Improving the depth, physical play of Indiana's interior group 'a priority of ours as we're putting together the roster for next year'

The lack of front court success and depth were two concerns that Indiana had entering this season and that specific concern in the roster didn’t get subdued as the season went on.

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Whether it was rim protection, one-on-one defense, paint scoring or rebounding — every area designed to be the strength of a front court player was minimized by Indiana’s lack of size, length and depth.

So heading into the first real offseason for Darian DeVries at Indiana, it’s goal No. 1 to get better, deeper and more physical in that specific area.

“That’s the number one thing of where we need to really build that depth,” DeVries said on Inside IU Basketball on Monday, “is on the interior at those four and five spots. The size and physicality is a lot different.”

Indiana brought in three players expected to see the majority of minutes at those two spots — Sam Alexis, Reed Bailey and Josh Harris. With Harris missing the entire year with a foot injury, it immediately limited what Indiana was trying to do at the four and five. With little depth to lean on, Alexis or Bailey played the five, with Tucker DeVries seeing most of his minutes coming at the four.

It resulted in Indiana finishing the season ranked 301st in rebound percent, 312th in rebounding and 259th in block rate.

From Bailey playing out of position — typically a four, now playing the five — to DeVries giving up some of the freedom he had on the wing, it was a bandaid that Indiana tried to put on a gapping hole in its roster.

“Reed having to play a little out of position, going from the four to the five. Tucker having to go a lot more from the three to the four,” DeVries continued. “Those guys down there, they’ve battled, we just didn’t have enough depth in there throughout the course of the season.”

Heading into the season, the question that was raised was how frequently Alexis and Bailey would play alongside each other. That was a lineup used just 4.3 percent of possessions this season, with the majority coming against Ohio State in the regular season-finale. Only 1 of Indiana’s top 10 lineups presented a front court with both Bailey and Alexis on the floor.

“I think the biggest thing that we took from this year, even looking back at last year, is the bigs at the four and five spot, the size and the girth and just the physicality is a lot different,” DeVries said of playing in the Big Ten. “As you go into year two, obviously you learn from going through the league in one year and how everybody plays and there’s different styles.”

Indiana’s offense was predicated on the three-ball, attempting 28.7 3s a game and ranking 31st nationally in percent of points off 3s. So, a big man will never be the counterpoint of an Indiana offense. But, it’s defensively where the Hoosiers have struggled the most in Big Ten play down the stretch.

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Indiana ranks 14th in defensive efficiency in Big Ten play and is giving up 76.1 points per game to league teams. It ranks 15th in total rebounds 18th in fouls.

No player on the roster is averaging over 5.5 rebounds on the season, or over 5.0 rebounds in Big Ten play.

So with an adjustment coming, it’s not a full shift of philosophy, rather an understanding of the pieces needed in order to put together a successful product on the floor.

“I don’t think you change your philosophy,” DeVries said. “But you have to recruit to be good in this league … so we have to make some adjustments.

“He would certainly be a big contributor in evaluations and things like that,” DeVries added when talking about new GM Ryan Carr. “Now you have time as you go through it and you have a whole staff put together as portal season opens up.”

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With the transfer portal opening up in the days following the Final Four in April, Indiana will look to replace six seniors graduating, including Alexis, Bailey and DeVries.

In order for Indiana to elevate the roster from two games below .500 in league play this season and a group on the outside of the NCAA Tournament bubble entering the Big Ten Tournament, into a team looking to compete atop the conference, front court production and depth is top of mind for everyone on the Indiana staff.

“That will certainly be a priority of ours as we’re putting together the roster for next year,” added DeVries.

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