The lone senior

Senior guard Jamie Braun has had a very successful career at IU, but in her final year of eligibility, she has two things she really wants to attain. 

The first is obvious: a Big Ten Championship. The next is more personal.

Braun has been named to the All-Big Ten second team for the past two years and wants to be named to the first team in her last year.

As for Braun’s future after she graduates in May, she said she wants to continue playing basketball and at the very least be involved with basketball in some form. She anticipates playing overseas and eventually going back to graduate school and getting involved with coaching. 

“She is just a joy to coach because she absolutely has a thought process of the game,” IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack said. “She helps me become a better coach because I can’t just say anything – I have to have some thought toward it. I’m just glad we have another year to work together, because she is a young lady that is helping me grow as a head coach.”

For now, Braun will attempt to accomplish her goals at IU with a very young and inexperienced team. Add in a tough Big Ten schedule, and Braun’s goals become much more difficult to achieve.

“Same as last year – help lead the team any way I can,” she said of being the only senior, “except it’s involving more leading this year by being vocal, and I’m not a very vocal person so it’s a big change for me.”

Braun is taking a more positive view of the difficult tasks ahead. She said she believes that the youthfulness of the team could be advantageous, especially with conditioning.  
“We are going to have our ups and downs, but I think that we’re more fresh, we’re going to be pushing the ball up better than we have in the past,” Braun said. “But in the end, it could be very beneficial, but it could also lead to some inexperienced plays. But we can work through that.” 

The Hoosiers will take their youthful team into some tough Big Ten competition. Both Ohio State and Michigan State are ranked in the preseason top-25 polls, and Michigan, Minnesota and Purdue all received votes.

In all, IU will play eight conference games against those in the preseason rankings, along with two ranked teams in non-conference matchups.  However, a tougher schedule won’t cause Braun and the Hoosiers to change their pre-game approach.

Braun said this is because Legette-Jack is focused on them rather than the other team. The team will also do its best to avoid looking ahead to ranked Big Ten matchups and take the season on as it comes. Braun said she feels this approach will allow IU to be successful. 

“If we just put our mind to it, that we can beat anyone, and if we just work really hard,” Braun said, “I think we can upset some teams that people aren’t going to expect us to upset.”