Indiana Men's Basketball Expecting Injury Absences into December

ROSEMONT, Ill. — Indiana men's basketball won't be at full strength when it begins the regular season Nov. 5 against Alabama A&M in Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.

Indiana coach Darian DeVries told reporters Thursday at Big Ten Basketball Media Days in Rosemont, Ill., the Hoosiers will have multiple scholarship players unavailable, perhaps for as long as the first month of the season.

"There'll be two or three that probably won't be available right at the beginning of the season," DeVries said. "Again, I think most of the guys will be getting back closer to — maybe not right at the start, but close to the start by December type timeline."

Indiana has 13 scholarship players on its roster, and four did not participate in the Hoosiers' open scrimmage Oct. 3. Freshman guard Aleksa Ristic, sophomore forward Josh Harris, junior guard Jason Drake and junior guard Nick Dorn each sat on the Hoosiers' bench, as did redshirt junior walk-on guard Jordan Rayford.

Ristic and Rayford each wore a boot on their left foot, while Harris had a boot on his right foot. Drake, who didn't travel with the team on its three-game exhibition series in Puerto Rico, hasn't practiced this fall. He wore his red No. 2 practice jersey on the court with teammates during pre-game warmups but did not participate.

During the intrasquad scrimmage, junior guard Jasai Miles went down with a cramp, so the Hoosiers couldn't finish the game. The injuries have also altered Indiana's practices.

The Hoosiers are still on the floor for their regularly scheduled 90-minute sessions, but DeVries said they've been "a little more careful" with how much up-and-down running the team does at practice. There's more drill work and three-on-three periods, and fewer five-on-five segments.

DeVries, who previously joked his team looks like "investors in boots" due to the number of players battling lower-body injuries, doesn't anticipate the intensity of Indiana's injury woes to extend much longer.

"We're getting closer to getting some guys back," DeVries said. "I think we're getting closer to getting a guy or two back, so that's a good thing. And certainly want to be heading that direction."

None of the Hoosiers' injured players started during the team's three-game exhibition series in Puerto Rico, though Drake and Dorn weren't healthy. Ristic and Drake project as reserve guards, while Harris is Indiana's No. 3 post player behind seniors Reed Bailey and Sam Alexis. Dorn figures to factor into the rotation as a high-level shooter after hitting 74 triples last season at Elon.

Dorn appears closer to returning than the others. He participated during the non-contact period of Indiana's open-to-media practice Sept. 30 but hasn't yet appeared in normal five-on-five periods while working back from a foot injury.

However, whether Dorn will be ready for the season remains unknown.

"Nick is getting really close," DeVries said. "We're hoping to get him into some more full practice type stuff this upcoming week, but it's still going to take a little while — he's been out a long time — to get him back into game shape, get him into the drills and things at full speed."

Indiana begins its two-game exhibition season Oct. 17 against Marian University in Assembly Hall before facing Baylor University on Oct. 26 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.