Indiana basketball stats from Puerto Rico Game 1: How new Hoosiers fared
Freshman Trent Sisley led the Hoosiers with 21 points, while Sam Alexis (10 points and 12 rebounds) and Josh Harris (13 points and 10 rebounds) produced double-doubles.
Indiana struggled shooting from behind the arc (9-of-33) and from the free-throw line (7-of-14), but were still able to overwhelm their Puerto Rican opposition.
Here's how each IU player fared Wednesday night:
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Indianapolis Star
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- Indianapolis Star
'We haven't told him that yet': New Indiana basketball player Aleksa Ristic learning quickly
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Aleksa Ristic spent a few minutes exchanging pleasantries with the other side Saturday, before Indiana's preseason game against Serbian club side Mega Superbet. Then, he turned in 24 1/2 steady, meaningful minutes for Indiana in a 93-71 comeback win. It would have been easy to forget the players he was chatting with pregame had been his teammates longer than the ones he followed off the floor victorious at night's end. Ristic, an incoming freshman from Nis, Serbia, signed with Indiana in June but only joined the Hoosiers in the days leading up to this preseason tour of Puerto Rico. He's spent the last two games, in his new coach's words, speeding up the process of settling into his new team. Bob Knight: On the Record 'It's hard, because Alex' — Ristic goes by Alex — 'has only been here a little while,' DeVries said postgame Wednesday. 'He doesn't even know a whole lot of the (plays). I would call something, it's like, 'Oh, we haven't even told him what that is yet.' 'But that's all fine, that's part of the game. He's done a really good job adjusting.' Familiarity will come with time. Ristic's first job now is to make the best first impression possible. It's going well so far. A three-year pro for KK Dynamic in Serbia's top basketball league, Ristic averaged 13.6 points, 4.2 assists and 3.2 rebounds in his most recent senior campaign. The primary reason he was late in joining Indiana this summer was his time spent playing with the Serbian U20 team at this summer's FIBA Eurobasket tournament. There, Ristic averaged 11.3 points and a team-high 6.3 assists per game playing alongside, among others, Andrej Musicki, who played 11-plus minutes for Mega on Saturday. Beyond those pregame hellos with former teammates and friends, Ristic will have been focused on his own adjustment — one DeVries has not been shy about accelerating on this trip. With Jason Drake kept at home due to injury, starting guards Tayton Conerway and Conor Enright comprise the bulk of Indiana's capable point guard stable right now. Ristic saw close to 17 minutes, with six points, three rebounds and two assists, in Wednesday's blowout win against Central Universidad de Bayamon. Any doubts about Ristic's role with Indiana were put to rest with the Hoosiers' preseason opener. Despite being able to count his in-person Indiana career in days, Ristic took virtually every out-of-bounds pass as a point guard against Bayamon, and ran his team's offense accordingly. Saturday presented a different test. Both Enright and Conerway struggled with foul trouble. Indiana as a whole struggled to grapple with Mega's aggressiveness and physicality and then, when the game turned 180 degrees, the Hoosiers needed steady hands at the tiller to keep the momentum that eventually crested in a 70-19 run driving forward. More simply than all of that, point guard is a devilish position to play when you don't know what's supposed to be happening around you. Yet through these two games, Ristic has consistently just pushed forward. 'He's in a tough spot,' DeVries said after the midweek win over Bayamon. 'But we thought it was really important to get him here, get him in a few of our practices that we're allowed to have and get him out in the games.' In an admittedly small sample size, Ristic has shown the ability to read and play with good pace. His shot mechanics are good and the ball comes out clean. And he doesn't look either overawed by his teammates' athletic level, or the responsibility of pulling them together with the ball in his hands. There will be sterner tests in the months ahead. But Ristic looks like he's passing the first one. 'In his situation,' DeVries said, 'it's pretty difficult to do. I think he's done a nice job.'
