Yo Adrian, score those points

Dec. 2—When basketball standout Adrian Folks graduated from Detroit Country Day High School in 2019, she had a pretty good idea which college she wanted to attend.

Then-Indiana State women's coach Vicki Hall had noticed Folks' court skills when she was in eighth grade and Hall kept in touch through Folks' high school years, developing a friendly relationship along the way.

So Folks' decision was a slam dunk — the Sycamores and coach Hall.

Unfortunately for ISU and Folks, they went 5-25 and 5-15 during her first two seasons. After their 2020-21 campaign ended with a first-round loss to Southern Illinois in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament, Indiana State announced that the university and Hall had "mutually agreed" to part ways.

Soon after that, Hall became an assistant coach with the WNBA's Indiana Fever.

And suddenly, ISU needed to find a new head coach. Its search resulted with the hiring of Chad Killinger as Hall's successor in April.

With Hall gone, what would Folks do? As a sophomore in 2020-21, she averaged 9.6 points per game and established herself as one of the team leaders.

Because Hall did not land her next job at another college, the option of Folks following Hall did not exist.

Folks' answer became clear after she first talked with Killinger on the phone. She chose to remain a Sycamore and it's a good thing she did.

Although ISU was 2-4 going into Wednesday night's game at Chicago State, its losses had been competitive and the 6-foot Folks was leading the squad in scoring and rebounding with averages of 14.6 points and 5.8 boards per outing.

"Obviously, we're happy with all the kids who decided to stay," Killinger told the Tribune-Star. "I think Adrian is a model kid to have in your program. She takes very tough nursing classes, does very well academically and shows up every day [to practice] and works hard on what we ask her to do on the court and off the court.

"She is someone that recruits can look at and see the success she's having and the career and the life she's setting herself up with being at Indiana State . . . and understand this is a place that can really prepare you for your future."

Back in mid-November, during a 65-58 loss at Saint Louis, Folks showed potential to be the Sycamores' go-to offensive player by firing in a career-high 24 points.

"I think I did a good job of dominating the post and my teammates did a good job of looking for me and creating open shots for me," Folks said of that game. "I appreciate them for that."

Because of that performance, which also included 10 rebounds, opponents have kept a closer eye on Folks' movements since. With the bull's eye on her back growing and foes often double-teaming her, Folks is learning how to find open teammates when the shot isn't there for her.

"She's skilled for a 6-foot kid who can step out and shoot the ball," Killinger emphasized. "We'd like for her to be able to maybe extend that a little bit and step out to the 3-point line at some point.

"But she can step out there and shoot it [usually from about 15 feet] and that makes her hard to guard and makes her a tough matchup."

Dillinger recalls that when he accepted the ISU job, he figured Folks would enjoy the new offensive system he would implement.

"She fits perfectly into that forward spot," he explained. "That's where she can take advantage of bigger kids off the dribble if they guard her on the perimeter or if they have someone her size or smaller guarding her, she can post 'em up.

"I think that versatility, obviously, is a big help. . . . At the same time, she can get a rebound, bust it out and bring it up the court. That puts the pressure on the defense to get back."

Killinger also praised Folks' effort on defense, an area where Folks has noticed improvement in the whole team so far.

"We've gotten better on the defensive side and better at getting stops," Folks told the Tribune-Star. "Everyone can see that we've gotten much better on the defensive end. That's one of the biggest things that we've tried to work on."

Although Killinger would like to see Folks working with her teammates every second the Sycamores have a practice, he doesn't mind Folks occasionally needing to miss part of a practice because of a nursing requirement.

"I just let her know how proud I am of her, just in the short time I've been here," Killinger mentioned. "Nursing, that's a tough major. It takes a lot of time and energy and effort."

Regarding practices and games that she does attend, Killinger agreed that the soft-spoken Folks could be described as a "leader by example."

"We are getting better," she did proclaim. "The most important thing is we are getting better on the defensive side. When we get stops, we score more. But we need to learn how to execute better and minimize the turnovers."

"When we move the ball and our girls move, our offense is really good," Killinger added. "When we stand and watch our teammates [sometimes Folks] play and watch them go one-on-one, then it's harder to score . . . and it's easier for the [opposing] defense to know where we're at on the floor because we're not moving."

Folks and the Sycamores will return home Saturday for a 6 p.m. matchup against Western Michigan. The Broncos from Kalamazoo, Mich., will bring a 4-2 record and a three-game winning streak to Hulman Center. Sophomore guard Lauren Ross leads them in scoring at 19.7 ppg.

"I hope everything pulls together by the time we play conference," Folks said, referring to the Missouri Valley Conference.

----Injury note — ISU junior guard Sommer Pitzer had surgery on her knee recently and is out indefinitely.