Indiana may be one of the most decorated programs in college basketball history, but a brand name no longer has the recruiting pull it used to. In the past, the Hoosiers had a foolproof sell: it\u2019s Indiana<\/em>. Nowadays, in the NIL era, the playing field has been leveled.\u00a0<\/p>\n To win in the transfer portal and recruiting as a whole, a program like Indiana needs a premier recruiter \u2013 and it has one in Darian DeVries. <\/p>\n Heading into his second season as the Hoosiers head man, DeVries is on an absolute heater, as he just landed his sixth transfer (Villanova guard Bryce Lindsay) on Wednesday night.\u00a0<\/p>\n With the addition of Lindsay, the Hoosiers have arguably the No. 1 transfer class in the nation and certainly one of the top three. Here are three takeaways from Indiana\u2019s offseason thus far:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n On one hand, the expectations are high in Bloomington \u2013 especially after the turnaround Curt Cignetti engineered in just two quick years on the gridiron. And an NCAA Tournament appearance isn\u2019t exactly the Herculean task a College Football Playoff berth, let alone a national title, is.\u00a0<\/p>\n Then again, DeVries didn\u2019t have much time to craft his 2025-26 roster, and the end result wound up being less-than ideal from a talent perspective. All things considered, DeVries didn\u2019t do a poor job given the roster he had. But it was also his<\/em> roster.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Coaching is a balance of roster-building, X\u2019s and O\u2019s and culture. It\u2019s up to DeVries to tailor a roster fit to his coaching strengths. Here in the 2026 offseason, he\u2019s sent a message: recruiting will not<\/em> be a problem. As a result, talent won\u2019t be a weakness \u2013 it\u2019ll be a strength.\u00a0<\/p>\n The question now: can DeVries take advantage of an uber-skilled crew? Can he mesh the pieces and, ideally, create a product better than the sum of its parts? If the 2025-26 season was any sign, the answer is yes \u2013 which means a Big Dance appearance should be the bare minimum next year.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The Hoosiers are going to have a loaded guard rotation, and DeVries has a variety of options in terms of a starting backcourt. <\/p>\n Markus Burton<\/a> is a surefire starter at lead guard, but then DeVries can choose between Bryce Lindsay<\/a> and Jaeden Mustaf<\/a> at the two, or, potentially, he could run both together at shooting guard and small forward.<\/p>\n What about Duke transfer Darren Harris<\/a>, though? He\u2019s more of a wing, but it\u2019s not exactly clear how he\u2019ll fit in the fold. And incoming combo guard Prince-Alexander Moody can also compete for minutes.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Fortunately, DeVries can\u2019t exactly go wrong. A Burton-Lindsay starting backcourt would be undersized but loaded, chock-full of shooting and playmaking, while a Burton-Mustaf combo would be a slashing nightmare for opponents, strong defensively and tough on the boards.\u00a0<\/p>\n And if Moody shocks the college hoops world and manages to sneak in over both Lindsay and Mustaf, that means the Hoosiers have a bona fide star on their hands.\u00a0<\/p>\n With the addition of Lindsay, the Hoosiers have arguably the No. 1 transfer class in the nation and certainly one of the top three. Here are three takeaways from Indiana\u2019s offseason thus far.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Indiana could have been a lot<\/em> better on the boards a year ago. The Hoosiers were No. 296 in offensive rebounding rate and No. 122 in defensive rebounding rate, per Bart Torvik. As a squad, Indiana was often undersized \u2013 and sometimes by a huge margin. Naturally, the glass suffered, affecting both sides of the floor.\u00a0<\/p>\n In 2026-27, the Hoosiers should flip the script in that department. With incoming big men Aiden Sherrell<\/a> (Alabama) and Samet Yigitoglu (SMU) combining for 14.1 total rebounds per outing despite neither playing more than 30 minutes per game in this past campaign, Indiana should have a dominant glass-cleaning unit in the frontcourt in 2026-27. <\/p>\nIndiana won\u2019t have a talent problem in 2026-27<\/h2>\n
How will the backcourt depth chart shake out?<\/h2>\n
The Hoosiers should be much<\/em> better on the glass<\/h2>\n
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