This time a year ago, Glenn Box was fresh off coaching Saint Louis to a win over Little Rock in the WNIT and in the midst of preparing his Billikens for what would be another win against Ball State in the second round.
Fast forward to the present and Box is set to square off against his former players.
Now an assistant at Indiana, Box led scout team preparations for the Hoosiers (21-10) heading into Sunday's 2 p.m. matchup against the Billikens (25-8) in the second round of the WNIT at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
The winner will advance to play whoever comes out on top in Monday's matchup between SMU and Abilene Christian.
"It's very strange," Box said. "I'm real close to those kids still to this day. We talk a lot, so yeah. It's strange because you always want them to do well. Now the fact that we're going to play against one another—it’s a tough situation. But it’s something we have to do.”
Box spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach at Saint Louis and also held the same position in 2010-11 and 2011-12 with a break in between Billikens stints where he coached at Akron. He either coached or recruited virtually the entire Billikens roster and as a result is quite familiar with their personnel and tendencies.
Box managed to watch just about every Saint Louis game over the course of the season and said he coaches with Billikens players just about every other day. He’s still invested in their day-to-day activities from afar because of the relationships he built along the way.
That makes things just a little awkward. Box talked to Saint Louis head coach Lisa Stone over the phone both Thursday and Friday night and also managed to chat with an assistant coach Friday as well. He opted to not talk to any of the players themselves though, despite staying in touch as frequently as he does.
“I want to be fair to them and give them an opportunity to come in here and compete at a high level," Box said." I’m sure they’re excited to come in and compete against me. Just out of respect, I haven’t reached out to them going into this game, but I’m sure there’s going to be lots of hugs after the game—win, lose or whatever.”
As strange as the situation may be for Box, IU head coach Teri Moren said his experience with Saint Louis is an advantage for the Hoosiers. By Box's own admission, knowing Box as well as the Billikens do should also help the visitors.
Regardless, Moren will take any leg up in scouting that she can get.
"Because there's been such a short time to prepare in between, obviously (Box's knowledge) kind of sped up our prep because of him being familiar with them," Moren said.
Junior Jackie Kemph sets the tempo for Saint Louis out of the point guard spot. The reigning All-American selection averages 15 points per game while dishing out 7.3 assists per contest.
"Jackie Kemph is the real deal," Moren said. "Really makes them go."
Senior center Sadie Stipanovich anchors the Billikens on the paint with 14.7 pounds and 8.4 rebounds each game. She's got some versatility to her game that allows her to post up with her back to the basket or take a defender on the drive.
Not unlike Ball State standout center Renee Bennett, who IU played last time out, Stipanovich stretches the floor. Moren expects it to be a group effort to slow her down but is optimistic after a strong defensive stand against the Cardinals just a couple of days ago.
"Any time you give our kids an opportunity to take some chances and be more aggressive, that bodes well for us," Moren said. "And I thought we just got off to a really good start from an offensive standpoint, which really energizes us."
Indiana bounced back from missing the NCAA Tournament with its win against Ball State, and the players said they're motivated to win the WNIT. Doing that takes a streak, and that means getting by Saint Louis.
Moren believes in the advantage of a home crowd and agreed to buy the first 100 students in attendance pizza at the game. In a related move, Buffalouies announced it'll give away five free wings to anyone who brings in a ticket stub from the WNIT game.
At this point, anything helps against a team of Saint Louis's quality.
Just ask Box.
"They're here because they're good," Box said.
He would know.
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