Why Hiring Ryan Carr Is Crucial For Darian DeVries' Future With Indiana Basketball

In some ways, Indiana had a defined ceiling in year one of the Darian DeVries era.

There was uncertainty because Indiana had 13 new scholarship players, but this season always felt like it'd have a certain cap for success. The roster simply couldn't compete with the Big Ten's elite, so reaching the NCAA Tournament would be the baseline for success. Anything after that would be gravy.

Fans with aspirations of immediately getting back to the Final Four or winning a Big Ten title may disagree, but that was reality going into 2025-26. There's not enough talent outside of Lamar Wilkerson and Tucker DeVries, and winning big with a first-year coach is no easy task.

Following Tuesday's ugly home loss to Northwestern, the Hoosiers fell to 17-11 overall and 10th in the Big Ten at 8-9. They'll need a strong finish to have any chance at an NCAA Tournament bid. That's a discouraging way to start with a new coach, but the program announced some important news earlier in the week that should inspire some confidence that improvement under DeVries can happen.

Indiana has hired Ryan Carr to be its Executive Director of Basketball. Carr was a student manager under Bob Knight from 1992-96 before spending the last 23 seasons with the Indiana Pacers, holding roles such as Senior Vice President of Player Personnel (2024-26), Vice President of Player Personnel (2019-24), Director of Player Personnel (2018-19), Director of Scouting (2009-18), Assistant Director of Scouting (2008-09), and Scout (2003-08).

Carr believes his NBA experience sets him apart from other college programs hiring similar roles.

"When you look at the blue bloods, there's not another team that has a person that has my kind of experience," Carr said. "We have direct pipelines to every NBA GM and president I know. I know exactly what it takes to be a good pro on and off the court. And I think that's a huge attraction here, that I can help them, we can help them, but my experience can really help them get where they want to go."

Mentored by the likes of Larry Bird, Donnie Walsh, Kevin Pritchard, and Chad Buchanan while with the Pacers, Carr will now report directly to DeVries and focus on roster building.

Arguably Indiana's biggest downfall its first season under DeVries was roster building, so that should be music to fans' ears. As should the following reviews from various players, coaches and analysts.

Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle: "He's done a great job evaluating talent, evaluating the draft, and so on and so on. It will be a big loss for the Pacers, but a great hire for IU and coach DeVries. Congratultions to him."

NBA Draft analyst Jonathan Givony: "This is a major hire for Indiana. Ryan Carr is a longtime, highly respected NBA executive and former IU manager who ran the Pacers’ pre-draft process for years and has been a constant presence on the scouting circuit."

Current KenPom top four:

1. Michigan (has a GM)
2. Duke (has a GM)
3. Arizona (has a GM)
4. Illinois (has a GM)

I reckon that's anecdotal, but I'd probably go ahead and have a GM. https://t.co/3m3nlIcQLp
— Kyle Tucker (@KyleTuckerCBB) February 23, 2026

Former Indiana coach Tom Crean: "This is absolutely awesome for [Indiana] to have [Ryan Carr] join in this role. As good as an evaluator, connector, executive and truth teller that he is, he’s even a far better Person, Family Man and encourager. [Indiana] nailed this one. Ryan truly loves [Indiana University]."

Pacers reporter Scott Agness: "This is a huge hire for IU. Ryan Carr has run the Pacers' draft process for more than a decade. He organized, ran pre-draft workouts. Carr is relentless, fiercely loyal, on the road often & has a huge list of contacts, including agents."

Pacers point guards T.J. McConnell and Tyrese Haliburton wish executive Ryan Carr well in his newly-created role with #iubb pic.twitter.com/JpHiFnu23G
— Scott Agness (@ScottAgness) February 23, 2026

College basketball analyst Jeff Goodman: "Wow. Absolutely LOVE this hire. Ryan Carr is a former IU manager who is extremely connected to college basketball, knows agents, works his ass off. Has been with the Pacers for a long time. This is a major addition for Darian DeVries and Indiana hoops."

NBA analyst Sam Vecenie: "Super well-respected in the NBA as an evaluator. Indiana will be better off for having Carr around. Great hire as essentially the GM."

Carr explained he didn't take this job for the sake of nostalgia; he thought he could actually help. Roster building will be his first and foremost responsibility, which he called a passion project. There was no other title or promotion he was going to chase –– Indiana is where he wants to be.

The hiring also reflects Indiana's commitment to basketball and shows that it's not content with being the middling program it's been for most of the last 20 years.

"This school, this university, has obviously shown a great desire to be a leader in this new era," Carr said. "Obviously football speaks for itself, but I think a hire like myself, their wherewithal to get me, speaks to the dedication and the commitment that they want to have. There's not too many NBA executives at my level that have made this jump. I wouldn't have done it for any other school. Indiana is the place I would come and do it, and I can't wait to get started."

College athletics have moved closer to a professional model with NIL and the transfer portal, and Carr noted that there's actually less rules in college basketball than the NBA. The salary cap and contracts are a few examples.

He compared the transfer portal to free agency and high school recruiting to the NBA Draft. Indiana's roster currently leans heavily toward transfers, which was a necessity for DeVries in year one, but Carr plans to balance that out over time.

Though the transfer portal doesn't officially open until April 7, Carr joins Indiana at an important time. On3's Joe Tipton reported Tuesday that an ACC coach said movement and tampering have already started, and that schools can't wait until the portal opens to begin recruiting.

For that reason, Carr will be a welcomed addition to the Indiana staff in late February. He can get a jumpstart on watching film and evaluating talent, without needing to focus on game planning for the upcoming opponent. DeVries and the Indiana assistants will likely be doing both over the next month or so, but having Carr on board to collaborate now is undoubtedly a plus.

"Darian has the final decision on all of it. I support that," Carr said. "That's no different than when I worked with Kevin and Chad and Larry and all those guys. It's my job to use my expertise to tell them the truth of what I feel, just like the other staff members as they evaluate players and recruit players and we talk about players that will come here. We'll give Darian the best information we can, certainly as we talk about how to allot money, how to balance a roster."

All of this is not to say Carr is a surefire, immediate solution who will guide Indiana to a Big Ten title or Final Four next season.

But considering DeVries' biggest downfall was evaluating transfer portal talent and building balanced a roster, Carr addresses a major need and shows Indiana's commitment to competing at a high level in basketball.