As she sat alongside new IU men’s basketball coach Archie Miller and new football coach Tom Allen at a recent event last week, Teri Moren realized she’s no longer the “new shiny penny” in town.
And that’s okay.
Fresh off her third season at IU and looking for more in season No. 4, Moren is excited about the changes coming to the leadership of the Hoosiers’ high profile sports programs. While she was and continues to be close friends with former men’s basketball coach Tom Crean, Moren said she’s gotten a good vibe from Miller in their limited interactions.
“Laid-back isn’t the right word,” Moren said, trying to describe Miller. “I think we will all agree Coach Crean seemed like he was three Red Bulls in every day. I say that in a very respectful manner. Archie doesn’t appear to be wound like that or wired like that, and that’s not a bad thing, it’s just they are different in that sense.”
The head coaches of the Indiana men’s and women’s basketball programs have a unique relationship in sharing the same gym. Each has their own court at Cook Hall but also needs to schedule time to get into Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall for practices as well.
Crean and former assistant coach Chuck Martin often went out of their way to help Moren with recruiting. It was the little gestures like sometimes asking a superstar like Yogi Ferrell to introduce himself to a women’s recruit on a visit that oftentimes went a long way.
Moren said she’s already managed to watch Miller conduct offseason workouts with his new players from high above at Cook Hall and that she plans to continue doing so to learn from the new coach.
“He seems like a really direct guy,” Moren said. “He’s really down to Earth.”
The only thing Moren might try and change about Miller is his football preferences. Miller, a Pittsburgh Steelers fan, said he enjoys watching football more than he does basketball because one is work and the other is play.
“I have to try and convert him to a Colts fan,” Moren said, “but I don’t think it’s going to happen.”
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