'Took That Personally': DeVries Challenged Lamar Wilkerson. Indiana Basketball Erased 20-Point Deficit

CAROLINA, Puerto Rico — Indiana basketball trailed by 20 points at halftime, and Darian DeVries' best player, Lamar Wilkerson, hadn't scored. The senior guard played virtually the entire first half and taken only three shots — two days after his coach said he can shoot as often as he wants.

It made for an easy conversation in, for exhibition standards, a difficult moment.

"DeVries just came to me and told me I got to be a better leader on and off the floor, so I took that personally," the senior guard said postgame. "And I didn’t like how bad we were down."

When the Hoosiers came out of their locker room after halftime Monday at Coliseo Guillermo Angulo, Wilkerson flipped a switch. Indiana followed his lead.

The 6-foot-6, 206-pound Wilkerson scored his first point at the free throw line, but only after he missed the first two after being fouled on a left-corner 3-pointer. Sometimes, elite shooters only need to see one shot drop for the rim to look bigger. Wilkerson experienced the phenomenon Monday.

He knocked down two more free throws and then a 3-pointer from the left wing, directly in front of the Hoosiers' bench. After the ball fell through the net, Wilkerson turned around, stared at DeVries and appeared to mouth, “Let's go, man.’’ The deficit had been trimmed to 16 points.

Wilkerson hit another left-wing 3-pointer moments later. With his arms hanging by his side, his eyes locked onto Indiana's bench. He didn't need to say anything. His body language — and the sudden flamethrower he acquired on his right hand — told his teammates all they needed to know: They weren't done fighting.

The Ashdown, Ark., native scored Indiana's first nine points in the second half. He finished with 11 points in the third quarter, and the Hoosiers scored 27 points in the 10-minute period after posting just 30 points in the first half.

Indiana, down by as many as 22 points late in the first half, pulled within 12 points entering the fourth quarter. Wilkerson didn't leave the floor again.

With Wilkerson behind the wheel, the Hoosiers stormed back. Senior forward Tucker DeVries added nine fourth-quarter points, including a pair of and-ones. Senior forward Sam Alexis scored five points in the final frame, headlined by an and-one inside the final 90 seconds to pull Indiana to within one possession.

Wilkerson, meanwhile, made plays everywhere when it mattered most. He went 2-for-5 shooting in the fourth quarter, burying a 3-pointer and finishing an and-one at the rim. He also dished two assists, and the last one resulted in the game-winning bucket with six seconds remaining.

As Wilkerson jabbed to his left, Mega Superbet guard Urban Kroflic briefly tried to mirror the action. His subtle flinch gave Wilkerson, with a rapid first-step, all the room he needed. Wilkerson drove past Kroflic, which forced Mega center Lazar Gacic to step up and protect the rim.

When Gacic left Indiana senior forward Reed Bailey alone on the baseline, Wilkerson dished a no-look pass to Bailey, who flushed the go-ahead dunk.

After a timeout, Mega Superbet guard Savo Drezgic tried to answer with a turnaround jumper from just inside the arc. He couldn't make it any further. Wilkerson stopped Drezgic's progress to the rim, and with his long arms, heavily contested the jump shot, which landed far off target.

Indiana led for only 27 seconds, but it flew home from Puerto Rico with an 81-80 victory to cap an unbeaten three-game series.

"As a team, we came back and did what we had to do to win," Wilkerson said. "We just played like IU basketball."

And Wilkerson played like himself.

DeVries said after Indiana's first exhibition game, a 98-47 victory over Universidad de Bayamon in which Wilkerson went only 3-for-14 shooting, that he was glad Wilkerson struggled in a game that didn't count toward its official record, because Wilkerson doesn't struggle often.

Wilkerson responded with a team-high 18 points and four 3-pointers in the Hoosiers' 93-71 win over Mega Superbet on Saturday, which saw a 23-point deficit turn into a 22-point victory.

Perhaps better than anyone, Wilkerson reflected the rockiness of Indiana's Puerto Rico tour. He struggled through shooting slumps and spells of inconsistency, but when adversity hit, he answered.

"Got Lamar going in the second half, and that was two games in a row where he's really sparked us in the second half," DeVries said postgame. "So again, awesome for us. Love the fact that we were able to come out with a win, and that guys made some really big plays for us down the stretch."

Indiana views its back-to-back slow starts as learning opportunities. Wilkerson said Mega Superbet came out and played more aggressively from the opening tip, and Indiana didn't execute the way it hoped.

DeVries noted Mega made adjustments between Saturday night and Monday morning that took away some of the actions the Hoosiers ran in the first matchup, forcing Indiana to adapt in-game.

The Hoosiers also lacked movement offensively. Mega Superbet didn't have to move around the floor, instead staying attached to Indiana's shooters.

Ball and floor movement picked up in the second half, and so did Wilkerson.

"Once we started getting into some actions and things and getting guys on the move, we were able to create a few more spaces, able to set some pin-downs for Lamar, where they lost him on the weak side," DeVries said. "And then Lamar, just challenged him — he's got to be aggressive."

Wilkerson attempted 12 shots in the second half. His scoring outburst to begin the third quarter gave Indiana the wind its sails desperately needed to get back to shore.

But the proficiency he showed in ancillary aspects — defense, facilitating, finishing at the rim and enough energy to power an entire team — may carry more weight moving forward than any of his three triples or 17 points.

“I feel like I’m a three-level scorer,” Wilkerson said. “I feel like I can make plays. I have to remind myself not to (stay) at the 3-point, get others involved and stuff like that.”

DeVries touted Indiana's offensive versatility, noting he believes the Hoosiers have the pieces to capitalize on floor spacing if opponents stay tight to Wilkerson and Tucker DeVries, as Superbet did Monday. Wilkerson, who showed he can be more than just a shooter offensively, certainly adds to the Hoosiers' personnel flexibility.

His laid back, energetic, oft-smiling persona makes him versatile and relatable off the court, too. In addition to their three exhibition games, Wilkerson and his teammates spent invaluable time bonding in Puerto Rico. They went on jet skis, rode a boat, kayaked, played beach volleyball and, in Wilkerson's words, spent every day together for a week.

Excuses about moving into apartments or acclimating to a new city were invalid the moment the wheels of Indiana's plane lifted off the ground Aug. 4. The Hoosiers had no choice but to bond, and DeVries said they capitalized.

And on the court, Indiana dug itself into two 20-plus-point deficits that required it to use every ounce of chemistry it's created in the nine weeks since starting summer practice in early June.

The Hoosiers are still learning each other, and DeVries acknowledged they have much to improve upon over the next three months leading into the regular season. But they left Puerto Rico with an invaluable takeaway about their collective DNA — and it's one Wilkerson, who brought his proverbial boxing gloves to San Juan, represents quite well.

“You really don’t know who’s beside you until adversity hits. When adversity hits, then everybody’s true color shows," Wilkerson said. "Adversity hit us twice in the mouth this week and we responded the right way. So, doesn’t get no better than that.”

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