IUWBB - News and Notes

[Class of '66 Old Fart 80,853]

Couple of good off-season reads.

https://www.si.com/college/indiana/other-sports/indiana-womens-basketball-motivated-for-successful-season

http://www.hoosiersportsreport.com/2020/10/iu-women-adapting-with-season-on-the-horizon/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

[Class of '66 Old Fart 80,853]

Pete DePrimio - 

https://iuhoosiers.com/news/2020/10/19/womens-basketball-indiana-women-built-to-overcome-challenges.aspx?fbclid=IwAR322OpGm52TGomcLWUpOyN2SuJlvBJ_Hkqujxlh0LQpafrhFMGwckjs7NI

[mamasa 14,815]

1 hour ago, Class of '66 Old Fart said:

Pete DePrimio - 

https://iuhoosiers.com/news/2020/10/19/womens-basketball-indiana-women-built-to-overcome-challenges.aspx?fbclid=IwAR322OpGm52TGomcLWUpOyN2SuJlvBJ_Hkqujxlh0LQpafrhFMGwckjs7NI

Really can't wait to see this team

[mamasa 14,815]

Holmes Siblings Bring Competitive Nature To Indiana Women’s Basketball

 

By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
 
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The question has to be asked. It suggests drama, intensity and the kind of sister-brother rivalry that leads to basketball excellence.
 
In Indiana sophomore standout Mackenzie Holmes' case, it has, at a national level.
 
So, who is the better shooter -- Mackenzie or brother Cam, a Hoosier practice player with a strong game?
 
Cam doesn't hesitate.
 
"I would have to say me. If she tells you it isn't me, she's lying."
 
Will Mackenzie lie?
 
"He is the better shooter," she admits. "That's fair."
 
And then, a touch of competitive ribbing.
 
"That's pretty much all he does, so I'll give that to him."
 
Cam offers a concession.
 
"She's the better player in every other aspect, but shooting is one of the few categories I have her beat in."
 
Mackenzie is coming off a record-breaking freshman season. No Hoosier has ever matched the 6-3 forward's 63.4 percent shooting. That easily topped the previous mark of 61.1 percent set by Jenny Dittfach during the 1995-96 season.
 
She averaged 10.8 and 5.2 rebounds and earned a program-record three Big Ten Freshman of the Week awards.
 
If you believe Cam, that's just the beginning.
 
"I can see how much she's grown as a person and a player."
 
Mackenzie's old-school-style game has been compared to former Boston Celtics superstar Kevin McHale for her ability to read defenses and play angles, although coach Teri Moren adds comparisons to another ex-Celtic, and former state-of-Indiana legend, Larry Bird, because she plays beyond appearance.
 
Mackenzie was a big reason, but not the only one, why IU won a program-record 24 games last season.
 
Mackenzie wants more. The Hoosiers want more. That means work.
 
"I want to become a better defender and be able to defend the 4 (power forward) spot. That was a weak point last year. I want to stay on the court at a high level for longer. Not get as tired as quickly. Try to stretch the floor as much as I can."
 
The reward could be enormous for Mackenzie and the Hoosiers – if the pandemic allows it.
 
Moren has assembled a team deep in talent, experience and size. Optimism is at an all-time high.
 
"We have a lot of pieces to help us be successful," Mackenzie says. "We're strong in every position.
 
"It won't be a normal season because of Covid-19, any day we get to be on the court together is a great day. Every day it gets closer to the season, we get more excited."
 
A big goal for Mackenzie, and many of the Hoosiers, is improving the perimeter shooting. Indiana shot just 30.3 percent from three-point range last season to rank No. 220 nationally.
 
Mackenzie never took a three-pointer last year despite being a solid high school perimeter shooter at a senior (12-for-32) while earning Maine Gatorade Player of the Year honors.
 
The reason -- IU coaches didn't need it from her then.
 
They do now.
 
"In high school, I shot outside from the perimeter because I was able to," Mackenzie says. "If I had an open three, I would take it.
 
