The Hoosiers are entering a new era under Teri Moren.
When the final buzzer sounded in Indiana’s loss to South Carolina on Sunday, it signaled the end of an era along with the game itself.
Chloe Moore-McNeil has been there for it all during her time with the Hoosiers. She saw an Elite Eight as a freshman, a Sweet Sixteen as a sophomore, a Big Ten championship as a junior, another Sweet Sixteen as a senior and one final NCAA Tournament appearance as a fifth year.
Sydney Parrish came along later, right before that 2023 conference title, but she was a massive part of both that and the ensuing success in her own right with her sheer competitive edge, defense and shooting ability.
Indiana will move forward without them. There’ll be more to say on this group of seniors, including Karoline Striplin, and all they’ve meant and given to the program during their time in Bloomington, but it’s worth taking a moment to ponder what exactly comes next in Bloomington.
This isn’t the first time Indiana has had to replace starters, they replaced two last season alone, but this one feels different. Mackenzie Holmes’ departure was obviously massive but having Parrish and Moore-McNeil as a steady hand felt like it gave this season a decently high floor. As of right now, that doesn’t feel true for next season.
Indiana will have a new true full-time starting point guard for the first time since Moore-McNeil took on that role in 2022-23. Whether that’s Lexus Bargesser, her understudy these past few seasons, or someone else remains to be seen.
The Hoosiers will be losing three seniors to exhausted eligibility between Moore-McNeil, Parrish and Striplin. The program is adding two freshmen in Nevaeh Caffey, a true point guard, and Maya Makalusky, an in-state shooter with great positional size at 6’3”.
Freshman don’t typically play a ton of minutes at Indiana unless necessary. As the team is currently built, it will be necessary.
Makalusky could have the chops to start immediately in a Parrish-like role given aforementioned size and shooting ability. She wouldn’t be the first 6’3” shooter to earn starting minutes as a freshman.
Caffey’s scouting report reads a lot like that of Moore-McNeil herself. A strong competitor who involves teammates on the court with the ability to take scoring into her own hands off the dribble or as a shooter.
It’ll be interesting to see how Moren and her staff balance giving returning players a chance to step up or delve into the portal in search of talent. The program hasn’t been big on going after transfers in the past but has made key moves that compliment the roster at the time including Parrish, Striplin, Nicole Cardaño-Hillary, Sara Scalia and Shay Ciezki.
I’d expect more of what the Hoosiers typically do at positions of need. Indiana might seek out an experienced point guard to have some additional depth with Bargesser and Caffey and a Striplin-like answer in the frontcourt depending on how the staff feels about Faith Wiseman.
There’s also the Lenee Beaumont question. She was in line for a bigger role this season before injury kept her off the court. She’s a former Ms. Basketball in Illinois, so the talent is absolutely there. I really wouldn’t expect Indiana to recruit over her, she’s earned a shot at a bigger role.
All things considered, I wouldn’t expect much of a portal “haul”. I can see the Hoosiers adding one or two players, but three feels pretty unlikely.
Only time will tell.