Welcome to “That’s A Wrap,” our player-by-player recap of the 2025-26 Indiana Hoosiers. Our final player recap focuses on Lamar Wilkerson.
Wilkerson (32 games): 20.9 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists, one steal and 46.3 FG% in 33.9 minutes per game.
Previously: Trent Sisley, Jasai Miles, Nick Dorn, Tayton Conerway, Reed Bailey, Conor Enright, Sam Alexis, Tucker DeVries
The crown jewel of IU basketball’s transfer portal recruiting class last spring, Lamar Wilkerson came to Bloomington with tremendous expectations.
Listed as a 6-foot-6, 205-pound guard, Wilkerson chose Indiana over Kentucky in an intense, back-and-forth recruiting battle.
A quick examination of Wilkerson’s numbers as a junior at Sam Houston State made it easy to see why he was so coveted. The All-Conference USA first team selection from Ashdown, Arkansas, averaged 20.5 points on 44.5 percent 3-point shooting for the Bearkats.
Rare is the player who improves his production going from the mid-major to high-major level, but Wilkerson accomplished the feat.
He scored in double figures in 29 of Indiana’s 32 games, including 16 outings with 20 or more points.
Early in IU’s season, Wilkerson quickly showed his game-changing shooting ability. He connected on 15 3-pointers in IU’s first three games – all wins – while shooting 57.6 percent from distance in those contests.
In the second Big Ten game for the Hoosiers, Wilkerson exploded for an Assembly Hall record 44 points in a 113-72 beatdown of Penn State. He shot 16-for-22 from the field, including a 10-for-15 mark on 3-pointers. The 10 made triples set a program record for made 3-pointers in a single game by an IU player.
“He puts in the work every day,” Darian DeVries said of Wilkerson after the win against the Nittany Lions. “It was fun to see him kind of get loose and showcase all that work he puts in.”
That wasn’t the only record Wilkerson would set. His scoring production increased in Big Ten games as he averaged 23.2 points per game and his 464 points became the most scored by a Hoosier in Big Ten play. He also made 70 3-pointers in conference games, a program record. Wilkerson had 20 or more points in 12 of IU’s 20 conference games.
In total, Wilkerson earned KenPom game MVP honors nine times this season and his notable performances are so numerous that they are too plentiful to highlight one by one.
A few of the many worth mentioning: 24 points on 6-for-10 3-point shooting in IU’s first road win of the season at Maryland; 32 points in 39 minutes against a stingy Nebraska defense in a home loss on January 10; 27 points on 5-for-11 3-point shooting in a 23-point road win at Rutgers; 24 points in a double overtime win at UCLA; 25 points in an overtime win against Wisconsin; 41 points in a home win against Oregon and 29 points in a home loss against Michigan State.
Wilkerson was also one of just three IU players to start all 32 games and his 33.9 minutes per game were second on the team. He had the highest scoring average for an IU guard since lottery pick Eric Gordon in the 2007-08 season. His 669 points this season were the 11th most by a player in a season in IU history.
In short, Wilkerson not only lived up to expectations, but he also exceeded them. On an IU team with few reliable scoring options, Wilkerson was front-and-center on the scouting report in every game. And defenses still struggled to stop him.
By season’s end, Wilkerson earned All-Big Ten second team accolades from the coaches and third team honors from the media. He was a two-time Big Ten co-player of the week and also earned national player of the week honors from the USBWA after his performance against Penn State.
An IU season that ultimately ended in disappointment was made enjoyable to watch on many nights due to Wilkerson and his shooting prowess. His film from this season and the way he was utilized should be a valuable tool as IU builds out its next roster this spring from the transfer portal.
Bottom line: IU basketball missed the NCAA tournament this winter for the third straight season, but a primary reason the Hoosiers were even in the conversation was the consistent play of Wilkerson. He was one of the best scorers not just in the Big Ten, but in the country. His 3-point shooting was outstanding; he was very good in the midrange and showed an ability to finish at the rim, too. When fans and observers of the IU program look back on the 2025-26 season, the year put together by Wilkerson will be top of mind.
Quotable: “All credit to my team and the coaches. Coach told me today was going to be the day that I got hot because I’ve been having a rough couple games. He fed me the ball. I seen one, two, three go in, then after that they just like ‘find the hot hand’. They kept feeding me. The shots kept going in.” – Wilkerson after his 44-point outing against Penn State in early December.
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