'A tremendous benefit for us': Puerto Rico set to pay dividends on and off the court for Indiana

It’s not every offseason you get to take an international trip, play in preseason tournaments or find time to leave campus for an extended period of time as a team with the ability to build chemistry — both on and off the court. This summer, however, is the perfect time for Indiana to do just that.

Indiana left Bloomington for San Juan, Puerto Rico on Monday for what’s labeled as a ‘foreign trip’ by the NCAA. Not only is it an opportunity for the team to create the bonding and chemistry needed with 13 new players and an entirely new coaching staff — it’s also time for this group to put its identity to a test on the floor.

By NCAA rules, teams taking a foreign or international trip are given 10 additional practices to use over the course of the summer. With the fresh faces in the Indiana basketball program, its trip to Puerto Rico is critical — and couldn’t come at a better time.

“I think it’s been awesome timing for us just having the ability — you get 10 practices over the summer, so we’ve kind of spread them out, like, one a week,” IU head coach Darian DeVries said last week. “But it gives you almost a whole day that you can work on, whether it be defensive install, offensive install, terminology things that when you have basically a brand-new roster, there’s so many things you have to cover.

“For the timing for us to have it this first summer, I thought it’s been a tremendous benefit for us.”

Indiana will play three games in Puerto Rico and it’ll be the first time this group will face off against a true opponent, new faces and a group that doesn’t know the play calls or tendencies of the IU roster. On the flip side, it’ll give Indiana the chance to come together and put to test everything it’s put in place over the last two months.

(On3+): Storylines to follow for Indiana basketball during Puerto Rico trip

“Getting to play the three games in Puerto Rico, you know, you don’t treat them like you would a regular season game, but it’s still an opportunity to get out and play and get a feel for how guys react to opponents that aren’t in the same jerseys we’ve been going against for eight straight weeks,” DeVries said. “It’s been really a nice luxury for us to have.”

The one goal DeVries had for his group this summer was to create an identity. As this group heads out, the identity is clear — a team that is going to play with energy, enthusiasm and competitiveness every single possession.

There have — and will continue to be — speed bumps. With so much newness and the importance of setting the foundation and building the culture in the early stages of the summer, not everything has been smooth sailing. But the one thing Darian DeVries continues to be able to fall back on is the energy and enthusiasm of his first roster in Bloomington.

“I think the guys have been awesome to work with this summer,” DeVries said. “They’ve done a great job of just being receptive to coaching. They’re all trying to do what we ask, and that’s all we ask of them.

“They’re not going to be perfect. We don’t expect them to be perfect. But the progress they’ve made from June until now has been really good. I’ve been really happy with it. I think they’re going to continue to do that because I think they want to. They’ve got great togetherness, they’ve got great energy and enthusiasm”

(On3+): Indiana Basketball — 4 players to watch during Puerto Rico trip

Indiana’s trio of games are set for Wednesday, Saturday and then wrapping up next Monday.

With so many new faces, there is a secrecy around the program. There is also an anxiousness. But, there’s also some cautious optimism surrounding the team and what it could accomplish in year one with Darian DeVries.

Regardless, this next week won’t be the deciding factor of how this season will turn out. In fact, there will probably be more mistakes over the next week than there were the previous two months and that’s due to the first new experience for this group.

“You’re trying to get everybody to re-learn how we want to do it,” DeVries said. “And that just takes time. There’s a process that is involved there.”

While the process is in order and about to begin the next phase — Darian DeVries is adamant that no matter the outcome, this trip will be a winning moment for this group on and off the floor. And that’s what he’s taking to Puerto Rico and looking to emphasize every minute they’re down there.

“I’m probably most excited about that because you get a chance — because the summertime can get away from you in a hurry,” DeVries said. “But for us to be able to go on a trip like this and have it be just us for the most part and them just being able to hang with each other and spend some different type of time outside of the basketball court, you get guys that come in, they’re all at different stages of their lives.

“A lot of them are older guys. They don’t go out as much anymore and those type of things. For them to be all in a group together in one setting is going to be great for us, and then to get to play those three games on top of it. It should be an awesome trip, fun experience for all of us, and we’re looking forward to it.”

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