Staff Roundtable: If you could retain 2 players from last season’s roster, who would they be?

Indiana's Lamar Wilkerson (3) smiles as Head Coach Darian DeVries helps him get up from the floor during the Indiana versus Oregon men's basketball game at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. | Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Indiana men’s basketball is set to have an almost entirely new roster ahead of the 2026-27 season with Trent Sisley being the only Hoosier who received minutes in 2025-26 to return.

Darian DeVries, Ryan Carr and the rest of Indiana’s staff have been putting in work in the transfer portal to reload, with six commitments down just eight days into the portal cycle. But what if the first sentence weren’t true? What if you could grant additional eligibility to two players from DeVries’ first roster? Who would you pick?

LCN: This is an easy one for me: Sam Alexis and Lamar Wilkerson. Alexis would have to be alright with assuming the sort of depth role he played at Florida rather than starting, but his experience in the program would be just the sort of thing this team needs with Yigitoglu at center. Wilkerson needs no introduction, he can shoot the ball with the best of them and it’d be interesting to see him with more talent.

Colin: I really can’t think of a scorer as gifted as Wilkerson, and I would add him to any roster, including the Crean years when the Hoosiers weren’t lacking for shooting. Picking a second player gets a little trickier, but with how the roster has filled out, I’d go with Nick Dorn. He was a tad one-dimensional last year, which made his inconsistencies harder for Indiana to weather, but now that the roster is a little more balanced, I think he could really shine as a pure shooter on the wing next to Bryce Lindsey. Can’t say it’s an easy call though, cause Tucker DeVries would also do well in that role, and he came with more experience and skills other than shooting. Either of Dorn or Tucker would fit nicely on next year’s team.