Aug. 4—Indiana
19-13, 10-10 Big Ten (Ninth)
Oumar Ballo; Mackenzie Mgbako; Malik Reneau; Myles Rice; Luke Goode; Trey Galloway; Bryson Tucker; Kanaan Carlyle; Anthony Leal
Walk-ons Jordan Rayford and Ian Stephens who played a combined 1 minute last season
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Jasai Miles, Jr., G; Reed Bailey, Sr., F; Jason Drake, Jr., G; Lamar Wilkerson, R-Sr., G; Conor Enright, R-Sr., G; Tayton Conerway, R-Sr., G; Nick Dorn, Jr., G; Josh Harris, So., F; Tucker DeVries, R-Sr., F
Of the 10 transfers first-year coach Darian DeVries added this offseason, eight of them averaged double figures in scoring at their previous stop. The outliers? Point guard Conor Enright, who put up 7.5 points and 6.2 assists per game last season for DePaul (after playing for DeVries at Drake), and Sam Alexis, who won a national title with Florida. The concern? Only coach’s son Tucker DeVries did it at the power conference level, averaging 14.9 points at West Virginia after following his dad (duh) from Drake. A legitimate 14.9 ppg even if he only played in eight games because of a shoulder injury because four of the opponents were also from a power conference and a fifth was Gonzaga.
The rest of the transfers hail from the likes of North Florida (Miles and Harris), Davidson (Bailey), Drexel (Drake), Sam Houston State (Wilkerson), Troy (Conerway) and Elon (Dorn). Individually, there’s a lot to like. Wilkerson averaged 20.5 points last season for the Bearkats and is a career 44.5 percent three-point shooter. The 6-11 Bailey put up 18.8 points and 6.1 rebounds per game for the Wildcats and is a career 41.5 percent three-point shooter. Conerway was the Sun Belt Player of the Year and led the Trojans to the NCAA tournament where he had 12 points, four rebounds and four assists in a first-round loss to Kentucky.
The Hoosiers are banking on enough of those transfers hitting at the high major level, which is no guarantee with an a single player transferring up let alone seven of them. While DeVries has won at every stop, including six straight seasons with at least 20 wins at Drake and 19 more last season at West Virginia, this roster is a risk.
