Indiana University Athletics
‘Whatever It Takes’ – Sherrell Brings Winning Edge to Hoosiers
8/6/2026 10:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Aiden Sherrell rocks a Cook Hall practice like a kid celebrating Christmas, which means he's having the time of his life cutting, hustling, defending and, yes, long-range shooting when he isn't imposing his in-the-paint will. Watch the third-year forward move like a wing with the 6-foot-11, 255-pound frame of a center and imagine the possibilities.
Imagination kicks in during Indiana workouts, during the 98-64 exhibition win over Team Canada, and then during the gold-medal-winning effort at the FISU American Games in Peru. It will surface again when the season begins, and this former Alabama standout shows what he can really do now that the days of a center-heavy Crimson Tide load have become Hoosier power-forward possibilities.
"I can do pretty much everything," Sherrell says from the Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall locker room. "I'm very versatile. I can play inside, play outside. I can guard multiple positions."
If that sounds bold, Sherrell's play backs it up. He proved it while totaling 16 points, six rebounds, and three blocks against Team Canada, which led coach Darian DeVries to say, "We want him to be that guy that just does everything. Get him to be in that position where he's got the ball a lot on the perimeter; he's got the ball inside; he can take advantage of mismatches.
"I think you saw a little bit of it. He had a little fader in the paint. He had a couple of 3s. He had a couple of blocks. There's really not a lot he can't do.
"Our thing for him is just to be that dominant guy every night. That's what we're challenging him to be, is every night out we know that we're going to be able to rely on him. He's done such a great job and working incredibly hard at putting time into his game. And he's grown a lot even from June till now. It's fun to watch him approach it that way."
More fun came in Peru. Sherrell earned tournament most valuable player honors while totaling 58 points, 31 rebounds, seven blocks, and six assists. He shot 61.5% from the field and made 3-of-9 3-point attempts during Team USA's four blowout victories.
Even more impressive, that was in limited minutes because team dominance allowed DeVries to play younger players for long stretches. Through it all, Sherrell's fitness stood out.
"I think Aiden looks terrific," DeVries says. "Give a big shout out to our strength and conditioning staff (led by head strength and conditioning coach Ryan Horn) for putting him in a really good spot, and also give a lot of credit to Aiden. He's really made it a priority.
"He's got himself in great shape. He's running well. He feels healthy. That's a big part of it, too, and you can see it on the floor."
What you're seeing, DeVries adds, is Sherrell becoming more comfortable in IU's system.
"He's going to continue to grow in his confidence in the things we want him to do. We want him to have the ball. We want him to be versatile. We want him to showcase all his skill sets.
"He did a great job of that (in Peru). He didn't get a ton of time. We limited him in a lot of the second halves, but the minutes he had out there, he was incredibly productive."
That Sherrell plays forward rather than center isn't a big deal, he adds, because he played it in high school.
"I'm pretty used to it."
Then there's this …
"I'm just a guy who does whatever it takes to win."
Sherrell has done a lot of college winning. Alabama won 53 games during his two seasons there, including a run to the 2025 Elite Eight.
Last year, Sherrell averaged 11.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.2 blocks, and 1.1 assists while shooting 53.9% from the field. He ranked No. 2 in the SEC and No. 13 nationally in blocked shots.
Sherrell twice blocked eight shots in a game, against Clemson and Arizona, and had 76 overall. For comparison, forward Sam Alexis led IU with 38 blocks last season. The Hoosiers had 86 as a team.
Sherrell made a big jump from his freshman season in which he averaged 3.4 points and 2.8 rebounds.
Is another big jump coming? Why not?
"I'm willing to do whatever it takes to win," he says. "Whatever is required, I'm going to do that."
Sherrell made 41 3-pointers at Alabama. He seems capable of more in DeVries's free-flowing system.
"It definitely helps me showcase my game a lot more and show what I have," Sherrell says. "There are some things I showed flashes of at Alabama. With the confidence my coaches and teammates are giving me, I'm going to go out there and show that."
Second-year forward Trent Sisley vouches for Sherrell's all-court potential.
"His ability to stretch the floor as a big is important," Sisley says. "He can pop out, hit shots and knock down three balls, but he can also punish mismatches down low. It's just his versatility. Defensively, he's really good, too."
This is what DeVries saw when recruiting Sherrell.
