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Ava Jones Medically Retired on June 7, 2024. Plus Other Updates on Her & Her Family

Who cares about basketball? The young woman is an inspiration, as is the coach. This is x1000000 million times better than fellating football players.
 
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I don't agree with your assessment. There are 15 schollies and Ava is a Hawkeye. It may take another year or two or three. Who cares. That young lady has tremendous drive and grit. I would like her to be a part of my team.

Recruiting be damned, Give her a chance to play again. That is the carrot that continually moves her forward.

Coach Bluder is all class.
Yes Coach Bluder IS all class!
 
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It seems to me with NO inside information that we are headed eventually to a place where Bluder AND Ava's family mutually agree that it would be best for her to give up basketball. The doctors will make that call. Ava could then go on medical hardship and maintain her scholarship while not counting toward the team total. She could stay a part of the team for as long as she wants, just not playing. Lisa is right in just letting it all play out.

This needs to stop being a topic of conversation. Ava WILL be on scholarship as long as she is at Iowa. Coach Bluder has said this many many many times. Coach Bluder has also said many many many times that she doesn't like to have 15 players on the active roster, because it is just very difficult to keep everyone happy.

That should just about close the book on this topic. Coach Bluder wants Ava on the team and Coach Bluder doesn't care if she doesn't have 15 players healthy.
 
This needs to stop being a topic of conversation. Ava WILL be on scholarship as long as she is at Iowa. Coach Bluder has said this many many many times. Coach Bluder has also said many many many times that she doesn't like to have 15 players on the active roster, because it is just very difficult to keep everyone happy.

That should just about close the book on this topic. Coach Bluder wants Ava on the team and Coach Bluder doesn't care if she doesn't have 15 players healthy.
Of course Ava will be on scholarship and a part of the team as long as she wants to be. However, it may be an academic scholarship not an athletic scholarship. Nothing wrong with that. And if it turns out that she recovers enough to play, all the better.
 
Stop. Your trying to make it sound like we don't want the girl to succeed. That couldn't be farther from the truth, so stop making those comments. You have no idea what Lisa will do if a year from now Ava has not made significant progress, and the Dr's tell her she'll never be even 85%. Walking or jogging again isn't running the floor against D1 level players. I hope the best for Ava, but acting like you know how this will play out, is disengenous at best....
There is absolutely zero chance in hell that Bluder will ever...EVER...ask Ava Jones to give up her roster spot so that she can land a recruit. Zero. Totally zero.

If and when Ava decides to medically retire, it will entirely be her own decision.

Your comments are so gross and they reflect very poorly on all Hawkeye fans.
 
There is absolutely zero chance in hell that Bluder will ever...EVER...ask Ava Jones to give up her roster spot so that she can land a recruit. Zero. Totally zero.

If and when Ava decides to medically retire, it will entirely be her own decision.

Your comments are so gross and they reflect very poorly on all Hawkeye fans.
Good Lord. Pull the stick out of your ASS! "Gross"? What reflects poorly, is you coming on here and acting like you have any freakin idea what Bluder will do. Ridiculous. We'd would all LOVE a storybook ending to this tragic tale, but that doesn't mean thats whats going to happen. I hope she makes a 100% recovery, and becomes an All conference player, (as I've stated 20 freakin times on here), but its certainly possible that the DOCTORS tell her and Bluder sometime in the future that she'll never be 100% at least not to play D1 basketball. If that were to happen and she was to go on a medical, and continue to be part of the team, AND get a free college education, then I'd call that making the absolute best out of a horrible situation. Whether you like it or not, (or believe it or not) players get hurt all the time, and some of them NEVER come back. This young lady has basically had 5 or 6 major injuries all rolled into one horrible accident, and we're a year and a half in, and she's still having corrective surgeries. There's no doubt that being part of the team, (which she will ALWAYS be), has been great medicine for both Ava, and the players and staff. That doesn't change the fact, that IF, (and i'll say again I hope it never come down to this) the doctors said she won't be able to participate at that level, how is her going on a medical, and remaining part of the team. a such a horrible thing?
 
Of course Ava will be on scholarship and a part of the team as long as she wants to be. However, it may be an academic scholarship not an athletic scholarship. Nothing wrong with that. And if it turns out that she recovers enough to play, all the better.
In that worse case scenario, she'd be on a medical waver, not an academic one, and she would not be able to return should she make a miraculous recovery.
 
How is her going on a medical, and remaining part of the team. a such a horrible thing?
It’s not a horrible thing. It seems like the most likely outcome. But Bluder will never be the one to take that dream from her. That’s all I’m saying and that’s all I know.

The girl lost her entire world in an instant — her life is upside down. She may never recover fully. Bluder is not going to take away her dream if she wants it. It’s really that simple.
 
