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In an exhibition matchup held in Indianapolis on Sunday, the Indiana Hoosiers secured a 76-58 victory over the North Carolina Tar Heels. This marked the second of three exhibition games for the Hoosiers, who will also face Western Kentucky on October 25.
Below are the grades for each Indiana player who saw at least five minutes of action against the Tar Heels.
Player Grades
Darren Harris: B- Harris is known as a shooter, and his role is to catch and shoot. He went 3-for-9 from beyond the arc against North Carolina. However, several of his attempts on Sunday were heavily contested. While he can make those shots, they are rarely the best available for the Hoosiers. Additionally, his one rebound and three turnovers are not encouraging.
Markus Burton: B Burton displayed a complete game against the Tar Heels, pushing the pace, being active on defense, slicing to the rim, and keeping defenses honest from deep. However, his 4-for-13 shooting was quite inefficient. Still, Burton mostly got to his spots and appeared to be shaking off rust, as is common in exhibition games.
Jaeden Mustaf: A- No Hoosier had a standout shooting day, which makes Mustaf's 3-for-8 performance look relatively solid. His downhill ability, rebounding (five boards), and defense were truly impressive. Coach Darian DeVries wants Mustaf to be Indiana's defensive stopper, and he showed why on Sunday by holding Neo Avdalas to six points and four turnovers. Mustaf did commit three turnovers himself.
Aiden Sherrell: B+ Sherrell's scoring wasn't spectacular (seven points), but he excelled in the little things. He dominated the glass with 10 rebounds, made defensive plays (one block and one steal), was excellent in one-on-one situations on that end, and also hit a three. The Hoosiers surely want Sherrell to be more aggressive (he took only eight shots), and if he can do that while providing the intangibles, he could become one of the best players in the Big Ten.
Samet Yigitoglu: C+ Twice Yigitoglu got to his drop-step on the left side of the rim but came up empty. He needs to either use his left hand or simply finish the open layup. However, he was superb on the boards (11 rebounds in 20 minutes, including five offensive) and a brick wall in the post on defense. Still, 0-for-3 from the field and 2-for-4 from the free-throw line is not acceptable. In his defense, Indiana could have looked for him more on offense.
Bryce Lindsay: A Lindsay's 26 points on 8-for-14 shooting off the bench is spectacular. His shooting is no novelty (though his range is impressive), and if he adds slashing to his game, as he did on Sunday, he will be a tough cover. Lindsay was hitting against North Carolina, so it's hard to argue with his shot selection. However, some of his attempts were brutal, such as early pulls in the shot clock after just one or two passes, which is never a recipe for success.
Sam Alexis: A- Night in and night out, Alexis brings it. He doesn't take anything off the table, doesn't need the ball to make an impact, and plays extremely hard. Alexis did all of that on Sunday, grabbing four offensive boards, blocking two shots, and finishing with 10 points.
Trevor Manhertz: B The box score doesn't paint Manhertz's outing in the prettiest light: 0-for-4 from the field and four personal fouls in 15 minutes. However, the eye test told a different story. Manhertz took open shots—which he is more than capable of making—and was a connector with three assists and zero turnovers, playing his tail off. That's all anyone can ask of a freshman.
Trent Sisley: B- Sisley attempted zero shots. In fact, in his 15 minutes, his two rebounds were his only recorded stats. He didn't do anything wrong, but he didn't do much of anything in general. To be fair, the season hasn't even started, so Sisley is just carving out his role on this new squad. However, he isn't going to demand minutes by just being there. He needs to find a way to bring value to the Hoosiers, or his minutes will decline as the season wears on.