BLOOMINGTON — The longer Teri Moren took to begin her press conference on Monday at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, the more an ominous energy spread through the media room.
Moren, typically prompt for postgame press conferences, didn’t sit down at the dais until over 20 minutes after the final buzzer sounded on Indiana women’s basketball’s 82-60 win over Brown in its regular-season opener. And when IU’s head coach started speaking, she didn’t hold back.
“I’m glad we got a win to begin the season. But I’d be up here lying if I told you I was at all pleased with any of that tonight,” Moren said after the game. “A win, sure. But this performance tonight will not win you any Big Ten game.”
Moren frequently shows emotion when talking to the media. She can give tough love at times, but she’s extremely passionate about her players and her team, and understands — and verbalizes — how special certain moments and performances can be. Moren celebrates with her players, and she shares in their heartbreak. She’s called out her team after losses plenty of times, and she’s not afraid to publicly nitpick her players even after strong outings, knowing they can be even better.
But the disappointment, concern, and genuine frustration on Moren’s face Monday — after a 22-point victory — spoke volumes. She felt her team got away with sloppy basketball. The Hoosiers made defensive miscues rarely associated with Moren’s program, allowing Brown to attempt 36 3-pointers and make 11 of them. They committed 18 turnovers, with many of which the sort of careless plays that would cost IU wins against stronger opponents. And Indiana, overall, played with uncharacteristically low energy. She singled out Chloe Moore-McNeil, calling the graduate student “lethargic.”
Moren didn’t anticipate the letdown performance from what she’d seen in practice. She said IU has played well in practice. But on Monday, she repeatedly hammered her team’s discipline. She even referenced a Bob Knight quote in making her point.
“It’s like the old coach Knight comment: the best way, sometimes, is they’ve got to sit next to you to start to figure some things out,” Moren said. “And if we have to do that, we’ll do that, because I have to get their attention somehow.”
Indiana did have a few bright spots in the game. Sydney Parrish recorded only the second 20-point, 10-rebound game of her college career, and her first as a Hoosier. Karoline Striplin scored 17 points, showing why she could be an important player this season.
But with the way Moren tore into her team, those positives felt irrelevant. The Hoosiers never faced serious danger of losing, but they let the game remain too close for too long. IU didn’t pull away when Brown started 1 for 10 from the field, and Brown outscored IU in the third quarter.
The Bears aren’t a complete pushover, as they entered Monday at No. 138 in Bart Torvik’s T-Rank women’s basketball rankings. IU also missed two guards in junior Lexus Bargesser and Lenée Beaumont, which limited the team’s backcourt depth. And, Moren acknowledged, half of Indiana’s roster is comprised of either new transfers or underclassmen. They could’ve had some first-game jitters that led to things like a bad defensive breakdown or a 10-second violation.
But even considering that, she continued to bemoan her team’s performance. Between the concerning energy from some players, the silly turnovers, settling for bad outside shots instead of further exploiting their size advantage inside, and the defensive issues, Moren felt like her team abandoned the identity she’s built her program around.
“It bothers me that we don’t have more pride. It bothers me that I have to go into halftime and have those conversations about being undisciplined,” Moren said. “We left a shooter off the strong side. We never do that. We switched a guard and a 5 (on a) ball-screen, we never do that. So it’s those little things that, if you don’t nip it in the bud real quick, those are the things that are going to get your ass beat.”
Parrish, when asked to grade IU’s performance in the season-opener, gave the team a ‘C.’ She mentioned the defensive concerns, but added that her assessment left plenty of room to improve after the 22-point victory.
IU did lose a lot from last season in Mackenzie Holmes and Sara Scalia, Parrish acknowledged. But she emphasized that the Hoosiers are a different team now.
“I think we really just have to put last year behind us,” Parrish said. “This is a new year, this is our team, and I think people have to realize that. And even though we were such a successful team last year, I think we still have the potential to be that this year. And I think a lot of people need to realize that as well.”
Parrish is correct. Holmes and Scalia aren’t putting IU uniforms on again. This is a new team.
But these Hoosiers could have some real issues if some of the things they showed on Monday become long-term trends. Moren’s postgame bluntness was perhaps a little harsh or over-the-top, but it came with clear intent. Her message was strong and clear: IU’s performance on Monday won’t cut it.
“They’re going to have to watch film, but we have to do a better job, I have to do a better job along with our staff of making sure that how we do things, the way we do them, when we do them, doing them correctly, doing them right, with consistency, day in and day out in practice, that will find you time,” Moren said. “I can’t wait ’til Thursday to address it and say, ‘Gosh, I hope you guys do a lot better than you did the other night.’ I got to address it tomorrow morning when we show back up for film.”
For complete coverage of IU women’s basketball, GO HERE.
The Daily Hoosier –“Where Indiana fans assemble when they’re not at Assembly”
- Find us on Facebook: thedailyhoosier
- You can follow us on Twitter: @daily_hoosier
- Seven ways to support completely free IU coverage at no cost to you.
