The former high-scoring guard for IU and one of the top assists players in school history, Ali Patberg is now transitioning into college coaching through the program.
Andrew Mascharka/Indiana University Athletics
BLOOMINGTON — Spying on Ali Patberg from afar for just 10 minutes before the start of an Indiana University women’s basketball game at Assembly Hall tells one just how highly she ranks on the enthusiasm meter.
The former IU star from Columbus is now an assistant coach for the nationally ranked Hoosiers. She is very much in the present, very visible to the thousands of fans who attend the team’s games.
As the team took its warmup shots before a recent game, Patberg entered the arena and fist-bumped everyone seated at the official scorer’s table – much as head coach Teri Moren does before a game.
Patberg mingled and talked with other assistants and team support personnel and then mingled and talked, offering encouragement and exhortations, to the players. She fielded bouncing balls, then fed passes to the team’s long-distance shooters as they pumped jumpers to gain rhythm.
It looked as if Patberg was having fun. Same as she did when she was a player after coming out of Columbus North when that squad won the Class 4A state championship and she won Indiana Miss Basketball in 2015.
In high school, Patberg, a 5-foot-11 point-guard, set school records for points, assists and steals. And for those without long memories, she then enrolled at Notre Dame. Then she became a Hoosier, where she was a high scorer, four times averaging in double figures, as much as 15½ per game, and the top passer for the team, ranking third on the school’s all-time assists list.
IU reached the Elite Eight of the NCAA women’s tournament, and then Patberg was drafted by the Indiana Fever of the WNBA. It appeared to be a perfect scenario, being selected by her hometown professional team.
“I was super, super excited,” Patberg said when she was drafted.
Becoming a pro in the WNBA had long been a goal.
“I love the game so much. I was excited for the opportunity. It was just awesome, not only for myself but for the program,” she said.
But that’s when the road took a sharp curve. In a jarring move, it seemed that after merely 15 minutes of practice with the Fever, Patberg was cut.
“I wasn’t there very long,” Patberg said. “But it is what it is. I was thankful the general manager gave me the opportunity.”
There are numerous opportunities for players to compete in Europe, and Patberg received an offer from a team in Spain. Then she made the difficult choice to retire as an active player to stay in Indiana and accept a job from Moren as a team and recruitment coordinator.
“I knew when I coached her that she was on the path to where she would coach,” Moren said. “She was a team leader. She loves the game. She is a student of the game. She will be a star in this profession. She’s going to be a rock star.”
If Patberg, now 26, chose to play overseas, she may have developed into a more attractive hire for some WNBA team and been able to come back and make a roster. Her Indiana roots are strong, however, and she knew she wanted to coach long term.
“Honestly, I didn’t want to be away from my friends and family for eight months,” Patberg said. “Life’s too short. I knew I was going to love coaching.”
During the 2022-23 season, when Indiana finished 28-4, Patberg’s role was summed up as part of the club’s “support staff.” As a former player who had the ball in her hands much of the time the Hoosiers were on offense and as a low-on-the-responsibility scale contributor during a game, Patberg spent more time on the bench than she had ever done in her basketball career.
“It’s a lot (of an adjustment),” she said of that season. “Definitely, it was a huge adjustment.”
Patberg was fortunate Moren even had a vacancy.
“She was the first person that came to mind,” Moren said. “I knew she could help us. She is beloved in this program. She has the respect of the players, and that goes a long way.”
Patberg, the former player under the same head coach, enjoyed being the wise head who had lived through everything and taking the new, young players under her umbrella to teach them the Hoosier way.
“Ali is a natural,” Moren said. “It has not surprised me one bit. She has been a great resource (for the team’s guards). She loves this game, and she loves Indiana.”
After one year as a lower-level coach, Patberg was promoted to a full-scale assistant coach for this season. With the Hoosiers 16-2 and ranked No. 14 nationally, she is trying to help the follow-up team to last year’s Big Ten Conference regular-season titlist do even greater things.
“I love being in this position,” Patberg said. “It’s been really, really cool.”
The WNBA option became a closed door quickly. The Spain option didn’t seem as appealing as continuing a connection to the Hoosiers. Patberg didn’t even have to change out her wardrobe very much to stick around as an assistant coach at her alma mater.
“I’m doing what I knew I was going to be doing,” Patberg said. “It’s the job for me.”