can go from 0 for 4 to 4 for 8, 6 for 10, in a hurry.”

Led by Wilkerson, Indiana made 10 triples Saturday night. Tucker DeVries and Sisley each hit two 3-pointers, and Conerway and Ristic added one apiece. The Hoosiers connected at a 34.5% clip.

DeVries noted after the first game that exhibitions aren’t conducive to 3-point shooting success due to a variety of factors. The Hoosiers still want to make a better percentage from distance, and with more performances like Saturday from Wilkerson, DeVries believes they will.

“We have a lot of faith in our shooters,” DeVries said. “We want them to play with confidence. I think for the most part, they all take shots that are within what they're capable of making, and we play to that strength.”

Indiana is further along in its belief, trust and togetherness than expected

Indiana’s freshmen may be more valuable than anticipated

The two-big lineup returned, but only briefly

Indiana should — and will — let Wilkerson shoot through slumps

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