Indiana University Athletics
1997-98 Women's Basketball Outlook
1/1/1997 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
1997-98 Women's Basketball Outlook
Heading into the 1997-98 season Coach Jim Izard and the Hoosiers have every reason to believe that this should be the most exciting and successful season ever for Indiana women's basketball.
After missing the NCAA tournament the past two seasons, the maturation and development process of a young team is finally over. "We have only one senior returning in Quacy Barnes, but we have a lot of depth and experience in our junior class," said Izard. "The two years that we missed the NCAAs, they were freshmen and sophomores. They have come in and learned really by just battling and playing so much as freshmen and sophomores. Now, as juniors, they need to demonstrate that experience and step up and be leaders with Quacy to get us back to the tournament."
The Hoosiers return 75 percent of their scoring and rebounding from last year's 16-13 team along with three starters and three other proven veterans.
Of the returning starters, Indiana has an experienced duo in three-year starters Barnes and Kristi Green. What makes the two so dangerous is that they cover perhaps the two most critical positions in women's basketball. Barnes, at 6-5, dominates the post position, while point guard Green understands the importance of getting the ball to Barnes.
"In women's basketball at the collegiate level, the two key positions are the point and the post," said Izard. "You have to be able to get the ball up the floor at the point position and run your offense. Here we have Kristi who does not turn the ball over, is a double-figure scorer, can defend and is just a smart player who does a lot for us. At the post position, you can get the ball in close and get some short range points, or you can spread your offense out to get some easy points, and with Quacy, you have someone who can block shots and intimidate players inside."
Barnes, an All-Big Ten candidate, has led the Hoosiers in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots for the past two seasons. She averaged 13.8 points, 6.0 rebounds per game and ranked sixth in the nation with a school record 95 blocked shots.
Green, at 5-2, may be the shortest player in the Big Ten, but has contributed the most minutes played in the league over the course of her career. Since assuming the starting role midway through her freshman season, she has averaged 38 minutes of playing time per game. As a sophomore, Green was the most consistent player for the Hoosiers, averaging 11.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game while leading IU from behind the arc with 43 3-pointers.
Though Green's playing stamina is impressive, Coach Izard feels that the key to the Hoosiers' success this season rests in the emergence of a backup for Green.
"One thing that has to take place for us to be the team I want us to be is that someone has to step up at the point to give Kristi some rest," said Izard. "Kameelah Morgan or Sarah Warner have got to come in and be able to give Kristi five or six minutes rest a half so that she doesn't wear herself out during the course of the year. I think that Kameelah Morgan has all the tools, she is a great offensive player and just has to play harder on a daily basis to make things happen for us."
Morgan averaged 4.5 points per game off the bench as a redshirt freshman, while Warner saw action in seven games as a sophomore. Two-year starter Dani Thrush returns for her junior campaign in the backcourt. Last year, Thrush averaged 9.1 points and 4.1 rebounds per game while leading the team in steals with 1.6 per game.
"Dani is a very physical player and is very valuable to us with what we are trying to do," said Izard. "But the learning process for Dani has to be over. She has to be a player that knows the system and I think she does. She has the talent to take her game to the next level, but needs to play more under control this season and eliminate the turnovers."
Freshmen backcourt players Staci Mueller and Tara Jones will add depth and should be able to contribute in their inaugural season. Mueller, a 5-10 guard from Evansville Harrison, led Indiana high schools in scoring last year with a 28.9 average. Tara Jones, a 5-11 guard from Memphis, Tenn., has the necessary ball handling skills that could see her being groomed for the point.
"Staci was the state's leading scorer as a high school senior so we know she can score," said Izard. "But the other thing about her is that she can play defense and is a strong player who can get on the boards. She will push our starters for playing time. Tara is very athletic. She has good size and can handle the basketball. She is a player that we would like to make a point guard out of to give us another option."
Juniors LaKale Malone and Kristin Miller along with freshmen walk-on Jill Reynolds will add depth for IU. Malone and Miller can play either the shooting guard or small forward positions.
Like last season, the Hoosiers will again rotate players in the frontcourt. The only difference will be that sophomore Rachael Honegger will move to the small forward position. As a freshman she played at the four spot, starting 13 games and averaging 6.4 points and 3.7 rebounds per game. "By moving Rachael out to the perimeter, she will give us more size," said Izard. "She is an excellent passer and loves to get the ball inside to Quacy. She can also shoot the three, dribble penetrate and score off the dribble."
Four different players will take turns at power forward. Juniors Cindy Kerns and Summar Maines, sophomore Lisa Wube and freshman Melissa Yuska will all see a lot of court time.
The 6-0 Summar Maines started nine games as a sophomore, averaging 4.6 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. A physical player, Maines will also play backup for Barnes in the post position.
Kerns, at 6-2, also started nine games as a sophomore and provided the Hoosiers with aggressive rebounding. Last year she averaged 3.1 points and 3.0 rebounds per game.
Newcomer Melissa Yuska, a 6-2 freshman from Merrill, Wis., was a second-team all-state selection and could see a lot of minutes at power forward.
Wube, a 6-1 sophomore will provide added depth in that position.
"At the four spot, we have players that will give us good rotations," said Izard. "Cindy is a very good defensive rebounder, Summer is a very physical player and Melissa, a NIKE All-American, is strong and has good moves. She has the fundamentals and was very well coached. She will challenge Summar and Cindy for playing time."
The Hoosiers will have a demanding nonconference schedule this fall, traveling to Honolulu Nov. 28-30, to compete in the Hawaiian Airlines Rainbow Wahine Basketball Classic. Then, the day after returning to the inland, they will be off to Bowling Green, Ky., for a game against perennial top 25-powerhouse Western Kentucky. The schedule doesn't get any easier as the battle for the Big Ten title begins Dec. 28 against Michigan State. League play closes out the conference season with the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis Feb. 27-March 3.
And so the 1997-98 season begins. The Hoosiers have the size, experience, speed and depth it takes to make this one of the most exciting seasons in Indiana history. The players are ready to get back on the court and, most of all, ready to begin working their way back to the NCAA tournament.
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