I vote for Bluder keeping her on scholarship all 4 or 5 years. Even if she never steps foot on court, her "contribution" to the team would be immeasurable in the long run. IMO

Heart is in the right place.

When the time comes make the best decision for Ava. Reality is that having 15 scholarship players that need to be on the court at one time is not the best thing.

I really want things to develop in her life where she does become a real contributor on the team. Ya can't teach someone to be 6 foot 2.

My only concern is keyboard warriors putting to much pressure on her...either way. Give it time...let's see what happens.
 
Good Lord. Pull the stick out of your ASS! "Gross"? What reflects poorly, is you coming on here and acting like you have any freakin idea what Bluder will do. Ridiculous. We'd would all LOVE a storybook ending to this tragic tale, but that doesn't mean thats whats going to happen. I hope she makes a 100% recovery, and becomes an All conference player, (as I've stated 20 freakin times on here), but its certainly possible that the DOCTORS tell her and Bluder sometime in the future that she'll never be 100% at least not to play D1 basketball. If that were to happen and she was to go on a medical, and continue to be part of the team, AND get a free college education, then I'd call that making the absolute best out of a horrible situation. Whether you like it or not, (or believe it or not) players get hurt all the time, and some of them NEVER come back. This young lady has basically had 5 or 6 major injuries all rolled into one horrible accident, and we're a year and a half in, and she's still having corrective surgeries. There's no doubt that being part of the team, (which she will ALWAYS be), has been great medicine for both Ava, and the players and staff. That doesn't change the fact, that IF, (and i'll say again I hope it never come down to this) the doctors said she won't be able to participate at that level, how is her going on a medical, and remaining part of the team. a such a horrible thing?
From Bluder's past statements she believes Ava will most likely never play again. I agree that this year is for Ava to allow her to come to the realization on her own that she will never play basketball competitively again. But Bluder will show her how she can be a part of the team and mentor her into a role as a student coach. We know Bluder has had success with developing player coaches (Reynolds/Davis) who were injured. I do believe Ava will take a medical after the season but remain with the team as a manager of sort and continue to learn from the coaching staff.
 
From Bluder's past statements she believes Ava will most likely never play again. I agree that this year is for Ava to allow her to come to the realization on her own that she will never play basketball competitively again. But Bluder will show her how she can be a part of the team and mentor her into a role as a student coach. We know Bluder has had success with developing player coaches (Reynolds/Davis) who were injured. I do believe Ava will take a medical after the season but remain with the team as a manager of sort and continue to learn from the coaching staff.
A well reasoned post Gabe. I really do hope the best for Ava, whatever that is at this point. I've heard the same comments from coach Bluder as well, and I'd agree she wants to let Ava have the chance to come to this on her own time. She'll always be a part of the team in some fashion.
 
Good Lord. Pull the stick out of your ASS! "Gross"? What reflects poorly, is you coming on here and acting like you have any freakin idea what Bluder will do. Ridiculous. We'd would all LOVE a storybook ending to this tragic tale, but that doesn't mean thats whats going to happen. I hope she makes a 100% recovery, and becomes an All conference player, (as I've stated 20 freakin times on here), but its certainly possible that the DOCTORS tell her and Bluder sometime in the future that she'll never be 100% at least not to play D1 basketball. If that were to happen and she was to go on a medical, and continue to be part of the team, AND get a free college education, then I'd call that making the absolute best out of a horrible situation. Whether you like it or not, (or believe it or not) players get hurt all the time, and some of them NEVER come back. This young lady has basically had 5 or 6 major injuries all rolled into one horrible accident, and we're a year and a half in, and she's still having corrective surgeries. There's no doubt that being part of the team, (which she will ALWAYS be), has been great medicine for both Ava, and the players and staff. That doesn't change the fact, that IF, (and i'll say again I hope it never come down to this) the doctors said she won't be able to participate at that level, how is her going on a medical, and remaining part of the team. a such a horrible thing?

Yes we do know exactly what Bluder will do, because Bluder has stated many many many many times that she will never take Ava off scholarship. Again, she is on record many times saying this.

And there is a HUGE difference between an athletic scholarship and an academic scholarship. Students on an athletic scholarship have many extra benefits such as free tutoring, free boarding, free meal plans at numerous locations around campus, and free Nike basketball gear just to name a few.

I'm just not understanding why so many people are obsessed with this 1 scholarship. UConn routinely has less than 15 players. (they have 14 this season and last season had 13). Many top programs around the country don't use all 15 scholarships for the very reason Coach Bluder has talked about. It's tough to keep 15 players happy when most top teams play 7-8 players in their rotations.

Ok? Can we finally drop this? It a topic that has been covered by the actual people involved. Lets move on and see if we can figure out if we can land some of our top recruits for the 2025, 2026, 2027 classes.
 
