By CRAIG ADKINS
For The Reporter
As her collegiate basketball career came to a close when the Michigan Wolverines season ended in the second round of the 2023 NCAA women’s basketball tournament to eventual National Champion LSU, it was apparent that fifth-year senior Emily Kiser had more basketball days in mind beyond her time in Ann Arbor.
The 6’3 former Noblesville standout and 2018 Indiana All-Star has inked a deal with AO Eleutheria Moshatou in Athens, Greece to extend her playing career at the international level.
“Emily is a rare talent. I have no doubt she will thrive playing in Greece,” said Noblesville girls basketball head coach Donna Buckley, now in her 16th season.
She left her hometown of Noblesville on August 26 to start her professional basketball career and hopefully take off from where she left her college days not too long ago. Eurocup qualification games start soon against Cluj Napoca on September 21st and 27th, so it’s time for Kiser to familiarize herself with her new team and the European style of play.
“It feels amazing to be able to continue playing basketball at the professional level. I didn’t play the majority of my college career, so I still feel like I’m just getting started. On top of getting to continue playing a sport I love, the experience of traveling and living in a different culture is a huge reason I wanted to continue playing. Greece was somewhere I always wanted to visit and it’s surreal that now I’m going to be living there soon,” said an excited Kiser.
Kiser’s game has been on the upward swing the past two seasons in Ann Arbor, averaging 15.9 points and 7.1 rebounds during her fifth-year as a Wolverine. The Noblesville native was named MVP of the Gulf Coast Showcase, scoring 56 points and grabbing 28 rebounds in the three wins over Air Force, South Florida and No. 21 Baylor.
“Emily put so much time and effort into continuing to improve throughout her time here. She put in the extra work, starting with her freshman season when she would stay and play against our practice players. When she got her opportunity, she really took advantage of it and was ready for it” said 12th-year University of Michigan head coach Kim Barnes Arico.
It helped to significantly improve by having a best friend in Hillmon to motivate Kiser. Once Hillmon was drafted by the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream in 2022, Kiser became more of a go-to for the Wolverines
“It was great getting to be teammates with Naz Hillmon whether that was playing with her or getting better defending her everyday in practice. Offensively with a player as good as Naz inside, I knew my perimeter play had to improve – shooting, passing, movement. In addition to being a great teammate she’s also my best friend which made it even more fun getting in the gym together and putting up shots. Defensively I got to go against arguably the best college post in the country at the time everyday. It wasn’t always fun at the time but made me better in the end,” stated Kiser on Hillmon.
“We played on the road at Central Michigan and Naz wasn’t able to play, so we moved Emily down to the block. She showed what she can do, led us to that win and from there, she had such a great senior year and then turned into an all-conference player in her final season,” continued Barnes Arico.
It wasn’t until her final two years at Michigan that Emily took advantage of every opportunity to shine on the court. She was able to open up and show what she’s capable of as a player.
“Too many people want instant success, regardless of circumstances. Emily’s ability to be patient while also working incredibly hard until it was her time to shine made her very successful. It is also what will help her thrive in the real world. She is such a special leader and person,” continued Buckley.
En route to being named first team all-Big Ten this past season, Kiser logged a career-high 34 points against Rutgers on February 23. Emily also received the Big Ten Sportsmanship award, while also being named B1G Player of the Week three times.
She also leaves Michigan ninth all-time with 129 games played, starting the final 65, ranking 17th in career rebounds with 603. Starting 33 games this past season, Emily reached double-figures 28 times, with eight 20-point games.
Kiser also was a four-time academic all-Big Ten and made the CoSIDA Academic All-District team in 2023 for her efforts in the classroom.
Buckley is beyond ecstatic about Kiser’s opportunity to head to Europe and continue her hoops career in Greece.
“I am super happy for her! It will be an incredible opportunity for her as a player and as a person. She is a smart, curious person that will take in everything while thriving in her new life she will be living for the next several months. I am sure she will take time to experience Greece and its incredible culture,” continued Buckley on her former Indiana All-Star.
She left the high school ranks in 2018 as the Millers’ fourth all-time in scoring, at the time, with 1,328 points (currently fifth), while also grabbing the most rebounds in Noblesville history with 903.
Kiser averaged a double-double with 21 points and 13.4 rebounds in her 2017-18 senior year as a Miller. She was an Indiana All-Star, three-time All-HCC, AP all-state 1st team, IBCA Supreme 15 and ranked No. 78 as a four-star recruit by ESPN HoopGurlz as a senior. These accolades alone make her one of the most-decorated Noblesville Miller girls basketball players of all-time.
