Indiana’s frontcourt just got a lot more interesting.
After spending the offseason rebuilding almost the entire roster, Darian DeVries and his staff had kept one scholarship open on purpose, and that patience finally paid off Sunday when Sam Alexis announced he’s coming back to Indiana. The move comes only days after a Colorado preliminary injunction granted an extra year of eligibility for all Class of 2022 high school graduates, though that ruling is still awaiting formal approval.
DeVries had already hinted the Hoosiers were holding that spot back deliberately. “We still have one spot available… we were pretty intentional in leaving that open,” he said last Tuesday after Indiana’s trip to Peru.
The timing matters because Indiana was already shaping up to be loaded on the perimeter. The backcourt and wings have been rebuilt into a strength, giving DeVries far more options than he had last season. The concern was the other end of the roster, where the frontcourt looked thinner and more uncertain.
That’s where Alexis changes the equation.
Indiana had projected Aiden Sherrell and Samet Yigitoglu as the starting bigs, with Trent Sisley as the reserve forward and international recruit Clemens Sokolov widely viewed as the backup center. Sisley is a known commodity, but Sokolov is still an unknown. Sherrell can slide to the five, but adding a dependable bench presence in the frontcourt was the kind of move Indiana needed.
Now it has that - and maybe more than that.
Alexis played in the FISU America Games in late July with Indiana, and there’s even an argument that he could push for a starting role. At the very least, he gives the Hoosiers a major boost in depth.
His game is built on jump-out-of-the-gym athleticism and a relentless motor, and he brings the kind of energy that can lift an entire group. He’s the type of player who sets a tone and forces everyone around him to keep up.
Last season, Alexis averaged 8.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.2 blocks. He also shot a Big Ten-best 70.9 percent on two-pointers. Pairing that efficiency with Sherrell and Yigitoglu gives Indiana a frontcourt that looks both talented and deep.
That wasn’t the case a year ago. It should be now.
DeVries won’t be short on options in 2026-27, but the challenge shifts to figuring out how to use them. The way he sorts out the minutes in the frontcourt could wind up being one of the biggest factors in how high Indiana can climb.
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