A warmup before the warmups.
Indiana men’s basketball has planned a trip to Puerto Rico, during which the team will play three international teams, from August 5-12, per 247 sports.
Two of the three games will be against BC Mega, a Serbian professional team that Indiana faced off against with in the Bahamas in Mike Woodson’s first year as head coach. The final game will be against the Puerto Rican All Star team.*
For a team that’s composed entirely of transfers and one incoming high school freshman, this kind of trip makes sense. There are a few guys who know Darian DeVries and his system, as well as some guys who have played together before, but this team needs to gel.
A week in Puerto Rico is a good way to bond.
In addition to being a team-building exercise, the teams that Indiana is slated to play will have some legitimate talent. The last time Indiana saw BC Mega, the team featured Nikola Jovic, whose second NBA season just ended with a 24-point performance in a playoff loss to the Cavaliers.
The concern would be that these teams aren’t necessarily going to be representative of what Indiana will see in Big Ten play. There’s maybe not another league or conference in the world with the reputation for physicality that the Big Ten has, and Indiana seems to lack.
We may not get a full look at the offensive and defensive systems that Indiana will run once the games start to count, but I do expect to see a high volume of 3-point shooting in the box scores. That’s basically the only guarantee with this roster as of now.
Whatever happens, it’s best to not overthink results, rotations, box scores, or whatever discourse may emerge from this trip. It’s a chance for a new group to get to know each other, hang out on the beach, and play some high-level basketball.
*I’ve done zero research on the roster yet but I pray that this means I get to see Andre Curbelo play basketball again.