Post Game Q&A: Darian DeVries and Nick Dorn react to Indiana's win against Bethune Cookman

Indiana basketball head coach Darian DeVries and Nick Dorn spoke with the media Saturday following Indiana Basketball’s win over BCU.

Below is his full Q&A, as well as a transcript of the conversation (to be added once it became available).

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Q. Coach, wanted to get your thoughts on your team’s passing. I think you came in sixth in the country in assist rate. Why do you think it’s this good, and how good do you feel it is right now?

DARIAN DeVRIES: I felt the guys did a great job today just playing within the offense and really moving it and sharing it and getting into actions. They’ve been doing a great job of that all year. We got up there in the turnovers in the Kansas State game, but outside of that game, we’ve really taken care of the ball.

Again, I think the guys are just unselfish. They really have a good understanding of what we’re trying to do on offense, and they really move it and share it.

Q. Nick is up there with you and he’s come back from injury. How do you balance bringing a guy back, slowly working him into the lineup? Do you listen to him? Do you listen to your trainers? Talk about the balance of trying to get them healthy but trying to stay there and improve.

DARIAN DeVRIES: Yeah, I think our training staff has had a really good plan, and Nick has been great about it, too. He understands that this is a process as he’s making his way back, and he’s been terrific about that, too.

Sometimes you can get a little anxious, and I think Nick has done a really good job of understanding, I’ve got to build myself back up. When you’ve been out that long, you don’t want to put yourself back at risk.

He’s getting more and more comfortable. You can obviously see it today why we’re so excited to have him back, because he does bring a lot of firepower for us right now coming off the bench.

Q. This is kind of broad, but this is a team now that’s ranked, 7-0, top 50 in scoring, you’re 25 I think in points allowed. Are you guys ahead of schedule do you think?

DARIAN DeVRIES: I’m not really sure, like, if we’re ahead of schedule, behind schedule. For us, it’s just how do we keep getting better. That’s all we’re really consumed with. That’s what this groups has done a great job of from a day-to-day approach is, hey, here’s what we were good at today, here’s what we need work on, and I think they really try to focus in on that type of stuff.

The games are going to continue to get harder and harder. When you start league play it gets amped up even more. We’re going to need a couple days as we get ready for the next one, and that’s a road game to open up Big Ten play.

Q. On Tuesday, Tayton had seven turnovers, today five assists, zero turnovers while also maintaining that defensive intensity. How nice is it to see him get a get-right game?

DARIAN DeVRIES: Yeah, I thought he did a good job of coming back and taking care of the ball. That was a little out of character for him in the Kansas State game. Certainly a different type of pressure, too, that he saw today versus on Tuesday. But he does such a good job of getting guys involved, and he’s so creative with the ball, too, that he’s got incredible vision, as well.

Great bounce-back game for him, terrific floor game for us.

Q. Lamar Wilkerson obviously struggled a bit with his shot here over the last couple of games, had eight threes today but 0 for 2 here in the second half, was a lot more pointed and direct getting into the point. Was that a point of emphasis you had in the second half to get him going and get some shots in?

DARIAN DeVRIES: Yeah, we ran a couple things to try to get him something easy, something at the rim, opening up the second half to try to get him started, and were able to get him a lay-up and get things going.

Like you said, we’re not worried about it, just keep shooting. But I thought overall, he continued to play. He had a good floor game on the defensive end, as well.

Q. For Nick, what about today early on made you think that this was going to be IU’s day? It was a quick lead. And also for yourself.

NICK DORN: We just put ourselves in this position for the past couple days in practice, practicing at noon, at this time, when we were going to play. I just feel like getting up, getting that intensity going early was a big thing for us and just being us, playing our brand of basketball.

DARIAN DeVRIES: I think it was my Thanksgiving cooking myself. He has his opinion, I have mine.

Q. Did you cook?

DARIAN DeVRIES: I didn’t cook anything. (Laughter).

Q. You had a little bit of a marker in the schedule. The next four games, two Big Ten games, two big non-conference games. Are you sort of at a point where you’re trying to — you’re able to start to figure out these guys and what they do well and what they need to work on better as you go, and do you feel like these seven have prepared you pretty well for what comes next?

DARIAN DeVRIES: Yeah, I think so. I think we’ve had a good balance there. Even the Baylor exhibition game I thought was really good for us, too. We’ve been able to work on a lot of things, see a lot of different things, different types of defenses, different types of offenses, and that will continue to be the case as we move forward, too.

This group just continues to — and it will be that way throughout the whole rest of the year, where every game is a new game, and it never goes away. You plan it perfectly. I think these guys have done a great job of being able to adjust as things get thrown at them in a short period of time, especially when you’ve got as many new guys as we have right now.

Q. Nick, what’s the process been like to get to this point? You go 4 of 5 from three today. Obviously being injured for most of the summer, working back and finally getting 20 minutes today and going 4 of 5 from three?

DARIAN DeVRIES: It was just doing a lot of work with Coach Horn and Vern and just staying consistent with it. Throughout each week, it’s getting better and better, and also getting game reps. That was a big part, too. So even just getting in games leading up to this point, it’s been helping me get back to that speed and just get back flowing.

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