08-08-2025
It's not all jet-skis and sailing. Hoosiers hold youth clinic during Puerto Rico tour
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Darian DeVries and his team brought Indiana basketball to the community hosting them during this week's preseason tour, when the Hoosiers hosted a skills clinic for primary school-aged children in downtown San Juan on Friday morning.
Roughly 50-60 campers gathered in the open-air gym at the Colegio Universitario de San Juan, where DeVries, his players and staff put them through dribbling, passing and shooting drills across the course of an hour's work.
Campers then helped the Hoosiers themselves warm up for a brief workout, concluding the morning's activity.
'It's really cool, to be in a new place and do what we do every day, and show these kids a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,' senior guard Conor Enright told IndyStar. 'We're just trying to put that in perspective and share a little bit about the game that we love with them.'
Friday's clinic was the latest off-the-court activity on the schedule for DeVries' team, during this weeklong trip through San Juan and the surrounding area.
The Hoosiers kicked off their visit with a food tour through Old Town San Juan, and have spent time sailing and jet skiing as well.
'Wearing my sunscreen,' Enright said, laughing.
Friday's camp blended work and play, as players rotated between different skills stations. Enright and Tayton Conerway, the Hoosiers' primary point guards, ran a ball-handling demonstration and drill, working on left- and right-handed dribbles, as well as taking the ball between the legs and keeping a tight handle.
The goal, Enright said, was to try and send every camper home with at least one or two drills they could take with them to work on in their own time.
'They were definitely working me,' Enright said, smiling. 'I was sweating. It was tough, but probably the best spot for me.'
The Hoosiers have already played one game here on the island — a 98-47 win Wednesday against Central Universidad de Bayamon — with two more scheduled, one each for Saturday night and Monday morning. Serbian club side Mega Superbet will line up opposite IU for both games.
Enright said Indiana's focus remains on those games, and the opportunities for collective development they present. But DeVries will see value in experiences like Friday morning's skills clinic, allowing his brand-new roster to spend time bonding in ways that can't happen in a live game.
That chemistry might serve the Hoosiers as well in the long term as anything they'll accomplish on the floor across the rest of this tour, before DeVries and his staff turn their gaze firmly toward the autumn preseason.
'That'll show on and off the court,' Enright said. 'We've done a lot of fun stuff, but two more games, looking forward to those.'
