Where There’s a Defensive Will, There’s a Tayton Conerway
9/25/2025 10:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Defense matters to Tayton Conerway. If the 6-3 Indiana guard is defending you, he wants to ruin your night, disrupt your game and make you wish you had chosen, say, checkers, as a college activity.
This could be a very big deal as the Hoosiers begin a new basketball era under coach Darian DeVries.
"Defense is something you have to want to do." Conerway says. "I take pride in it. On offense, anybody can move around and get a lucky shot now and then, but defense is you against another man. You have to have a will to want to do it. That's something I feel I have."
The numbers over five previous college seasons -- including three at the junior college level where Conerway earned JUCO player of the year -- prove it.
He was a mid-major force at Troy last season, earning Sun Belt Player of the Year honors after averaging 14.2 points, 4.8 assists, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.9 steals while shooting 47.1% from the field and helping Troy make the NCAA tourney. His program-record 98 steals ranked third in the country.
"Defensively, he's really got quick hands," DeVries says. "He has the ability to create steals and turnovers. I'm excited about what he can continue to grow into for this team."
Last spring, Conerway entered the transfer portal and the NBA Draft, got insight from NBA officials and coaches, withdrew from the draft and became a Hoosier.
The main goal, he says, is to help restore IU to its winning ways.
"I'm just here to win," Conerway says. "If I have to sit to win or play 40 minutes to win, I'll do whatever I have to do. I want to win. Everything I do is try to win."
At IU, he will help run the Hoosier show as a point guard.
"I'll be another coach on the floor. I want to get to where I understand what Coach wants without him having to say it, get to the point where he understands what's happening on the court without us having to tell him. It's that mutual understanding without having to talk all the time."
Understanding got a head start with the August trip to Puerto Rico. Conerway was an all-around force by averaging 13.0 points, 4.0 assists, 4.0 rebounds, and 2.3 steals while starting all three games. He made 12-of-20 shots.
"He's a little unique," DeVries says. "He may be one of the most creative guys with the ball in terms of the way he delivers passes. It's very unconventional. He's one of those guys, like I told the coaching staff, you have to let him just go a little bit."
With Conerway, freedom has its advantages.
"A lot of times you open up the stat sheet after practice," DeVries says, "and it will be six assists/one turnover-type stuff. It's impressive that he's able to do it the way he does and not turn the ball over.
"I think sometimes he's almost bored with the simple play. He likes a little razzle dazzle. It's letting him be a playmaker with the way he knows how to play make.
"He's talented at both ends of the floor. He's really gifted."
Conerway is part of an impressive backcourt that includes 6-6 Lamar Wilkerson, who averaged 15.7 points in Puerto Rico. Their strong connection started in 2023, when Conerway's Troy team played Wilkerson's Sam Houston State team. Wilkerson sparked a Sam Houston comeback victory.
Then, last spring, with both in the transfer portal, Wilkerson went to Dallas to train. Conerway lived in Dallas and was training there. They both committed to IU, and their agents got them together – they worked with the same trainer.
Wilkerson calls their connection like peanut butter and jelly.
"He's like me," Conerway says, "but he's my opposite. He has what I'm missing. I have what he's missing. We even each other out. It's been a good setup."
Conerway and Wilkerson are two of 15 new players as DeVries has built an entirely new roster in his coaching image, which means aggressive defense, fast offense and plenty of perimeter firepower.
IU showed no 3-point shooting reluctance in three Puerto Rico games (87 shots beyond the arc), and if it didn't deliver high-end accuracy (29.9%), what you do in August matters far less than in, say, March.
Guard Connor Enright believes in the Hoosiers' long-range shooting potential.
"I love that we can shoot," he says. "We have a lot of unselfish guys who can shoot, who can play fast."
IU displayed that and more in Puerto Rico by twice rallying from huge deficits to beat Mega Superbet, a Serbian professional team, after dominating Central University of Bayamon 98-47.
"We're going to be a tough, hard-playing team," Enright says. "We're going to work hard. We have enough guys that we can have that tough, hard-nosed identity."
That identity will be on public display with the debut of Hoosier Hoops on Kirkwood set for Oct. 2 and a Cream 'n Crimson scrimmage the next night at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
Having an early chance to play in that Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall atmosphere has the players pumped.