"Last year, it was not what they needed me to do. It wasn't my role."
 
After the pandemic ended all of college sports last spring, Mackenzie returned to her Gorham, Maine, home. Assistant coach Rhet Wierzba suggested using the time to improve her outside shooting.
 
"We thought it would be good to stretch my game past 12 to 15 feet. I had the time to do it, to go at my own pace to get comfortable beyond the arc.
 
It helped that her father, Lenny, is a long-time and highly regarded shooting instructor and AAU coach (her mother, Denise, is a college assistant coach).
 
Lenny installed a basket in the front yard for outside work. Mackenzie also had occasional access to a gym that had a shooting gun.
 
Father did a lot of rebounding for her. Brother, not so much.
 
"Cam did not rebound for me," Mackenzie emphasizes with a laugh.
 
Still, Cam sees the improvement.
 
"She's expanded her game. She can take people off the dribble from the perimeter rather than being a back-to-the-basket kind of player."
 
Adds Moren: "Mac has completely added another element to her game. She's able to knock down the long ball with consistency."
 
The pandemic forced the closing of many facilities, which meant Mackenzie had to get creative with workouts while at home.
 
For instance, all she had was a set of dumbbells, a bike, a treadmill and a leg press machine. Strength coach Kevin Konopasek devised a program for her.
 
"He gave me a lot of lifts and options. I maintained my lifting. We had Zoom workouts with the team twice a week."
 
Another obstacle was the southern Maine weather, which wasn't always conducive to outdoor workouts.
 
"For a while, I couldn't run outside. The Maine weather wasn't letting it happen. It stayed snowy till end of April."
 
When Mackenzie got outside, the goal was to take advantage of area football fields' 100-yard dimensions for running work.
 
The problem -- all such fields around Mackenzie were closed, and when she tried to sneak on, she got kicked off. So, she improvised at a nearby open field where grass cutting was not always a regular occurrence and holes could be ankle-twisting hazards.
 
She used an extra pair of shoes to walk off what she thought was 100 yards, and kept an eye out for holes.
 
"I worked with what I had. It was tough, but the fact I was able to work through it paid off.
 
"It was not like running on a turf. It wasn't even. I tried to find a straight line with the least amount of divots. If I saw one, I'd try my best to go around it. It sounds ridiculous now talking about it."
 
Along the way, Mackenzie lost 25 pounds, although it wasn't by design.
 
"The first couple of weeks (of the pandemic break), I was in shock. I was not aware of what was going on. The more it became a reality that this won't go away any time soon, I did the things I knew I needed to do to prepare.
 
"I wanted to change my body to stay in the game longer, be quicker, defend better. I changed my diet. Started eating better. Of course, I was exercising, and started losing weight. I wanted to see how far I could go with it. It's been a long journey, but I'm happy with how I feel now."
 
Mackenzie says it's helped her game.
 
"I feel quicker. I can get up and down the court better. I can get up more when shooting. I can defend better.
 
"It was something I needed to do to take my game to the next level."
 
That leads us back to practice, and the challenge of facing a brother who refuses to back down.
IU coaches don't try to separate them.
 
"It all depends on the day," Cam says. "I'm usually a guard-forward type of player, but when the big (practice player) doesn't show up I'll go against her. Sometimes it's in drills. Sometimes it's in scrimmages.
 
"I would say at least a few times a practice."
 
There's no let up when brother and sister go at it, and they do go at it.
"It doesn't matter if it was brother-brother or sister-sister," Cam says, "it's pretty much the same thing.
 
"When she goes against me, she'll go a little harder. She'll give me a little more of an elbow or two. I'll do the same to her. It's a good back and forth.
 
"When I'm guarding her, she'll try harder to score than if someone else guarding her."
 
A pause.
 
"I do as well so she has no bragging rights over me," he adds with a laugh.
 
Cam worked with the women's team at Rhode Island's Bryan University for a year before transferring to IU last season when his sister arrived.
 
"It's everything I expected," he says. "It's better than being a manager. I enjoy the competitiveness and helping the girls.
 
