Indiana athletic director Fred Glass is pleased with the buzz around his department as the IU Tailgate Tour begins. And that energy was palpable at the tour's first stop in Fort Wayne on Tuesday.FORT WAYNE –
5 facts
• Curt Miller begins his first year as Indiana’s coach. Miller spent the previous 11 seasons at Bowling Green, where he won at least a share of the Mid-American Conference regular-season title in each of the last eight seasons.
• The Hoosiers return nine players from a year ago, including their top two scorers in Jasmine McGhee and Aulani Sinclair.
• Indiana’s roster includes Andrea Newbauer, who is from Concordia. Miller said Newbauer was battling an ankle injury in the preseason. Newbauer averaged four assists and one steal per game last season.
• With Kaila and Jordan Hulls, Indiana is one of five schools in Division I basketball that has a brother/sister combination on the rosters of the men’s and women’s basketball teams at the same school this year.
• Kaila Hulls will sit out this season after suffering an ACL tear in her right knee during preseason conditioning.
4 games of interest
Nov. 9 at Valparaiso: The Curt Miller era officially begins with a road test.
Jan. 10 vs. Nebraska: The Hoosiers face one of the favorites for the Big Ten title.
Feb. 7 vs. Penn State: It’s the only regular-season meeting for the Hoosiers against the team picked first in preseason Big Ten coaches and media polls.
Feb. 20 vs. Purdue: The rivals also meet Jan. 31 in West Lafayette.
3 key players
Sinclair, Sr., F: The 6-foot-1 Sinclair averaged 12.4 points and shot 90.7 percent from the free-throw line.
McGhee, Sr., G: The 5-foot-11 McGhee led the Hoosiers in scoring (12.6 points per game) last season. She also averaged 5.8 rebounds.
Sasha Chaplin, Sr., F/C: The 6-4 Chaplin led IU in rebounding (6.5) last season.
2 points of concern
Numbers game: Earlier this fall, the Hoosiers were practicing with 10 scholarship athletes, according to Miller, so depth is an issue.
Getting in sync: IU will rely on the pick-and-roll on offense and man-to-man defense. It’s an adjustment for the players.
1 major issue
Ready for challenge: Miller said with the new system, there will be highs and lows. Miller is excited about the challenge of turning around a program that went 6-20 last season.
