Indiana’s path back to the NCAA Tournament starts with the transfer haul Darian DeVries pieced together, and two names sit at the center of that push: Markus Burton and Aiden Sherrell.
The Hoosiers are entering Year 2 of the DeVries era after a rough debut season that ended at 18-14 overall and 9-11 in Big Ten play, with a late fade keeping them out of the NCAA Tournament. This offseason, DeVries reworked the roster with a transfer group that On3 ranked as the No. 5 portal class in the country. If Indiana does enough to get back into the field, Burton and Sherrell are the players most likely to drive it.
Burton arrives as the kind of backcourt scorer Indiana badly needs. A 6-foot, 190-pound point guard from Mishawaka, Indiana, he came to Bloomington after three productive seasons at Notre Dame and was ranked by 247Sports as the No. 22 overall player and No. 7 point guard in the portal when he committed. His first high school offer was from Drake, where DeVries was the coach at the time.
At Notre Dame, Burton established himself as one of the ACC’s best scorers right away. As a freshman in 2023-24, he led all ACC rookies with 17.5 points per game and earned ACC Rookie of the Year honors. He took another jump as a sophomore, averaging 21.3 points per game to lead the entire conference while shooting 44.2% from the field and 37.5% from three-point range.
His junior season was interrupted after 10 games by an ankle injury, but he was still producing at a high level before the setback. In those 10 games, Burton averaged 18.5 points, 2.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists while shooting 48.9% from the floor. Now he’s positioned to be Indiana’s top point guard and to help fill the scoring gap left by Lamar Wilkerson.
Sherrell is the other major addition, and maybe the most important one for what he changes inside. The Alabama transfer stands 6-11 and weighs 255 pounds, and 247Sports rated him the No. 11 overall player and No. 5 power forward in the portal when he committed to Indiana on April 15.
He played in all 34 games for the Crimson Tide last season and averaged 11.1 points and 6.8 rebounds while shooting 53.9% from the field. He also brought real shot-blocking production, finishing second in the SEC with 2.2 blocks per game. That kind of rim protection was missing for Indiana last season, when the Hoosiers ranked 13th in the Big Ten with 2.7 blocks per game.
Sherrell’s value goes beyond just numbers. He gives Indiana size and athleticism in the frontcourt, and his game should mesh well with Samer Yigitoglu, the 7-2 transfer center from SMU. Together, Sherrell and Yigitoglu could become a dangerous frontcourt combination for IU in 2026-27.
In Other News...
Indiana Fans Have One Big Week 9 Concern As Playoff Push Continues
Indianas playoff push has been helped by one of the quieter themes of the season: the Hoosiers have stayed relatively healthy under Curt Cignetti, and that stability has given the roster a chance to settle in as the schedule has tightened. Even now, the Week 9 Big Ten injury report does not present a long list of concerns, with receiver Davion Chandler and defensive lineman Kellan Wyatt ruled out, while defensive back Quan Sanks is listed as questionable.
Josh Hoover is the name Hoosier fans are watching most closely, though, after he played through an injury in last weeks loss to Michigan and struggled to find his usual rhythm. He is expected to be available against Minnesota, which matters plenty for a team trying to keep its momentum intact, but the bigger question is whether he can look like himself as Indiana tries to keep its postseason path on track. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio States Sudden QB Problem Could Matter To Indiana Fans
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For Indiana fans, the ripple effect is obvious enough. A quarterback change in Columbus can alter the feel of the game for the Big Ten race, even if ESPNs College Football Power Index still sees Ohio State as a 13.4-point favorite. Whether the Buckeyes can lean on their defense and whether the next man up settles in quickly will go a long way toward determining how much this matchup shifts the leagues landscape. [Read more 🡒]
Indiana Fans Just Got Another Reason To Believe In Aiden Sherrell
Aiden Sherrells move to Indiana already gave Hoosier fans a reason to track his next step, and now he has landed on the preseason watchlist for the 2027 Karl Malone Award. The honor goes to the top power forward in Division I mens basketball, so being included among the 20 candidates before the season even starts is a decent early sign of the respect he brings with him from Alabama, where he put together a notable college career and broke out as a sophomore.
The watchlist is just the first stage in a process that will tighten as the season unfolds, with the selection committee trimming the field along the way. Fans will get their turn soon enough, too, since voting opens on October 30, giving Indiana supporters another chance to put Sherrell on the radar as he begins his run in Bloomington. [Read more 🡒]