With IU having started practice for a new season, first-year men's basketball coach Darian DeVries says it's important for the team to connect with fans.
That's especially important in the new world of college sports, with a roster full of players unfamiliar to fans. And it's important for a program that might have seemed remote in recent years.
"I just think we're at a place where basketball is incredibly important, Indiana basketball is important to a lot of people, so I want them to be able to have access to something they really find valuable and important to them," DeVries said. "That's what we want. We want people to feel like they're not watching from afar. We want them to feel like they're right on the inside and they're stride by stride with us."
IU has a new event on Thursday night, Hoosier Hoops on Kirkwood, and an intrasquad scrimmage Friday night at Assembly Hall.
"We want to make sure that we're a big part of the community, big part of the campus," DeVries said. "We want to give as many chances as we can to have those interactions because I think we have a group that's fun to be around. They're a good group of guys, and we want people to be able to see them on a different level besides just on the basketball floor."
While the fans get to know the players, the players need to get to know each other. DeVries said it helped to have a week-long trip to Puerto Rico in August for three exhibition games.
"I thought that was awesome for our team, for our staff, to be able to have that type of interaction, whether it be snorkeling, sand volleyball, jet-skiing, all those type of activities," DeVries said. "You just don't get to do that as often as you might think when you're on campus. You just don't hang out on that type of level."
A player fans knew about before is freshman Trent Sisley, a top recruit from Santa Claus, Ind., who committed to IU under previous coach Mike Woodson and stayed when DeVries took over. He is a 6-foot-7 forward who has impressed the coaches.
"He doesn't have to get his 20 every night, but he's also a guy that can," DeVries said. "So that's what I think is critical for him. It is nice to have the supporting cast he has around him so he can continue to grow and do it at a rate that I think he can be very comfortable with."
After two exhibition games, IU opens the season Nov. 5 against Alabama A&M at Assembly Hall.
The team's record will ultimately decide how engaged fans become in the team. But the new coach is trying to be likable.
"People love this game," DeVries said. "They love this game here at Indiana, and we do, too, and we want everyone to feel a part of that."
