A look at the first high-school commit of the DeVries era
Indiana men’s basketball head coach Darian DeVries landed his first high school commitment last week in Prince-Alexander Moody, a four star guard out of the DC area in the class of 2026.
While some recruiting outlets have Moody as a three-star prospect, there are aspects of his game that could lead to him seeing decent minutes as a freshman.
First and foremost is his jump shot. He didn’t have the strongest showing, percentage-wise, on the Nike EYBL spring circuit, hitting just 29.4% of his threes, but this is a case where the stats don’t tell the whole story.
Watching his tape, it’s clear that Moody is a perimeter-oriented guard whose teammates look for him on kick outs. In last year’s Capitol Hoops Summer League, Moody attempted at least five 3-pointers per game, a number thats grown each year he’s been in high school.
His form isn’t perfect, but his mechanics appear consistent across attempts in different scenarios, and he’s capable of getting a shot off quickly. Coupled with solid free throw shooting numbers across his career, Moody has the makings of an underrated shooter.
The second big thing that stands out about Moody as opposed to other players that DeVries recruited through the portal is his willingness to use that jumper in the midrange.
Moody has the athleticism and handling ability to beat opponents off the dribble, but at just 180 lbs, he doesn’t seem to go to the rim for too many of his looks. When he beats his defender, he’s more likely to hunt space for a midrange pull up or try to find a teammate.
Despite being listed as a combo guard, Moody is unlikely to be a primary ballhandler at any point in his college career. He’s smart with the ball, but doesn’t post the kind of assist rate we’ve seen in point guards that Darian DeVries has recruited thus far.
As a whole, Moody will bring some assets, like his athleticism and jump shot, that could transfer to the college game right away, but he doesn’t necessarily project as an immediate impact prospect.
On paper, Indiana’s backcourt for the 2026-27 season would consist of three seniors in Jasai Miles, Nick Dorn, and Jason Drake, plus a sophomore Aleska Ristic.
While this is, of course, subject to change, the fact remains that he’d have to beat out a number of older, more experienced guys as a freshman, which doesn’t happen all that often for guys who fall on the 3-star/4-star cusp like Moody.
Instead, Moody looks like a longer-term prospect with a high ceiling. The kind of guy a coach can recruit only After building an entire roster from scratch in the transfer portal.
If Moody is any indication, look for coach DeVries to keep prioritizing athleticism and shotmaking in his recruiting prospects, for the short and long terms.