Marcus Burton and Bryce Lindsay Complement Each Other Beautifully

In Indiana basketball’s exhibition win over North Carolina, starting point guard Marcus Burton picked up two fouls in under two minutes of play. This led head coach Darian DeVries to go to the bench, where he brought in Villanovava transfer Bryce Lindsay. Lindsay would then be the player of the game, exploding for 26 points in 28 minutes of playing time.

Lindsay is more than just a bench player and is one of the strengths that DeVries has in his second year at Indiana. Lindsay is a capable starter off the bench for IU, who sits on the bench so that he can complement Notre Dame transfer Burton.

Burton had an off game this time around, but he will have his games as well. He has been a capable scorer his entire college career, playing in the ACC. Now at Indiana, he doesn’t need to put up 20 points every night, and it is in large part due to his backup. DeVries is bringing Lindsay off the bench so that IU will have one of them on the court at all times.

“The decision to bring Bryce (Lindsay) off the bench was just to get a little better rotation from that standpoint,” DeVries said.

These players don’t just stagger minutes, but as players, they each give Indiana a different offensive play style.

“They’re both different, and how they bring kind of what they do well to the offensive end,” DeVries said. “Especially, Marcus (Burton) is more of a downhill guy. Bryce (Lindsay) kind of comes off and probes maybe a little bit more; a lot of guys maybe they’re not great at off-the-dribble threes or little pitch backs, and he’s really good at those, and then he surveys things really well too”.

Lindsay is the better shooter and is elite at firing shots off of screens. He brings a similar skill set as Lamar Wilkerson had last season for Indiana. Burton is better at getting downhill and finding his spots in the paint or the mid-range game. The players bring different styles to Indiana’s offense, but they will also be able to play off of each other very well.

Lindsay is extremely comfortable being an off-the-ball guard, as he was for most of his career at Villanova. Burton is very good at finding the open shooters, and Lindsay is elite at knocking down jumpers. So even though Lindsay comes off the bench, he can still play with Burton.

“Those two together… they play really well together,” DeVries said. “So they’re a great one-two punch. Whether they’re in together or just to be able to bring one in for the other one. So it’s a nice luxury to have”.

They complement one another, but they also allow themselves to be well rested. At least to start the year, DeVries will keep Lindsay off the bench, but DeVries can change this if he thinks it is a necessary change. The depth that this Indiana roster has is evident, and these two players are just an example of the vast depth that the Hoosiers roll into the season with.