The mere mention of Indiana University basketball conjures images of Hoosiers history.
The national championships. The candy-striped warmups. Assembly Hall. Isiah Thomas. Victor Oladipo. Bob Knight.
Each day, Brenna Wise, a Pitt transfer and Vincentian High School graduate, is gaining a better understanding of what it means to don the crimson and cream as a member of the Indiana women's team.
"These people live and die basketball," said Wise, a 6-foot redshirt junior small forward. "Women's basketball isn't at the level of the men's, but it's on the rise here and it gets great priority, too. We have amazing fans who fill Assembly Hall. You walk in and you see the banners hanging. You have the tunnel leading to the court. You feel like a basketball player here. It's a very special place, and it's hard to put into words. I'm proud to be a Hoosier."
Hoosier Nation is surely proud to call Wise, a former Post-Gazette Player of the Year, one of their own.
In this, her debut season (she sat out 2017-18 per NCAA transfer rules), Wise is the second-leading scorer (14.1 points) for a team that is 13-1, 2-0 Big Ten Conference.
She tops the Hoosiers in rebounding (6.9), 3-pointers made (22), 3-point percentage (.468) and free-throw percentage (.914, 53 of 58). She's scored in double figures 10 times, including 18 points or more on five occasions, and posted double-doubles versus Florida (18 points, 10 rebounds) and Butler (22, 11).
It's been a smooth transition for a player who left Pitt after leading the Panthers in scoring and rebounding in each of her two seasons.
"I've been around great people here," Wise said of her new basketball family in Bloomington, Ind. "That's really helped me to adjust."
Asked what compelled her to leave what appeared to be a blossoming career at Pitt (which was coached by Suzie McConnell-Serio at the time), Wise said she was in search of new challenges.
"First off, Pitt was amazing," said Wise, a 2016 ACC All-Freshman Team selection who started all 61 games for the Panthers and averaged 14.3 points and 6.4 rebounds as a sophomore. "If it wasn't for my first two years there, I wouldn't be the person I am today. The relationships I built and the experiences I had - getting to play in my hometown and in the ACC - helped me to improve as a person and as a player. I also had loftier goals for myself as I continued to develop and grow. I had to take a leap of faith."
Pitt went 26-35, including 8-26 in the ACC, in Wise's two seasons. McConnell-Serio was fired last spring.
Indiana, meantime, is coming off a WNIT championship and is 80-38 the past three-plus seasons under coach Teri Moren. The Hoosiers reached the NCAA Tournament in 2016.
A two-time All-ACC Academic Team selection who carries a 3.88 grade point average in marketing at Indiana's prestigious Kelley School of Business, Wise said Indiana meets her needs, on and off the court.
"I wanted to go to a respected conference and play at a respected school that had the best of both worlds," Wise said. "Indiana offers an elite academic curriculum and a basketball team that's on the rise with a great coaching staff. I'm challenged both academically and athletically here and that's what I wanted. Every school has an amazing gym and they wear amazing gear, but that's not what is important. It's who you're going to battle with every day, the people you're around, the environment."
Wise and fellow transfer Ali Patberg, formerly of Notre Dame, have formed a potent one-two punch for the Hoosiers. Patberg, a 5-11 guard, leads the Hoosiers in scoring (18.4) and assists (4.9) and is second to Wise in rebounding (6.6).
In an 83-75 victory against visiting Penn State on New Year's Eve, the talented transfers combined for 46 points, with Wise connecting on 13 of 14 free-throw attempts and Patberg contributing 26 points and 8 boards.
The two stars, who formed a bond while sitting out last season, have served as tone-setters for a team that lost its top two players to graduation and features five sophomores and three freshmen.
"The two of us had to grind it out every day last season," said Wise, part of a Pittsburgh-to-Indiana connection that also features 23rd-ranked Hoosiers men's coach Archie Miller, a Blackhawk grad whose father coached Wise in AAU. "And when I wasn't positive, she would be. And, maybe, when she wasn't as positive, I was. We picked each other up and it made the transition much easier."
For those who remember Wise as a prep, it will come as no surprise that her goal is to win championships at Indiana. At Vincentian, she led the Royals to four WPIAL Class A titles and two PIAA crowns. Vincentian lost only eight games during a career that saw Wise amass more than 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds while twice being named the PIAA Class A Player of the Year.
"We're a team capable of making a (NCAA) tournament run," Wise said of the Hoosiers. "We have a goal of winning the Big Ten and getting deep into the tournament. I don't have any personal numbers that I want to reach, I just want to be the best player I can be."
First Published: January 3, 2019, 5:00 p.m.
