That means getting the ball in sophomore forward Amanda Cahill’s hands.
“I think she likes the opportunity that we have to have the ball in her hands more, and she’s going to have more opportunities to score for us and make decisions for us,” Moren said about Cahill. “We’re very committed to trying to get the ball in her hands more.”
The 6-foot-2 sophomore out of Clyde, Ohio, led the team in points per game last season with 10.8 and rebounds per game with 7.7, two of IU’s strongest focuses heading into 2015, as the Hoosiers finished fifth in the Big Ten in scoring offense and 10th in rebounding margin.
Her size and ability in the post will offer IU the opportunity to increase ball movement in and out of the paint, which Moren said she is hoping to facilitate after a season of side-to-side passing on the perimeter.
“I think she’s really comfortable, but she always has been, that’s just kind of part of her make up,” Moren said. “One of the things you guys will see improvement in her game is her ability to catch, rip and drive.”
Her catch, rip and drive movement gives Cahill freedom near the post to catch balls away from the basket and find her way to high-percentage shots.
That’s something her teammates and coaches rave about when they talk about Cahill: the flexibility in her game.
A consistent starter at power forward, Cahill can work in the back court and the front court, moving anywhere between the three-spot and five-spot.
“Me and (senior forward) Lyndsay (Leikem) have been playing the three in practice and the five, whatever they need,” Cahill said. “Just being whatever the team needs me to be. I’m just kind of ready to be anything I guess.”
The selflessness and the team mentality that Cahill brings to the court is what Moren emphasizes the most when she talks about her game and her as a teammate.
“B’s a funny kid because she’s not just a great teammate, but she doesn’t get caught up in individual accolades or awards, points, any of that,” Moren said. “She’s more concerned with what’s more important for the group, what’s good for the team. The one thing about Cahill is that she’s always going to do what we ask her to do and be really, really good.”
Her teammates on the court say the same things about her team mentality, but they also can’t help but notice her skills and appreciate her flexibility around the paint.
Last season, Cahill started all 31 games she played and was one of two players — along with junior center Jenn Anderson — to shoot 50 percent from the field. She was also second on the team in steals with 40 and led the team in blocks with 30.
Her teammates and coaches agreed she has gotten even better throughout the offseason.
“Amanda Cahill definitely — you guys — everybody needs to watch out for her this year because she is definitely gonna kill it out there,” junior guard Karlee McBride said. “Even if she’s in the guard position, I feel that she’s going to do really well. She’s just a beast. I can’t even explain it.”
With her strengths inside the paint, though, come personal fouls from aggressive play. Cahill proved that in her freshman campaign, as she led the team in fouls with 97 — 17 more than Anderson, who was second.
Cahill said she’s been battling the weakness by spending more time in the weight room, putting on muscle and learning how to play against bigger girls on the inside.
She said staying out of foul trouble was something she really needed to work on before 2015 because playing at a faster offensive tempo — a tempo Moren is pushing this season — can lead to mental mistakes and more personal fouls.
“Basketball’s just a really big mental game,” Cahill said. “You just have to be smart, especially with us trying to play a faster tempo. That’s a big part of it, just being smart with the shots and passes you make and the decisions you’re making.”
At the end of last season, the Hoosiers decided to choose individually one word to integrate into their lives in order to improve after a 15-16 season. Cahill chose the word “impact.”
What makes her choice different from the other words chosen is her desire to implement it off the court as well, something that Moren said she does well.
“Not just on the court but off the court,” Cahill said. “Just in my life, I want to be an impact on other peoples’ lives, and not just an impact but a positive impact.”