"I'm very excited," Enright says. "The fans are awesome. The students are awesome. I'm hyped to play there in front of a full crowd. We're ready to get going."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Defense matters to Tayton Conerway. If the 6-3 Indiana guard is defending you, he wants to ruin your night, disrupt your game and make you wish you had chosen, say, checkers, as a college activity.
This could be a very big deal as the Hoosiers begin a new basketball era under coach Darian DeVries.
"Defense is something you have to want to do." Conerway says. "I take pride in it. On offense, anybody can move around and get a lucky shot now and then, but defense is you against another man. You have to have a will to want to do it. That's something I feel I have."
The numbers over five previous college seasons -- including three at the junior college level where Conerway earned JUCO player of the year -- prove it.
He was a mid-major force at Troy last season, earning Sun Belt Player of the Year honors after averaging 14.2 points, 4.8 assists, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.9 steals while shooting 47.1% from the field and helping Troy make the NCAA tourney. His program-record 98 steals ranked third in the country.
"Defensively, he's really got quick hands," DeVries says. "He has the ability to create steals and turnovers. I'm excited about what he can continue to grow into for this team."
Last spring, Conerway entered the transfer portal and the NBA Draft, got insight from NBA officials and coaches, withdrew from the draft and became a Hoosier.
The main goal, he says, is to help restore IU to its winning ways.
"I'm just here to win," Conerway says. "If I have to sit to win or play 40 minutes to win, I'll do whatever I have to do. I want to win. Everything I do is try to win."
At IU, he will help run the Hoosier show as a point guard.
"I'll be another coach on the floor. I want to get to where I understand what Coach wants without him having to say it, get to the point where he understands what's happening on the court without us having to tell him. It's that mutual understanding without having to talk all the time."
Understanding got a head start with the August trip to Puerto Rico. Conerway was an all-around force by averaging 13.0 points, 4.0 assists, 4.0 rebounds, and 2.3 steals while starting all three games. He made 12-of-20 shots.
"He's a little unique," DeVries says. "He may be one of the most creative guys with the ball in terms of the way he delivers passes. It's very unconventional. He's one of those guys, like I told the coaching staff, you have to let him just go a little bit."
With Conerway, freedom has its advantages.
"A lot of times you open up the stat sheet after practice," DeVries says, "and it will be six assists/one turnover-type stuff. It's impressive that he's able to do it the way he does and not turn the ball over.
"I think sometimes he's almost bored with the simple play. He likes a little razzle dazzle. It's letting him be a playmaker with the way he knows how to play make.
"He's talented at both ends of the floor. He's really gifted."
Conerway is part of an impressive backcourt that includes 6-6 Lamar Wilkerson, who averaged 15.7 points in Puerto Rico. Their strong connection started in 2023, when Conerway's Troy team played Wilkerson's Sam Houston State team. Wilkerson sparked a Sam Houston comeback victory.
Then, last spring, with both in the transfer portal, Wilkerson went to Dallas to train. Conerway lived in Dallas and was training there. They both committed to IU, and their agents got them together – they worked with the same trainer.
Wilkerson calls their connection like peanut butter and jelly.
"He's like me," Conerway says, "but he's my opposite. He has what I'm missing. I have what he's missing. We even each other out. It's been a good setup."
Conerway and Wilkerson are two of 15 new players as DeVries has built an entirely new roster in his coaching image, which means aggressive defense, fast offense and plenty of perimeter firepower.
IU showed no 3-point shooting reluctance in three Puerto Rico games (87 shots beyond the arc), and if it didn't deliver high-end accuracy (29.9%), what you do in August matters far less than in, say, March.
Guard Connor Enright believes in the Hoosiers' long-range shooting potential.
"I love that we can shoot," he says. "We have a lot of unselfish guys who can shoot, who can play fast."
IU displayed that and more in Puerto Rico by twice rallying from huge deficits to beat Mega Superbet, a Serbian professional team, after dominating Central University of Bayamon 98-47.
"We're going to be a tough, hard-playing team," Enright says. "We're going to work hard. We have enough guys that we can have that tough, hard-nosed identity."
That identity will be on public display with the debut of Hoosier Hoops on Kirkwood set for Oct. 2 and a Cream 'n Crimson scrimmage the next night at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
Having an early chance to play in that Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall atmosphere has the players pumped.
"I'm very excited," Enright says. "The fans are awesome. The students are awesome. I'm hyped to play there in front of a full crowd. We're ready to get going."
Players Mentioned
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