Indiana University Athletics
Cahill Key in Overhauled Offense
11/4/2015 11:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
By: Sam Beishuizen | Twitter
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Amanda Cahill seems to be poised for a breakout season. Maybe one of the best in the Big Ten.
At least, her teammates certainly think so.
"Amanda Cahill, you guys, everyone needs to watch out for her because she's definitely going to kill it out there," junior guard Karlee McBride said. "She's a beast. I can't even explain it. She's just killing it so far this preseason. She's definitely somebody you're going to want to look out for."
"Amanda has gotten so much better," junior forward Alexis Gassion said. "Everything about her game is better, really. Every detail is better. Every play is better. Just everything."
Senior forward Lyndsay Leikem was even blunter.
"In my opinion, Amanda Cahill is the best forward in our league," she said.
Internal expectations are high for Cahill, who led Indiana with 7.7 rebounds per game as a freshman. She also returns as the Hoosiers' second-leading scorer, having averaged 10.8 points per game one year ago.
There's added excitement surrounding Cahill's game since her role evolved over the summer when Indiana head coach Teri Moren restructured her offense to fit Indiana's skillset better.
Unlike last season, where Indiana mostly moved the ball side to side for outside shots or opportunities to dump the ball into the paint, IU will look to use Cahill as a facilitator in the high post. The change should give Cahill more flexibility while also allowing her the freedom to impact the offense in a variety of ways whether it be in the post, the mid-range or from beyond the arc.
"I'm a little bit more in the flow of the offense this year," Cahill said. "Just getting some different looks, coming off some screening action. Getting some different looks that I should hopefully be successful in. It's definitely something me and the other forwards have been working on in the offseason to get some of those looks."
Moren is trying to do anything she can to get the ball into Cahill's hands more often. As a freshman, Moren said Cahill was slightly limited by the structure of Indiana's offense in what she could do, yet she still managed to be one of Indiana's most consistent players throughout the season.
Cahill had six double-doubles as a freshman while only failing to score more than six points once in 31 games. A consistent rebounder, the 6-foot-2 forward had only six games where she didn't grab more than five boards.
"That's one of the best things about Amanda is you always know what you're going to get," sophomore point guard Tyra Buss said. "But if you thought she was good last year, man, she's gotten a whole lot better. She makes a point guard's job so easy."
With that in mind, Moren said it was obvious to her and her coaching staff that they needed to use Cahill more effectively during the summer.
While she's still expected to clean up the glass and score on second-chance opportunities, Moren said Cahill will likely find herself in pick and pop situations more often and be keener to using the rip and drive to blow by an opposing defender.
"We know that she could catch and she could shoot, but now when the defender runs out and closes out, she can rip and drive and get past that guy," Moren said. "She's added that to her game, but she certainly is one of those kids that doesn't really get caught up in what's best for her. It's what's best for our team."
Moren's analysis echoes Cahill's. While she appreciates the compliments from her teammates, she said nothing gets proven until she lives up to her expectations on the floor.
Cahill doesn't have personal expectations for a sophomore jump. Her goals aren't necessarily measured in specific stats or numbers. She's measuring her season on how much impact she can make. It's become so important that she has a wristband with the word, "impact" written on it as her reminder of what her job is.
She'll let her teammates take care of the hype.
"I just want to be a good impact for the team and filling in whatever role we need night in, night out," Cahill said. "Say we need five rebounds, I want to be the person that goes in there and says, 'I'll get them.' Or if we need a few shots, I can step up and make those shots. I just want to be whatever the team needs me to be."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Amanda Cahill seems to be poised for a breakout season. Maybe one of the best in the Big Ten.
At least, her teammates certainly think so.
"Amanda Cahill, you guys, everyone needs to watch out for her because she's definitely going to kill it out there," junior guard Karlee McBride said. "She's a beast. I can't even explain it. She's just killing it so far this preseason. She's definitely somebody you're going to want to look out for."
"Amanda has gotten so much better," junior forward Alexis Gassion said. "Everything about her game is better, really. Every detail is better. Every play is better. Just everything."
Senior forward Lyndsay Leikem was even blunter.
"In my opinion, Amanda Cahill is the best forward in our league," she said.
Internal expectations are high for Cahill, who led Indiana with 7.7 rebounds per game as a freshman. She also returns as the Hoosiers' second-leading scorer, having averaged 10.8 points per game one year ago.
There's added excitement surrounding Cahill's game since her role evolved over the summer when Indiana head coach Teri Moren restructured her offense to fit Indiana's skillset better.
Unlike last season, where Indiana mostly moved the ball side to side for outside shots or opportunities to dump the ball into the paint, IU will look to use Cahill as a facilitator in the high post. The change should give Cahill more flexibility while also allowing her the freedom to impact the offense in a variety of ways whether it be in the post, the mid-range or from beyond the arc.
"I'm a little bit more in the flow of the offense this year," Cahill said. "Just getting some different looks, coming off some screening action. Getting some different looks that I should hopefully be successful in. It's definitely something me and the other forwards have been working on in the offseason to get some of those looks."
Moren is trying to do anything she can to get the ball into Cahill's hands more often. As a freshman, Moren said Cahill was slightly limited by the structure of Indiana's offense in what she could do, yet she still managed to be one of Indiana's most consistent players throughout the season.
Cahill had six double-doubles as a freshman while only failing to score more than six points once in 31 games. A consistent rebounder, the 6-foot-2 forward had only six games where she didn't grab more than five boards.
"That's one of the best things about Amanda is you always know what you're going to get," sophomore point guard Tyra Buss said. "But if you thought she was good last year, man, she's gotten a whole lot better. She makes a point guard's job so easy."
With that in mind, Moren said it was obvious to her and her coaching staff that they needed to use Cahill more effectively during the summer.
While she's still expected to clean up the glass and score on second-chance opportunities, Moren said Cahill will likely find herself in pick and pop situations more often and be keener to using the rip and drive to blow by an opposing defender.
"We know that she could catch and she could shoot, but now when the defender runs out and closes out, she can rip and drive and get past that guy," Moren said. "She's added that to her game, but she certainly is one of those kids that doesn't really get caught up in what's best for her. It's what's best for our team."
Moren's analysis echoes Cahill's. While she appreciates the compliments from her teammates, she said nothing gets proven until she lives up to her expectations on the floor.
Cahill doesn't have personal expectations for a sophomore jump. Her goals aren't necessarily measured in specific stats or numbers. She's measuring her season on how much impact she can make. It's become so important that she has a wristband with the word, "impact" written on it as her reminder of what her job is.
She'll let her teammates take care of the hype.
"I just want to be a good impact for the team and filling in whatever role we need night in, night out," Cahill said. "Say we need five rebounds, I want to be the person that goes in there and says, 'I'll get them.' Or if we need a few shots, I can step up and make those shots. I just want to be whatever the team needs me to be."
Players Mentioned
Forward
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Forward
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's BasketballFB: Nico Radicic - Spring Practice No. 11
Tuesday, April 21
FB: Drew Evans - Spring Practice No. 11
Tuesday, April 21
FB: Bray Lynch - Spring Practice No. 11
Tuesday, April 21
FB: Spring Practice - Curt Cignetti Press Conference
Thursday, April 16