Q&A With WNBA Expert Steve Jones Jr. 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 hardly 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.
Now a regular in the Fever's rotation, Berger has averaged 5.4 points per game while shooting 40 percent from the field over her past 15 games.
To learn more about what's sparked Berger's midseason turnaround, HoosiersNow.com talked to Steve Jones Jr., co-host of The Dunker Spot, a podcast for ThreeFourTwo Productions that covers the NBA and the WNBA.
Jones Jr. previously worked as an assistant coach for the Brooklyn Nets, and as a video coordinator for the Memphis Grizzlies. He's also the son of three-time ABA all star Steve "Snapper" Jones.
HoosiersNow.com Interview with Steve Jones Jr.
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?"
Jones: "I think it was the consistency that she brought during those limited minutes early. When you're a coach, and you know what you're gonna get from someone, it's a lot easier to trust them in that role, and it can expand, or at least your number is going to get called more often."
"So I always felt like early in that season, especially as the Fever were playing with pace and trying to find themselves, I thought Grace Berger had a really steadying presence early on. She was going to be in there to do her job. What are we running? Let's run it. Does the ball need to go into the post? Then it's going into the post. Do you need defense? She's got it."
"That breakout game against the New York Liberty, that one really stuck with me because it was almost like a light went off. She was like, 'Oh, I can do that. And still do this.' She had taken 22 field goals all season before that game, and then she takes 15 in that specific game, and that's where I realized there's something here, there's some aggression here, there's a mindset here."
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?"
Jones: "It's boring, but just her fundamentals and the way that she initiates and knows the ball needs to go into the post. And then she'll dribble over, quick ball fake and throw it high, or ball fake high and and throw it low."
"It's just little things like that for Berger. She's not gonna play around with it, she's not gonna stare down the post. It's just the team mindset that she brings, as far as keeping things flowing. It really feels like the ball is never going to completely stop when it's in Grace's hands. That's been something that's really impressed me about her."
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?"
Jones: "I think it's just it's a natural thing for her as a player. You see her come off a pick and roll, she doesn't have anything, so she gets off the ball. It's a quick pass and nice spacing, or throw it into the post and then she's cutting."
"Berger has that familiarity, and basketball IQ, and she knows what the team wants, and what the coach wants. It can be tough as a point guard, especially in a rookie season, because you have to be the coach on the floor, and you have to be a threat offensively. You're trying to check a lot of boxes off, and I think as the season's progressed, Berger has continued to do that in a solid way."
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."
Jones: "I think she has shown more defense than people may have expected to see. I think she's just really solid on that end. She's going to be in the right position. She's going to pressure the ball. She's going to communicate, and you see those possessions where she's active."
"I think defending on the ball in pick and roll screen navigation, that might be something she needs to continue to try to work on. But I think the uptick in her minutes also shows the work that she's putting defensively."
"The best thing you can be on defense is not a liability, and I think Grace has cleared that hurdle."
HN: "How fun is Berger to watch as a player who bases her game more on craft and subtlety than anything else?"
Jones: "It never feels she's trying to do something that she can't do, or that she's trying to force the issue, and that's the fun of it. How she's able to set things up, when she's able to set things up, balancing when she should attack and when she should get off the ball."
"All those little things she does are very fun, and those are the things that stick with you. As Grace continues to grow as a player, as she gets more experience, she has that as a base for her play that she can always lean on, so it's fun just watching her do all the little things on the court."
"I love players that do all the little things right, and more nights than not, Grace is going to do all of those little things."
HN: "Last question here — what’s the most important improvement Grace has to make to really solidify her place in the league?"
Jones: "Maybe the three-point shot? It's not like it's a bad shot, but maybe if her shot takes another leap, then it would be very hard to keep her off the floor."
"I think having that willingness to pull up, and then being able to space for catch and shoot looks and knocking down those threes, especially for the Fever who need that, that would only raise her stock."
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