Lamar Wilkerson’s scoring punch continues to raise Indiana’s ceiling: ‘He gives us a chance every night’

Lamar Wilkerson opened the night by missing his first five shots. His second field-goal attempt, his first 3-pointer, missed everything.

On a night in which Indiana’s 1975-76 undefeated national championship team was honored at halftime inside Assembly Hall, Indiana’s most explosive scorer began in unfamiliar territory.

What came next felt far more in line with the occasion.

“Any time you have a guy like Lamar you always have a chance because he can do what he did tonight,” head coach Darian DeVries said postgame. “He can win a game. Not by himself, but he can certainly change and impact the outcome of a game in a hurry.”

“It’s fun when you have guys like that. Been around a few guys like that in my career. When they get in that zone, as long as they’re on your team, it’s really a joy to watch.”

Coach Q&A: Darian DeVries reacts to Indiana’s win over Oregon

Wilkerson did not work his way back into the game after that slow start. He took control of it.

By the final horn, he had produced 41 points in Indiana’s 92-74 win over Oregon, finishing 13-of-20 from the field and 6-of-12 from 3-point range. After the 0-for-5 start, Wilkerson made 13 of his final 15 shots. It was his second 40-point performance of the season, making him the first Indiana player since George McGinnis in 1970-71 to record multiple 40-point games in a single season.

For Indiana, nights like Monday alter what is possible.

When Wilkerson finds a groove, defensive schemes lose their shape. Contests become irrelevant. Coverage becomes guesswork. There are possessions where nothing is available, and then Wilkerson creates something anyway.

That reality changes Indiana’s ceiling. The Hoosiers are no longer limited to execution alone. They are supported by a guard who can generate offense independent of structure, who can erase dry spells without needing a perfect possession and who can swing a game over a handful of trips down the floor.

“When you have a guy like [Wilkerson], especially when you get into some of the biggest games, no matter who we line up against, he gives us a chance every night,” Tucker DeVries said postgame. “It can make us a really dangerous team even against some of the best teams in the country.”

The early misses never lingered.

Wilkerson, in his fifth collegiate season and playing in his 147th career game, showed no visible frustration as shots failed to fall.

“I mean, that’s what basketball is. You make shots and you miss shots,” Wilkerson said. “It was easy. Everybody kept telling me keep shooting. One fell, and then the rest happened.”

Player Q&A: Lamar Wilkerson, Tucker react to Indiana’s win over Oregon

That steadiness reflects a player who has grown beyond a single label.

When Wilkerson arrived in Bloomington, he was viewed primarily as an elite shooter. A career 39.4% 3-point shooter and one of college basketball’s most reliable marksmen from deep.

Early in the season, that identity held. Through Indiana’s first 20 games, 52 percent of Wilkerson’s points came from 3-point range.

Recently, that distribution has changed.

Over Indiana’s last five games, including Monday night, that figure has dropped below 45 percent. The shift does not reflect decline. It reflects expansion.

Wilkerson has become increasingly comfortable scoring inside the arc, whether through mid-range pull-ups, fallaway jumpers or straight-line drives. Defenders can no longer sell out to take away the three without exposing themselves elsewhere.

That development complicates things for Indiana’s opponents.

“Everybody when he walked in the gym knew he could shoot,” Tucker DeVries said. “His progress and just becoming like a complete scorer over the last few months has been really impressive.”

Indiana has now won five of its last six games. During that stretch, Wilkerson is averaging 28.2 points per game. In the Hoosiers’ lone loss, he still scored 33.

Historically, that level of production is rare in Bloomington.

Since 2000, only two Indiana players have averaged more than 20 points per game across a full season. Trayce Jackson-Davis averaged 20.9 points per game during the 2022-23 season. Eric Gordon averaged 20.9 in the 2007-08 season.

After Monday’s outburst, Wilkerson is averaging 21.2 points per game. That would be the program’s highest mark since Brian Evans averaged 21.2 during the 1995-96 season.

Those numbers, and nights like Monday, invite larger conversations.

“Just look at the numbers. Look at what he’s doing,” Darian DeVries said. “You know how hard it is to get 41 points? And he’s done it twice this year already and putting up monster numbers with percentages to go with it.”

Indiana does not require Wilkerson to score 41 every night. What it requires is the presence and threat of someone who can.

A guard who compresses margins. A scorer who bends matchups. A player who forces opponents to account for the possibility of eruption.

On a night that honored perfection from 50 years ago, Wilkerson delivered a performance that fit the moment.

And with it, he continued to raise the ceiling of what Indiana is capable of.

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