How Sydney Parrish fits with Indiana women's basketball and what her arrival could signify

After building up considerable momentum as a program under coach Teri Moren, Indiana women's basketball took another leap forward.

Indiana landed its second transfer commitment of the offseason Saturday morning when Oregon sophomore guard Sydney Parrish announced her return to the Hoosier State on social media. Parrish graduated from Hamilton Southeastern in 2020, and was named Indiana's Miss Basketball as a senior.

Her commitment could have an impact on IU's future progression.

The Hoosiers reached the Sweet 16 this year for the second time in program history — and the second year in a row. But when the season ended, Ali Patberg, Nicole Cardaño-Hillary, and Aleksa Gulbe ended their IU careers.

It ended a remarkably successful period for the program. Losing a program-changing player like Patberg is a natural place to draw a line between one era and the next.

And if that's the case, the next era of IU women's basketball is off to a good start.

Parrish returns home

Parrish is the third Miss Basketball recipient to play for Moren. Patberg (Columbus North) won the award in 2015, and she transferred to IU from Notre Dame in 2017. Jorie Allen (Bedford North Lawrence) took home the honor in 2019, and she came to IU for one year before transferring to DePaul.

Parrish will have two years of eligibility remaining, plus a potential extra year for her NCAA Eligibility Relief due to COVID-19. She joins Providence transfer Alyssa Geary, who announced her commitment IU during the NCAA Tournament.

IU women's basketball has yet to officially announce Parrish and Geary joining the program, and a spokesperson declined comment on Parrish's announcement.

More: Sydney Parrish, 2020 Indiana Miss Basketball, transfers to IU: 'Time to come home.'

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Roster considerations going forward

Indiana faced uncertainty heading into this offseason.

Yes, there were two important constants the Hoosiers knew they'd have back next year. No matter how the rest of the roster shook out, IU would have two All-Americans returning in Mackenzie Holmes and Grace Berger.

Aside from them, there were a lot of question marks. Chloe Moore-McNeil made significant improvement as a sophomore coming off the bench. And while IU shouldn't have any issues with her in the starting lineup, it remained unclear how she'll handle an even bigger role.

The forward spots next to Holmes carried uncertainties as well. Kiandra Browne battled through a hip injury for most of the season — she only missed three games this season, all in the Big Ten or NCAA Tournaments. But she had offseason hip surgery last year and it seemed to limit her at times, even when she was on the court. IU landed Alyssa Geary in the transfer portal from Providence, though her senior year numbers dipped from her junior year.

As a sophomore at Oregon, Parrish averaged 8.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 1.0 steals, and 1.4 turnovers per game. She shot 38.5 percent from the field, 35.4 percent from 3-point range, and 75 percent from the free-throw line. Her only statistic that didn't improve from her freshman year was her free-throw percentage.

There are never any certainties in sports, so It's not a definite that Parrish will respond well to the change of scenery, but there's reason to believe she could do better at IU than she did at Oregon. And that would help Indiana in numerous ways.

How Parrish fits

Indiana had a big hole to fill at guard, whether it was addressed internally or externally. Kaitlin Peterson could take a major step forward next season and still leave Indiana needing something at guard — that's not to say anything of Peterson's ability as much as what IU lost in Patberg and Cardaño-Hillary.

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In Parrish, the Hoosiers are getting a proven scorer who can space the floor. That skill set is something they clearly were losing when Patberg graduated. Indiana needed a capable off-ball guard because Grace Berger is likely to step into an even more ball-dominant role next year, and Chloe Moore-McNeil could very well do the same.

Adding Parrish to the team will allow the Hoosiers to do more offensively. She gives them additional lineup combinations to play with, and brings things to the table at guard that IU didn't have on the roster next year.

And Parrish's arrival could ease any potential pressure on Peterson to take that giant step. She won't have to be thrust into a role she's not ready for. Obviously, if she makes those improvements, she'd still see increased playing time. But Parrish erases the question mark of who else would take on that guard spot if Peterson isn't ready.

Keeping things rolling

Indiana doesn't have any commitments for the class of 2023-24 yet.

The Hoosiers have four incoming freshmen this fall: forward Lilly Meister, and guards Lexus Bargesser, Henna Sandvik, and Yarden Garzon. That class and the next few classes will show the true impact on recruiting of Indiana's recent success.

And landing another former Miss Basketball winner has to be a good sign in that regard.

Next year's roster may not be complete, as the constant activity in and out of the transfer portal has created a lot of surprises across college sports — just ask Maryland, who saw All-American Ashley Owusu and Angel Reese enter the portal last week.

But Indiana has already added two players who will likely step into major roles from day one next season. It shows the way Moren and her staff have sold their progress as a program to recruits.

It could also indicate a continued bright future for Indiana women's basketball.

Follow Herald-Times sports reporter Seth Tow on Twitter @SethTow, or email him at stow@heraldt.com.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: How Sydney Parrish fits with Indiana women's basketball and what her arrival could signify