Energy and enthusiasm -- Indiana's identity starting to form: 'That's the thing we've hung our hat on this summer'

Indiana came into the offseason with one goal — establish an identity. Now as summer workouts wrap up and the team flips the page to its foreign trip to Puerto Rico in August, ‘energy’ seems to be the buzzword circulating around the team and on the floor.

“We put a huge emphasis on that (energy),” Indiana head coach Darian DeVries said on Wednesday. “I think creating that type of talk and energy on a daily basis leads to productivity on the floor, too. And then the pace that we practice, we try to really kind of simulate how we want to play out on the game day floor. So everything we do, there’s not a lot of downtime, not a lot of extra talking. We want to play fast, play aggressive and keep things moving.”

From hustling in between drills or from station to station during drills, the energy, enthusiasm and communication was on full display — not just from the coaches, but the players, too.

Indiana brings in 13 new players — 11 of whom have not played together before. With Conor Enright and Tucker DeVries the only two players to know tendencies and have prior chemistry, the importance of continued energy and communication has been a point of emphasis during the last two months.

The palpable buzz is also on display by numerous players who arrived in Bloomington heading into their final year of college eligibility. Knowing this is the last ride for many players, the sense of urgency is evident.

“I come out here and I’m always energetic, man,” IU guard Lamar Wilkerson said. “I’m always trying to make the next one laugh, you know, because once you come through them doors, you leave everything out on the outside world there. This right here, this should be fun at all times.”

“Just being funny, I guess, goofy, having energy, just never down,” Indiana center Sam Alexis added. “Never bring bad energy. I’m always going to travel, so just always having good energy.”

And it’s noticed by everyone in the gym.

“We just think that from June all the way until the end of the season, it’s a long year. We think you’ve got to approach it every day with some energy and enthusiasm. And that allows guys — guys are going to get tired — it allows other guys to pick you up on those days,” DeVries said. “I think this group has been great. We’re two months into it, but they’ve been terrific in terms of their approach every day. They come with a smile on their face. They bring great energy.

“What you saw today has been every day these last couple of months. They come with that type of energy, enthusiasm. Their voices are heard. We want a loud gym. And that’s something I think they’ve done a great job of responding to and bringing every day.”

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The energy and enthusiasm is a firsthand response to the culture and foundation that Darian DeVries was trying to build and set when he brought in 10 transfers this offseason. Fit and culture were the two boxes that DeVries looked to check off before going to skill.

So while DeVries and the rest of the Indiana coaching staff prioritized that leading into summer workouts, there quickly emerged a ‘player-led’ mindset that continues to radiate from player to player every time they’re on the floor.

“Offense is going to come. We have shooter, playmakers, we got people who can score. But defense is going to be our big thing that can separates us,” IU guard Tayton Conerway said. “Just be tougher than the other team. Like I was telling them, I want every team to say ‘I don’t want to play them again’ whether they win or lose, say ‘that was a tough game’. As long as we can get that, we’ll be alright.”

“Everyone has come in and worked extremely hard,” Tucker DeVries added. “The group as a whole understands what it means to be at Indiana. We want to make the fan base and the people around here are super proud of the way we play, how we play, the enthusiasm we play with, and the competitiveness we play with. That’s the thing we’ve hung our hat on this summer.”

The identity seems to be formed — or close to it. Not it’ll be tested against the first group of players outside of the program in the next few weeks.

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