Indiana’s new head coach, Darian DeVries, wanted to emphasize backcourt depth and shooting when he began to rebuild Indiana’s roster ahead of the 2025-26 season, bringing in seven scholarship guards, including
Jason Drake from Drexel.
Here’s what you need to know about Drake ahead of the season:
The Background
Drake has bounced around a little bit in his career, starting his career as a reserve at Cleveland State in 2022-23 before opting for a bigger role at the community college level his sophomore season. After an impressive year at that level, he was offered a scholarship to Drexel, where he started 33 of 33 games in 2024-25, his third year of college basketball. He was an immediate impact player for the Dragons, finishing the year in the top five on the team for minutes and points per game.
The Stats and Skillset
Listed as a combo guard on his 247 Sports transfer profile, Drake is comfortable playing either guard spot and played alongside two other guards in Drexel’s starting lineup last season. This kind of versatility will be useful in DeVries’ offensive set, where players are expected to be able to handle the ball, create for themselves, and find teammates up and down the lineup.
Last season at Drexel, Drake averaged 3.1 assists per game versus just 1.6 turnovers, a good ratio for somebody who wasn’t always the primary ball handler. He has the burst to beat his guy off the dribble, which allowed for him to find cutting teammates or shooters open on the perimeter when the defense rotated to stop his drive. He does like to turn a lot of these drives into midrange shots, far from the most efficient outcome in modern basketball. This is something he will probably have to cut down on to see more minutes this year at Indiana.
On the other hand, Drake is a more than capable perimeter shooter, something we’ve come to expect from the guards DeVries recruits. On more than three attempts per game last year, Drake hit 39.6% of his attempts, often in catch and shoot scenarios. With other good shooters and passers around him, he will be an instant threat and his presence will help space the floor.
The Role
With how crowded the backcourt and wings look to be at this point in the preseason, I don’t necessarily see Drake as a starter. That said, with only two true point guards on the roster in Tayton Conerway and Conor Enright, Drake’s facilitating could make him one of the first guards off the bench. Even if DeVries looks for some of his more versatile forwards to facilitate while his lead guards rest, Drake is good enough at shooting and spacing the floor that he can bring value as a perimeter player alongside other playmakers. At the end of the day, his minutes as a backup will probably come down to his ability on defense and his offensive efficiency. Cutting down on midrange shots and playing good on-ball defense could go a long way in making him a primary reserve for Indiana this year.
