Darren Harris is a HOOSIER

[FortWayneHoosier]

Sorry @Class of '66 Old Fart....did not mean to steal your thunder!!!!!!!!! 

[FortWayneHoosier]

from insidethehall.com

 

Darren Harris, a 6-foot-5 wing who played the last two seasons at Duke, committed to IU basketball today.

Harris has two seasons of eligibility remaining. He also considered Virginia out of the portal.

Over two seasons with the Blue Devils, Harris averaged 2.8 points, 0.9 rebounds and 0.4 assists in 8.3 minutes per game.

Listed at 6-foot-5 and 195 pounds from Herndon, Virginia, Harris attended Paul VI High School and played for Team Takeover on the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL) circuit. IU assistant coach Kenny Johnson has strong ties to Paul VI and Team Takeover.

AD

IU is buying a potential breakout rather than proven production with Harris, who was buried on a talented Duke depth chart for the past two seasons.

A member of Duke’s monster 2024 recruiting class that included three lottery picks in Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel and Khaman Maluach, Harris struggled to find consistent minutes in Durham under Jon Scheyer. He hit the transfer portal after two seasons.

As a high school prospect, Harris was the No. 39 player nationally, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.

In his freshman season, Harris played sparingly and averaged two points and 1.1 rebounds in six minutes per game on a Duke team that finished 35-4 and lost to Houston in the Final Four. He scored a season-high seven points in a 93-49 win against Mount St. Mary’s in the opening round of the NCAA tournament.

As a sophomore, Harris played more but was still on the fringe of the rotation. The Blue Devils were again one of the nation’s premier teams, finishing 35-3 before falling in a stunning collapse against UConn in the Elite Eight.

Over 36 games, he averaged 3.3 points, 0.8 rebounds and 0.4 assists in 9.7 minutes per game. He reached double figures in scoring three times, including 15 points against Army, 11 against Lipscomb and 16 against Notre Dame.

Billed as a shooter out of high school, Harris struggled from the perimeter over 57 career games at Duke. He is 28-for-91 on 3s for his career, which is 30.8 percent and 38-for-55 from the free-throw line, a 69.1 percent mark.

The IU coaching staff is taking a buy-low approach with Harris, who will get a chance for more consistent minutes and a more defined role in a revamped rotation in Bloomington, where 3-point shooting is a major part of the offensive game plan under Darian DeVries.

[Demo]

I really thought he’d take the UVA visit. Good on the staff getting it closed.

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

1 minute ago, FortWayneHoosier said:

Sorry @Class of '66 Old Fart....did not mean to steal your thunder!!!!!!!!! 

With that kind good news, steal away and don't look back.  Pretty humorous chain of events.

[Uspshoosier]

[IU5355]

Whats the take on Harris? Is he capable of being a key part of the rotation?

 

[str8baller]

7 minutes ago, IU5355 said:

Whats the take on Harris? Is he capable of being a key part of the rotation?

 

Obviously not on a top of the league/FF type team.
 

For us? I’d assume so. 

[Shooter]

I am really intrigued by Harris. Interesting "buy-low" candidate as the article put it. He wouldn't be the first shooter to struggle in a limited role, and then find his stroke with more consistent minutes later.

[Class of '66 Old Fart]

https://247sports.com/college/indiana/article/indiana-basketball-recruiting-indiana-lands-duke-transfer-guard-darren-harris-from-the-transfer-portal-281641104/?

https://www.on3.com/teams/indiana-hoosiers/news/indiana-secures-commitment-from-duke-transfer-guard-darren-harris/

https://www.insidethehall.com/2026/04/13/duke-transfer-darren-harris-commits-to-iu-basketball/

[Henryville Hoosier]

 

[Pagoda]

3 minutes ago, Shooter said:

I am really intrigued by Harris. Interesting "buy-low" candidate as the article put it. He wouldn't be the first shooter to struggle in a limited role, and then find his stroke with more consistent minutes later.

Yep.  If we want to be the program we all hope we can be, this staff needs to take dudes like this and get a tune out of them early on (e.g., solid contributor) and then get them on a constant development path.  Fingers crossed!

[Stuhoo]

1 hour ago, Stuhoo said:

A talent infusion. Not a performance infusion in his career to date, but he raises our ceiling if he can develop.

Welcome Jaeden!

 

I posted the above in the Mustaf thread, so for Harris I will simply add…

ditto.

[Stuhoo]

13 minutes ago, Uspshoosier said:

Now?

Agreed.

[Shooter]

12 minutes ago, IU5355 said:

Whats the take on Harris? Is he capable of being a key part of the rotation?

 

He's certainly going to play. IMO, I'd consider Harris and Mustaf the starting 2 and 3 until proven otherwise.

Maybe we add one more wing of a similar level, and then one of the three is the 6th man. But I doubt either is coming here for a lesser role than that.

[Stuhoo]

Selling Harris on our system was likely relatively easy:

1. Show him a ton of Lamar Wilkerson tape because that is his direct comp out of high school.

2. Offer him starter money and the potential for 30mpg.

[ronzo4IU]

I like the big time potential here!

[Pagoda]

2 minutes ago, Stuhoo said:

Selling Harris on our system was likely relatively easy:

1. Show him a ton of Lamar Wilkerson tape because that is his direct comp out of high school.

2. Offer him starter money and the potential for 30mpg.

And "It's Indiana."

[Stuhoo]

2 minutes ago, Pagoda said:

And "It's Indiana."

[BlueDevil]

You won’t find a cleaner shooting stroke than Darren’s and that’s why I am optimistic about him. Just never got enough minutes to get confident and in a rhythm.  Super happy for him and hopefully he breaks out. Gotta work on the defense. 

[Lebowski]

Potential over production. Is that a different approach than last year? I recall a lot of the guys coming in last year had a lot of production stats. Or am I completely wrong? 

Also, can he play defense?