Injuries have limited Hulls throughout her career — most notably when she twice tore the ACL in her right knee. The first tear came before her 2011-12 season at Bowling Green, followed by an additional tear last year in preseason conditioning.
IU coach Teri Moren said Hulls and Bell both still plan on attending practices despite their injuries.
“The thing I can tell you in both my conversation with Nicole and Kaila, they very much want to be a part of this basketball team this year,” Moren said. “They are at every practice with us, and they give great insight.”
Moren said Bell has had some headache issues but declined to go into detail.
“Right now it’s a family decision and Nicole’s decision to shut it down,” Moren said.
Moren said the team is seeking medical non-counter petitions from the Big Ten Conference for both student-athletes. A student-athlete who qualifies under this rule will not have her scholarship count toward the team financial aid limit during any year she has not participated in athletic activities.
To qualify for the medical non-counter, an injury or illness must be deemed incapacitating by the team’s physician.
Moren said both Hulls and Bell will finish their education at IU and plan on working on master’s degrees, as well.
“It’s just one of those things that life presents us with some challenges, and for those two they’ve handled it tremendously,” Moren said. “But they are Hoosiers through and through and are very much a part of this basketball team.”
Casey Krajewski
