2024-25 Team Preview: Indiana

How much does the Hoosiers' identity, and expectations, change without Mackenzie Holmes?

Game 5 of the WNBA Semifinals between the Minnesota Lynx and Connecticut Sun is tomorrow, so let’s talk about that.

It feels like the Lynx-Sun series has flown under the radar to this point, largely because of the superteam matchup going on between the Las Vegas Aces and New York Liberty. But the Liberty finished the job in four games and will now await the winner of this one, and man it should be a truly excellent game.

The Lynx are at home and have the, in my opinion, more well-rounded team, along with the top star in Napheesa Collier who has been especially excellent this postseason. But the Sun are as dangerous defensively as anyone in the league and can suffocate any team at will. Alyssa Thomas has been phenomenal in this series, Marina Mabrey has proven to be a big-time addition, and if either team can get hot from the field it’s truly anyones game.

Don’t miss this one if you can help it, which I can’t since I bought Vampire Weekend tickets for tomorrow months ago. I’m in pain over this (but also very excited for that show), so don’t be me.

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Last Preview:

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Overview

There have been few teams in the Big Ten as consistently successful over the past decade than the Indiana Hoosiers, who finished last year with their ninth straight 20-win campaign, and their second straight above the 25-win threshold.

This is a lot in thanks to Teri Moren, who has spent the past 10 seasons as head coach of Indiana and has established a clear identity and energy that has been infectious to watch from afar, and that has undoubtedly made an impact on a large number of players on this roster.

Plenty of teams have had graduating players talk highly about their collegiate experience, absolutely, but there’s something about how players talk about Indiana that makes Moren and the Hoosiers stand out. Above all, though, the culture has paid off big time in the win column.

Indiana was the Big Ten’s most well-rounded team last season. It didn’t have a Caitlin Clark to put them over the top, but the Hoosiers were good at just about everything last season on a grand scale.

Shooting was a particular strength with this team, leading the nation in field goal and three-point percentage last season. That led to a 57.6 effective field goal percentage, 1.20 points per scoring attempt and a flat 1.00 points per play, all three of which Indiana ranked second nationally in behind only Iowa.

That extremely efficient offense was paired with one of the Big Ten’s best defenses, both of which played at their own pace and generally won the rebounding battle. These are all great recipes for winning, which Indiana did plenty of last season.

But for the second straight year, it felt like the Hoosiers were a tad short of what it takes to make a deep run. In 22-23, it was a historic Ohio State comeback and a last-second Miami shot that took Indiana out of the Big Ten and NCAA Tournaments, respectively. In 23-24, when Indiana lost, it was more often than not a blowout, with three losses of 20-plus and another by 13.

It looked like the Hoosiers were on their way to another game like that against South Carolina, but instead, Indiana scrapped and clawed their way to a 79-75 defeat against the eventual national champs in, honest to goodness, the best half of basketball I watched anyone play against the Gamecocks all season long. Indiana outscored SC 43-30 in the second half!

A loss is a loss, and Indiana ultimately could not get back to the Elite Eight highs of 2020-21, but it was another great season in the books for a program that continues to bring great seasons.

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Here's last year’s Indiana roster, sorted by Her Hoop Stats win shares:

Departures

Indiana loses three players from last season’s team, none of which were transfers out. The two at the top are going to make Indiana look a lot different next season.

Let’s start with Sara Scalia, who came over from Minnesota two seasons ago and started a bit slow as she found her footing on a new team. By last season, she was a bona fide star, hitting three-pointers with absurd efficiency on the way to a career year that should have warranted WNBA Draft consideration, in my opinion. She expanded her game to become more than a scorer, and was Indiana’s best guard in her final collegiate season.

Indiana and Mackenzie Holmes feel one and the same. They both brought each other to new, unforeseen heights in ways that each other likely could have only dreamed of. On the court, Holmes has been a monster for the Hoosiers for many, many seasons now. She is as efficient inside as about anyone in the country, has a wide range of post moves to make that happen and is also a remarkable defender to deal with around the rim.

But Mackenzie Holmes was so important for Indiana both as a talent and as the heartbeat of the team. She was fiery, a leader and a voice for the team in ways that are rare to find in any program, and it’ll be intriguing to see how much of that fire goes with her or if it gets successfully passed down to the rest of the roster.

Finally, Arielle Wisne was a rotation piece at forward, which makes her a bit more costly to lose with Holmes’ exit.

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Returning Players

Chloe Moore-McNeil has ranked Top 20 nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio each of the past two seasons. Credit: Indiana Athletics

Considering how large the void left by Holmes and Scalia was always going to be, the Hoosiers find themselves in a good place with three returning starters and six returning depth pieces that all bring something interesting to the table.

Chloe Moore-McNeil, Yarden Garzon and Sydney Parrish are all back and will start again for Indiana. While they all have unique skillsets to stand out, they each bring a lot of size and wingspan to the position that will remain an issue for the opposition.