Playing against some of the top teams and players in high school really helped Kiser prepare to play at the Big Ten level. The last two years as a starter at Michigan has really gotten Emily in shape to play at an even higher level.
“In my years as a Miller I was able to play against really strong talent. Our schedule, specifically the HCC, you had to take every opponent seriously on any given night. The Big Ten conference was the exact same way where at times there are six or more teams ranked in the top 25 in the country. Regardless of national ranking though every team in the big ten could play and it made for a grueling schedule. I would think back to our sectional in high school that was loaded with talent,” stated Kiser.
“My final game of my high school career was against my future teammate Amy Dilk and future B1G opponent Tomi Taiwo for Iowa, both from Carmel. Since then we’ve seen plenty of girls from our area continue on to both Michigan and the Big Ten, I got to play against that level of talent starting in high school,” continued Emily.
Kiser is pretty anxious to head overseas and jump at the opportunity to keep playing her favorite game. After two consecutive seasons as a starter and leader for Michigan, bigger dreams were on her mind beyond Ann Arbor.
“I had entered my name on the draft, however, at that point I still didn’t even have an agent. I was working hard to finish my masters degree and the last bit of college before I decided what my next journey was. Once the emotions of a long season and conclusion of my college career faded it was clear to me I wasn’t ready to be done with basketball. That’s when I found an agent who helped me get in contact with teams in Europe and we found the best fit for me. I really wanted to be in a big city with lots to explore wherever I went,” said an optimistic Kiser.
Kim Barnes Arico keeps producing pro players, the latest being Auburn’s Leigha Brown (DeKalb HS), like Hillmon, was drafted this year by Atlanta.
“Coach Arico gets the most out of her players. I had always thought I was a hard-working, hustle player before arriving at Michigan however coach Arico made me reevaluate quickly. Her passion in coaching made me quickly realize I had more to give. I don’t think I ever took a single charge in high school and I finished my college career probably averaging two a game at least. A huge reason I think we found so much success,” said Kiser, speaking highly of her college coach.
The impact Emily Kiser has had on both the Noblesville and University of Michigan basketball programs is just unparalleled.
“I think it’s such a great example for the younger kids that are watching to hear about Emily’s story and to watch Emily’s progression,” stated Barnes Arico.
The local pipeline to Ann Arbor keeps growing and a tremendous reason for that is 2003 Indiana All-Star and Noblesville grad Sarah Van Metre. The Eastern Michigan University grad is an associate director of athletic communications at the University of Michigan.
Van Metre couldn’t be happier. The former Miller just beams that they have some local talent on the roster, which has also included players from Zionsville, Carmel and Westfield.
“I loved getting to spend nearly five years with Emily while at Michigan. I was so excited when we got a commitment from one of my fellow Noblesville natives. There is just something about being around people who are from the same place you are,” said Van Metre.
As the basketball contact for athletic communications, Van Metre has a different angle on the team, having a watchful eye on each and every player.
“I loved watching her get better and better throughout her time. Everyone always talks about her senior season but for me, I loved how she contributed and played when everyone was in foul trouble in the first round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament against Florida Gulf Coast. She gave great minutes and was a big reason the team advanced. That was so great to see and I am just so happy that she is continuing to play,” continued Van Metre.
Emily Kiser has set the bar high for Millers and Wolverines and will have a special impact for years to come on both programs. Numerous times, she has come back to Noblesville to visit her high school coaches and team, continuously giving the youngsters someone to look up to. She’s also already made a visit back to Michigan prior to the team’s recent trip to Italy.
Both programs have been lucky to have a player like Emily Kiser come through, showing what it takes to overcome obstacles and adversity to get to where you want to be.
“Emily is one of the best role models for our program and truly for any program. She is a hard worker, great leader, and someone who takes a tremendous amount of pride in everything she does. She is fun, a great teammate, and very thoughtful. Seeing her play at Michigan and represent our program was such a joy. Having her come and talk to our kids and stay connected to our program has made a tremendous difference to our program. Anytime you can have someone like Emily in the gym with the kids, it is going to be a good experience for everyone,” Donna Buckley concluded.
The four Kiser kids have kept their parents Brian and Chris Kiser logging miles all over the Midwest and beyond to watch them play basketball.
Emily’s oldest sibling Jessica is a 2014 Noblesville grad and played collegiately at Purdue Northwest (2014-18), brother John a 2016 Miller alum played at Valparaiso University from 2016-20 and younger sister Anna is 2020 Noblesville graduate, now in her senior season at IU Kokomo.
Now, it’s time for them to fly across the Atlantic Ocean to watch Emily play in Greece.