Indiana basketball season in review: Chloe Moore-McNeil

Mar 25, 2023 - 5:41 PM

Perhaps no player was more important to Indiana’s sustained success and Big Ten Championship this past season than Chloe Moore-McNeil.

A junior out of Tennessee where she was a two-time Class A Miss Basketball at Greenfield High School, Moore-McNeil’s work ethic and skill have allowed her to improve each and every year she’s been in Bloomington.

She was key to Indiana’s guard depth off the bench in 2021-22, making two starts and averaging 21.2 minutes per game. When any of Indiana’s guards needed a breather or were out due to illness or injury, Moore-McNeil was more than a reliable replacement.

This past season saw her take over as a starter, averaging 33.6 minutes per game and improving in literally every statistical category save for turnovers. There’s a reason for that last one, and it was the strides she took running Indiana’s offense.

When Grace Berger went down with an injury during the much-maligned Las Vegas Invitational, Moore-McNeil embraced the challenge. Her assist numbers jumped from 1 per game in 2021-22 to 4.8. Not only that, but she gave head coach Teri Moren and staff another ball-handling option at guard when Berger returned.

Indiana’s Berger-Moore-McNeil backcourt was dominant, the two were able to play off of one another while finding shooters like Sydney Parrish, Yarden Garzon or Sara Scalia on the arc or Mackenzie Holmes down low.

But Moore-McNeil was more than capable of taking matters into her own hands, adding 9.5 points per game while her 3-point shot improved as the season went on.

That’s only talking about her offensive game. The real story was perhaps her work on defense, where she frequently earned the toughest assignment at guard. Moore-McNeil was guarding Caitlin Clark in both of Indiana’s games against Iowa, with her efforts being vital to the Hoosiers’ win in the first matchup.

Nothing really fazes her on the court either, she doesn’t allow herself to get too low when things aren’t going well or try to do too much when Indiana is rolling. That steady demeanor is important, especially late in games.

Asking Moren or her staff about the player Moore-McNeil has become results in nothing but rave reviews. There’s everything we see on the court, but the staff has seen all the work Moore-McNeil has put in during practice to get to that point.

Finally, she’s as here for Indiana’s fans as the rest of the roster. There’s an anecdote of Moore-McNeil staying behind after a game for an extended period of time to sign autographs and take photos with fans, even when she’s being beckoned into the locker room.

Moore-McNeil has been and will continue to be a vital part of Indiana’s team. With the way things have been going, she’s poised to be even better next season.