The Darian DeVries era unofficially got underway at Assembly Hall on Friday, as Indiana took on the Marian Knights in an exhibition game. While all eyes were on the coach, it was his son, Indiana forward Tucker DeVries, who stole the show.
From the opening tip DeVries played like a man possessed. The West Virginia transfer had racked up 5 points in the blink of an eye. He was slicing through the Marian defense and quickly splashed a three from deep. As the aggressive Indiana defense stymied the Knights’ offense, DeVries seemed to always be open in transition to attack the basket and come away with points.
Five minutes into the half, DeVries had accounted for all 9 of Indiana’s points, establishing himself as IU’s go-to offensive weapon. This explosion of offense quickly forced Marian to focus their attention on defending DeVries, allowing Tucker to transition to facilitator; his 6 assists helped players like Trent Sisley keep the offense rolling. Ultimately, DeVries ended with 23 points, 6 assists, and 5 rebounds, going 5 of 7 from behind the arc.
When asked about his son’s performance after the game, Coach DeVries said, “I thought he did a good job kind of just playing. And that’s what I think he has — one of his better qualities, I think, is just his feel and his IQ and his ability to kind of play off defenses.We rely on a lot with some of his play making as well, coming off of ball screens and things. And also being able to utilize him on the move. I thought he had a nice, solid floor game tonight.”
Whether as a scorer or a facilitator, DeVries made his impact felt on the game on the offensive side of the floor. But what won’t show up in the box score was how he took control of the IU offense. Indiana forward Sam Alexis touched on this postgame, saying, “It’s great to have a guy like Tucker. He’s been playing in this offense for a long time. He’s the guy — he’s a great leader on and off the court.”
As a senior who is extremely familiar with his dad’s scheme, it will be up to Tucker to become a vocal leader, guiding a team of all-new faces through the offense. Speaking about Tucker’s leadership postgame, Coach DeVries said, “He’s always been a really good leader. As he’s gotten older, he’s become more vocal with it as well. For this group, especially when everybody’s new, and he’s the one guy that understands everything we’re running, whether it’s drills or plays or whatever. So [I] really challenged him to kind of be that guy because he’s got to be the one who tells people [where to be]. His vocal leadership has really gotten stronger and stronger over the years.
Tucker DeVries showcased both his talent as an offensive playmaker and vocal leader on the team Friday, helping lead the Hoosiers to a 107-46 win. While this may have just been an exhibition game against a lesser opponent, it is a good sign of things to come.