How 3-Point Prodigy Yarden Garzon Found Way From Israel to Indiana Women's Basketball

Freshman guard Yarden Garzon is more than 6,000 miles away from her home in Ra’anana, Israel, so how did the team's third leading scorer and three-point leader find herself in the cream and crimson?

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana freshman guard Yarden Garzon is more than 6,000 miles away from her home Ra’anana, Israel but is finding a new home in the Hoosiers where she is thriving each week.

"Even though she's a freshman by class, she doesn't play like a freshman," Indiana head coach Teri Moren said.

"She doesn't act like a freshman. There's a maturity level to her that I don't think I've ever had in a freshman in my — this is my 30th year of coaching."

Just this week, Garzon was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week following her performance in the Las Vegas Invitational where she averaged 19 points, six rebounds and five assists going 50 percent from the floor.

She's crafty from the field but is best known for her accuracy beyond the arc. She currently leads the team with 54.1 percent from downtown off of 20 made three-pointers in eight games.

Indiana's Yarden Garzon (12) shoots during the Indiana versus Quinnipiac women's basketball game at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Sunday, Nov. 20, 2022 :: © Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK

"She's really smart on the court," senior guard Sara Scalia said. "She can shoot three, pullup, get to the basket. She's kind of an all-around player for us, and she shows that in practice."

Garzon is the team's third leading scorer averaging 12.4 points per game on a Hoosiers squad where five players average double-figure scoring. She's also third in total rebounds with 33 using her tall 6'3" frame to box out and attack the boards.

So how did this young baller end up at Indiana?

Some years ago, Moren said an AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) coach out of Fort Wayne, Ind. had the opportunity to work with Garzon and told Indiana to keep an eye on the young talent. 

Once the staff saw her film, it was all hands on deck to get the guard to sign at Indiana. Luckily, Garzon was familiar with basketball in the States because her older sister Lior played two seasons at Villanova and just this season transferred to Oklahoma State.

"A lot of zoom calls with Yarden and her dad, and her mom started getting on the Zoom calls," Moren said.

"We felt like she was someone who could come over here and help us immediately."

Yarden Garzon (12) helps Israel beat Greece in the quarterfinals of #FIBAU20 Division B play / @IndianaWBB on Twitter

Last November, Garzon made her official visit to Indiana and got to sit it on practice and then watch the Hoosiers beat No. 13 Kentucky 88-67 in the Hall.

Moren asked Garzon what she thought, and she only had one complaint — the shootaround was way too long for her.

"We don't do that," Garzon told Moren.

Moren laughed and asked her the same question earlier this season. Coach has a special shootaround drill at the end of each practice where the team spends two and a half minutes on each side of the court getting their best and favorite shots up.

"These shootarounds — are they still tiring?" Moren asked Garzon.

"They're not tiring at all, they're just too long," Garzon said 

Moren said that might give someone a view of her personality, a competitor that wants to be challenged everyday.

"The thing I love about her is you can do a shooting drill with her, and she always wants to know what's the best score," Moren said. "That's how competitive she is."

Tennessee guard/forward Tess Darby (21) is guarded by Indiana guard Yarden Garzon (12) during the NCAA college basketball game between the Tennessee Volunteers and Indiana Hoosiers on Monday, Nov. 14, 2022 in Knoxville, Tenn :: © Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

Garzon is not satisfied with hitting a goal or the minimum. She wants more. This could be a testament to her international playing experience. Garzon played for the Israel Senior National Team at the EuroBasket 2023 Qualifiers in Nov. 2021 where she was in the starting lineup versus Latvia.

At the 2021 U20 European Challengers, Garzon averaged 19.2 points and 9.4 rebounds per contest, showing off versatility in her game.

"What we found with Yarden inside of every practice, inside of every game, you can have some fun and run some cool actions for her, especially when you have a player like Mack (Holmes) that's so good around the rim," Moren said.

With Indiana's star guard Grace Berger out indefinitely with a right knee injury, Garzon has had to step up as a guard and has done so with maturity and no problems.

"We can put the ball in Yarden's hand," Moren said. "We can set her a high ball screen. We can give it to her at the pinch post. She's going to make a good decision. She very rarely makes the wrong decision ."

In the ACC/Big Ten Challenge top-10 showdown versus North Carolina on Thursday, Garzon swished a pair of triples and tied for the team's leader in rebounds with seven boards making it look easy to knock off the Tar Heels.

"She's a hard guard for people...Let's remember she's been playing with pros," Moren said.

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• INDIANA HANDS NORTH CAROLINA ITS FIRST LOSS For a top-10 Big Ten/ACC Challenge, one might think it would be a closer game, but not if you're No. 5 Indiana who shut down the North Carolina Tar Heels 87-63 led by senior forward Mackenzie Holmes' 25 points and junior guard Sydney Parrish's 24. CLICK HERE
• HOOSIERS TO PLAY UNC IN TOP-10 MATCHUP Two undefeated top-10 teams in North Carolina and Indiana will battle it out inside the Hall for the ACC/Big Ten Challenge crown. Read more about how to watch, who's commanding each team's offense and how the Hoosiers will carry on without one of their best players Grace Berger. CLICK HERE
• GRACE BERGER OUT INDEFINITELY Indiana women's basketball head coach Teri Moren said senior guard Grace Berger is out indefinitely with a right knee injury. Berger is day-to-day and will not play in the UNC game on Thursday. CLICK HERE
• HOLMES & GARZON EARN BIG TEN WEEKLY HONORS Indiana women's basketball forwards Mackenzie Holmes and Yarden Garzon earn Big Ten Player of the Week honors as the first duo to sweep the award since the 2009-10 season. CLICK HERE