Indiana University Athletics
Friday, October 17
Bloomington, Ind.
7:30 PM
Indiana University
vs
Marian (Exhibition)
IU’s Exhibition Emphasis -- Lineup Experimentation, Hard Play
10/17/2025 10:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – For Indiana coach Darian DeVries, the goal for Friday night's basketball exhibition opener against Marian University at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall is clear:
"I want us to play as hard as we can," he says during Thursday's Zoom media session. "That's the No. 1 thing."
What can a hard-playing IU team do? For starters, it can have 31 assists against three turnovers as it did in a recent practice.
"That tells you a little bit about what we're doing in terms of the way we move the ball," DeVries says.
The goal as DeVries begins his first Hoosier head-coaching season is to shoot well from everywhere, defend fiercely from anywhere, and play with the kind of toughness, discipline, and focus that has turned the Hoosier football team into an unbeaten powerhouse -- 6-0, a No. 3 national ranking.
Yes, DeVries has noticed.
"We've used football as a reference for why they're good," he says. "We want to be elite in not turning it over, elite in our discipline, elite in our toughness."
DeVries says IU will likely limit its rotation to seven to eight players Friday night because of injuries. Guard Nick Dorn, a transfer from Elon, won't play against Marian and likely won't play in the Oct. 26 exhibition against Baylor at Indianapolis' Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Guards Jason Drake, a Drexel transfer, and Aleksa Ristic, a freshman from Serbia, will miss several early season games.
Without them, DeVries says, "We're going to have to be a little more creative (at point guard) until those guys get back and give us more flexibility with our lineups."
In both exhibitions, DeVries says, the Hoosiers will experiment with lineups.
"We've been doing a lot of it in practice. For exhibition games, especially offensively, we're not going to show a lot. Even though we want to win, we understand regular season games are more of a priority."
Offensively, DeVries says, the Hoosiers don't have a "lot of one-on-one guys," so they have to rely on movement, actions, cutting, and screening to "generate paint touches. Those will be critical for us."
Overall, DeVries adds, "I like the progress we've made. We have multiple guys who can score. We won't just relying on one or two guys every night. We have a lot of different ways we can score, a lot of different guys that can shoot. I'm excited about that piece."
Defensive excellence is a priority, DeVries says, in part because the Hoosiers won't be "overly big and long and athletic." The frontcourt will be led by 6-foot-10, 230-pound Reed Bailey; 6-foot-9, 240-pound Sam Alexis; and 6-foot-8, 225-pound Josh Harris.
"I like how they bring great enthusiasm and energy to the defensive end," he says. "We've got to be very sound in what we do from a discipline standpoint and very aggressive in the way we approach it.
"We don't get over-complicated. We just want to play fast and physical, then give them in-game or pregame adjustments and game planning."
DeVries praises the team's coachability, something that has been consistent since the players first got together last June.
"They've continued to want to learn and get better. I love how unselfish we play. I think even our communication, our connectivity shines through a little bit not only on the offensive end but the defensive end."
Marian coach Pat Knight, a former Hoosier player and assistant coach and the son of Hall of Famer Bob Knight, starts his second season with nine returning players from an 11-17 team that finished ninth in the Crossroads League. This year, the Knights are picked fifth behind standouts Aiden Franks and Dylan Moles.
Last year, Franks was named conference freshman of the year after averaging 14.3 points. Moles led the team in scoring at 14.8.
IU has an intriguing non-conference schedule highlighted by playing Marquette in Chicago, Kansas State at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, Louisville in Indianapolis, and at Kentucky.
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – For Indiana coach Darian DeVries, the goal for Friday night's basketball exhibition opener against Marian University at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall is clear:
"I want us to play as hard as we can," he says during Thursday's Zoom media session. "That's the No. 1 thing."
What can a hard-playing IU team do? For starters, it can have 31 assists against three turnovers as it did in a recent practice.
"That tells you a little bit about what we're doing in terms of the way we move the ball," DeVries says.
The goal as DeVries begins his first Hoosier head-coaching season is to shoot well from everywhere, defend fiercely from anywhere, and play with the kind of toughness, discipline, and focus that has turned the Hoosier football team into an unbeaten powerhouse -- 6-0, a No. 3 national ranking.
Yes, DeVries has noticed.
"We've used football as a reference for why they're good," he says. "We want to be elite in not turning it over, elite in our discipline, elite in our toughness."
DeVries says IU will likely limit its rotation to seven to eight players Friday night because of injuries. Guard Nick Dorn, a transfer from Elon, won't play against Marian and likely won't play in the Oct. 26 exhibition against Baylor at Indianapolis' Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Guards Jason Drake, a Drexel transfer, and Aleksa Ristic, a freshman from Serbia, will miss several early season games.
Without them, DeVries says, "We're going to have to be a little more creative (at point guard) until those guys get back and give us more flexibility with our lineups."
In both exhibitions, DeVries says, the Hoosiers will experiment with lineups.
"We've been doing a lot of it in practice. For exhibition games, especially offensively, we're not going to show a lot. Even though we want to win, we understand regular season games are more of a priority."
Offensively, DeVries says, the Hoosiers don't have a "lot of one-on-one guys," so they have to rely on movement, actions, cutting, and screening to "generate paint touches. Those will be critical for us."
Overall, DeVries adds, "I like the progress we've made. We have multiple guys who can score. We won't just relying on one or two guys every night. We have a lot of different ways we can score, a lot of different guys that can shoot. I'm excited about that piece."
Defensive excellence is a priority, DeVries says, in part because the Hoosiers won't be "overly big and long and athletic." The frontcourt will be led by 6-foot-10, 230-pound Reed Bailey; 6-foot-9, 240-pound Sam Alexis; and 6-foot-8, 225-pound Josh Harris.
"I like how they bring great enthusiasm and energy to the defensive end," he says. "We've got to be very sound in what we do from a discipline standpoint and very aggressive in the way we approach it.
"We don't get over-complicated. We just want to play fast and physical, then give them in-game or pregame adjustments and game planning."
DeVries praises the team's coachability, something that has been consistent since the players first got together last June.
"They've continued to want to learn and get better. I love how unselfish we play. I think even our communication, our connectivity shines through a little bit not only on the offensive end but the defensive end."
Marian coach Pat Knight, a former Hoosier player and assistant coach and the son of Hall of Famer Bob Knight, starts his second season with nine returning players from an 11-17 team that finished ninth in the Crossroads League. This year, the Knights are picked fifth behind standouts Aiden Franks and Dylan Moles.
Last year, Franks was named conference freshman of the year after averaging 14.3 points. Moles led the team in scoring at 14.8.
IU has an intriguing non-conference schedule highlighted by playing Marquette in Chicago, Kansas State at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, Louisville in Indianapolis, and at Kentucky.
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