Jeremy Price | Bloomington Herald-Times

BLOOMINGTON -- If Indiana women’s basketball coach Teri Moren had a crystal ball, the first thing she says she would have done was buy stock in Zoom Video Communications, the software IU athletic teams, as well as many other schools and businesses, are using to stay connected during the coronavirus pandemic.

But there is no crystal ball, and there’s even less certainty about what the immediate future holds across the sports landscape. However, Moren and the Hoosiers are moving forward, looking to build on a historic 2019-20 season and ensure IU sustains success for the foreseeable future.

The simplest way to ensure that happens is to have the right people in place.

“That goes back to our staff and how we’ve changed our thinking in the recruiting process,” Moren said. “We made some mistakes early on in recruiting, so we’re way more intentional now with who we want to coach and how do they help us.

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“We have a culture right now of kids that want to come in and do extra. They want to be in the gym, so we’re seeking those types of kids. The more gym rats you have, the more who are willing to do extra, that only helps us. That is a lost art right now, but those are the types of kids that we want to come.”

Much of Indiana’s success this past season was due to the relentless work ethic of the Hoosiers, who were reluctant to take a day off, even when given the opportunity.

“Ali Patberg, Brenna Wise, Grace Berger, Jaelynn Penn, Aleksa Gulbe, they all want to be in the gym,” Moren said. “I tried to give them two consecutive days off, and it was like I was torturing them. Mackenzie Holmes, give her a day off, and I can hear the ball bouncing from the office. She was religiously in there shooting free throws on off days. That’s what you want.

“… Success doesn’t happen by accident, and these kids have proven that.”

With only Wise departing, Indiana should need only shuffle the deck next season. That might mean seeing more of Gulbe and Holmes on the floor together. It happened at times this past season, but for the most part the pair shared the center position.

“We like that lineup,” Moren said. “We like the combination of the two. Moving forward it gives you a snapshot of how we can play in the next few years because of Aleksa’s ability to stretch you out, but it’s a luxury to have a kid that can stretch defenses beyond the arc but will go down and post up and play with her back to the basket.”

Some of Holmes’ rising sophomore classmates also stand to play significant roles, from Chanel Wilson and Grace Waggoner at the guards to Jorie Allen and Hannah Noveroske in the frontcourt.

Wilson saw just over 10 minutes per game and Allen 11 this past season, while Waggoner saw a little better than nine minutes over the final five games of the season.

Moren hopes their patience and determination will provide a foundation for the future.

“We all have young players on our rosters and one of the things that is so difficult for young people to grasp and understand is it takes time,” she said. “… Young kids lack the patience in order to play, to have an impact. They have to look at the game realistically and say, ‘I’ve got a ways to go here, I’ve got to get better in a lot of ways.’

“That’s why you see the (transfer) portal the way it is, a lack of patience in realizing that it’s not always better and different somewhere else. Sometimes it is, sometimes it’s not. Sometimes they just need to get their rear end in the gym, buy into the staff and program.”

That’s where Moren says she appreciates the advice her parents gave her any time she called home complaining.

“They said, ‘You’re not quitting and you’re not coming home, so figure it out,’” Moren recalled. “There’s a stick-to-it-iveness you have to have when things aren’t going your way. It’s not always going to go the way you want it to.”

But Moren is optimistic about her squad’s direction.

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“I like our group, and I think our freshmen will improve and get better with the right mindset,” Moren said. “All of them want to play but at the end of the day, there are only 200 minutes and it’s tough to believe they’re all going to be happy.”

That said, Indiana has had its fair share of success mining the transfer portal with the likes of Patberg and Wise, and the hope is that Danielle Patterson can be the next in line.

The 6-2 Notre Dame transfer underwent knee surgery for a patella injury last summer and hopes to be cleared for running by June. That means shooting has been the extent of her basketball activity.

“We talk about Brenna departing and moving on. I do see Dani Patterson as being one of those kids who could slip into the role of being a leader,” Moren said. “She had a great temperament and a great pulse on our team as individuals. Just watching her in practice, watching her walk around and talk and communicate with teammates was very special. She stayed very engaged. She’s a talented kid but to say we know how she’s going to come back is still too early.

“She’s been progressing slowly, her spirit’s been great, a wonderful kid who can shoot the ball. She has been able to do light shooting, so we know we have a kid who could stretch the defense like Brenna. The plan before surgery was to improve her ballhandling, just build her game and grow her game. Disappointed we didn’t get that opportunity, but she’s chomping at the bit. This has tested her patience because she loves the game. We’re excited about her but it’s hard to say we know exactly what we have to look forward to. We won’t know that until she gets go ahead.”

With Bendu Yeaney and Shaila Beeler transferring out of the program this year, the Hoosiers now have multiple open scholarships if they find someone else in the transfer portal to add for the 2020-21 season.

“It has to be the right piece, has to fit us,” Moren said. “I wouldn’t speculate on what position that is, but it certainly would have to be the right piece. We feel good about what we have on the roster right now. We feel good about the progress we’ll see from the young kids, but we’re keeping an eye on it for sure.

“It’s a challenging time right now, so we don’t know. That’s one thing I’m curious about, what are these kids thinking right now when they don’t know if or when they can take a visit. It’s interesting now with the decisions people are making, but we have some time to watch and see who is considering or leaving places. One of the things we have right now is time.”

The IU staff also found time to do some work on the 2021 recruiting class just before the pandemic dead period left coaches with little to do outside of social media and virtual visits. The Hoosiers will have to replace Keyanna Warthen, Patberg and Penn after next season.