The most notable players in Indiana’s season-opening 98-51 win against Alabama A&M were the starters.
Reed Bailey scored a game-high 21 points, Tucker DeVries surpassed 2,000 career points and led all players with 11 rebounds and Lamar Wilkerson scored 19 points while tallying three of Indiana’s seven steals.
Sam Alexis, Indiana’s second man off the bench Wednesday night, flew relatively under the radar amid a flurry of high-flying dunks and 3-point baskets.
The Florida transfer scored 17 points on 6-for-7 shooting, along with eight rebounds, three assists and the Hoosiers’ only two blocked shots.
Alexis had an immediate impact: Indiana led 14-5 when he entered the game with 15:07 left in the first half. Just over three minutes later, he fouled out after a 9-0 run in which he had a dunk, an assist on a Wilkerson 3-pointer and blocked Alabama A&M’s Sami Pissis, leading to another Wilkerson 3-pointer that forced a timeout. Alexis’ off-ball movement led to multiple open dunks, while his defensive skills helped Indiana pull away in the first half.
“Sam is a great player,” Bailey said after the game. “He can change the game with the way he can play under the hoop, play strong and attack the basket, and create space on the floor. I’m excited to see what he does this year.”
Alexis averaged 10.8 points, 9.1 rebounds and a Southern Conference best 2.1 blocks per game during the 2023-24 season in Chattanooga, starting 32 of 33 games and playing more than 26 minutes per night on the floor. He was one of five Division I players to average at least 10 points, nine rebounds and two blocked shots, earning Southern Conference All-defensive team and third-team All-conference honors.
The move to high hoops last season at Florida brought a decline in production and injury issues.
His scoring numbers were more than halved — he averaged 4.7 points per game — and his rebounding numbers dropped nearly threefold to 3.5 per game in his lone season at Florida. The Gators won the national championship, but an ankle injury sidelined Alexis for the final seven games of the regular season and limited him to one minute of postseason play.
While he was Indiana’s only reserve in double figures on Wednesday night, with only Tucker DeVries surpassing him, Alexis’ intangibles are just as important as his play on the floor.
“I think Sam plays the game with a little fire in his belly,” Darian DeVries said earlier this week. “That joy for the game is something that is contagious. That’s one that doesn’t appear on a stat sheet and that I know we as a coaching staff really appreciate.”
As a team, Indiana played with high intensity especially in the first half on Wednesday. It allowed Alabama A&M to shoot 29 percent in the first 20 minutes, forcing the Bulldogs into numerous bad shots. The Hoosiers led 58-22 at halftime. Alexis and Wilkerson led all scorers with 15 points each in the first half, while Alexis contributed five rebounds to Indiana’s 26-8 rebounding advantage.
Just as his impact off the bench may have raised eyebrows among those in attendance at Indiana’s season opener, Alexis surprised some of his teammates this offseason, including Conor Enright.
“His motor has gotten really strong,” Enright said Nov. 3 on Inside Indiana Basketball. “I think he will be very good for us.”
Indiana’s strong shooting performance in the season opener — it finished the night 10-for-24 from beyond the arc — opened up more opportunities to get into the paint. Alexis took advantage several times.
“We were able to get some slips and some rolls to the rim,” Darian DeVries said after the game. “I thought the guys did a good job taking what the defense gave them tonight.”
The quality of the opponent must be taken into account early in the season, but Alexis will have plenty of opportunities to make a big impact in Indiana’s more challenging non-conference matches. IU’s first non-conference test is this Sunday against Marquette at the United Center in Chicago.
If early returns are any indication, Hoosier fans have a lot to look forward to.
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