If the Indiana Hoosiers are going to take a big step forward in Year 2 of the Darian DeVries era, the transfer portal class needs to shine. A key player who figures to play a vital role in Indiana's success this season is Duke transfer Darren Harris.
Harris is a former top-40 recruit in the 2024 recruiting class and spent the first two seasons of his collegiate career at Duke. Playing on rosters stacked with elite talent across the board, he found consistent playing time tough to come by.
In total, Harris averaged just 8.3 minutes of playing time per game across 57 appearances with the Blue Devils. He averaged 2.8 points, 0.9 rebounds, and 0.4 assists per contest while shooting 36.4% from the floor and 30.8% from beyond the arc.
After committing to Indiana via the transfer portal earlier this spring, Harris is now on the fast track a substantial increase in responsibility and opportunity. Based on DeVries' comments at Big Ten Media Days, he has all the confidence in the world in Harris' ability to deliver big results.
Darian DeVries wants Darren Harris to let it fly from beyond the arc
Harris is an excellent scorer and was widely-regarded as one of the best shooters in the country coming out of high school. However, his inconsistent playing time in Durham made it tough to find a rhythm over his first two collegiate seasons. But DeVries wants to see him let it fly from beyond the arc early and often this season.
"He has the ultimate green light," DeVries said about Harris' shooting ability at Big Ten Media Days. "So don't even like look over if he shoots a 30-footer because I've told him he can."
DeVries even compared Harris' long-range shooting ability to Lamar Wilkerson, saying that if one or two go down, three, four, and five could be on the way. Wilkerson finished 2nd in the Big Ten by averaging 20.8 points per game last season while also shooting 37.8% from three-point range.
See DeVries' full comments below:
Indiana basketball coach Darian DeVries on Darren Harris: "He has the ultimate green light. So don't even like look over if he shoots a 30 footer because I've told him he can." pic.twitter.com/EXFA06LcsY
— Michael Niziolek (@michaelniziolek) October 8, 2026
But DeVries isn't the only one who has extreme confidence in Harris' shooting ability. His Hoosier teammates are also seeing the potential.
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Notre Dame transfer Markus Burton also praised Harris' three-point shooting at Big Ten Media Days. "He just doesn't miss," said Burton. "He hasn't missed a lot and when he does miss, it's like wow."
Burton was one of the ACC's top point guards over the past three seasons at Notre Dame. Seeing what Burton and Harris can do when on the floor together could be fun to watch this season.
“He just doesn’t miss. He hasn’t missed a lot and when he does miss, it’s like wow.”
— Colin McMahon (@ColinMcMahon31) October 8, 2026
Markus Burton describes Darren Harris’ shooting ability, and certainly made it know that he thinks Harris is fantastic in that area for #iubb.
Mentioned that Harris’ favorite player, which… pic.twitter.com/Q5QXdI6taB
It will be interesting to see how DeVries utilizes Harris early on this season. At this point in time, he figures to take on a starting role at one of the wings, and should be in line for more consistent playing time than what he saw over his first two seasons with Duke. With more consistent minutes, Harris could be poised for a career year. Don't be surprised if he is Indiana's go-to three-point shooter and knocks down close to 40% of his three-point attempts.
Indiana's first exhibition game of the season is set for this Saturday night at Butler. The regular season opener comes on Monday, Nov. 2 vs Eastern Illinois.
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