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Hoops heaven
What do you call spending a couple days at Purdue and Indiana practices? It's pretty great, especially when you get to talk to all the players. Plus: Iowa snags a '26 commit, Wofford dismisses its coach, Players Era ditches St. Joe's, and much more.
Samuel Lance
September 15, 2025
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Good morning! Thanks for reading The Field of 68 Daily. Today’s edition is written by San Lance. Follow him on X.com/Twitter @slancehoops.
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1. Insights from Indiana, Purdue practices
This past week, Rob Dauster and Jeff Goodman hit the road to watch practice at Indiana and Purdue and hear from everyone around the program. (They’ll hit Louisville today and Kentucky tomorrow.)
But if you’re short on it, here are three main takeaways for each team:
Indiana
The most important thing for Indiana’s success in 2025-26 may be health. While Nick Dorn, Jasai Miles and Jason Drake are still working their way back, Tucker DeVries is healthy for the “first time in three years” and had a full offseason to prepare for his last ride. That’s big news for the former MVC POY.
Lamar Wilkerson isn’t just a great shooter, he’s “up there” with players coach Darian DeVries has coached like Kyle Korver and Doug McDermott. But what makes Wilkerson special is his character. Just look to him donating six figures to his old program Sam Houston State.
Unlike past seasons under Mike Woodson, this Indiana team should be fun to watch offensively. It’ll be letting it fly from 3-point range. “We want to space it,” Darian DeVries said. “I like the depth we have in the shooting department.”
Here’s the full slate of Hoosier interviews.
Purdue
Expectations are high for Purdue, like preseason No. 1 and “National title-or-bust” high. It seems like the Boilermakers are ready for the challenge. They don’t just have “National Champs” written on the whiteboard in the locker room for fun, they expect to do it. And when Matt Painter was asked if it’s national championship or bust this season, he responded ‘True.’
Point guard Braden Smith has taken talented Israeli newcomer Omer Mayer under his wing. The two could combine to be one of the most electric backcourts in the country. “I’m just trying to help him,” Smith said. “I know how important he is to this team.”
The addition of South Dakota State transfer Oscar Cluff and (healthy) sophomore Daniel Jacobsen, along with returning All-American Trey Kaufman-Renn, gives Purdue a formidable front line to deal with. But maybe the biggest impact on the front court depth is Kaufman-Renn being able to move back to his natural spot, the four. “I love it,” he said.
Here’s the full slate of Boilermaker interviews.
Be sure to subscribe to The Field of 68 on YouTube and follow The Field of 68 on X to stay updated with all the tour through the Bluegrass state over the next 48 hours.
2. Iowa lands first ‘26 recruit + more commitments
Ben McCollum has his first recruit out of the 2026 high school class, and he beat out a couple notable programs to do so.
