Ava Heiden appreciation thread

[acuhawk]

And this is why we lost the game. There was no five to back up the defense.
To the metrics guy; who was the best +\- person in that game. Both statistically and literally what you saw with your eyes? Ava. She should have been in so stop with your Jan knows all. It was a huge mistake going with what felt comfortable against what was smart given what had happened in the game.

Yeah all those metrics, videos, analytics, five coaches, eyeballs, and every other bit thats thrown out there seem opposite of what the actual game analytics would've suggested, which is play AH the final minute.

It's not hindsight either which is a total garbage thing for fans to do. Complaining about the wide open 3 by Kf is hindsight. It was a great look that you can't complain about.

And just stating you wish Ava was in the final minute is an opinion. it's not trashing the coach, it's not you saying you know more than the coach, and is not you saying the coach wasn't putting in who she felt gave them the best chance To win. It should go without saying that the coach had the five out there she felt gave them the best chance.

That doesn't mean the coach was right. it doesn't mean we lost because of the coach. and it doesn't mean anyone on here knows more than the coach because that's not even close to true. We have excellent coaches, and this team fights like hell for them. I really think Jan is going to go on a nice run over the next few years.

 

[bodyworker]

How would you know that? Seriously how would ANY fan know? And if your answer is the eye test then the next question is why do they bother keeping advanced metrics and filming practices and games?

I played basketball in grade school, high school, and college, so have some understanding of the game and position.....practices do not give real game experience so metrics and films only go so far.
Game situations and minutes played are vital to get a real evaluation. Since her minutes have been increasing her skills which are many are finally getting displayed....really happy for her ! She needs more minutes.
And BTW she also passes the eye test.

 

[Franisdaman]

I watched quite a few of Ava’s high school games. She rarely showed the kind of post moves that we’ve seen in the BTT. That’s largely because she was rarely defended one-on-one. Whenever she got the ball down low she was immediately double or triple-teamed. She couldn’t make a move without stepping on an opponent. Her team relied on her to draw opponents to her and kick the ball out to three-point shooters which she did very well. I’m inclined to believe that she needed time this year to work on her post moves and get used to one-on-one play. In my opinion her game has benefited greatly from the coaching she’s received at Iowa. She will be great. Ava still needs to work on the ticky-tack fouls which were also a problem for her in high school but that will come with experience.

nice perspective.

and i think we have a couple pretty good "bigs" coaches.

 

[kceasthawk]

nice perspective.

and i think we have a couple pretty good "bigs" coaches.

You do have to wonder why Jan named Ava the starter right before the season though don't you? Obviously she must have seen the potential, and the Ava got the flu or something , and missed about a week +, and the it was AOG to start the year.

 

[Franisdaman]

More Ava, please.

She was a top 4 scorer over the last 2 games with very limited minutes.

And I hope Guyton's dad is still not bitching about his daughter's playing time.

Thursday's leading scorers (vs Michigan St):

21: Lucy...................................(33 min)
12: McCabe............................(35 min)
12: Hannah.............................(23 min)
11: Ava freakin' Heiden.........(12 min)
....................................................

9: Kylie....................................(36 min)
6: Syd......................................(36 min)
3: Addie.....................................(9 min)

0: Guyton...............................(10 min)
0: Stremlow.............................(5 min)
0: Teagan..................................(1 min)
............................................................................
74 Pts Scored.......200 Min. Available
============================


Last night's leading scorers (vs Ohio State):

14: Lucy...................................(38 min)
14: Syd.....................................(30 min)
14: Hannah.............................(33 min)
10: Ava freakin' Heiden......(14 min)
....................................................

7: Kylie....................................(35 min)

0: McCabe............................(27 min)
0: Guyton...............................(13 min)
0: Addie....................................(4 min)
0: Stremlow............................(5 min)
.....................................................................................
59 Pts Scored.............200 Min. Available
===============================

 

[Franisdaman]

You do have to wonder why Jan named Ava the starter right before the season though don't you? Obviously she must have seen the potential, and the Ava got the flu or something , and missed about a week +, and the it was AOG to start the year.

Yeah, I think a lot of things kinda "happened." Like mentioned above, when Jan decided to go small, she moved Hannah to the 5 and AOG was the back up.

AOG's midrange jumper is lethal and I think that's why she got the playing time she did. And Ava tended to get in foul trouble.

But, dang, it's hard to not be impressed with Ava over the last 2 games.

 

[LewB12]

Yeah, I think a lot of things kinda "happened." Like mentioned above, when Jan decided to go small, she moved Hannah to the 5 and AOG was the back up.

AOG's midrange jumper is lethal and I think that's why she got the playing time she did. And Ava tended to get in foul trouble.

But, dang, it's hard to not be impressed with Ava over the last 2 games.

