Q&A With Indiana Fever Writer Taka Kauri on Former Hoosier Grace Berger
Grace Berger was a five-year player for coach Teri Moren, and is the all-time winningest player in the history of the Indiana women's basketball program. She was selected with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2023 WNBA Draft by the Indiana Fever following her time in Bloomington.
Though Berger rarely saw the court during the first half of the Fever's season, she turned a corner with a career high 15-point performance against the New York Liberty on Jul. 12, and she's taken off since then.
A graph of Grace Berger's game-by-game minutes played, created with Data Wrapper by HoosiersNow.com reporter Daniel Olinger.
To learn more about how Berger has become a reliable piece in the Fever's rotation during her rookie season, HoosiersNow.com spoke with Taka Kauri, who covers the team for IndianaFeverBlog.com. You can find and follow Kauri here on Twitter.
HoosiersNow.com Interview with Taka Kauri
Hoosiers Now: "Grace Berger hardly played in the first half of the season, but then she gradually got more playing time, and is now a usual in the rotation. What do you think changed for her or for the coaching staff that made them flip the switch and decide that they need Berger out there?"
Kauri: "The coaching staff/management were intentional about not wanting to put too much on Grace to start the season. I believe it was Lin Dunn who said as much."
"As the season went on they gave her more minutes, and she kept making the most of them. For me it’s Berger’s ability to play 1-3 that has really made the difference. When you’ve got two high paid, high profile lead guards the Fever needed to have flexibility to play Berger. Being able to play next to Wheeler and Mitchell has meant there is more opportunity for her to get time. She’s more than just a point guard. And that’s been really important."
HN: "When I've watched Berger, one of her best skills that stands out is her post entry passing, especially to Aliyah Boston. What have you seen from her there that makes her better at that micro skill than other basketball players?"
Kauri: "Yeah, I’ve been nothing but impressed with her post entry passing. I think her experience playing with a really good post player at Indiana University helps."
"She seems to understand timing and angles really well. She has a sense of knowing when you can “just put the ball in the area” and trusting that Boston or Smith will come away with it. She’s patient and gives the post players time to get set. Uses her dribble well to find a different angle. She’s great at getting the ball in."
HN: "At Indiana, Berger did a lot of the same post entry passing to Mackenzie Holmes, IU’s star center. How much do you think that’s helped her in a league like the WNBA where the paint and interior scoring are so, so important?"
Kauri: "Yeah that experience is invaluable. It’s a huge part of why I think we’ve seen Berger do so well with her entry passing so far. Even when it’s not her own pass you see the experience. There are moments where Berger doesn’t have the angle for the pass, so she moves the ball to the opposite side of the court and is pointing where the ball needs to go."
"Yeah, I’m high on Berger’s future. I think she’s shown a lot of things you like to see. She has the ability to run an offense, is showing she can find her own shot, and has been hitting her open looks from three. It’s all good stuff."
HN: "How do you think Berger has held up defensively? I’ve noticed she has good hands, helps one pass away and goes for steals. She often gets put in the cliche of “right place and knows what to do," though she understandably has some size and lateral quickness concerns on that end."
Kauri: "Yeah I think you described it near perfectly. I’m not too worried about her size, I think playing with the other two guards is a contributor to that. When she’s out there with only one of Wheeler or Mitchell I think she more than holds up size wise. She’s definitely strong."
"Lateral movement is the thing that I usually notice as something needing to develop. Like most defenders it’s when she gets into matchups with quicker guards where she struggles. There’s a couple moments in most games where it feels like she’s nearly where she needs to be on a drive, but is just off. I think it’s something that will develop for her over her career."
HN: "How fun is Berger to watch as a player based more on craft and subtlety? I’d say she’s the kind of player where when she scores on you, or breaks down in a pick-and roll, it's frustrating because it's a ton of ball fakes, up and unders, tricky crosses and just stuff that just makes you mad as a defender to get beat by."
Kauri: "I hadn’t watched her before she was drafted, so I had a lot of fun going back and watching some of her college games. Seeing some of what made her so good at IU immediately showing for the Fever has been awesome."
"The ability to get to her midrange shot whenever she wanted is really tough. She can be well defended and it doesn’t matter. I think her strength is probably underrated. Seeing some of what she could do in the post at IU was eye opening. We haven’t seen in much for the Fever yet, but it’s there. Like you said, she has that shiftiness. She’s great."
HN: "Last question here — what’s the most important improvement Grace has to make to really solidify her place in the league?"
"Grace brings so many things to the floor that I think as she just continues to grow it’s going to happen organically. But two things I’d like to see:
1. Continuing to develop her self creation would be pretty big. Being able to consistently pressure the paint off the dribble and finding advantages from there.
2. Her outside shooting. It’s not that I think she even needs to be an elite 3 point shooter, but becoming someone that defended can’t help off of would be fantastic. Her catch and shoot numbers have been great, so just continuing to do that on a larger sample size would be great."
Related Stories on Indiana Basketball:
- GRACE BERGER SCORES 14 POINTS IN FEVER WIN: The former Indiana Hoosier had arguably her best game in the WNBA to date on Thursday, finishing with 14 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists in the Fever's 90-86 win. CLICK HERE
- WNBA EXPERT STEVE JONES JR. TAKS GRACE BERGER: To learn more about how the Indiana basketball legend has performed in her first WNBA season, HoosiersNow.com spoke with co-host of The Dunker Spot Steve Jones Jr. about the Indiana Fever's Grace Berger. CLICK HERE
- LAMENDOLA MIGHT BE ANOTHER IU BASKETBALL STAR: In the team's first game of their foreign tour in Greece, Teri Moren's Indiana Hoosiers won 120-50, and freshman Julianna LaMendola looked like an absolute star. Here are some quick highlights from the newcomers' 15-point performance. CLICK HERE
- IU MAKES TOP 7 FOR 5-STAR GUARD: 2024 five-star guard Mikayla Blakes announced her top seven schools on Saturday, and Teri Moren and the Indiana Hoosiers made the cut. CLICK HERE
