INDIANAPOLIS – The IUPUI women’s basketball program went through a whirlwind of challenges in the past two years.

 

When something is under pressure it can either implode or can create diamonds. IUPUI found its diamond in the rough with head coach Austin Parkinson.

 

Parkinson has brought with him a coaching style that has been chiseled from the roots of his Christian faith, not to mention an Indiana basketball pedigree that goes three generations deep.

 

Parkinson, a former Purdue guard under legendary Boilermakers head coach Gene Keady, has both his father and grandfather in the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame. This generation of Parkinson, though, is commissioned to continue to change the culture of the women’s basketball team at IUPUI.

 

Meshing his experiences as a player and coach at Purdue in addition to his coaching stops with IPFW and the IUPUI men’s team, Parkinson’s style could best be described as team basketball, which would include tough defense, unselfish offense, and a willing to sacrifice for the team.

 

“At IPFW, I was the director of basketball and was making milkshakes for the guys,” said Parkinson, who even pushes the drink cart back from practices now. “I was doing laundry at the University of Indianapolis as a grad assistant. The biggest thing as a leader is that you can be a servant and you aren’t above doing anything.”

 

This type of leadership is just the style of coaching that the women’s team needed last year.

 

“Coach Parkinson has talked so much about building team chemistry and having care for your teammates,” said Janna Eichelberger, a senior forward and second-leading scorer from last year. “That is something we as a team are trying to buy into, because good chemistry can lead to more positive things on the court.”

 

Now that Parkinson is officially the head coach and has had a year with the team as interim head coach, he is ready to take on the Summit League with his team working at full strength.

 

“I think last year was a year where I wasn’t familiar with them and they weren’t familiar with me,” Parkinson said. “I didn’t know my team’s strengths until after Christmas.”

 

As Parkinson continues to learn the strengths of his squad he will look for leaders to step up on and off the floor.

 

“What is nice about our team now is that we have a lot of those ladies back from last year and we are able to implement the kind of system that I want to play and more importantly, the values with which I want to do it,” Parkinson said. “I think the ladies understand that defense is going to be a priority and togetherness is going to be important. I think those are good foundations as we go forward.”

 

Parkinson knows that forging a championship caliber team will take some help from a pair of coaches that he recently hired who have been through the fire and won big games.

 

Those coaches are associate head coach Alex Webster and assistant coach Stan Benge. Webster has been immersed at the collegiate level for three years while Benge led Ben Davis High School over past 25 years to four state championships and a national championship.

 

“Alex is a high energy, high character person who has established herself here in the Midwest as a rising star in the coaching ranks," Parkinson added. “Having grown up and worked in this state, Alex has strong recruiting ties and is great at developing relationships. Her knowledge and passion for the game will be invaluable for our staff and developing the ladies in this program.”

 

Her familiarity with the Summit League and recruiting the state of Indiana only further bolsters IUPUI’s brand to future Jaguars. Additionally, Benge’s credentials made him one of the most well respected high school coaches in state history.

 

“We are fortunate to have him aboard,” Parkinson said. “I think he will bring a lot to us. We agree on a lot of things defensively. To have someone with his knowledge of the game and his experience will ultimately make us a better program and help me be a better coach.”

 

Not only will Benge bring his defensive tactics and his experience but also his strong ties to the city.

 

“I know a lot of the coaches in central Indiana and a lot of the players,” Benge said. “We have played against some of the better players, so over these next few years we hopefully will get some of these players to IUPUI.”

 

Thanks to Coach Parkinson’s leadership and a slew of returning starters, the team feels it has the ability to challenge the upper half of the Summit League next year.

 

In addition to the starters returning, Parkinson also can plug in a pair of transfers, Emily Phillips and Katie Comello, into the rotation, who sat out last season due to NCAA transfer rules. Three fresh faces will also emerge on the sidelines in Claire Holba, Nevena Markovic, and Alex Thompson.

 

Markovic, Holba, and Thompson all add size and depth to the roster giving the team more versatility at each position.

 

“Emily and I watched and observed from the bench last year and we were able to learn what we need to bring to the table,” Comello said. “We know that we need to get better in the summer and do our work now. Being at workouts every day and focusing on our day-to-day tasks in the offseason will help us build that chemistry that we can use throughout the season.”

 

“We struggled with our depth last year and sitting on the bench, we wanted to go in and help,” Comello added. “This year we have some height coming in, some new guards, and we’re excited to come in help each other.”

 

But with Parkinson and this IUPUI team it isn’t all about winning, but about learning how to be a team and doing things the right way.

 

“We have got to continue on the process and focus on the daily grind of getting better and the wins and losses will take of itself,” Parkinson said.

 

As long as the team continues to buy into his team first approach then the wins definitely should take care of themselves this season.