BLOOMINGTON - Indiana’s summer work has started to reveal a few clear themes, and Tuesday morning’s two-hour practice in Cook Hall offered another look at how this roster is taking shape.
The most obvious takeaway was the first extended look at Villanova transfer guard Bryce Lindsay. He fits the same mold as Darren Harris in one key way: the shot is clean, quick and stripped down to the essentials.
There’s no extra movement in it. Lindsay has already shown he can do damage from deep, having hit 38.2% of his threes on 432 attempts over the past two seasons, and he continued to knock down shots in 5-on-5 action well beyond the arc.
His range looks like it comes with the kind of freedom Lamar Wilkerson had a year ago.
That kind of shooting changes the floor for Indiana. Put Harris and Lindsay on opposite sides and the defense has to account for both, which opens driving lanes and creates more room for the bigs.
The fit is easy to picture. The challenge is what happens on the other end, where Lindsay is still absorbing the program’s defensive language - positioning, switches, communication and the rest.
That should be worth watching once Indiana gets to the Peru trip later this month.
The Hoosiers could also end up playing smaller than usual against high-major opponents if Markus Burton and Lindsay are on the floor together. IU lists them at 6-foot and 6-foot-3, though that feels generous.
If Darren Harris is the small forward in that mix, the lineup stays undersized. Jaeden Mustaf and Trent Sisley give Indiana more size on the wing when it needs it, and with 6-foot-11 Aiden Sherrell and 7-foot-2 Samet Yigitoglu inside, the staff may be comfortable getting quicker elsewhere.
Burton, meanwhile, kept showing why he’s such a central piece of this team. In a halfcourt 5-on-5 with all scholarship players on the floor, he repeatedly got into the paint and forced the defense to collapse.
A lot of those possessions ended with assists. That stood out because Burton has built his reputation as a scorer, but his ability to lower his shoulder and get by his man in one step is the kind of weapon that bends everything around him.
He was in the paint before the defense could sort itself out, and the breakdowns kept coming.
He also looks more settled in the system and more comfortable as a leader. His voice carries more now than it did in mid-June, and his confidence shows up in little moments too. Even in a down-and-back sprint, he wanted to win.
Another player trending up on offense is Trent Sisley. He’s making shots at a better rate, and his scoring package has more layers to it.
Defense will matter a lot for him, especially his ability to guard at multiple levels, and that will probably help determine how much he plays this season. But he’s clearly in position to help.
Prince-Alexander Moody continues to look nothing like a freshman. He’s confident, vocal, skilled and not bothered by the physical side of the game.
When some players were held out for minor bumps and bruises, he moved into the top five. He should get a real opportunity in year one.
Yigitoglu also left a strong impression. For his size, he moves reasonably well away from the basket on defense.
He’s not going to stay attached to guards for long stretches, but his length lets him bother plays in short bursts without giving up too much. Offensively, his passing stands out, and his height gives him a clear advantage in seeing the floor.
The most workable read on the rotation right now looks like Sherrell, Yigitoglu, Darren Harris, Lindsay, Burton, Jaeden Mustaf, Sisley and Moody. That could still shift, and the July 15 scrimmage at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall should clarify things further.
What is already clear is that Indiana’s depth looks better than it did a year ago. There are 11 scholarship players available, plus quick guard Justin Monden and walk-ons like Ben Winker and Drew Snively, which has made the practices more competitive and more useful. The 5-on-5 work has been lively, and the top rotation players are getting something out of it.
Freshman center Clemens Sokolov from Germany is still not with the team, though he’s expected soon. He and Yigitoglu will not be allowed to play in Peru because of international rules.
Indiana has also made it through the first five to six weeks of summer without major injury issues. Nobody is shut down completely, just the usual minor stuff that comes with this time of year.
The Hoosiers have a public exhibition at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on July 15 before heading to Peru later this month for the FISU Americas Games. Indiana still does not have its game schedule for Peru, but that information is expected soon.
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