Indiana fans got an early glimpse of what Darian DeVries’ 2026-27 group might look like Wednesday, and the first impression was pretty clear: this team has more size, more length and a lot more room to grow.
Representing Team USA in an exhibition tune-up against Canada at the FISU America Games, the Hoosiers rolled to a 98-64 win. It’s still July, and nobody is handing out trophies for exhibition basketball, but there was enough in this one to start connecting a few dots.
The biggest visual difference was the front line. Aiden Sherrell and Samet Yigitoglu gave Indiana a much bigger presence around the rim than it had last season.
Sherrell finished with three blocks and six rebounds, while Yigitoglu added six points and five rebounds in 21:48. Yigitoglu will not play for Team USA in the FISU America Games that count.
Price-Alexander Moody, a true freshman, was one of the most eye-catching players on the floor. He drew loud reactions from the crowd with his work on defense, where he disrupted set plays and forced turnovers throughout the first half.
Moody came away with five steals, three rebounds and three assists, and he scored 13 points on 5-11 shooting. He also went 3-7 from beyond the arc.
The shooting from deep was another story. Team USA launched 40 threes and made only 11 of them, a chilly 27.5 percent.
Moody and Darren Harris each hit 3-of-7 from long range, Sherrell knocked down 2-of-5, Bryce Lindsay went 1-of-6 and Trevor Manhertz finished 2-of-7. DeVries’ offense is built to hum when the three-point shot is falling, so the overall number wasn’t pretty.
Even so, Sherrell showing some range while the team played with two bigs was a useful sign.
The first few minutes looked exactly like what you’d expect from a roster made up of transfers and freshmen: a little disjointed, a little noisy, and not nearly in sync yet. Canada jumped out early as communication issues led to easy baskets. As the game settled in, though, the defense tightened up, and Sherrell’s presence in the paint helped clean up a lot of the mess.
DeVries also used the game to experiment with his rotations. Team USA opened with what should be IU’s starting five in the fall: Darren Harris, Bryce Lindsay, Markus Burton, Aiden Sherrell and Samet Yigitoglu.
Each of them logged between 21 and 25 minutes. Sisley slid in for Samet several times off the bench, and all three true freshmen shared the floor with the starters and held their own.
For a team that should look very different from last season’s group, the depth stood out as much as anything. That alone could end up being one of the biggest upgrades from a roster that ran out of gas.
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