BLOOMINGTON, Ind.is (AP) — Indiana coach Darian DeVries rekindled some old memories Wednesday night by patrolling the Assembly Hall sideline in a crimson-colored Adidas quarter-zip, his son dressed in the traditional cream tank top and shorts with no name on the back.
Everything else seemed refreshingly new.
From the completely revamped roster to the Hoosiers up-tempo style, their strong 3-point shooting performance to a harassing defense, DeVries' debut had hopeful Indiana fans thinking it was a smash hit.
“I thought tonight was pretty special," DeVries said after the 98-51 victory. “You know a regular season game certainly has a different feel and vibe than an exhibition game, and I was a little worried tonight that our guys were going to be too excited because they were so ready, so pumped to be out there. It's just one of those special places, there's not much like it in college basketball.”
The DeVries family couldn't have asked for anything more.
When the coach was introduced, the smaller-than-usual crowd roared as the five national championship banners waved high above the north baseline seats. The eighth man now given a chance to add No. 6 since Bob Knight's firing 25 years ago instead will settle for winning his third straight season opener at different schools — Drake, West Virginia and now Indiana.
Hey, it's just a start.
DeVries' son, Tucker, meanwhile had 18 points, 11 rebounds and four assists in his first game back since suffering a season-ending injury last season just eight games into last season. The two-time Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year, who followed his father from West Virginia, also eclipsed the 2,000-point mark and finished the night with 2,004 in his career. The younger DeVries waved proudly to the crowd when the accomplishment was recognized during a timeout with 2:51 to play.
His dad had a different thought.
“I recognize the fact he just doubled me up in points, so I didn't how to feel in the moment,” DeVries joked when asked about his emotion to the feat. “But, yeah, when you get an individual accomplishment like that it's usually a credit to good teammates. It's a credit to the work you put in, trying to perfect what you do. So in his case, I just think he worked hard for all of that.”
Hoosier fans were understandably uncertain about what to expect from this roster, which had no scorers returning from last season and a collection of players out of the transfer portal, most of whom never played together until arriving in Bloomington, Indiana.
It didn't take long for those concerns to dissipate as many longtime season ticket holders watched DeVries calmly direct what started as an overly aggressively, foul-prone defense to finds its proper spots.
Once they did, the Hoosiers settled down and DeVries settled in to seize control.
They used an early 14-0 run to start pulling away, sealed it by closing the first half on a 15-4 spurt and then capped it early in the second half with a perfectly executed pass off the glass from Tayton Conerway to the trailing Reed Bailey for a dunk, the kind of fun, highlight reel play that typifies today's college basketball world.
And when it was over, the humble DeVries walked down the handshake line toward the student section to begin a new tradition in Indiana basketball — giving a trademark thumbs up to the crowd before leaving the court.
“Certainly, it's a privilege for us to be out there performing, so I'm thankful we got that opportunity,” he said. “It was a fun night, a special night and, hopefully, the first of many.”
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