Indiana men’s basketball fans have been through their fair share of great-on-paper offseasons that don’t end up working out once the roster hits the floor and the shots start to count. Darian DeVries, Ryan Carr and the rest of Indiana’s staff have to see this roster reload through to what actually matters, but it’s fair to make an early observation or two.
The staff, from DeVries to Carr and the assistants, executed as swift and thorough of a reload as one could’ve realistically hoped for under the circumstances while addressing the pretty clear deficiencies in last season’s roster construction.
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Last season’s roster, built alongside Indiana’s coaching staff and program infrastructure under DeVries, had some pretty clear talent and size deficiencies with a lack of high-major playing experience in its players, size in the frontcourt and depth.
This season’s roster couldn’t project as more different.
Each of Indiana’s six incoming transfers hail from high-major programs, with five of those six coming to Bloomington with substantial experience as starters at their previous programs. The Hoosiers’ likely frontcourt paring consists of 6’11” Alabama transfer Aiden Sherrell at power forward and 7’2” SMU transfer Samet Yigitoglu at center. Sherrell would’ve been tied for the Hoosiers’ tallest player on this past season’s roster. With six transfers, not counting returning rising sophomore Trent Sisley, Indiana is certain to have high major experience coming off of the bench.
If you’re looking for something a basketball team needs to be successful, there’s a really good chance this roster has it. Size, which has become especially paramount in recent years? Already covered with Sherrell and Yigitoglu. 3-point shooting? Bryce Lindsay and Markus Burton have both been productive from the perimeter in college with Darren Harris having a strong reputation at the high school level and Sherrell being capable at Alabama. Athleticism? Mustaf brings that with proven tape at the college level while freshmen signees Prince-Alexander Moody and Vaughn Karvala had it in high school. Guard play? Burton is as experienced as you could hope for while Lindsay can function as another distributor.
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If there was a problem on last year’s roster that was exposed or, worse, exploited during the season, Indiana’s staff seems to have identified it and moved to correct it, doing so swiftly. Now. to pump the breaks, this is not at all saying that Indiana is going to be a world beater in 2025-26. The pieces still need to fit, chemistry needs to form and countless other factors remain at play.
Will the Hoosiers at least be better than the 2025-26 team that just missed out on tournament play? That seems likely.
