‘Green Light’ – Wilkerson Hopes to Help IU Return to Winning Ways
8/18/2025 10:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Forget, for a moment, that Lamar Wilkerson was a shooting catalyst in Indiana's three-game basketball sweep in Puerto Rico earlier this month, that this 6-6 senior guard and Sam Houston State transfer sparked a pair of dramatic rallies against Mega Superbet, a Serbian national pro team, from a pair of 20-point deficits.
Instead, consider that Wilkerson chose the Hoosiers over multiple big-time offers and what he will bring in coach Darian DeVries' debut season.
"It's winning, man," he says. "I hope to win with this group of guys. Make a culture here that IU once had and bring it back."
Beating Central University of Bayamon once and Mega Superbet twice in Puerto Rico was a good start. It won't count in official statistics, but that misses the point. After consecutive seasons of failing to qualify for the NCAA tourney, a program that hasn't gotten past the first weekend of the postseason since its 2016 Sweet Sixteen run is eager to return to national relevance.
Wilkerson is an important piece. He rocked Mega Superbet for 17 points (all in the second half) in the 81-80 final victory, plus added the assist on forward Reed Bailey's game-winning dunk with 6.6 seconds remaining. IU trailed by 20 at halftime.
Two days earlier, his 18 points (13 in the second half) highlighted a rally from 23 points down in a 93-71 win.
In his last two games, Wilkerson made seven 3-pointers, a major turnaround from the 3-for-14 effort he had in the opener.
"We got Lamar going in the second half," DeVries says, "and that was two games in a row where he really sparked us in the second half. I love the fact that we were able to come out with a win, and that guy made some really big plays down the stretch."
It wasn't a fluke.
"I challenged him that he's got to be aggressive," DeVries said.
Wilkerson was up for it. In three games, he averaged a team-leading 15.7 points and 3.7 assists.
It was no surprise. Wilkerson, a two-time All-Conference USA first-team player, was a prolific shooter in three seasons at Sam Houston State, hitting at a 40 percent clip from 3-point range. He scored 1,321 points and made 202 3-pointers. Last season, he averaged 20.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.1 assists. That included an 18-point game at IU in early December.
"He's one of those guys that I don't care if he goes, 2-for-20 (in a game), because that means he's going to go 18-for-20 some night," DeVries says. "He's that good of a shooter."
Senior forward Tucker DeVries agrees, calling Wilkerson "one of the best shooters I've ever seen."
"That's Tucker being humble," Wilkerson says. "He's a great shooter. He was trying to be nice."
Still, when Wilkerson gets an open shot, Coach DeVries expects him to take it.
"He gives me a green light to shoot the open shot, make the right plays, and be a team player," Wilkerson says. "That's what I try to do."
Playing at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall last year in front of a near sellout crowd left a big impression on Wilkerson, who talked to Hoosier guard Anthony Leal about it during the game.
"I was like, 'Man, this is crazy. Is it like this every game?' He was like, 'Bro, this is nothing like it.'
"I'm ready to see what that's like when we run out of the locker room and see Assembly Hall packed with people wearing white and crimson red and cheering for us."
As for picking the Hoosiers, Wilkerson says it came down to the relationship he built with Darian DeVries.
"I started doing my research. That connection that Coach DeVries and I made when we met each other was the ultimate reason why I came here."
DeVries' offensive and defensive systems helped.
"Offensively, it was the spacing and how they play," Wilkerson says. "The fast pace. Coach DeVries always wants to make the most 3s. It's like everything I think I am as a player -- a shooting guard who likes to play both ends -- was here. That's it. That's why I came. We fit together like cookies and milk."
Wilkerson isn't alone as DeVries works to have an instant impact first season. Bringing in 14 new players is not the norm for IU, but more and more amid transfer portal escalation, certainly with coaching changes, major roster turnover is the new way of college basketball life.
"It's common now," Tucker DeVries says. "You've got 10 to 12 new guys every year.
"In the summertime, we were getting to know each other as a group. You learn how to play together and then how to win together. You have to be put in those situations together and figure out how to win games in the best way possible."
IU got plenty of that figuring in Puerto Rico. Guard Tayton Conerway, a transfer from Troy, also played a big role with 18 points in the second win over Mega Superbet. He had nine points, seven rebounds, four steals, and three assists in the opening victory over Central University of Bayamon.
Before the trip, Conerway talked about the importance it would have on building team chemistry.
"We've been out here working, working, working over the summer. Nobody is complaining, that's what we're here to do, but going to Puerto Rico, where a lot of guys haven't done before, helps us build a better bond. They're all great guys. I trust all of them."
Bailey, a 6-10 transfer from Davidson, was ready to face new competition after weeks of playing against teammates. He averaged 8.0 points and 6.7 rebounds in Puerto Rico.
"We loving playing each other and getting better over the summer," he says, "but playing other teams and seeing how you stack up is great part of it."
Players got a break after the Puerto Rico trip. Things pick up as the fall semester begins on Aug. 25. The season opener is Nov. 5 against Alabama A&M. Non-conference highlights include Marquette on Nov. 9 in Chicago, Kansas State at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Nov. 25, Louisville in Indianapolis on Dec. 6, and at Kentucky on Dec. 13.
