Darian DeVries on Indiana basketball rivalry with Purdue
It clearly has been a point of emphasis for Darian DeVries that the Purdue rivalry matters for Hoosiers fans. Here’s what he said.
- Indiana basketball coach Darian DeVries spoke on the four players injured and their status.
- The Hoosiers have not had Nick Dorn, Jason Drake, Josh Harris and Aleksa Ristic healthy.
- The season begins Nov. 5 against Alabama A&M at Assembly Hall.
ROSEMONT, Ill. — Indiana basketball coach Darian DeVries admitted for the first time at Big Ten media day Thursday that he won’t have a fully healthy roster for the team’s season opener against Alabama A&M.
The Hoosiers currently have four players working their way back from lower body injuries — Nick Dorn, Jason Drake, Josh Harris and Aleksa Ristic — and Dorn is the only one close to being fully cleared.
“We’re hoping to get him into some more full practice stuff this upcoming week,” DeVries said. “It’s still going to take him a little while, he’s been out a long time, to get back him into game shape, get him into the drills and things at full speed.”
He dealt with a Jones fracture (a broken bone on the outside of the foot) last season at Elon that required an additional procedure after he arrived in Bloomington.
The rest of the group is further behind.
“I think most of the guys will be getting back closer, not right at the start, maybe by December-type of timeline,” DeVries said.
The injuries have limited DeVries ability to practice 5-on-5, as highlighted by the recent Cream and Crimson scrimmage at Assembly Hall last week. DeVries had to cut the open practice short when North Florida transfer guard Jasai Miles suffered cramps.
Miles’ departure left IU with just one available sub.
“We’ve been a little more careful with how much up and down we do every day,” DeVries said. “A little more drill work, you are more into 3-on-3 type stuff, we don’t typically spend an overly long time. We aren’t out there for three hours, we are usually around that 90 minute-mark. We haven’t had to adjust how long we are out there, just maybe how much life stuff we are doing as 5-on-5 segments.”
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