What Trent Sisley showed for Indiana on Wednesday is just a ‘product of all the work he’s put in this summer’

When it comes to the types of preseason exhibition games and foreign trips that Indiana basketball is currently on, it’s difficult to know exactly what to expect. One thing is for sure, there was no one who expected freshman Trent Sisley to have the type of high impact he did in his first game. Coming […]

(Photo: Indiana University Athletics)

When it comes to the types of preseason exhibition games and foreign trips that Indiana basketball is currently on, it’s difficult to know exactly what to expect. One thing is for sure, there was no one who expected freshman Trent Sisley to have the type of high impact he did in his first game.

Coming off the bench in Indiana’s 98-47 win over Central University of Bayamon (UCB) in the first exhibition game of the Puerto Rico trip, not only did Trent Sisley end up playing the most minutes out of any player on the roster (24), he also had a game-high 21 points on 9-of-12 shooting, which included 3-of-3 from deep, as well. He also added three rebounds and two assists.

“Yeah, I think once I got settled in, I played pretty well,” said Trent Sisley after his first game with Indiana. “My team was sharing the game, had a lot of assists tonight. The whole team played pretty well when we got settled in, so that was a good start.”

It didn’t take long for Sisley to get comfortable on the floor for Indiana when he came in. After a few possessions, Sisley found his footing with a sequence that saw him use his elite athletic ability to finish a highlight dunk then on the next possession, he would hit a corner three, which would be his first of three of the night.

“Once that first one goes in, obviously you’ve got to keep shooting,” Trent Sisley added. “Keep shooting the good ones, stuff like that. The coach was big on sharing the ball, so everyone kept on sharing it. We kept on getting open looks. I got a little bit of open looks too, so it was good.”

Yes, Darian DeVries is very big on playing at a fast pace and sharing the ball, something that Indiana basketball has not done in a long time as a program.

After having a great summer for the Hoosiers and previously earning high praise for his work ethic and development, Sisley earned his opportunity that he got on Wednesday night.

“Yeah, Trent’s done a really good job this summer,” said Darian DeVries after the first exhibition game. “You know, like a lot of freshmen, you come in, you got a lot to learn, a lot to grow into. But I think his adjustment to college basketball has been really good. I mean, he’s done a nice job of continuing to grow and get better and better.

“Then I think that’s something that he’s going to continue to do. He puts a lot of time and work into and, you know, what you saw today has been kind of a product of all the work he’s put in this summer.”

With few plays called for him, Sisley did most of his work in transition, the secondary break, on offensive rebounds and overall hustle plays.

Now it’s about replicating the process and his performance from Wednesday.

“Yeah, now you set the bar pretty high, you know, expectations get set really up there,” said Darian DeVries with a smirk. “No, it was good. You know, you’re a young player and you can have success early.”

Indiana basketball will have a few days off before they get back into action on Saturday. Between now and then, the freshman forward from Santa Claus, Indiana is going to be one of the more talked about players on this team with a bunch of eyes being on him ahead of the next exhibition game.

Will Trent Sisley replicate the performance he had on Wednesday night? That may be hard to do but one thing is for sure, Sisley is ready to go when his name is called again on Saturday.

“It was good to get this first one out of the way,” Said Sisley. “We’ve got two more this week, and obviously the whole season is in front of us. We’ve just got to keep building and getting better.”

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Category: General Sports