"Our versatility and our depth, our balance I think is going to be a strength of ours all year," Darian DeVries says. "There is going to be nights that (opponents) will take away some guys, but we have enough other guys who can take advantage of those opportunities."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Forget, for a moment, that Lamar Wilkerson was a shooting catalyst in Indiana's three-game basketball sweep in Puerto Rico earlier this month, that this 6-6 senior guard and Sam Houston State transfer sparked a pair of dramatic rallies against Mega Superbet, a Serbian national pro team, from a pair of 20-point deficits.
Instead, consider that Wilkerson chose the Hoosiers over multiple big-time offers and what he will bring in coach Darian DeVries' debut season.
"It's winning, man," he says. "I hope to win with this group of guys. Make a culture here that IU once had and bring it back."
Beating Central University of Bayamon once and Mega Superbet twice in Puerto Rico was a good start. It won't count in official statistics, but that misses the point. After consecutive seasons of failing to qualify for the NCAA tourney, a program that hasn't gotten past the first weekend of the postseason since its 2016 Sweet Sixteen run is eager to return to national relevance.
Wilkerson is an important piece. He rocked Mega Superbet for 17 points (all in the second half) in the 81-80 final victory, plus added the assist on forward Reed Bailey's game-winning dunk with 6.6 seconds remaining. IU trailed by 20 at halftime.
Two days earlier, his 18 points (13 in the second half) highlighted a rally from 23 points down in a 93-71 win.
In his last two games, Wilkerson made seven 3-pointers, a major turnaround from the 3-for-14 effort he had in the opener.
"We got Lamar going in the second half," DeVries says, "and that was two games in a row where he really sparked us in the second half. I love the fact that we were able to come out with a win, and that guy made some really big plays down the stretch."
It wasn't a fluke.
"I challenged him that he's got to be aggressive," DeVries said.
Wilkerson was up for it. In three games, he averaged a team-leading 15.7 points and 3.7 assists.
It was no surprise. Wilkerson, a two-time All-Conference USA first-team player, was a prolific shooter in three seasons at Sam Houston State, hitting at a 40 percent clip from 3-point range. He scored 1,321 points and made 202 3-pointers. Last season, he averaged 20.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.1 assists. That included an 18-point game at IU in early December.
"He's one of those guys that I don't care if he goes, 2-for-20 (in a game), because that means he's going to go 18-for-20 some night," DeVries says. "He's that good of a shooter."
Senior forward Tucker DeVries agrees, calling Wilkerson "one of the best shooters I've ever seen."
"That's Tucker being humble," Wilkerson says. "He's a great shooter. He was trying to be nice."
Still, when Wilkerson gets an open shot, Coach DeVries expects him to take it.
"He gives me a green light to shoot the open shot, make the right plays, and be a team player," Wilkerson says. "That's what I try to do."
Playing at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall last year in front of a near sellout crowd left a big impression on Wilkerson, who talked to Hoosier guard Anthony Leal about it during the game.
"I was like, 'Man, this is crazy. Is it like this every game?' He was like, 'Bro, this is nothing like it.'
"I'm ready to see what that's like when we run out of the locker room and see Assembly Hall packed with people wearing white and crimson red and cheering for us."
As for picking the Hoosiers, Wilkerson says it came down to the relationship he built with Darian DeVries.
"I started doing my research. That connection that Coach DeVries and I made when we met each other was the ultimate reason why I came here."
DeVries' offensive and defensive systems helped.
"Offensively, it was the spacing and how they play," Wilkerson says. "The fast pace. Coach DeVries always wants to make the most 3s. It's like everything I think I am as a player -- a shooting guard who likes to play both ends -- was here. That's it. That's why I came. We fit together like cookies and milk."
Wilkerson isn't alone as DeVries works to have an instant impact first season. Bringing in 14 new players is not the norm for IU, but more and more amid transfer portal escalation, certainly with coaching changes, major roster turnover is the new way of college basketball life.
"It's common now," Tucker DeVries says. "You've got 10 to 12 new guys every year.
"In the summertime, we were getting to know each other as a group. You learn how to play together and then how to win together. You have to be put in those situations together and figure out how to win games in the best way possible."
IU got plenty of that figuring in Puerto Rico. Guard Tayton Conerway, a transfer from Troy, also played a big role with 18 points in the second win over Mega Superbet. He had nine points, seven rebounds, four steals, and three assists in the opening victory over Central University of Bayamon.
Before the trip, Conerway talked about the importance it would have on building team chemistry.
"We've been out here working, working, working over the summer. Nobody is complaining, that's what we're here to do, but going to Puerto Rico, where a lot of guys haven't done before, helps us build a better bond. They're all great guys. I trust all of them."
Bailey, a 6-10 transfer from Davidson, was ready to face new competition after weeks of playing against teammates. He averaged 8.0 points and 6.7 rebounds in Puerto Rico.
"We loving playing each other and getting better over the summer," he says, "but playing other teams and seeing how you stack up is great part of it."
Players got a break after the Puerto Rico trip. Things pick up as the fall semester begins on Aug. 25. The season opener is Nov. 5 against Alabama A&M. Non-conference highlights include Marquette on Nov. 9 in Chicago, Kansas State at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Nov. 25, Louisville in Indianapolis on Dec. 6, and at Kentucky on Dec. 13.
"Our versatility and our depth, our balance I think is going to be a strength of ours all year," Darian DeVries says. "There is going to be nights that (opponents) will take away some guys, but we have enough other guys who can take advantage of those opportunities."
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