BORDEN, Ind. -- Though junior forward De'Ron Davis continues to make progress in recovering from surgery to repair a ruptured achilles, Indiana plans to to take things slow with him the rest of the summer.
IU head coach Archie Miller on Wednesday evening said Davis will be held out of contact and basketball activities until the fall as he continues his rehabilitation.
"It's going to be a slow process where he's got to get himself in a situation where he can start to feel comfortable running, from running then start the conditioning," Miller said at Wednesday's On The Road With The Hoosiers Event at Huber's Orchard & Winery. "From a contact perspective and a basketball perspective, I don't think that De'Ron will be ready for that this summer. I think we'll be pushing towards our fall program then moving into November."
The 6-foot-10, 245-pound Davis' initial recovery timeline was six to nine months following surgery in January. Miller's comments indicate his recovery will extend into the fall and align with the latter part of that timeline.
"It's a difficult surgery for anyone to come back from," Miller said. "A guy like De'Ron who's that size who can put on some weight when he's not allowed to do anything, it makes it just a little more difficult."
"But we've taken him very slow. He's done a nice job here in the last three to four weeks as he's been in summer school by himself of exclusively working on his rehab."
Davis averaged 9.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and shot 61.5% from the floor while starting in Indiana's first 15 games before the setback, including a team-high 14 points and made six of seven shots against Indiana State and a career-high 17 points in a career-best 29 minutes against Howard.
According to Miller, Davis has made positive progress recently but reiterated the program's patient approach.
"We have to take it slow and we have to be mindful of how he communicates, how he feels," Miller said. "Talking to (head athletic trainer) Tim Garl this last week, De'Ron's strung together some really good days and I think he's progressing."
Summer Expected To Fly By
Summer practice will be ramping up quickly for Indiana after an atypical extended break.
"Our offseason has been a little bit quieter than some in the past," Miller said. "It's been a little longer."
After players went through spring practice and workouts, the end of the semester marked the end of that program and the beginning of a three-and-a-half to four week break in the month of May.
Miller said Indiana's returning players will report back to campus for summer workouts this weekend. Once the five-member incoming freshman class - ranked No. 7 nationally and No. 1 in the Big Ten by Rivals.com - graduates, it will arrive in Bloomington on June 12.
"As a staff, we're really excited to take it into Phase Two," Miller said. "Our returning guys had a good spring, and I think their knowledge of how we do things is really going to help when they get here this summer."
Miller said the NCAA has granted Indiana additional practice time this summer, and they look forward to taking advantage of it with its staff intact.
"This is a team that's relatively going to have an influx of young talent, new people, and our returning guys are going to have to mesh," Miller said. "This is sort of an opportunity to really blend this summer, so we're happy about that."
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