Indiana University Athletics
10/23/2026 9:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Jaeden Mustaf senses what's coming for this Indiana basketball team, the talent that's been assembled, the excellence of the play, the potential victories, lack of preseason ranking recognition be darned.
This is why the 6-foot-6 third year guard transferred from Georgia Tech and chose the Hoosiers.
Two exhibition victories over Butler and North Carolina, and a final exhibition game against Western Kentucky set for Sunday at Evansville's Ford Center, have boosted optimism around the program.
"I think we could be real good," Mustaf says from Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall after a recent practice. "We've got everything we need to win at a high level. I think that's what we're going to do."
A pause.
"I'm real excited."
Excitement comes from familiarity. In college as part of ACC action, Mustaf played against point guard Markus Burton, a Notre Dame transfer, and center Samet Yigitoglu, an SMU transfer. He played against guards Bryce Lindsay and Darren Harris during their high school days.
"We all know each other and who each other is. Having us all together on one team is very exciting.
"Markus is a scorer. I know his strengths. I know what he does well. Darren is a great shooter. We want to make sure we get him the ball.
"It's being able to play with one another and feed off one another.
"If I'm driving, I know I've got (Harris) on the right side. I can make easy kick outs to him. Just knowing each other's games and strengths has been important for us."
Mustaf says practices are competitive with the goal of fine-tuning everything, especially on defense.
"Offensive, we've got a lot of talent, a lot of guys that can score. The offense is going to look good. We're going to score points. We have to fine tune all our defensive stuff."
Last summer's trip to Peru, which resulted in blow out victories against Peru, Chile and the Virgin Islands, helped build team chemistry, Mustaf says.
"It was great for us, just being able to play together. We play each other every day in practice, so at some point, you want to play somebody else. Since this is pretty much a new team, it was good for us gel together."
Last year at Georgia Tech, Mustaf averaged 10.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.4 assists.
He calls his transition to IU "pretty seamless."
"The coaches make it easy for me. Of course, they're hard on us, hard on me, but I like to be coached."
Winning is his top priority. The Yellow Jackets were 28-37 in his two seasons there, including 11-20 last year. IU went 18-14, but projects to do much better this season, although it is not ranked in the AP and coaches' polls.
"I came here because we didn't win that much," Mustaf says. "But also, the Big Ten last year looked like the best conference in basketball (Michigan won the national title; Illinois made the Final Four), and that's what I want to be in. I want to play in that type of environment, all the crowds, this environment here at IU, and then all the other away teams we're going to play against. I'm excited."
Against Butler, Mustaf had seven points and eight rebounds in 22 minutes. Against North Carolina, it was eight points and five rebounds in 29 minutes.
"What I like about him is he just gives us some physicality, gives us a little different dimension on both sides of the ball," coach Darian DeVries says. "Offensively, he's that straight line driver who has the ability to get to the free throw line.
"His conversion rate needs to go up a little bit. I think he's still trying to find his spots a little bit on when to be aggressive, when to get in the paint."
When Mustaf drives and defenses collapse on him, DeVries adds, he thrives at passing to open shooters.
"He gives us that element."
As far as defense, DeVries says he loves Mustaf's size and his ability not to get bumped off his spot.
"When we have him out there, we can prioritize his defense on the other team's best offensive player."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Jaeden Mustaf senses what's coming for this Indiana basketball team, the talent that's been assembled, the excellence of the play, the potential victories, lack of preseason ranking recognition be darned.
This is why the 6-foot-6 third year guard transferred from Georgia Tech and chose the Hoosiers.
Two exhibition victories over Butler and North Carolina, and a final exhibition game against Western Kentucky set for Sunday at Evansville's Ford Center, have boosted optimism around the program.
"I think we could be real good," Mustaf says from Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall after a recent practice. "We've got everything we need to win at a high level. I think that's what we're going to do."
A pause.
"I'm real excited."
Excitement comes from familiarity. In college as part of ACC action, Mustaf played against point guard Markus Burton, a Notre Dame transfer, and center Samet Yigitoglu, an SMU transfer. He played against guards Bryce Lindsay and Darren Harris during their high school days.
"We all know each other and who each other is. Having us all together on one team is very exciting.
"Markus is a scorer. I know his strengths. I know what he does well. Darren is a great shooter. We want to make sure we get him the ball.
"It's being able to play with one another and feed off one another.
"If I'm driving, I know I've got (Harris) on the right side. I can make easy kick outs to him. Just knowing each other's games and strengths has been important for us."
Mustaf says practices are competitive with the goal of fine-tuning everything, especially on defense.
"Offensive, we've got a lot of talent, a lot of guys that can score. The offense is going to look good. We're going to score points. We have to fine tune all our defensive stuff."
Last summer's trip to Peru, which resulted in blow out victories against Peru, Chile and the Virgin Islands, helped build team chemistry, Mustaf says.
"It was great for us, just being able to play together. We play each other every day in practice, so at some point, you want to play somebody else. Since this is pretty much a new team, it was good for us gel together."
Last year at Georgia Tech, Mustaf averaged 10.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.4 assists.
He calls his transition to IU "pretty seamless."
"The coaches make it easy for me. Of course, they're hard on us, hard on me, but I like to be coached."
Winning is his top priority. The Yellow Jackets were 28-37 in his two seasons there, including 11-20 last year. IU went 18-14, but projects to do much better this season, although it is not ranked in the AP and coaches' polls.
"I came here because we didn't win that much," Mustaf says. "But also, the Big Ten last year looked like the best conference in basketball (Michigan won the national title; Illinois made the Final Four), and that's what I want to be in. I want to play in that type of environment, all the crowds, this environment here at IU, and then all the other away teams we're going to play against. I'm excited."
Against Butler, Mustaf had seven points and eight rebounds in 22 minutes. Against North Carolina, it was eight points and five rebounds in 29 minutes.
"What I like about him is he just gives us some physicality, gives us a little different dimension on both sides of the ball," coach Darian DeVries says. "Offensively, he's that straight line driver who has the ability to get to the free throw line.
"His conversion rate needs to go up a little bit. I think he's still trying to find his spots a little bit on when to be aggressive, when to get in the paint."
When Mustaf drives and defenses collapse on him, DeVries adds, he thrives at passing to open shooters.
"He gives us that element."
As far as defense, DeVries says he loves Mustaf's size and his ability not to get bumped off his spot.
"When we have him out there, we can prioritize his defense on the other team's best offensive player."
Players Mentioned
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