IU basketball added seven players this spring from the transfer portal, including headliners Markus Burton and Aiden Sherrell.
Here’s one statistic that stands out for each of the IU’s seven transfer portal additions:
Markus Burton (transfer from Notre Dame)
Statistic that stands out: 19.1 points per game
Burton’s career scoring average in 69 games at Notre Dame is 19.1 points per game. It wasn’t a slow build for Burton, either, as he averaged 17.5 points per game as a freshman for the Fighting Irish after finishing his high school career as a three-star recruit.
Indiana didn’t get much scoring production from its point guards in the first season of the Darian DeVries era and that should change with the addition of Burton, who has already amassed 1,315 points in less than three full seasons. IU fans should expect Burton to have the ball in his hands often and for the Hoosiers to look to use him heavily in ball-screen situations, as he’s extremely comfortable operating as a scorer or distributor.
Darren Harris (transfer from Duke)
Statistic that stands out: 8.3 minutes per game
Indiana is betting on increased production from Harris, a former four-star recruit who played two seasons at Duke. Over two seasons in Durham, he averaged only 8.3 minutes per game.
Was the lack of playing time for Harris due to his poor shooting percentage when he did see the floor – 30.8 percent on 91 career attempts from distance – or a situation where he was blocked by superior talent? If you watch his high school film, Harris looks like a prime breakout candidate if he gets more playing time. Those minutes will have to be earned, but the Hoosiers recruited Harris with the intention of featuring him prominently in the rotation.
Jaeden Mustaf (transfer from Georgia Tech)
Statistic that stands out: 46.8 percent career free throw rate (FTA/FGA)
Mustaf’s career statistics at Georgia Tech aren’t eye-popping. He averaged 9.4 points per game and shot 41.5 percent from the field over two seasons for the Yellow Jackets.
Where he can make an impact for the Hoosiers offensively next season is by putting pressure on opposing defenses by getting to the rim and drawing fouls. His career free-throw rate – calculated by dividing his total free throw attempts by his total field goal attempts – is that of a player who excels at getting to the line. And that happens because he can break down opposing defenders with his athleticism.
Bryce Lindsay (transfer from Villanova)
Statistic that stands out: 165 3-pointers
Over the past two seasons at James Madison and Villanova, Lindsay connected on 165 3-pointers. That’s an average of 2.6 per game. Given what Indiana lost in terms of perimeter shooting from last season with Lamar Wilkerson and Tucker DeVries, Lindsay’s shooting stroke will be a welcome addition to the new-look IU backcourt.
Equally as important as the number of makes, Lindsay also exhibited strong efficiency from distance. He shot 40.8 percent on 3s as a redshirt freshman at JMU and 34.8 percent on triples last season at Villanova as a redshirt sophomore. In his final game at Villanova, Lindsay shot 6-for-11 from distance in an NCAA tournament loss to Utah State.
Samet Yigitoglu (transfer from SMU)
Statistics that stand out: 28.9 minutes per game and 62.8 percent shooting from the field
Why are those two numbers notable? Both represented significant increases for Yigitoglu from his freshman to sophomore seasons at SMU. In his first season with the Mustangs, Yigitoglu played 24.5 minutes per game and he increased that to 28.9 minutes per game as a sophomore. If he can do a better job of limiting his fouls, there’s no reason to believe Yigitoglu can’t average close to 30 minutes per game next season.
And the growth in field goal percentage showed that he made significant strides with his finishing in his second season. In his first college season, he shot only 53.5 percent, which isn’t an impressive number for a 7-foot-2 center. That number rose to 62.8 percent last season, an increase of 9.3 percent.
Aiden Sherrell (transfer from Alabama)
Statistic that stands out: 2.2 blocks per game
Sherrell averaged 2.2 blocks per game last season for the Crimson Tide and swatted a total of 76 shots in 34 games.
That rim-protecting capability is a welcome addition in Bloomington. Last season, Reed Bailey and Sam Alexis combined to block 49 shots and played a combined 4o.4 minutes per game. Sherrell’s 76 blocked shots came in just 23.9 minutes per game.
Justin Monden (transfer from Maryland Eastern Shore)
Statistic that stands out: 85 games
That’s the number of games that Monden has appeared in over three seasons between his time at Georgia Southwestern State University and Maryland Eastern Shore.
He’s not expected to play a rotation role for the Hoosiers next winter and was brought in to primarily serve as a practice player who can provide depth. Thus, Monden’s experience is notable because he’s been around college basketball for three seasons and has played at two different levels of the sport.
(Photo credit: Villanova Athletics)
See More: Commentary, Aiden Sherrell, Bryce Lindsay, Darren Harris, Jaeden Mustaf, Justin Monden, Markus Burton, Samet Yigitoglu