I actually thought it worked well with both Ava and Hannah in at the same time. Looks really promising for next year or the tournament

 

[herkyhawk00]

I personally feel, and I have said this before, Jensen needs to get a good outside shooting forward in the portal this off season. Heiden needs to start next year and HS needs to be a full time sub allowing Heiden and a good shooting forward to rest. HS should not be taking minutes away from Heiden next year and HS doesn’t have the ability to shoot outside.

 

[Franisdaman]

I personally feel, and I have said this before, Jensen needs to get a good outside shooting forward in the portal this off season. Heiden needs to start next year and HS needs to be a full time sub allowing Heiden and a good shooting forward to rest. HS should not be taking minutes away from Heiden next year and HS doesn’t have the ability to shoot outside.

imagine if Hannah had that midrange

hopefully Ava gets one, too

 

[cmhawks99]

Bs she only played Ava when she had to due to fouls.
No coach knows everything. Most fall back on habit in games. Don’t give me this metrics crap. You’ve got eyes. Who is faster who has better post moves and who plays better defense between Ava and aog.
The only thing aog has shown in games that she is better at is mid range shots. That’s it. Any game Iowa has played a tall big aog struggles (as does stuelke at the 5). Aog has had one good post move against a post with a pulse vs ucla (and I think she frankly surprised Betts with the move)
Ava’s post move last night where she pivoted 3 times is an advanced skill aog does not possess. If Jan had to do it all again I think she would have found some minutes for aog/hannah and Ava together for some high low action.
The best way for this team to play against elite teams is Ava at the 5 and Hannah at the 4.

I’ll check with Dawn Staley, she gets the same bullshit from her fans. If Jan had played AOG we wouldn’t be having this discussion. She didn’t have any fouls. 🤷‍♂️

It’s not about no “knowing” everything. It’s about about fan’s compartmentalizing isolated things to fuel their agenda.

Oh Jan did all these things right to get us here, but now she did it wrong and we lost.

As I’ve said I only hope it happens to you regularly.

It always make me chuckle when people choose to sit in their living room and Coach when they could be making millions of dollars on the sidelines

 

[ltsimmer]

I’ll check with Dawn Staley, she gets the same bullshit from her fans. If Jan had played AOG we wouldn’t be having this discussion. She didn’t have any fouls. 🤷‍♂️

It’s not about no “knowing” everything. It’s about about fan’s compartmentalizing isolated things to fuel their agenda.

Oh Jan did all these things right to get us here, but now she did it wrong and we lost.

As I’ve said I only hope it happens to you regularly.

It always make me chuckle when people choose to sit in their living room and Coach when they could be making millions of dollars on the sidelines

I doubt South Carolina fans are actually getting on her case about who should be playing just like our fans are not getting on Jensen for the same. This is a forum for fans to voice their thoughts, even angry ones. That's what fans do. We don't expect Jensen to be reading these comments. So, you shouldn't have to defend her as if she needs defending. Let fans share their thoughts (even if you disagree with them) without you going nuclear on them.

 

[Franisdaman]

 

[intrepodor]

imagine if Hannah had that midrange

hopefully Ava gets one, too

Hannah actually shot and made a mid range shot yesterday.

 

[ltsimmer]

Hannah actually shot and made a mid range shot yesterday.

lol. I jump out of my seat in excitement after that!

 

[HawksGoneWild1]

imagine if Hannah had that midrange

hopefully Ava gets one, too

Ava doesn't really need a midrange, coz she can do it just fine down at the block. Why take a 15 footer, when 1 footer will do?
However, she does have mid and 3pt range.

I watched quite a few of Ava’s high school games. She rarely showed the kind of post moves that we’ve seen in the BTT. That’s largely because she was rarely defended one-on-one. Whenever she got the ball down low she was immediately double or triple-teamed. She couldn’t make a move without stepping on an opponent. Her team relied on her to draw opponents to her and kick the ball out to three-point shooters which she did very well. I’m inclined to believe that she needed time this year to work on her post moves and get used to one-on-one play. In my opinion her game has benefited greatly from the coaching she’s received at Iowa. She will be great. Ava still needs to work on the ticky-tack fouls which were also a problem for her in high school but that will come with experience.

@capital hawk - Could you explain how Ava scored her average of ~17 pts a game in high school?
– Four-star prospect, averaging 17.2 points, 11.3 rebounds, 4.0 steals, 3.0 assists, and 2.8 blocks.
– No. 36 overall prospect (ESPN.com)

Ava Heiden - Women's Basketball 2024-25

Ava Heiden - Women's Basketball 2024-25

hawkeyesports.com

Did a couple post on Ava Heiden having a jump shot already.
Sorry for some dup info in the forum links; but they're a response/post to different questions.

