Darian DeVries has re-tooled Indiana's roster through the transfer portal in a major way this offseason. DeVries brought in a total of seven transfers, and six have multiple years of high-major experience under their belts. Each transfer addition has a chance to make an impact this season.
One player eyeing a breakout campaign is Duke transfer guard Darren Harris. The 6'5" 195-pound Harris saw limited playing time with the Blue Devils over the last two seasons, and chose to come to Indiana through the portal back in April. The Hoosiers defeated Ryan Odom and the Virginia Cavaliers for his services. Heading into his junior season, Harris is officially on breakout watch.
Darren Harris eyeing significant role with Indiana in 2026-27
Hailing from Herndon, Va, Harris is a former top-40 recruit in the 2024 recruiting class. Over his two seasons at Duke, Harris found it tough to gain significant playing time playing on rosters stacked with elite talent across the board.
In total, Harris appeared in 57 games with zero starts and averaged just 8.3 minutes of playing time per game 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.
Vaughn Karvala is giving Indiana Basketball fans every reason to buy into the hype
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 made it tough to find a rhythm at Duke. Now in Bloomington, Harris is looking to change that in a major way.
Darian DeVries has plenty of confidence in Darren Harris
With Indiana representing Team USA in the FISU America Games this month, Harris is getting some valuable opportunities to prove himself early on this summer. He went 3-for-7 from three-point range in the opener against Canada's Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf, and is coming off his most well-rounded outing of the summer on Saturday against Chile. Harris was second on the Hoosiers with 15 points and also brought down 9 rebounds while dishing out 3 assists to help lead Indiana to a 107-40 victory.
That kind of comprehensive performance is what Hoosier fans are hoping to see plenty of this season. Plus, Harris' three-point shooting ability figures to fit in nicely in DeVries' offensive system.
DeVries has plenty of confidence in Harris, and is already singing his praises this week. Following Indiana's win over Chile, DeVries stated that when Harris gets rolling, he is tough to stop. "He's one of those guys when he gets on a heater, it's special," DeVries said to the media.
It will be interesting to see how DeVries utilizes Harris early on this season. He figures to compete for 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.
Add us as a preferred source on Google