Indiana University Athletics
No Robot – Maturing Moody Ready for Hoosier Fun
6/30/2026 12:30:00 PM | Men's Basketball
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana basketball action crackles at Cook Hall, and Prince-Alexander Moody is all in. He's a 6-foot-4, 185-pound heralded freshman combo guard hoping to earn veteran minutes when the season arrives, but for now, he's finding his place in Darian DeVries's free-flowing system.
At this recent practice moment, Moody has the ball near the top of the key, seeking inside passing opportunity. An open teammate awaits on the perimeter, but a small window emerges under the basket and Moody goes for it. The decision backfires when his pass is deflected into a turnover. He instantly owns up to the mistake. Veteran point guard Markus Burton slides over with guidance.
Welcome to the freshman learning curve.
"It's been tough," Moody says from the Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall men's locker room. "It's been a journey. I've gotten better each day. I just can't get down on myself about the mistakes that I make. That's the biggest part of maturing at the college level. As long as I keep maturing every day and getting better, I'll be fine."
Player mentorship has been invaluable, Moody adds, with Burton as the catalyst.
"I've followed him since I came here," Moody says. "At the end of the day, he's going to help me get better. He's right next to me, in my ear when I make a mistake, telling me to keep going, that I'm going to make mistakes. He's been there every step of the way."
Burton took plenty of steps -- and missteps -- during his three-year Notre Dame run, and now that he's a Hoosier, he's eager to share what he's learned with Moody.
"I've been playing with him for weeks now," Burton says. "I know what he can do. The coaching staff and our teammates know what he can do. He's a very confident player and a great player. He's also a great guy."
Burton's main advice, Moody says, is that, "'We're going to need you to play. You have to be prepared. If you make mistakes, get over them.'
"If I'm out there in front of thousands of people and make a mistake, I can't put my head down. That won't look good. I have to get acclimated now. Get used to it. Keep going and have fun with it."
Moody arrives as a four-star prospect out of Maryland's Bishop McNamara High School who also thrived on the travel circuit. In April, he scored a record 55 points in the NorthEast Classic, one of the East Coast's top travel ball events.
As far as how his game will fit the college game, Moody says, "everything translates well, especially my playmaking skills, my shooting and being confident in my play.
"I was doing everything in high school, even rebounding. I won't rebound that much now because we have (7-foot-2 Samet Yigitoglu and 6-foot-11 Aiden Sherrell). We have (6-foot-6) Jaeden Mustaf crashing the boards all the time.
"I'm used to crashing. I have to get in the habit of getting back on defense every time."
IU has to replace its top seven scorers from last year's roster. Moody is one of the freshmen hoping to help.
That talent will be publicly displayed during the July 15 exhibition against Canada's Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall as a tuneup for International University Sports Federation America Games in Peru beginning in late July.
Moody says DeVries message to him is clear -- "Just play. Don't be a robot. Be unselfish."
Moody is happy to accommodate.
"I'm always making one more pass," he says. "My role is to facilitate. I'm a point guard. If that's what they want me to do, that's what I'm going to do. Either Markus will get the ball or I'll get the ball. We'll alternate. More than likely, we'll be scoring."
Moody thrives with speed, athleticism and passion.
"I'm an outgoing person," he says. "I smile. I bring it on the court. The more I have fun with it, the better I am as a person and a player."
Prospects for a key role this season, Moody adds, start with "getting stronger."
"Mentally, I've got to get stronger. Physically, I've got to get stronger. I think that's going to be the main part because basketball is 95 percent mental. At the end of the day, mentally, if I'm ready, then I think I'll be on the court."
Significant playing time also requires that Moody "understands what the coaches want me to do and what I need to do."
"I have to have confidence in myself and play freely. The coaches allow me to do that.
"At the end of the day, I need some wisdom and some pointers on how to do something, how to fight through a ball screen, how to fight through a handoff. It's all different here so it's the habits I have to create."
Specifically, he adds, "I have pick up 94 feet, distribute, just do what I need to do for us to win games. If I have to score, I have to score. If I have to pass, I have to make it one more.
"If I have to pick up 94 feet the whole game and not shoot a jump shot the whole game, I won't shoot. Whatever they want me to do, that's what I'm going to do."
Moody received more than 20 major college offers, so why did he choose the Hoosiers?
"The culture," he says. "The culture, the fans, everything about it. I fell in love as soon as I got here. It was the peace. I came to peace with IU and this is the best I've probably been as a person since I became a basketball player."
Moody's enthusiasm includes embracing the Indiana fanbase on social media.