Ava Heiden

Does anyone know why she didn’t get in the game against Nebraska?

iowa.forums.rivals.com

Not only can Ava hit the middy, she can hit the 3s!
2 Three Pointers vs Tigard



This is a question to Sean Sullivan of possibly converting Ava to a 4 next year. These reporters have seen Heiden in practice so they know she might have the capability to hit these mid and long range buckets.

Ava Heiden

Does anyone know why she didn’t get in the game against Nebraska?

iowa.forums.rivals.com

Did a post on Hays/Heiden playing in an uptempo offense.

*****Northwestern vs Iowa Game Thread*****

two bad passes on inbounds plays and at least one into the post. FWIW, CC had a fair number of TO's but still ended up with double digit assists most games. Couple up top as well, one to a girl that finally tracked it down and then threw it away herself as soon as she got it😂

iowa.forums.rivals.com

Here are Ava's high school highlights (look for the videos with her name in the title):

Ava Heiden on Hudl

Watch Ava Heiden's videos and highlights on Hudl. More info: Sherwood High School - Girls Varsity Basketball / PF / Class of 2024 / Sherwood, OR

www.hudl.com

 

[cmhawks99]

Doubt you are questioned all the time, you have everything figured out. How could anyone even consider question your brilliance

That’s just you cuz….🤷‍♂️

 

[cmhawks99]

I doubt South Carolina fans are actually getting on her case about who should be playing just like our fans are not getting on Jensen for the same. This is a forum for fans to voice their thoughts, even angry ones. That's what fans do. We don't expect Jensen to be reading these comments. So, you shouldn't have to defend her as if she needs defending. Let fans share their thoughts (even if you disagree with them) without you going nuclear on them.

Well, if you don’t mind being unproductive, that’s cool with me as I said anybody that is shitty and nasty on a message board constantly throwing a fit about a coaching decision. All I hope is it happens to them in real life?

 

[ltsimmer]

Well, if you don’t mind being unproductive, that’s cool with me as I said anybody that is shitty and nasty on a message board constantly throwing a fit about a coaching decision. All I hope is it happens to them in real life?

Being a sports fan on a message board is pretty much the definition of unproductive. Being a sports fan in general is an opportunity to escape from productive duties of our lives. Some people occasionally disagreeing with a coaching decision does not equal to being "shitty, nasty, or constantly throwing a hissy fit." Hoping people get nasty treatment in real life based on their comments on a message board that has no real life impact is a tad much.

 

[MichaelKeller99]

Her footwork the last few games has been impressive; like a young Hakeem Olajuwon.
Future AA good, even.

 

[cmhawks99]

Being a sports fan on a message board is pretty much the definition of unproductive. Being a sports fan in general is an opportunity to escape from productive duties of our lives. Some people occasionally disagreeing with a coaching decision does not equal to being "shitty, nasty, or constantly throwing a hissy fit." Hoping people get nasty treatment in real life based on their comments on a message board that has no real life impact is a tad much.

That’s not what happens & don’t take my word for it, there are a whole lot of people on here that get tired of the shitty bullshit hostile comments & you sticking your head in the sand and denying it exist is on you, my friend🤷‍♂️

 

[cmhawks99]

Being a sports fan on a message board is pretty much the definition of unproductive. Being a sports fan in general is an opportunity to escape from productive duties of our lives. Some people occasionally disagreeing with a coaching decision does not equal to being "shitty, nasty, or constantly throwing a hissy fit." Hoping people get nasty treatment in real life based on their comments on a message board that has no real life impact is a tad much.

PS…..EVERYTHING, has life impact, that’s the point. If you are shitty here, you’re likely shitty in real life. Your a blamer, a finger pointer and not accountable 🤷‍♂️

 

[Packer54]

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I agree with this 100%.

We are probably not going to win a National Title this year but they can make some noise BUT Ava needs to be on the court a BUNCH! She may not have as much "bulk" as some of the centers but her other assets put her up there with some of the best. She is by far our best option at 5 now and going forward. Her challenge will be not getting into foul trouble. It is worth the risk knowing the tournament title is most likely not on the line.

 

[cmhawks99]

I agree with this 100%.

We are probably not going to win a National Title this year but they can make some noise BUT Ava needs to be on the court a BUNCH! She may not have as much "bulk" as some of the centers but her other assets put her up there with some of the best. She is by far our best option at 5 now and going forward. Her challenge will be not getting into foul trouble. It is worth the risk knowing the tournament title is most likely not on the line.

So what your saying is beyond a shadow of a doubt, Ava should play above Hannah or any other 5 Jan wanted to put on the court and since we likely won’t in it all we shouldn’t really worry about the other girls on the team and what gives them the best chance? Am I understanding you correctly?

 

[Franisdaman]

Her footwork the last few games has been impressive; like a young Hakeem Olajuwon.
Future AA good, even.

i love that she is strong and is a shot blocker; at 6'4, she is also very athletic and runs well. Her future really is bright