"I'm very invested in the team. I've built a lot of great relationships here. The culture is great. Very upbeat. It makes a manager or a practice player want to come every day because they treat you special."
 
His sister agrees.
 
"We have something special," Mackenzie says about the team. "Our chemistry is great. We have this competitiveness we bring to practice every day.
 
"We're very excited."

[mamasa 14,815]

ESPN has us ranked #13

https://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/story/_/id/30263422/women-college-basketball-way-too-early-top-25-uconn-climbs-no-3-south-carolina-no-1

[Class of '66 Old Fart 80,853]

Patberg named to Nancy Lieberman Award watch list.

https://iuhoosiers.com/news/2020/11/9/womens-basketball-ali-patberg-named-to-nancy-lieberman-award-watch-list.aspx?fbclid=IwAR32K0mInWQjWnJ6NfhBnERjU84rs6FvzII5yna9_5_5FRgRr9hhu0vu2Nw

[Class of '66 Old Fart 80,853]

Another Hoosier named to a pre-season award watch list and it's a player who's never yet played a game for IU.  Nicole Cardaño-Hillary named to the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award watch list.

 Redshirt junior guard Nicole Cardaño-Hillary has been named one of 20 shooting guards named to the Ann Meyer Drysdale Award preseason watch list, announced by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women's Basketball Coaches Association.
 
Cardaño-Hillary played her first three seasons at George Mason before transferring to Indiana in the 2020 offseason. She became Mason's all-time leading scorer in 2019-20, scoring 1,766 career points. She started in all 30 games and scored in double figures 27 times and had 11 20+ point games. An Atlantic 10 All-Conference Second Team selection, Cardaño-Hillary averaged 18.3 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. Previously, Cardaño-Hillary was the A-10 Player of the Year (2018-19) and the A-10 Rookie of the Year (2017-18) at George Mason.
 
College basketball fans are encouraged to participate in Fan Voting presented by Dell Technologies in each of the three rounds. In early February, the watch list of 20 players for the 2021 Ann Meyers Drysdale Shooting Guard of the Year Award will be narrowed to just 10. In early March, five finalists will be presented to Ms. Meyers Drysdale and the Hall of Fame's selection committee.
 
The winner of the 2021 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award will be presented on Friday, April 9, 2021, along with the other four members of the Women's Starting Five. Additional awards being presented include the Nancy Lieberman Point Guard Award, the Cheryl Miller Small Forward Award, the Katrina McClain Power Forward Award, and the Lisa Leslie Center Award, in addition to the Men's Starting Five.
 
Previous winners of the Ann Meyers Drysdale Shooting Guard of the Year Award include Aari McDonald, Arizona (2020), Asia Durr, Louisville (2019) and Victoria Vivians, Mississippi State (2018).

[Class of '66 Old Fart 80,853]

From Jeremy Price on the Ann Meyers Drysdale award watch list.  Nicole is on the list although at this point she's not eligible to play for us; however, that would change if the NCAA opts to approve a waiver for immediate eligibility.  Typically, the NCAA hands out such waivers like candy at a parade but it will just be our luck that her request will be denied.

[Class of '66 Old Fart 80,853]

And yet another Hoosier on an award watch list.    Grace Berger named to Cheryl Miller Preseason Award watch list.

 

Junior guard Grace Berger has been named one of 20 candidates on the Cheryl Miller Award preseason watch list, announced on Wednesday by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women's Basketball Coaches Association.
 
Berger returns after a stellar sophomore campaign where she also earned All-Big Ten First Team honors and was a WBCA All-American honorable mention selection. The Louisville, Ky. native increased her scoring nearly eight points from her freshman campaign, finishing as the team's second leading scorer with 13.1 points per game. Berger also added 5.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists and a team-high 1.4 steals per game while scoring in double digits 21 times. She shot 45.6 percent from the floor and 76.9 percent at the charity stripe in 2019-20. The 6-foot guard was also named to the All-Big Ten preseason team earlier today.

