NCAAM News

Home

Teams

Quizzes

Newsletter

Nov 29, 2024; Paradise Island, Bahamas, BHS; West Virginia Mountaineers guard Tucker DeVries (12) drives to the basket as Arizona Wildcats forward Carter Bryant (9) defends during the second half at Imperial Arena at the Atlantis resort. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Indiana's Tucker DeVries Snubbed by CBS Sports List: Where He Should've Landed

Originally posted on Indiana Hoosiers on SI
By Jackson Langendorf | Last updated Sep 3, 2025 11:18 PM ET

Indiana transfer Tucker DeVries – the son of head coach Darian DeVries – is not your typical Division One player on his father’s team. The younger DeVries could play anywhere in the country.

A decorated player, DeVries is a two-time Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year – which, mind you, is a top-three non-Power Five conference, and showcased his ability consistently against high-major competition last year at West Virginia.

All of that added up to DeVries being the No. 18 transfer available in the portal this past offseason. Naturally, he followed his father to Indiana and is now set to be a focal point (and likely the focal point) of the Hoosiers’ attack.

But despite his spectacular resume, DeVries isn’t getting his deserved preseason love – at least not from CBS Sports’ Isaac Trotter. Recently, Trotter named the top five players in ten different “archetypes” he created, even offering a darkhorse contender at each position, along with a “strong case for top five”, yet DeVries was nowhere to be found.

Click here for a close look at fellow Hoosier Lamar Wilkerson – who was mentioned by Trotter

DeVries’ Competition

Likely falling into the “off-ball wing/4” category, DeVries is battling it out with North Carolina’s Caleb Wilson (No. 5), Michigan State’s Coen Carr (No. 4), and UCLA’s Eric Dailey Jr. (No. 3) – all three are competitors.

(That said, DeVries doesn’t have a great case for being ahead of Tennessee’s Nate Ament at No. 2 or UConn’s Alex Karaban at No. 1.)

DeVries’ Game

Career averages: 17.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.2 steals

Arguably, no one in college basketball (Karaban is the key competition) has a more coveted combination of size and shooting than DeVries. At 6-foot-7, with a strong 220-pound frame, and with great elevation on his shot,

DeVries can get his jumper off at will. Excellent coming off screens – especially curls – DeVries is knockdown when he gets his feet set, and is on balance.

Although he’s also an off-the-dribble threat from deep, he prefers his off-the-dribble jumpers to be in the midrange, usually on a post-up, where he’ll display a turnaround or one-legged jumper.

With that aforementioned physical frame, along with solid footwork and great touch, DeVries can make an impact around the basket. And although he may not be an ultra-twitchy, uber-athletic downhill threat, DeVries is crafty enough attacking the rim that he keeps defenders honest – allowing him to get more open looks from beyond the arc.

Indiana’s Tucker DeVries with the 3. #iubb pic.twitter.com/Zdy1Pkyo1C
— Jeff Rabjohns (@JeffRabjohns) August 10, 2025

Surprisingly versatile, DeVries is a great facilitator at his position, averaging 2.5 assists on his career – including 2.8 last year at West Virginia.

Also worth noting, DeVries has been a consistently positive presence on defense throughout his career, with a career defensive box plus/minus of 1.7, along with a 4.8 DBPM showing last year (notably, he played just eight games).

Where DeVries Should Have Landed

Realistically, DeVries easily clears No. 5 and No. 4 in Wilson and Carr. Neither can match his experience (Wilson is just a freshman) nor his scoring prowess (Carr averages 5.7 points per game over his two-year career).

UCLA’s Dailey makes things a touch more interesting, and he’s likely more impactful as a defender, but, once again, DeVries is simply at a different level on offense. His scoring and facilitating sets him apart from Dailey (averaged 11.4 points and 1.4 assists last year) – who is arguably more effective in and around the paint, but that doesn’t come close to offsetting DeVries’ ability from deep.