In the world of sports, every athlete has their own unique story. Players across every sport carry on their journey in order to reach the next level, Julianna "Jules" LaMendola is no exception.
From starting out on the volleyball court to being an unknown player in high school to now getting set to play in one of the top schools in the country, LaMendola’s story took a few twists and turns but eventually, all those things lead her to be an Indiana Hoosier.
LaMedola’s story actually starts on the volleyball court. As a little girl, she took towards volleyball looking up to her sister and her mother. Skye, her twin sister, will play Division III volleyball at Bowdoin College while her Mother, Janice, also played volleyball at the JUCO level, so naturally LaMendola also wanted to be a volleyball player.
“I ended up being really bad at volleyball,” LaMendola said.
She would then go on to try out for the basketball team and everything changed. The switch felt natural as she was immediately a lot better so she stuck with the sport of basketball ever since. Her mom also played a huge role in her staying on the basketball court. When her mom was in college she started out at the JUCO level but then eventually transferred over to the University of Arkansas at Little Rock to play college basketball. Hearing stories from her mom’s days at UALR made her pursue the same dream, as LaMendola grew older she wanted to reach the same level and also play college basketball.
Their relationship grew with their shared love for the game but her mom never forced her to do anything. LaMendola continued to play but it was never about reaching a certain goal or achieving a certain accomplishment. Her mom was there to support her no matter what and for that reason, LaMendola considers herself very lucky.
“She inspired me to play college sports,” LaMendola said. “The biggest thing that she is, is a supporter. She's very hands-off, she didn't force me to do anything…When I got older she's been more of a supporter and just wanted me to do what I wanted to do and however far I want to go in basketball she was behind me 100 percent. Some people have really overbearing parents and she was never like that.”
LaMendola continued to play and eventually, her high school career began. She made the team at Coppell High School but her first two seasons didn’t go as planned. Coming off an injury her freshman season, she never really made an impact on the court. After two years of high school basketball, she knew something had to change in order to make a name for herself.
“What really made the difference was I was in the gym every day for a long time,” LaMendola said. “Going into my junior year I just put in a ton of work because nobody knew who I was. I didn't have any offers and I just started to grind, put my trust in the process and it worked out for me.”
As time went on, the work that she had put in began to pay off. Toward the beginning of her junior season, LaMendola’s phone began to ring. Gaining traction from coaches across the country her name began to grow in the recruiting world. As her season continued, she began to receive a lot of phone calls from one specific coach.
The coach? Former Indiana associate head coach Glenn Box.
Box recruited her heavily and ever since then the conversations between LaMendola and the Indiana coaching staff continued. Both parties continued to share interest so LaMendola took an unofficial visit in May of 2022. From there, she quickly made up her mind.
“When I went, I don’t know how to describe it but I felt like I belonged there,” LaMendola said. “ I love the coaching staff, I love the environment, the atmosphere, and the culture that they have. I felt like everybody was on the same page about everything and I liked that. Everyone is bought into what they're doing.”
LaMendola made her official commitment on May 19, 2022, just shortly after her visit. She is one-half of the 2023 class coming in for Indiana next season alongside Lenee Beaumont. Both of these rising freshmen come into next season holding high honors after earning Gatorade Player of the Year in their respective states.
LaMendola went from being unranked in her first two seasons of high school to being named the best player in the state of Texas her senior year. She helped take part in changing the program’s culture at Coppell High School taking them to a 38-4 record this past season. But now as her high school career comes to a close, she looks to continue those same winning attributes in her new home with the Hoosiers.
With the hype that Indiana has built these past couple of seasons, LaMendola and the rest of the team look to continue their winning ways in the hope of reaching a Final Four to compete for a national title. We are still months away from the beginning of the season, but LaMendola is already visualizing her role in her first year as a Hoosiers.
“As a freshman, it's my role to go in there and just to get better, to learn and to execute,” LaMendola said. “My goal is to go in there and get better and do what they need me to do. I pride myself on being versatile so whatever the coaches need and whatever I need to work on, I am just there to get better, to win, and whatever my team needs. It doesn't really matter to me as long as we're winning.
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