Published: May 13, 2008 11:43 pm            

ISU women’s basketball picks up transfer from Illinois

Buher was standout guard at Lawrenceville

TERRE HAUTE — The Indiana State women’s basketball program continued to add size on the perimeter with the addition of 6-foot guard and “big-time scorer” Chelsea Buher as a transfer from the University of Illinois.

Buher, who competed in the Little Illini Conference for Lawrenceville, Ill., during her four-year varsity career, almost committed to coach Jim Wiedie and Indiana State during her senior year.

“Indiana State was always in my mix,” Buher said Tuesday. “Coach Wiedie and I always had a good relationship. We talked about the reasons I said no [originally]. I knew right off the bat when I decided to leave Illinois, it was probably the exact place I wanted to go.”

Wiedie is thrilled to add Buher, who will be allowed to practice throughout the 2008-09 season but cannot take the court for games until 2009-10. She will have three years of eligibility remaining.

“She’s a big guard, and we’ve been traditionally pretty small,” Wiedie said. “She can shoot the 3. She’s a very good passer. She causes a lot of matchup problems.”

Buher averaged 26.8 points a game during her senior year at Lawrenceville.

Buher was offered to play at Illinois late in her senior year by Hall of Fame coach Theresa Grentz, who stepped down prior to the 2008-09 season. Jolette Law was named the new Illini head coach, and she used Buher in a limited role as Illinois had a 20-15 record last season. Buher averaged 1.5 points and 7.2 minutes per game for the Illini.

“I tried it out [with a different staff than the one that recruited her]. It just didn’t seem like my right fit for the next three years,” Buher said.

Buher, who was working with cattle on her father’s Indiana farm when reached Tuesday, was studying pre-veterinary at Illinois, which was another factor in her original college choice.

But Buher attended Wiedie’s camp at ISU after her freshman year at Lawrenceville. “Ever since then, we’ve been close,” Buher said.

The guard is looking forward to getting on the court in two seasons and likes the talent returning as well as the fact that seven incoming freshman will have a year of college basketball under their belts by the time she joins them.

I think we’ll be experienced by the time I get to play. I think we’ll be real good by the time we all get to play together,” Buher said.

Sitting out this season will be tough, she said, after playing in 28 games in a limited role last season.

“Yeah, I know I lost a little bit of the love for it because I didn’t really enjoy myself at Illinois. You live, you learn, I know it’s going to make me better in certain ways,” she said. “I know the year to come, I ‘ll just have to continue to work and get stronger and hopefully get better my sophomore year. It will be hard sitting out. At least I’ll be able to practice with them and stuff.”

Among the schools Buher sent her release were Evansville, Illinois State and Oregon State. But something was just right about going to ISU.

“Everything about his system is how I play,” Buher said. “I know we’re both excited about me playing for him.”

        

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