"Fans love it when you talk to them. I want to make everybody feel a part of me, like they're part of the team. At the end of the day, we're all one big happy family."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana basketball action crackles at Cook Hall, and Prince-Alexander Moody is all in. He's a 6-foot-4, 185-pound heralded freshman combo guard hoping to earn veteran minutes when the season arrives, but for now, he's finding his place in Darian DeVries's free-flowing system.
At this recent practice moment, Moody has the ball near the top of the key, seeking inside passing opportunity. An open teammate awaits on the perimeter, but a small window emerges under the basket and Moody goes for it. The decision backfires when his pass is deflected into a turnover. He instantly owns up to the mistake. Veteran point guard Markus Burton slides over with guidance.
Welcome to the freshman learning curve.
"It's been tough," Moody says from the Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall men's locker room. "It's been a journey. I've gotten better each day. I just can't get down on myself about the mistakes that I make. That's the biggest part of maturing at the college level. As long as I keep maturing every day and getting better, I'll be fine."
Player mentorship has been invaluable, Moody adds, with Burton as the catalyst.
"I've followed him since I came here," Moody says. "At the end of the day, he's going to help me get better. He's right next to me, in my ear when I make a mistake, telling me to keep going, that I'm going to make mistakes. He's been there every step of the way."
Burton took plenty of steps -- and missteps -- during his three-year Notre Dame run, and now that he's a Hoosier, he's eager to share what he's learned with Moody.
"I've been playing with him for weeks now," Burton says. "I know what he can do. The coaching staff and our teammates know what he can do. He's a very confident player and a great player. He's also a great guy."
Burton's main advice, Moody says, is that, "'We're going to need you to play. You have to be prepared. If you make mistakes, get over them.'
"If I'm out there in front of thousands of people and make a mistake, I can't put my head down. That won't look good. I have to get acclimated now. Get used to it. Keep going and have fun with it."
Moody arrives as a four-star prospect out of Maryland's Bishop McNamara High School who also thrived on the travel circuit. In April, he scored a record 55 points in the NorthEast Classic, one of the East Coast's top travel ball events.
As far as how his game will fit the college game, Moody says, "everything translates well, especially my playmaking skills, my shooting and being confident in my play.
"I was doing everything in high school, even rebounding. I won't rebound that much now because we have (7-foot-2 Samet Yigitoglu and 6-foot-11 Aiden Sherrell). We have (6-foot-6) Jaeden Mustaf crashing the boards all the time.
"I'm used to crashing. I have to get in the habit of getting back on defense every time."
IU has to replace its top seven scorers from last year's roster. Moody is one of the freshmen hoping to help.
That talent will be publicly displayed during the July 15 exhibition against Canada's Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall as a tuneup for International University Sports Federation America Games in Peru beginning in late July.
Moody says DeVries message to him is clear -- "Just play. Don't be a robot. Be unselfish."
Moody is happy to accommodate.
"I'm always making one more pass," he says. "My role is to facilitate. I'm a point guard. If that's what they want me to do, that's what I'm going to do. Either Markus will get the ball or I'll get the ball. We'll alternate. More than likely, we'll be scoring."
Moody thrives with speed, athleticism and passion.
"I'm an outgoing person," he says. "I smile. I bring it on the court. The more I have fun with it, the better I am as a person and a player."
Prospects for a key role this season, Moody adds, start with "getting stronger."
"Mentally, I've got to get stronger. Physically, I've got to get stronger. I think that's going to be the main part because basketball is 95 percent mental. At the end of the day, mentally, if I'm ready, then I think I'll be on the court."
Significant playing time also requires that Moody "understands what the coaches want me to do and what I need to do."
"I have to have confidence in myself and play freely. The coaches allow me to do that.
"At the end of the day, I need some wisdom and some pointers on how to do something, how to fight through a ball screen, how to fight through a handoff. It's all different here so it's the habits I have to create."
Specifically, he adds, "I have pick up 94 feet, distribute, just do what I need to do for us to win games. If I have to score, I have to score. If I have to pass, I have to make it one more.
"If I have to pick up 94 feet the whole game and not shoot a jump shot the whole game, I won't shoot. Whatever they want me to do, that's what I'm going to do."
Moody received more than 20 major college offers, so why did he choose the Hoosiers?
"The culture," he says. "The culture, the fans, everything about it. I fell in love as soon as I got here. It was the peace. I came to peace with IU and this is the best I've probably been as a person since I became a basketball player."
Moody's enthusiasm includes embracing the Indiana fanbase on social media.
"Fans love it when you talk to them. I want to make everybody feel a part of me, like they're part of the team. At the end of the day, we're all one big happy family."
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