As the start of the college basketball season approaches, we’ve transitioned from our look at other Big Ten programs to our player-by-player previews of the 2025-26 IU basketball roster.
Today our player profiles continue with senior Lamar Wilkerson.
Earlier: Andrej Acimovic, Trent Sisley, Alex Ristic, Josh Harris, Jasai Miles, Nick Dorn, Jason Drake
Lamar Wilkerson was one of the most coveted guards in the transfer portal last spring.
A quick examination of Wilkerson’s career over the past four seasons — one at Three Rivers College and three at Sam Houston — makes it easy to see why.
The 6-foot-2 Wilkerson, an unheralded recruit from Ashdown, Arkansas, began his career at Three Rivers College, a junior college in Poplar Bluff, Missouri.
In 27 games, Wilkerson averaged 16.7 points and shot 40.9 percent on 3s, earning him an NJCAA All-America honorable mention.
From there, Wilkerson moved up to Division I at Sam Houston. Although he wasn’t an instant star, he was immediately productive. In 32 games off the bench, Wilkerson averaged 7.4 points and shot 41-for-110 on 3s, good for 37.3 percent.
As a junior, Wilkerson took a big leap and became one of the best mid-major guards in the country. He started 31 games for the Bearkats and averaged 13.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists and a steal in 29.7 minutes per game, earning him All-Conference USA first-team honors. Wilkerson shot 52 of 150 on 3s.
Last season, by far his best, Wilkerson continued his improvement and was one of only 19 players nationally to average 20 or more points per game.
In 32 games, Wilkerson averaged 20.5 points, four rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.1 steals in 34.9 minutes per game. He shot 109-of-245 on 3s, a blistering 44.5 percent. Wilkerson was one of only three players in Division I to make at least 100 3-pointers last season while shooting 44 percent from distance. His 109 made three-pointers ranked 13th nationally.
When Wilkerson entered the portal last spring, he became a priority for a long list of schools, including Indiana and Kentucky.
Ultimately, the Hoosiers won because of his effort, despite Kentucky getting its last visit before making a decision.
“It was a pleasure to be recruited by Kentucky, but I didn’t want to go to Kentucky and just be another guy, you know, who’s already been to Kentucky,” Wilkerson told Field of 68 after announcing his decision. “Hoosiers basketball is a big name, and they haven’t been where they want to be yet.
“And I trust coach (Darian) DeVries, and what he brings in, and the type of coach he is, and how he’s going to put us in a position to win. And we could do this together, man, it’ll just make my story better, his story better, and then Hoosier basketball will be back.”
Wilkerson’s path to returning the Hoosiers to prominence begins early next month at Assembly Hall, where he is expected to be a quality scoring option.
During an early August trip to Puerto Rico for three exhibition games, Wilkerson gave the first glimpse of what he will bring to Bloomington.
He led IU in scoring on the trip with 15.7 points per game and also added 3.7 assists and 2.7 rebounds in 25.4 minutes per game.
His signature moment of the trip was his second-half performance against Mega Superbet on August 9. After scoring just five points in the first half, he finished with a team-high 18 points and led a 70-19 run that led to a 93-71 victory.
“He can just change a game in two or three possessions,” DeVries said of Wilkerson. “He can quickly go 0-for-4, 4-for-8, 6-for-10.”
In an IU offense that is expected to be up-tempo with plenty of three-point attempts, Wilkerson will be a focal point. He moves well without the ball and uses his size well to shoot over smaller defenders. His release is efficient and he doesn’t need much space to make his shot.
With Wilkerson and Tucker DeVries, the Hoosiers should have one of the best shooting duos not only in the Big Ten, but in the country.
In short: Wilkerson will start and play a big role in the IU offense. He knows how to use screens to get open, but can also get offensive off the dribble. His mid game and floater are strengths of his offensive repertoire and when he gets hot he can quickly change a game with the 3-point shot.
Quotable: “Small town guy, you know, I had another chip on my shoulder. I never got anything out of high school. I went to JUCO, from JUCO I went to D1 and now here we are. So I never got anything. And early on in my life, my parents, my mom, my sisters, my siblings all showed me what hard work and dedication was. So it stuck with me. And you know, you only get what you put into stops.” – Wilkerson to Field of 68 after announcing his commitment to Indiana.
(Photo credit: IU Athletics)
See more: Commentary, 2025-26 Season Preview, Lamar Wilkerson
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