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BLOOMINGTON — Indiana football offensive lineman Carter Smith is one of the few holdovers from the Tom Allen-era that can speak about the program's remarkable turnaround under Curt Cignetti. Smith is one of just a dozen players Allen signed out of high school left on the roster. The offensive lineman was part of IU's 2022 signing class that had a record of 7-17 during their first two seasons of college with a 3-16 record against Power Five opponents. Those struggles made for some long offseasons that Smith wouldn't wish on anyone, but those gloomy attitudes are nowhere to be found in Bloomington this fall. "Not everyone is as depressed as they would be,' Smith said. 'I would certainly say that's accurate for me. There's a lot of smiles around the facility now." There's plenty of confidence too as fall camp rolls on with IU players looking to prove they weren't some one-hit wonder. Here's what stood out during the second week of camp: More: Indiana football safety Louis Moore sues NCAA over JUCO eligibility rules Indiana held its first preseason scrimmage Saturday behind closed doors. The Hoosiers weren't expected to go live, but it was their first time practicing in full pads during fall camp. While the NCAA allows teams up to eight padded preseason practices, Cignetti isn't expected to use the full amount. 'Never really used 25 (practices in the fall),' Cignetti said last year. 'Never used 20 hours in the week. Sometimes less is more. More isn't always more. That's the maximum amount they give you. That doesn't mean you have to use 'em all.' It's the same reason that Cignetti has all but eliminated live tackling during the offseason going back to his final year at JMU. The spring game is expected to be IU's only live preseason practice for a second straight year. 'They want guys to be available,' Indiana running back Kaelon Black said. 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Indiana jumped out to a perfect 10-0 start under Cignetti and never trailed through the first weeks of the season. More: Where Indiana football ranks in preseason US LMB Coaches Poll Top 25 Smith was the first person to predict defensive end Mikail Kamara would have a breakout season in 2024. He made the prediction after facing off Kamara on a near-daily basis last spring. He was right on the money — Kamara led the FBS with 68 quarterback pressures and was the first IU defensive lineman to earn All-American honors since 2007. The former JMU defender is now setting his sights on the program's single-season sack record and Smith isn't betting against him. 'He gets a bit better every day,' Smith said. 'He's always keeping me on my toes. It keeps on stacking, I think that competition has been really good for both of us.' Kamara agreed while predicting Smith will make his mark this fall. "In my opinion, he will be the best tackle in college football,' Kamara said. 'He's a great player, he's smart, he's quick, he's strong. He plays really well with his technique. He throws me a bunch of different sets and looks. He changes his stance, he does a lot of good things that keeps me thinking and keeps me guessing. When me and him battle, it's like the NFL, it's like I'm in the league." More: Indiana football announces first sell out for 2025 season Cignetti told reporters last week that Indiana has multiple true freshmen pushing for playing time this fall. He shied away from revealing any names, but his players weren't as reluctant to talk about the first-year players standing out. The guy most frequently mentioned through the first two weeks of camp is safety Byron Baldwin Jr., Baldwin was the team's highest rated prospect (and lone 4-star recruit) in IU's 2025 signing class. 'He's definitely one of those young guys that are ready to play now,' Amare Ferrell said. According to Ferrell, Baldwin is vying for playing time at rover with the likes of Bryson Bonds and Jah Jah Boyd. Ferrell knows what it takes as one of the only members of Tom Allen's final recruiting class in 2023 who didn't redshirt as a true freshman. He echoed what fellow defensive back D'Angelo Ponds said at the start of camp about Baldwin doing all the right things since arriving on campus as an early enrollee. 'He has to do everything to the standard, do everything the right away,' Ferrell said, about playing early as a freshman. 'We want to make sure he comes in ready to play, ready to practice, ready to know the playbook and do everything right, so his chances of getting on the field are better." Indiana freshman receiver LeBron Bond is a name to watch on the other side of the ball. Running back Roman Hemby said that the 5-foot-9, 173-pounder regularly makes 'spectacular catches' in practice. Bond's stock has been on the rise since he had a team-high four catches for 29 yards in IU's annual spring game. He helped the offense close out a 31-23 win over the defense with a 7-yard touchdown catch from Alberto Mendoza. The biggest challenge for Bond will be cracking a rotation that features a mix of productive returners (Elijah Sarratt and Omar Cooper Jr.) and talented transfers (Makai Jackson and Jonathan Brady).
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The post Michigan football fans will like transfer's outlook on 2025 WR room appeared first on ClutchPoints. One of the biggest question marks surrounding the 2025 Michigan football team is the wide receiver room. The Wolverines were abysmal offensively last season, and the inability to create explosive plays through the air was why. It's hard to tell how much of the fault falls on the WRs as Michigan was far from having acceptable quarterback play, but that is why it's a big question mark heading into the season. The Michigan football team did make a big addition to the WR room this offseason by bringing in Indiana transfer Donaven McCulley. McCulley spent four seasons with the Hoosiers and had some successful years, and he is expected to be a major weapon this year for the Wolverines. He has been impressed with the WR room so far. 'I like that we have so many guys that that can go in there and make a play like, we've been rotating so much in practice because we have so many guys in the room,' McCulley said in an interview with MGoBlue TV. 'It's a lot of guys that go out there and just make a play, like I said, bring energy.' Michigan also hired a new offensive coordinator this offseason. Chip Lindsey is now leading the offense, and he is known for having some explosive units. McCulley likes his style. 'He likes to throw the ball, and he's just a down to earth guy, like he's gonna keep it real with you,' he said. The additions of Chip Lindsey and Donaven McCulley should pay dividends for the Michigan football team this season. Last year's offensive product wasn't close to meeting the standard, and that needs to change this season. The Wolverines will have a new quarterback as freshman Bryce Underwood should win the job, and he is expected to be a star. All of these changes should go a long way. Related: Michigan football receives prediction to land elite 2027 QB Related: Michigan football RB sends warning to CFB about 'explosive' offense
