CRAWFORD | Building more than a team: Inside practice with Indiana's all-new cast

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (WDRB) -- It sounds like the setup for a sports reality show.

Take players from all over the country — from jucos, mid-majors and even a national champion — then drop them into one of college basketball's most storied programs with one of its most rabid fan bases. Press play.

Call it Hoosier Island. Or maybe Survivor: Assembly Hall.

"We'd definitely be Netflix Top 10," said guard Lamar Wilkerson, a transfer from Sam Houston State. "We've got some personalities."

First-year Indiana basketball coach Darian DeVries, for the second time this summer, invited media into a basketball practice and media session with his players this week. That's not happening everywhere, but DeVries understands that with new teams comes a challenge of getting players and fans connected.

"I think we have a group that is fun to be around," DeVries said of his team. "They're a good group of guys, and we want people to be able to see them on a different level, besides just on the basketball floor."

A rare thing: a coach who understands the value of letting the public in on the process.

A new kind of exposure

This week, Indiana basketball will be everywhere. On Thursday, the team will hold "Hoosier Hoops on Kirkwood," an outdoor fan event on Bloomington's iconic pedestrian thoroughfare. On Friday night, DeVries is reviving the Cream & Crimson scrimmage, which hasn't been played in years.

It's by design. Call it DeVries' public-access basketball. He's not just building a team — he's building a relationship with the community. They helped students move into dorms. DeVries was carrying boxes and pushing carts. Tonight's event on Kirkwood is less performing on an arena stage than engaging fans in a more intimate setting.

"We want people to feel like they're not watching from afar," DeVries said. "We want them to feel like they're right on the inside and they're stride by stride with us as we go through it. ... Indiana basketball is incredibly important to a lot of people. So I want them to be able to have access to something they really find valuable and important."

From bus rides to Assembly Hall

That visibility — to fans, media, and each other — matters when the locker room itself is still getting acquainted. 

"I don't think my younger self saw me being at this point," Wilkerson said. "But now that I'm here, it's a blessing."

He's not alone. A season ago, many of these players were riding buses to away games and playing in half-full gyms. Now they're gearing up to perform in front of 17,222 inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, with a fan base that ranks among the most passionate (and vocal) in the country.

Guard Tayton Conerway, a Texas native and transfer from Troy, said the team carries a collective chip on its shoulder.

"Everybody still has something to prove," he said. "We've got JUCO cats, mid-major guys, dudes who've been to March Madness and want to go again. Nobody's here to coast."

That chip drives the work. And the chemistry. A preseason run to Puerto Rico for three exhibition games helped accelerate the process.

"Even when we first walked in, we were already connected," Wilkerson said. "And Puerto Rico gave us that time, off the court, to really come together and just see each other for who we are."

Building from scratch

DeVries inherited a blank canvas. No scholarship players returned. He knew what he wanted: older players, shooters, and team-first competitors. And he's seen buy-in.

"I love how coachable they are. I love how unselfish we play. Our communication and connectivity, shines through a little bit on not only on the offensive end, but the defensive end, that's starting to really come together," DeVries said. "... So I like the progress we've made. We have multiple guys that can score, so you're not just relying on one or two guys every night. We have a lot of different ways we can score, a lot of different guys that can shoot, so I'm excited about that piece. And they bring great enthusiasm and energy on defense, which we're going to have to have, because we're not overly big and long and athletic."

The names are new and the backgrounds diverse. But freshman Trent Sisley — the only in-state scholarship player — offers a familiar face and a steady presence. He grew up an IU fan. He remembers watching Yogi Ferrell at Assembly Hall as a kid. Now he's trying to teach his new teammates what it all means.

"I talk to them about it when I can," Sisley said. "But honestly, I think they feel it already. This place is different."

And Sisley's not just a mascot for tradition. He's been among the most physical and consistent performers in practice — fighting for rebounds, spacing the floor, and staying ready.

"For me, success is helping the team win, whatever that looks like," he said. "Guarding. Crashing the glass. Making open shots. Playing my role."

At Tuesday's open practice, one of the most frequent expressions was, "Good, Trent."

But there were others. This wasn't your father's Indiana practice. It was businesslike, but there was little ranting and screaming from coaches. Only once did DeVries start a drill over. And rarely did his voice raise to the point when you could hear it from the stands.

One of those times, he said, "Why are we playing so soft?" And the defense intensified.

Another, he responded to a steal on defense by saying, "Your position just takes you into a steal. You don't have to be special. Just do your job."

Fun — with structure

Much has been made of DeVries' reputation for offensive freedom — shoot the three, push in transition, trust your instincts — and that's still true. But there's an edge beneath the freedom.

"Man, he wants you to have fun," Conerway said. "He wants the wild plays. But if you miss the little details, it gets under his skin real quick."

The early results resemble DeVries' blueprint at Drake: Modern spacing, old-school toughness, and just enough chaos to keep opponents guessing. There's still plenty to iron out -- lineup combinations, switching schemes, rotations -- but DeVries sees a team identity forming.

"What I think always takes a little bit of time with how we how we play, is we don't give them a ton of rules," DeVries said. "So there's not a definite, hey, you're switching this or not switching this. So some of it is like, 'Hey, we're trying to be really physical, but if he gets hit, you have to switch?' … The communication piece is the second part of it. A lot of times they're a little hesitant because they're not on the call or whatever. But as time goes on, you can see that connectivity starting to really build. And this team, I think, has done a really good job of that. … They're becoming more confident in what they're doing and more physical, and can play faster because of that."

The experiment

In the end, this season might not be defined by wins and losses. At least, not early. DeVries said as much.

"It's not really about wins and losses," he said. "It's, are we doing what we need to do every day — in practice, off the floor, on the floor? I've always been a strong believer that if you can get a group connected enough at all the little things, the discipline, things, the toughness, you can have a group that can win a lot of games. And it's our goal."

That's the experiment. A team of strangers, trying to build something in one season. A coach trying to connect a community to his program and players to each other. A spotlight that's always on.

All that's missing is the confessional camera.

Top 10 in Netflix? Maybe not. But they do figure to be a team that's very much worth watching.

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