What Traits Does Indiana Coach Darian DeVries Value For Frontcourt?

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – If you look purely at transfer portal rankings, Indiana has done well rebuilding its roster.

Tucker DeVries, Lamar Wilkerson and Reed Bailey were transfer portal players who were highly ranked, sought by power schools or both.

Bailey stands out among that group. He’s the only player Indiana has brought in who is taller than 6-foot-7. Bailey is 6-foot-11, but he is considered to be more of a stretch forward than a physical player in the post.

Indiana still lacks that kind of player. Indiana has gone hunting in the portal to find the right fit, but has so far been unsuccessful bringing anyone in.

Whether interest was hot or luke warm, big men like Flory Bidunga (Kansas), Emeka Opurum (Auburn), Duke Brennan (Villanova) and Peyton Marshall (Georgia Tech) went elsewhere.

Now that the transfer portal is officially closed, who’s out there for Indiana?

If you want a highly ranked big man? Not much.

On3Sports.com lists 17 available power forwards or centers among their top 200 top transfer portal players. Indiana has not been publicly linked with any of them, though that’s not necessarily a reflection of interest or lack thereof.

To give you an idea of the market for big men, the sixth-best big man available by On3’s rankings is former Indiana center Payton Sparks, who returned to Ball State after he averaged 2.1 points in his lone season with the Hoosiers in 2024.

Many of the top-rated big men also need eligibility waivers, including some of the players who have been connected to Indiana.

As Indiana coach Darian DeVries has stressed, fit is what matters most to him. So what has fit before?

With his teams at Drake and in his one season at West Virginia, DeVries always had at least one player who was 6-foot-10 and 207 pounds. Or a big who was at least 244 pounds.

Each one of them was a plus-defender by the standard of defensive box-minus, an advanced statistic that attempts to determine defensive impact when a player is on the floor.

Players who fit that description at Drake and West Virginia included Nick McGlynn, Casey Schlatter, Liam Robbins (who later played in the Big Ten at Minnesota) and Darnell Brodie for the Bulldogs. Eduardo Andre fit the description with the Mountaineers.

However, DeVries rarely had more than one player who fit that description. Other bigs had to be versatile and stretch the floor. Bailey fits that description for the Hoosiers.

So DeVries may not be in the market for many big men based on past experience. But he does still need a player who fits the above description.

All but one of the big men Indiana has been linked with fit the above template. Eddie Lampkin Jr. (ex-Syracuse), Ante Brzovic (ex-College of Charleston), Baba Miller (ex-Florida Atlantic), Federiko Federiko (ex-Texas Tech) all fit the physical description.

Here’s a link to Hoosiers On SI transfer portal tracker, which has more information on these players and more.

Here are some players in On3’s Top 200 still available as of Wednesday who fit the template DeVries has used in the past.

• Justin Vander Baan (Ex-Lafayette) – A 7-foot, 230-pound center, Vander Baan began his career at Boston College but played sparingly in two years. Vander Baan averaged 9.5 points in three seasons at Lafayette. He didn’t shoot threes much and hit only 22% when he did. He’s only been in the portal for two days and might need a waiver to continue playing.

• Enoch Boakye (Ex-Villanova) – A 6-10, 240-pound center, Boakye is well-traveled. He played his first two seasons at Arizona State. He played one year at Fresno State before he transferred to Villanova for the 2025 season. Not a scorer, Boakye started all 36 games and averaged 4.4 points and 6.4 rebounds. Might be a stretch to perform at a Big Ten level.

• Josh Ojianwuna (ex-Baylor) – A 6-foot-10 forward, Ojianwuna has spent all three years of his career at Baylor and emerged as a starter in 2025. He is a traditional power forward. He averaged 7.4 points and 6.4 rebounds for the Bears in 2025. He’s only attempted two career 3-point shots, so he would only patrol the middle. Ojianwuna suffered a season-ending knee injury in February and that could be chilling interest.

• Efton Reid (ex-Wake Forest) – A 6-foot-11, 238 center, Reid checks a lot of DeVries boxes. Not a prolific scorer, Reid averaged 8.8 points and 6.6 rebounds for the Demon Deacons. He also made 27.5% of his 3-point shots with Wake Forest. Reid is a high-level player, having spent time at LSU and Gonzaga before he played two seasons at Wake Forest. The knock on Reid? He is one of many players who would need a NCAA eligibility waiver to continue playing. Unlike players like Luke Goode, he doesn’t have a past injury that cut into his games played.

• Papa Amadou Kante (ex-Pittsburgh) – A 6-foot-10, 235-pound forward, Kane stands apart with his youth. He’s only played one season at Pitt. He was a reserve and only played seven minutes per game, so he’s raw, but has potential. If his statistics are extrapolated over 40 minutes, Kante would have been good for 12.2 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.8 blocks. He’s not a 3-point threat.

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