She joins Ali Patberg (Nancy Lieberman Award) and Nicole Cardaño-Hillary (Ann Meyers Drysdale Award) as other IU honorees on the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and WBCA preseason lists. 
 
College basketball fans are encouraged to participate in Fan Voting presented by Dell Technologies in each of the three rounds. In early February, the watch list of 20 players for the 2021 Cheryl Miller Award will be narrowed to just 10. In early March, five finalists will be presented to Ms. Miller and the Hall of Fame's selection committee.
 
The winner of the 2021 Cheryl Miller Small Forward Award will be presented on Friday, April 9, 2021, along with the other four members of the Women's Starting Five. Additional awards being presented include the Nancy Lieberman Point Guard Award, the Ann Meyers Drysdale Shooting Guard Award, the Katrina McClain Power Forward Award, and the Lisa Leslie Center Award, in addition to the Men's Starting Five.
 
Previous winners of the Cheryl Miller Small Forward of the Year Award include Satou Sabally, Oregon (2020), Bridget Carleton, Iowa State (2019) and Gabby Williams, Connecticut (2018).

[Class of '66 Old Fart 80,853]

Indiana Picked To Win Big Ten; Patberg And Berger Earn Preseason All-Big Ten Honors

https://iuhoosiers.com/news/2020/11/11/womens-basketball-indiana-picked-to-win-big-ten-patberg-and-berger-earn-preseason-all-big-ten-honors.aspx?fbclid=IwAR0U1Kvc56tKMpAAahO0x4FgAW5f-iCTSp0GVh-VKBFZ4V_XocbOlmMkLz4

[Class of '66 Old Fart 80,853]

More recognition for Ali Patberg.

Ali Patberg Named to 2021 Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy Top 50 Watch List

https://iuhoosiers.com/news/2020/11/17/womens-basketball-ali-patberg-named-to-2021-jersey-mikes-naismith-trophy-top-50-watch-list.aspx?fbclid=IwAR1FWJ1PX9dlPA3-zY-Ks0jvjGuuu7Xv_saYjdVXZYMsFtjlum2hbZfFNXY

[Class of '66 Old Fart 80,853]

And a third honor for Patberg

Ali Patberg Named To Preseason Wade Watch List

https://iuhoosiers.com/news/2020/11/17/ali-patberg-named-to-preseason-wade-watch-list.aspx

 

[Class of '66 Old Fart 80,853]

If you haven't already seen this it's worth 4:31 of your time.

 

 

[WayneFleekHoosier 46,702]

If you haven't already seen this it's worth 4:31 of your time.
 
[/url]  

Excellent. Truly excellent


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[HoosierAloha 29,880]

If you haven't already seen this it's worth 4:31 of your time.
 
[/url]  

Great idea and love the intros!!


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[Class of '66 Old Fart 80,853]

#iuwbb senior guard @alipaige_14 checks in as ESPN’s 25th ranked player in the country this season.  Patberg is the fourth-highest rated #B1G athlete on the list behind Rutgers guard Arella Guirantes (#15), Northwestern’s Lindsey Pulliam (#17) and Michigan’s Naz Hillmon (#24)

 

From Greg Murray - Inside IU Women's Basketball returns TONIGHT at 6:30.  @TeriMoren  and I (virtually) preview the upcoming season, which starts on Wednesday afternoon. Listen live on @whcc105       https://whcc105.com/

 

[Class of '66 Old Fart 80,853]

IUWBB vs Butler originally scheduled for the 13th has been moved to Saturday the 12th at 3:30 ET.  It will still be streamed on Big Ten Network Plus.
 

[LamarCheeks 16,768]

Time changed again -- but at least this gets it on TV ... 
 

 

[Class of '66 Old Fart 80,853]

And as of 5:00 p..m., the game is canceled because of Covid in the Butler program.  IUWBB actively trying to find a replacement team.

[Class of '66 Old Fart 80,853]

IUWBB announced today they've not found a weekend replacement for Butler but are planning to add a game next week with an announcement expected in the coming days.