When Indiana hired Darian DeVries to coach the team, it also made a significant addition to the roster.
His son.
Tucker DeVries showed his considerable ability Sunday with 24 of his 27 points in the first half of the team’s 100-77 rout of Marquette in Chicago. He and the Hoosiers will aim for an encore Wednesday night when they host Milwaukee in Bloomington.
Redshirt senior Tucker DeVries made his Indiana debut on Nov. 5 by scoring his 2,000th career point in a 98-51 rout of outmatched Alabama A&M. The former two-time Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year while at Drake showed why he won the award named for Larry Bird by canning 6 of 9 3-pointers against Marquette.
“When the ball is going in like that, it makes you more confident and aggressive,” said Tucker DeVries, who was limited to eight games last season at West Virginia due to a shoulder injury. “You stay in the moment and play within the offense.”
The way Darian DeVries puts it?
“I think they prioritize winning,” he said. “None of them really care who gets the credit. They’re just a really unselfish group. What leads to some of the scoring opportunities we get is the guys really understand the game.”
There are still improvements to be made. One is playing better defense. The Hoosiers (2-0) fouled 25 times against Marquette, leading to 33 free throws.
They’ll try to make those adjustments against another opponent from the Badger State. Milwaukee (2-1) is coming off a 92-72 win on Monday over visiting Little Rock. The Panthers got 25 points and six 3-pointers from Fresno State transfer Amar Augillard, plus 18 from Toledo transfer Seth Hubbard.
Coach Bart Lundy has also been pleased with the play of freshman guards Stevie Elam, who is averaging 10.3 points per game and had 16 in the season-opening victory over Hampton, and Josh Dixon. The latter scored 11 in just 18 minutes as a reserve in the 86-76 loss at Wofford.
“They’re talented guys,” Lundy said. “They’re going to have to carry more weight than we anticipated.”
This will be the first meeting of these programs.
