What Darian DeVries Said After Indiana Basketball's Exhibition Win Over Puerto Rican All-Star Team

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Indiana men's basketball took a 98-47 victory over Universidad de Bayamon, a Puerto Rican All-Star team, on Wednesday night at the Coliseo Guillermo Angulo in San Juan.

Indiana coach Darian DeVries met with reporters after the game. Here's the transcript from DeVries' press conference ...

On what DeVries liked from the 10 extra practices plus first exhibition game performance ...

"I thought the biggest thing for us was, we just wanted to make sure we did in the game -- even though it's an exhibition game -- of what we've been talking about, what's important to us. So, I thought we did a really good job sharing the ball and stuff.

"We didn't shoot it great tonight, but I thought our ball movement and unselfishness was really good. And I thought after the first five, six minutes, when we settled in defensively, our defense was kind of what we expected it to be as well.

"We were a little excited early on both sides of the ball and anxious and things, but that's to be expected. And it was good. It was a good first outing for us to get out (and) play together. Ultimately, though, I love the fact that I've seen all the unselfishness in practice for these last eight weeks, and then have it show up in front of people.

"That's a big deal. That's important. And they did a nice job for that."

On Indiana's tempo ...

"I thought our transition game was pretty good. I thought we were pretty consistent with it. Again, we missed some opportunities tonight that we'll take every night, and you're going to have that some nights in basketball, but we want to continue to play aggressively, put the pressure on defenses to have to get back.

"And I thought the entire game, our whole roster, up and down, I thought did a really good job of playing to that up tempo transition type of game."

On whether there's anything to Indiana's starting five of Tucker DeVries, Conor Enright, Lamar Wilkerson, Tayton Conerway and Reed Bailey ...

"It's early August, but that's certainly a lineup we're comfortable with, and we'll see what that means after September, October, before we get to (the season). There's a lot of things that can happen between now and then.

"So, like I told the guys, these lineups today mean nothing compared to what these next couple months are still left to unfold. So, those positions and playing time is going to continue to be fought for, and we want that. We want that competition in practice."

On a possession where Enright passed up an open layup for an open 3-pointer, and whether that shows the offense will be looking for space ...

"I'd rather him take the layup. I think it says a lot about his unselfishness, but those are the ones we'd like to -- we'd like him to just go ahead and finish that one up. But again, I just like the fact that that's the way he thinks.

"He thinks unselfishly all the time, and he's all about winning and that extra play, and that was just a good example of it. But we'd prefer him take the two."

On whether Trent Sisley is in the running for legitimate minutes ...

"Yeah, Trent's done a really good job this summer. He's like a lot of freshmen, you come in, you got a lot to learn, a lot to grow into. But I think his adjustment to college basketball has been really good. And he's done a nice job of continuing to grow and get better and better, and I think that's something he's going to continue to do.

"He puts a lot of time and work into it. And what you saw today has been kind of a product of all the work he's put in this summer."

On how performance like that from Sisley can help him as a young player ...

"Yeah, now you set the bar pretty high, and all expectations are getting set really up there. No, it was good. I mean, I think anytime you're a young player and you can have success early, it's always good for your confidence to know, 'Hey, I've been doing some things in practice. I've been working hard,' and then to get rewarded for it in the game. I think that's always a good thing."

On Tayton Conerway's shooting ...

"Tayton's put a lot of time into his three point shot this summer, and in live play, he shot a great percentage," DeVries said. "We chart all of our five-on-five live stuff in the summertime, and he's done a great job of developing that game, and he's very confident with it right now. So I think that's going to be a piece he has added to his game because of the work he's put into it."

On Jason Drake's absence ...

"He's dealing with a lower body injury right now. So, we'll have more of an update on that as we go forward."

On Lamar Wilkerson recovering from a rough shooting first half

"I kind of the fact that he struggled shooting in an exhibition game, because he doesn't struggle very often. So, this is a good one to get out of the way. He's one of those guys that I don't care if he goes, 2 for 20, because that means he's going to go 18 for 20 some night. He's that good of a shooter. He just had a tough night. And then with the trip and everything, the excursions, all that, there's a lot that goes into these games that aren't ideal for playing a regular season game. You treat it a lot differently. But he's not going to have very many of those nights."

On Aleksa Ristic's last week and performance Wednesday ...

"I mean, he's in a tough spot, 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 to get him out on the game floor. Obviously, he doesn't know a lot of the stuff and the terminologies and things, but it's a way to speed up kind of that process for us. And I thought he did a really nice job out there. I thought he did some good things."