After being overlooked, former Kickapoo star Indya Green is ready to shine at Missouri State

Indya Green always had a feeling that her time to play Division I basketball would come, even though it didn't come when many thought she deserved it.

Green, a Kickapoo grad, had a historic career with the Lady Chiefs where she finished as the school's all-time leading scorer with 1,764 points. She was a three-time all-state selection who was named the Class 6 player of the year after averaging 19.5 points and 12.1 rebounds per game.

But as a 5-foot-11 post player, Green was overlooked and considered undersized for her position at the Division I level.

"That's what they always say," Green said. "But I don't let that bother me."

Instead of taking offense, Green used it as motivation.

After her lone season of playing junior college, Green is where she is supposed to be while wearing the maroon and white colors she cheered for when she grew up in the Great Southern Bank Arena stands.

More:What Beth Cunningham and the Lady Bears said during Missouri State basketball's 2022-23 media day

"I think it just comes down to my love for the game," Green said. "I just knew this was my calling and I just knew I had to make a life for myself with basketball. So that doubt never crossed my mind of me not making it or this wasn't something I wanted to do."

At Moberly Area Community College in central Missouri, Green put up similar numbers to what she had as a high school standout while going up against other Division I hopefuls and players who were taller.

Green was still a menace on the boards. She rebounded at a rate that led to her Kickapoo coach, Jim Pendergrass, once referring to her as the best rebounder he's been around. And that's saying something when he coached next to Cheryl Burnett at both Missouri State and Michigan along with another stint at Missouri State under Nyla Milleson to go along with his great Lady Chiefs teams over the years.

By the end of last season, Green averaged 18.9 points and 11.4 rebounds per game. She was named an NJCAA All-American and proved she could play against anybody — no matter her height.

"I have a great support system around me," Green said. "They definitely helped me stay on top of it and keep my head up. Going to juco, you have to bet on yourself. I knew that bigger things were going to come for me."

After a season of Green standing out at the juco ranks, Missouri State was coming off an NCAA Tournament appearance which led to head coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton and the rest of her staff being hired away by Virginia. Multiple players from a historic run at Missouri State either graduated or transferred, leaving the Lady Bears thin at the post positions.

New head coach Beth Cunningham was hired in March and she knew she was immediately faced with having to build the roster into one that could compete for a Missouri Valley Conference championship and possibly help the Lady Bears reach the NCAA Tournament for the fourth season in a row.

One of the first names she was told to look into? Indya Green.

"Her name immediately came across the board with her being a local product," Cunningham said. "At the same time as a coach, I had to ask 'why did she not come here the first time?' So I asked all of those questions and I did as much homework on her as possible. She's somebody that I saw a lot of clips on. She obviously put up tremendous numbers in high school and the interesting thing to me was that she virtually put the same numbers up at the next level. I don't think there's a substitute for kids that can score and just have a knack for rebounding the ball.

"During my first phone call to her, I said 'I think they might have made a mistake on you and we need to bring you home.'"

Green smiled remembering the phone call and she quickly accepted the offer to return to Springfield and play for the Lady Bears. Green has been a Missouri State fan since she was a little girl, and she followed closely the recent run of success for the Lady Bears which included a pair of Sweet 16 runs.

The history of the program, in addition to having a chance to make an immediate impact on the program, helped Green know she was exactly where she wanted to be. By betting on herself, everything paid off in the end.

"You never know what could come to you," Green said. "Whether the offer came to me now or last year, I just knew that it was divine timing. It was meant for me."

The Lady Bears open their season Nov. 2 with an exhibition game against Missouri S&T.

Wyatt D. Wheeler is a reporter and columnist with the Springfield News-Leader. You can contact him at 417-371-6987, by email at wwheeler@news-leader.com or Twitter at @WyattWheeler_NL. He's also the co-host of Sports Talk on Jock Radio weekdays from 4-6 p.m.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Former Kickapoo star Indya Green ready to shine at Missouri State