Grace Berger Wants to be 'Sponge' at Indiana Fever Training Camp, Earns High Praise From Staff

Former Indiana women's basketball guard Grace Berger is in the middle of the WNBA Indiana Fever training camp with the goal of being a sponge to soak in everything the veterans are teaching her.

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Former Indiana women's basketball guard Grace Berger wants to soak it all in at Indiana Fever training camp she said in a press conference.

"My biggest goal for training camp is just to be a sponge for those around me," Berger said.

The Louisville, Ky. native was the Hoosiers' first player to get drafted in the first round at No. 7 overall. Since that glorious night on April 10, Berger had 20 days to focus on her basketball future before training camp officially started on the 30th. 

She now has until May 18 when final roster cuts are due to impress the Fever staff and show her new teammates how she operated at Indiana where she averaged 12.9 points and 4.8 rebounds per game.

It's not set in stone, but all the arrows are pointing in the direction that Berger will easily make the final cut given what the staff has said about her during training camp so far.

"She's one of those guards that really loves to be in the gym, and you can tell she loves the game, so you can see her wanting to get better, wanting to understand stuff early," assistant coach Karima Christmas-Kelly said. 

That sounds similar to how Hoosiers head coach Teri Moren described Berger's work ethic. She said Berger got everybody else excited and motivated to put in extra hours whenever they could.

"Basketball has been pretty much everything to me since I was five years old, and I first picked up a ball in my driveway," Berger said. "It's been something that has been a priority in my schedule, priority day in and day out, and it's gotten me to this point, and I don't see that stopping."

While considering the sponge mentality, Berger is locked into observing veteran teammates like Erica Wheeler and Kelsey Mitchell, who have been through this process before, she said.

"What excites me the most about this new journey is just being able to play with and against the best athletes in the world," Berger said.

The Fever staff said they admire and recognize Berger's willingness to learn and adapt all while possessing the tools she needs to be a great WNBA player.

"Hometown hero, strong athlete, versatile, can play multiple positions, can guard multiple positions, great passer, lethal in the midrange," player development coach Jhared Simpson said. 

Moren said Berger was a big part of the Hoosiers' culture while at Indiana and was the heart of the team — not just because she was the point guard. Other coaches are starting to see this too.

"Seeing her develop at Indiana, we know that she's a very hard worker," assistant coach Paul Miller said. "She takes this very seriously, and she's also going to be a driver of this culture."

The Fever will play in their first preseason game Sunday, May 7 versus the Chicago Sky in Chicago at 6 p.m. ET.

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