In Samet Yigitoglu, Darian DeVries got the kind of player Matt Painter usually gets – a 7’2” center from overseas who dominates the paint and glass, offensively and defensively. He’s the kind of guy whose mere presence in the paint will force guards to reconsider, something Indiana hasn’t had since Kel’el Ware.
Yigitoglu comes to Indiana from SMU, where he spent two seasons, starting in every game from his first day on campus. As a freshman, he averaged 10 points per game, with six rebounds and a block
per game, which improved to 10.7 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks.
He doesn’t need to get up much to dunk, but he does move well for his size and appears to try to dunk on as many touches as possible, a big reason for his 62.8% field goal percentage last year. He attempted zero 3-pointers.
Being a purely post player, he is capable of playing next to a guy like Aiden Sherrell, something that is sometimes necessary due to the massive lineups this team will see in the Big Ten. Again though, he moves well for his size and is capable of playing in high pick and rolls with a point guard.
Yigitoglu took just 16.2% of SMU’s shots last season, which shows a willingness to get his points on the offensive glass and lobs from driving guards. He doesn’t demand the ball or dribble too much with his back to the basket. He gets the ball and usually tries to dunk, but will always go straight to the rim.
For his size, he’s not a prolific blocker like Sherrell is, but if you watch full tapes of SMU games, not too many test him around the rim. When the two bigs are on the floor together, it’s going to be hard to score inside against Indiana.
The concern, if there is one, is that he averaged just 28.9 minutes per game last year, which is impressive for his size. He averaged just 3.3 fouls per game, so he’s good at being available in that sense. He’s just a seven footer who plays hard, somebody who will naturally need rest to be ready down the stretch.
Alongside Sherrell, who averaged just 23.9 minutes per game last year at Bama, Indiana could probably stand to add some depth to the front court with its remaining roster spots. Both players could make a leap in that regard this year, but it’s a tough thing to count on.
As a whole though, this is the exact kind of player that Indiana didn’t have last year, the piece it was missing from being an NCAA Tournament team (back when the field was a more dignified 68 teams). With a guy like this on the roster, DeVries offense should run smoother for everybody from Burton to Lindsay to Yigitoglu himself.
