Craig Pearson
The Tribune-Star
TERRE HAUTE —
Indiana State women’s basketball coach Teri Moren thought her offseason would be centered around recruiting players.
Instead, she’s been on a quest to fill coaching vacancies.
Associate head coach Clint Weddle was hired to become the boys basketball coach at Northview High School. Former Indiana State standout Melanie Boeglin opted to move to Indianapolis for a career change, and Cammie Campbell chose to move closer to her father, who is faced with health issues, Moren said.
“Clint, Cam and Mel are my friends and I care about them. We want them all to do big things and we wish them well. There’s no doubt all three of them will be successful in anything they do,” Moren said recently.
Moren said losing Weddle is disappointing as they’ve tried to lead the rebuilding of the program together.
“He’s had a major impact on the last two years as far as the types of kids we’ve been able to bring in. The foundation, he’s had a lot to do with that,” Moren said. “He and I are really close. He and [his wife] Kate are to the point where they would like to start a family. He is first and foremost a great husband and he’ll be a great dad. Those are two of his goals.”
Last month, Moren hired Sara Riedeman, who played for Moren on a conference championship team at the University of Indianapolis. Riedeman has been head coach at Indianapolis Roncalli High School in addition to coaching AAU teams in the Indy area.
This week, Moren added John Marcum, who has spent the past two years as head coach at California Baptist, a Division II program.
“We still have to progress in this program. I have to surround myself with pieces that can help us do the things we want to do,” Moren said. “[Riedeman] obviously is loyal and knows me as a coach. She’ll be tremendous in the fact that she’s been a high school head coach, she’s familiar with the recruiting process. She’s had kids that have gone to play at Butler, that have gone to play at Purdue. She’s an Indiana kid, she loves Indiana basketball.”
Bringing in coaches that can help the program pick up its recruiting ability is the top priority.
“It’s an area we’ve been a little bit behind in,” Moren said.
From her research on Marcum, those that have worked with Marcum have been impressed
“He’s been on the men’s and women’s side. John’s had a tremendous amount of success as a head coach, but what I’m most excited about is his ability to recruit. He’ll expand our recruiting base, from internationally to other states that are non-traditional for us. And being at a division II school, you have a lot of relationships at the junior college level. He’s been to Africa a few times. He’s an interesting, high-energy guy.”
Riedeman has enjoyed getting to work with the Sycamores. Moving to the college game was a natural move for her.
“She’s been a mentor for me over the years,” Riedeman said of Moren. “I’m excited to be on the other side of it. As a high school coach and AAU coach, I dealt with college coaches a lot. “I’m especially excited to work with coach Moren. She does it right.
“Several of the Indiana girls, I know them from coaching them or coaching against them. It’s a good group. We’ve got some pieces in place. We’ll mold them into what we like to do and what we’d like to achieve,” Riedeman said.
Continuing to recruit the Indianapolis area will be important, she added.
“Having coached the Indianapolis area, I know the basketball’s great up there. I just don’t know if you’ll find a better city. Indiana in general is good, and we’ll try to keep some players home,” Riedeman said.
