Nick Dorn 'needs to be getting' more minutes heading into Big Ten play for Indiana with his ability to 'change a game' instantly

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana wasn’t worried about the long layoff for Nick Dorn after he missed the entire summer and most of the fall with a foot injury. In fact, Darian DeVries knew the breakout was coming for the sharpshooting wing.

Dorn missed the first two games of the season and played single digit minutes in his first two games back in the lineup. But, his first possession and first shot back on the floor was made three. And, the praise from his head coach and players continued.

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“I think you saw why we were excited to get him out there. His first possession he’s firing up a three and knocks it down,” DeVries said after Dorn’s season debut vs Milwaukee. ” … He gives us another guy that can go out there and make four or five in a night. Like he shoots it at a high, high level and is a big, strong guy, too. So it just gives us a lot of versatility from our bench right now. That’s certainly something that as a coach is a great luxury.

“As he continues to work back, it’s nice that we got another person that can go in there and not only just do — go in and do what we ask, but he’s a guy at that can change a game when he comes in.”

Changing a game. As Dorn got more comfortable and saw extended minutes, that’s exactly what he did. It started against Louisville when he hit five 3s in the final 7:25 of the game to make it a competitive ending. After seeing a 19-point deficit strike the scoreboard, Dorn led Indiana in cutting the lead from 19 to just seven points, albeit too late.

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That was the trigger that has flipped the switch for Dorn — and his importance to Indiana’s offense.

After he averaged 3.8 points and shot 20 percent from three in the first four games of his season, he broke out. In the past seven games he’s averaged 10.7 points and shot 51.4 percent from three, making 2.7 3s a game.

“He’s doing a really good job like we talked about — he’s giving us something additional especially from a shooting standpoint,” DeVries said earlier this month. “He’s one of those guys who can get two, three, four in a row in a hurry.”

Dorn has scored in double figures in five of the last seven games and is the key cog to the bench unit, providing a spark whenever he’s on the floor. The biggest question is how his conditioning is improving after missing so much time during the offseason.

Both Dorn and DeVries are highly anticipating more time on the floor for the 6-foot-7 shooter as he gets even more comfortable.

“I feel great. It’s getting better every game,” Dorn said after a 15-point outing against Chicago State in mid-December. “I feel like conditioning gets better every game, just by getting even more in-game reps playing in this environment, I feel like that’s helping a lot. I feel like it’s picking up very well.”

That conditioning is helping in turn into more than just a shooter, too. The most impressive part from his coaches is his all-around game evolving more and more with each performance.

“What I’ve been most impressed with as he continues to get his game legs under him is his defense and he rebounding,” DeVries said. “Those are the areas that we’re looking for from everybody. We talk to guys on all the time right now about if you want your role to extend or you want to gain a role, those are a couple of areas where you can really help us because that’s something we really need and prioritize that on top of whatever else that you’re good at.

“Nick, and we all can see he can certainly shoot the ball. His minutes from a rotation standpoint, as his minutes are growing, we’re trying to figure out some of those rotations to get him the amount of minutes that he probably needs to be getting.”

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