"There's a lot there," he says. "He can shoot. He can put the ball on the deck, so, he's going to give us that spacing. It's a little bit different than maybe what we had, but I also think that his ability, when he gets switches, he's going to be able to take guards down into the post and really make you second-guess whether you want to switch or not, but he still creates enough of the spacing that we want to make sure that we have driving lanes and post-up opportunities."
Sherrell, a McDonald's All-American coming out of Florida's Prolific Prep High School, began his basketball journey in Detroit. He left for Florida just before entering high school.
"I grew up on the east side of Detroit," he says. "I went all the way to middle school. My brothers went to high school in New Haven (Michigan). I did my eighth grade-year there. As soon as I got to high school, I left the state of Michigan."
Sherrell says it was hard to leave his hometown, his parents and his friends, "but I had to take a risk. I want this. I want my life to be like this. I want to play basketball at a super high level. I've got to do whatever it takes.
"At the end of the day, it worked out. I'm grateful for that."
Sherrell was considered one of the nation's top prospects coming out of high school, and then when he left Alabama.
"A lot of schools reached out," he says about deciding to transfer, "but most of the process was taking a lot of phone calls and having a lot of meetings. Ultimately, I came to this decision because I feel like this is a great place for me."
What was Sherrell looking for?
"A place that was going to help me be the best player I could be, on and off the court. I was looking for a spot that was going to push me to play outside of my comfort zone and continue to build me as a player and help me reach my goals."
Sherrell says DeVries's main recruiting pitch was what Sherrell could bring to the team.
"The way he told me, giving me a role to have a lot more impact on the game, I appreciated that. It was mutual, for sure."
Impact includes tapping into his experience.
"Definitely leadership, I can bring that a lot here," Sherrell says. "We've got a lot of young guys. I can help teach them the ropes. I've got teammates who came from programs that didn't get to win enough. Helping them to bring what it takes to win -- that leadership and continuous effort."
As far as his impressions of DeVries, Sherrell says his coach is "super, super serious. Really basketball oriented.
"When he talked to me about coming here, it was all basketball. It was all focused on basketball. That's something that I appreciated. He's trying to make me better on the court and as a young man."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Aiden Sherrell rocks a Cook Hall practice like a kid celebrating Christmas, which means he's having the time of his life cutting, hustling, defending and, yes, long-range shooting when he isn't imposing his in-the-paint will. Watch the third-year forward move like a wing with the 6-foot-11, 255-pound frame of a center and imagine the possibilities.
Imagination kicks in during Indiana workouts, during the 98-64 exhibition win over Team Canada, and then during the gold-medal-winning effort at the FISU American Games in Peru. It will surface again when the season begins, and this former Alabama standout shows what he can really do now that the days of a center-heavy Crimson Tide load have become Hoosier power-forward possibilities.
"I can do pretty much everything," Sherrell says from the Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall locker room. "I'm very versatile. I can play inside, play outside. I can guard multiple positions."
If that sounds bold, Sherrell's play backs it up. He proved it while totaling 16 points, six rebounds, and three blocks against Team Canada, which led coach Darian DeVries to say, "We want him to be that guy that just does everything. Get him to be in that position where he's got the ball a lot on the perimeter; he's got the ball inside; he can take advantage of mismatches.
"I think you saw a little bit of it. He had a little fader in the paint. He had a couple of 3s. He had a couple of blocks. There's really not a lot he can't do.
"Our thing for him is just to be that dominant guy every night. That's what we're challenging him to be, is every night out we know that we're going to be able to rely on him. He's done such a great job and working incredibly hard at putting time into his game. And he's grown a lot even from June till now. It's fun to watch him approach it that way."
More fun came in Peru. Sherrell earned tournament most valuable player honors while totaling 58 points, 31 rebounds, seven blocks, and six assists. He shot 61.5% from the field and made 3-of-9 3-point attempts during Team USA's four blowout victories.
Even more impressive, that was in limited minutes because team dominance allowed DeVries to play younger players for long stretches. Through it all, Sherrell's fitness stood out.
"I think Aiden looks terrific," DeVries says. "Give a big shout out to our strength and conditioning staff (led by head strength and conditioning coach Ryan Horn) for putting him in a really good spot, and also give a lot of credit to Aiden. He's really made it a priority.
