When Indiana needed someone to step up, Lamar Wilkerson didn’t just answer the call-he took over the game. Twice.
Back-to-back overtime wins against UCLA and Wisconsin don’t happen without Wilkerson’s fingerprints all over them. With Indiana short on point guard options in the extra frames, Wilkerson became the de facto floor general and go-to scorer.
And he didn’t flinch. At UCLA, he was the engine that kept the Hoosiers moving.
Against Wisconsin, he was the closer-drawing fouls late in regulation and again in overtime to force a tie, then seal the win.
In crunch time, head coach Darian DeVries has made it clear: the ball belongs in Wilkerson’s hands. And so far, that trust has paid off in a big way.
After Indiana’s gritty win over Wisconsin, DeVries didn’t hold back in his praise for the senior guard.
“He’s an elite player,” DeVries said. “He’s one of those guys that people aren’t talking about enough because he’s going to play in that league for a long, long time.
He has all the things you need-the intangibles. And he’s got that one skill everybody wants-he can flat-out score.”
Wilkerson’s numbers back it up. He’s leading Indiana in scoring with 20.2 points per game and shooting a sharp 39.1% from deep.
That kind of efficiency from beyond the arc, paired with his ability to create and draw contact late in games, makes him a matchup nightmare. In the Big Ten, only Northwestern’s Nick Martinelli is putting up more points per game right now.
But it’s not just about the stats. Wilkerson has shown he can carry the load when it matters most. In hostile environments, in overtime, when the game slows down and every possession feels like a playoff moment-he’s been the guy.
Indiana’s recent surge has a lot of contributors, but make no mistake: Lamar Wilkerson is the one driving the bus. And if he keeps this up, the NBA chatter won’t just be coming from his head coach-it’ll be coming from front offices across the league.