Darian DeVries needs to put together a much better campaign in Year 2 of his tenure at the helm of the Indiana basketball program. Year 1 of the DeVries era ended in disappointment, as the Hoosiers went 18-14 overall with a 9-11 mark in Big Ten play and missed the NCAA Tournament once again.
3 matchups Indiana basketball fans already have circled on the schedule
But things are looking up in Bloomington. DeVries has landed a strong transfer portal class that is currently ranked as the No. 4 portal group in the country according to 247Sports. DeVries landed some big names in the portal, and one name that is sure to provide a significant instant impact for the Cream and Crimson is Alabama transfer forward Aiden Sherrell.
Owning a 6'11" 255-pound frame, Sherrell was one of the top bigs on the market, and his arrival in Bloomington provides a much-needed boost to Indiana's frontcourt for the 2026 season. Here are three things to know about Sherrell's addition to the roster.
Aiden Sherrell is Indiana's highest-ranked transfer portal addition
Sherrell comes to Bloomington as the highest-ranked transfer addition for DeVries and the Hoosiers. He is rated by On3 as a 4-star transfer player and is ranked as the No. 15 overall player in the portal. He garnered plenty of attention from Power 4 teams across the country, and DeVries made a strong statement by landing a commitment from the dynamic playmaker last month.
Sherrell is a versatile power forward who can do a little bit of everything offensively
Sherrell is a force to be reckoned with on both ends of the floor. Offensively, he averaged 11.1 points per game while shooting 53.9% from the floor and 71.3% from the free throw line this past season. He is a solid rebounder, as he averaged 6.8 total rebounds per game and 2.4 offensive rebounds per game across 34 contests with the Crimson Tide last season. While he is considered a power forward, he can also stretch the floor with a reliable shooting ability.
Speaking with the media last week, DeVries described Sherrell's well-rounded offensive skill set.
"I think Aiden, there’s a lot there. He can shoot the ball. He can put the ball on the deck. So he’s still 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."Darian DeVries
He isn't going to light the world on fire from beyond the arc, but his career three-point shooting percentage of 33.6% can help stretch the floor and give opposing defenses one more thing to worry about.
Sherrell brings much-needed rim protection to Bloomington
Along with a dynamic offensive attack, Sherrell is a strong defender who is an elite rim protector. He was one of the better shot-blockers in the SEC this past season, as he finished second in the conference averaging 2.2 blocks per game.
That kind of presence down low was missed by the Hoosiers this past season. More specifically, Indiana finished 13th in the Big Ten with just 2.7 blocks per game. Sherrell nearly reached that number himself last season with Alabama. Needless to say, Sherrell's presence provides an immediate and substantial upgrade to IU's interior defense.
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