Moore-McNeil is one of the Big Ten’s best returnees. She has never been a high-volume scorer because she’s never had to be, which could change in her final season. Even if it doesn’t, she brings so much to the table with her elite playmaking and tremendous perimeter defense, often against the opponent’s best player. Moore-McNeil’s ability to run the offense without turning it over has been massive for the team’s game plan, and she’s a slight scoring uptick away from some serious accolades.

The Garzon breakout didn’t quite happen as I anticipated last year, but she was still extremely efficient and had a knack for hitting the big shot. She is now a career 44% deep-ball shooter on exactly 300 attempts, which makes her one of the very best three-point weapons in the country. I hope to see her all-around game expand a little more in year three.

If anyone is going to keep that fire going after Holmes, it is Sydney Parrish. She plays with a chip on her shoulder and loves the flair, but above all Parrish is another excellent knockdown shooter who brings great rebounding ability at guard. These three players absolutely have what it takes to lead the Hoosier attack this season.

The big question remains: Who is replacing Holmes on the court? Could it be Lilly Meister? She’s been Holmes’ primary backup the past two seasons and absolutely has proven to have similar efficiency as a scorer, albeit in limited action. Similar to Hannah Stuelke at Iowa, I just need to see Meister play with more confidence and intensity, but she has the skillset to take the role if Moren decides to go that way.

We saw a solid amount of Lexus Bargesser last season, and I hope we see that again this year. What she lacks in shooting range, she makes up for with great basketball IQ, and I felt she did a very solid job when called upon for the starting lineup.

Lenée Beaumont and Julianna LaMendola saw nearly the exact same amount of minutes last season, and neither sample size was large enough for me to make any significant claims. Beaumont was a more proactive scorer on solid efficiency, but LaMendola made up for the scoring with solid rebounding. Both should get more play as sophomores, but it’s hard to currently say which is more likely to break out.

Let us not all forget about Sharnecce Currie-Jelks, who I thought was a fantastic find in the portal last offseason. She averaged 15.2 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 1.4 SPG and 1.0 BPG on 53.9-percent shooting as a freshman at UT-Martin, and will return to the Hoosiers this year following her pregnancy. For a team that is looking for solutions at forward, Currie-Jelks could absolutely get involved as a potential option.

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Incoming Players

I’m a big big fan of what Moren did this offseason, starting with the two portal adds who both should play a large role for the Hoosiers in 24-25.

Shay Ciezki could be strikingly similar to what the Scalia add was. She’s coming over from a Big Ten foe and is an excellent three-point shooter who felt a bit under appreciated on a Penn State roster that did quite well last season. This is a move that made sense for both parties, and Ciezki should thrive next to all these other efficient scorers.

Karoline Stirplin comes over from Tennessee with over 90 games played and 39 starts, many of which were against SEC competition. That’s notable and should make the Big Ten transition easier. Striplin didn’t lead Tennessee per say, but she was a solid contributor for the Vols and could have a chance to earn a starting spot if she jells with the returnees.

Indiana’s two long-time signees both add more interesting competition to the forward position, and either of Sydney Fenn or Faith Wiseman could surprise and see solid minutes if they impress early. I think this is especially true for Wiseman, who has the size at 6-4 and the notoriety as a four-star prospect.

Finally, the Hoosiers added Czech Republic’s Valentyna Kadlecova late in the process, and it could end up being a great find. Kadlecova has loads of European experience and has largely been a key piece to each of those Czech teams. This may be more of a name to watch for later, but it feels like a savvy add to get the team to 15 players.

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Outlook

Projected Starters

• Chloe Moore-McNeil - G

• Shay Ciezki - G

• Yarden Garzon - G

• Sydney Parrish - G

• Karoline Striplin - F

Projected Big Ten Finish: 5th

Indiana is in a great spot to continue its 20-win streak and get back to the NCAA Tournament, something all the more impressive considering it is losing the two best players from last year’s unit.

I’m confident in this team avoiding a major falloff because of this returning trio of starters, all three of which I’m expecting statistical boosts from as the new leaders of the team.

Who fills in the gaps? For now, I think the transfers have a leg up. Ciezki fits in great as another shooting threat who can move the ball around, but the starting big could truly be whichever player impresses in preseason. Striplin makes the most sense due to her experience, but Moren could also want to reward Meister, or maybe even Wiseman if she looks ready for the moment.

That is a question mark the Hoosiers face, and it’s a big one that keeps their floor a little shakier than it has been in recent years. Still, the ceiling for this roster feels pretty significantly high if the pieces fall right. The starting lineup is as full of perimeter threats as any in college basketball, there’s plenty of experience within the roster and the depth pieces are full of intrigue and if any surprise, this team is looking real scary all of a sudden.

The culture has been established at Indiana, and the Hoosiers should continue to play with that same steady pace and high efficiency, just without one of the best forwards in the country as the focal point. Could a shift in the focal point to the perimeter open up this offense to new heights? Could that shift be a real issue that needs solving? Yes and yes. However, it feels safe to say that Indiana is going to continue being an excellent team that can compete with just about anyone in the country.

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Photo Credit: Indiana Athletics

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