"He's got himself in great shape. He's running well. He feels healthy. That's a big part of it, too, and you can see it on the floor."
What you're seeing, DeVries adds, is Sherrell becoming more comfortable in IU's system.
"He's going to continue to grow in his confidence in the things we want him to do. We want him to have the ball. We want him to be versatile. We want him to showcase all his skill sets.
"He did a great job of that (in Peru). He didn't get a ton of time. We limited him in a lot of the second halves, but the minutes he had out there, he was incredibly productive."
That Sherrell plays forward rather than center isn't a big deal, he adds, because he played it in high school.
"I'm pretty used to it."
Then there's this …
"I'm just a guy who does whatever it takes to win."
Sherrell has done a lot of college winning. Alabama won 53 games during his two seasons there, including a run to the 2025 Elite Eight.
Last year, Sherrell averaged 11.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.2 blocks, and 1.1 assists while shooting 53.9% from the field. He ranked No. 2 in the SEC and No. 13 nationally in blocked shots.
Sherrell twice blocked eight shots in a game, against Clemson and Arizona, and had 76 overall. For comparison, forward Sam Alexis led IU with 38 blocks last season. The Hoosiers had 86 as a team.
Sherrell made a big jump from his freshman season in which he averaged 3.4 points and 2.8 rebounds.
Is another big jump coming? Why not?
"I'm willing to do whatever it takes to win," he says. "Whatever is required, I'm going to do that."
Sherrell made 41 3-pointers at Alabama. He seems capable of more in DeVries's free-flowing system.
"It definitely helps me showcase my game a lot more and show what I have," Sherrell says. "There are some things I showed flashes of at Alabama. With the confidence my coaches and teammates are giving me, I'm going to go out there and show that."
Second-year forward Trent Sisley vouches for Sherrell's all-court potential.
"His ability to stretch the floor as a big is important," Sisley says. "He can pop out, hit shots and knock down three balls, but he can also punish mismatches down low. It's just his versatility. Defensively, he's really good, too."
This is what DeVries saw when recruiting Sherrell.
"There's a lot there," he says. "He can shoot. He can put the ball on the deck, so, he's going to give us that spacing. It's a little bit different than maybe what we had, but I also think that his ability, when he gets switches, he's going to be able to take guards down into the post and really make you second-guess whether you want to switch or not, but he still creates enough of the spacing that we want to make sure that we have driving lanes and post-up opportunities."
Sherrell, a McDonald's All-American coming out of Florida's Prolific Prep High School, began his basketball journey in Detroit. He left for Florida just before entering high school.
"I grew up on the east side of Detroit," he says. "I went all the way to middle school. My brothers went to high school in New Haven (Michigan). I did my eighth grade-year there. As soon as I got to high school, I left the state of Michigan."
Sherrell says it was hard to leave his hometown, his parents and his friends, "but I had to take a risk. I want this. I want my life to be like this. I want to play basketball at a super high level. I've got to do whatever it takes.
"At the end of the day, it worked out. I'm grateful for that."
Sherrell was considered one of the nation's top prospects coming out of high school, and then when he left Alabama.
"A lot of schools reached out," he says about deciding to transfer, "but most of the process was taking a lot of phone calls and having a lot of meetings. Ultimately, I came to this decision because I feel like this is a great place for me."
What was Sherrell looking for?
"A place that was going to help me be the best player I could be, on and off the court. I was looking for a spot that was going to push me to play outside of my comfort zone and continue to build me as a player and help me reach my goals."
Sherrell says DeVries's main recruiting pitch was what Sherrell could bring to the team.
"The way he told me, giving me a role to have a lot more impact on the game, I appreciated that. It was mutual, for sure."
Impact includes tapping into his experience.
"Definitely leadership, I can bring that a lot here," Sherrell says. "We've got a lot of young guys. I can help teach them the ropes. I've got teammates who came from programs that didn't get to win enough. Helping them to bring what it takes to win -- that leadership and continuous effort."
As far as his impressions of DeVries, Sherrell says his coach is "super, super serious. Really basketball oriented.
"When he talked to me about coming here, it was all basketball. It was all focused on basketball. That's something that I appreciated. He's trying to make me better on the court and as a young man."
Players Mentioned
Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's BasketballThursday, August 06
Thursday, August 06
Wednesday, August 05
Tuesday, August 04