When Indiana coach Darian DeVries signed six high-major transfers in the spring, Georgia Tech import Jaeden Mustaf was viewed as the one likely to make the smallest impact.
The other five transfers — including high-profile Notre Dame point guard Markus Burton and Alabama power forward Aiden Sherrell — were expected to comprise the starting lineup and provide the bulk of the team’s production.
But as Indiana (3-0) heads into Thursday night’s non-conference game against Tennessee Tech (2-1) in Bloomington, Ind., Mustaf has become as indispensable as Burton, Sherrell or any of the other transfers.
Jaeden Mustaf, the son of 1990 NBA first-round pick Jerrod Mustaf, ranks second on the Hoosiers in average minutes (26.7 per game), fourth in scoring (10.3 ppg), second in rebounding (4.7 per game), tied for second in steals (1.3 pg), and fourth in field-goal accuracy (58.8%).
Mustaf saved his best performance to date for Monday’s 83-80 win over Syracuse. He led all players with 33 minutes and racked up 18 points and a game-high three offensive rebounds among his seven boards. He also hit 2 of 3 shots from 3-point range.
“I don’t really go into a game thinking, ‘Oh, I have to score or I have to do this,'” Mustaf said. “To me, I’ve got to be a leader on defense. Somebody who comes in and brings energy. And use my athletic ability and strength to go in and get rebounds.
“I have a lot of physical ability. So just get in there doing my job and just helping the team win is what it comes down to.”
Said DeVries: “That’s what I love about Jaeden. That’s a big part of why he’s in that starting lineup. He brings the physicality. He guards the other team’s, you know, whatever player we want him to guard because he can (defend) 1 through 4 and switch on to 5 sometimes. And then his offensive rebounding.”
Tennessee Tech has not been great at rebounding in the early going, but Mustaf and the rest of the Hoosiers will have to be at their best guarding the 3-point arc.
Not only do coach Tobin Anderson’s Golden Eagles rank among the nation’s leaders in percentage of shots taken from 3-point range – they’ve launched 117 of their 219 field-goal attempts (53.4%) from there — they’re hitting 15 3-pointers per game while averaging 100.7 points.
Caleb Sanders (18.7 ppg, 7.3 rpg) and Cbo Newton (14.7 ppg, 12-for-21 on 3-point attempts) lead six double-figure scorers for Tennessee Tech, which put Arizona, Indiana and Mississippi State on its non-conference schedule to prepare for Southern Conference play.
“We’re playing a great schedule,” Anderson told Full Court Network. “… I believe in that.”