Yes we do know exactly what Bluder will do, because Bluder has stated many many many many times that she will never take Ava off scholarship. Again, she is on record many times saying this.

And there is a HUGE difference between an athletic scholarship and an academic scholarship. Students on an athletic scholarship have many extra benefits such as free tutoring, free boarding, free meal plans at numerous locations around campus, and free Nike basketball gear just to name a few.

I'm just not understanding why so many people are obsessed with this 1 scholarship. UConn routinely has less than 15 players. (they have 14 this season and last season had 13). Many top programs around the country don't use all 15 scholarships for the very reason Coach Bluder has talked about. It's tough to keep 15 players happy when most top teams play 7-8 players in their rotations.

Ok? Can we finally drop this? It a topic that has been covered by the actual people involved. Lets move on and see if we can figure out if we can land some of our top recruits for the 2025, 2026, 2027 classes.

This. Lisa wanting less than 15 players has been how she has operated for many years. I'm sure everything will work out just fine over the next several years.
 
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I think I know how this plays out...

At some point down the road, Ava will suit up for a game.
Bluder will arrange with the officials and an opposing HC to call a technical foul on said HC. Ava will come off the bench and shoot the FTs.
Of course, if there's some rule that the shooter must already be on the court, that won't work.
So Plan B...an Iowa player fakes an injury after a hard foul.and can't continue. Ava enters and shoots FTs and then subs back out.
 
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I think I know how this plays out...

At some point down the road, Ava will suit up for a game.
Bluder will arrange with the officials and an opposing HC to call a technical foul on said HC. Ava will come off the bench and shoot the FTs.
Of course, if there's some rule that the shooter must already be on the court, that won't work.
So Plan B...an Iowa player fakes an injury after a hard foul.and can't continue. Ava enters and shoots FTs and then subs back out.
I don't know if either scenario is likely, but it would not surprise me at all if Ava ended up on a Hawkeye stat sheet in some capacity.
 
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I don't know if either scenario is likely, but it would not surprise me at all if Ava ended up on a Hawkeye stat sheet in some capacity.
Careful. No more posts about this, because Frankburns says so! Ooohhh...And for the record there Frank, do show where Lisa said several times that she would stay on an ATHLETIC scholarship? Do tell. Certainly she will be on A scholarship, but your making shit up saying she ever said that specifically, and that it would never be a medical. I'll wait for your post.....
 
And there is a HUGE difference between an athletic scholarship and an academic scholarship. Students on an athletic scholarship have many extra benefits such as free tutoring, free boarding, free meal plans at numerous locations around campus, and free Nike basketball gear just to name a few.

They still get all of those things.
 
Careful. No more posts about this, because Frankburns says so! Ooohhh...And for the record there Frank, do show where Lisa said several times that she would stay on an ATHLETIC scholarship? Do tell. Certainly she will be on A scholarship, but your making shit up saying she ever said that specifically, and that it would never be a medical. I'll wait for your post.....
Why are you like this?
 
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Careful. No more posts about this, because Frankburns says so! Ooohhh...And for the record there Frank, do show where Lisa said several times that she would stay on an ATHLETIC scholarship? Do tell. Certainly she will be on A scholarship, but your making shit up saying she ever said that specifically, and that it would never be a medical. I'll wait for your post.....

She's on scholarship and Lisa has said she will be. That's enough for me. Sorry that's not enough for you.
 
Feel very sad for the girl. Does she practice at all with the team? Shoot around things like that?
 
This was posted by Amy Jones (the mom) on Jan 8.

Ava and her grandma got in a few games of Speed while she waited to go into the operating room this morning. I’ve lost track of the number of surgeries she’s had, but if all goes well, this eye surgery to tighten her tendons and eliminate her double vision, hopefully will be the last accident-related surgery she has.



 
Just so sad yet so great. Obviously she’s “not herself” but I have no doubt that given the quality women Lisa’s staff brings in, she is treated exactly like every other teammate.
It’s great that she’s doing stuff like this and connecting with people. Continuing best wishes for her and everyone around her. Hopefully her life can get back to as normal as possible.
 
It's bullshit that people have to go through things such as this based on an outsiders actions or lack of self-accountability. Such is life I guess but I'm glad she's remaining optimistic when so much has been taken from her. I hope good things happen for her going forward because it absolutely sucks seeing someone's dreams taken away from them so visibly and we're witnessing this first hand vicariously through Ava. Hope she can continue to find peace going forward.
 
I was happy with her blog. Didn't think she was doing this well. Here is some info I found FYI:

Medical Exemption: A Medical Exemption is a failsafe for athletes who have career-ending injuries and can no longer participate at all in collegiate athletics. A Medical Exemption allows the AD to continue to pay for a (now former) Injured Athlete's scholarship. This is a protection for athletes such that if you can no longer play, your scholarship does not disappear. The Athletic Department continues to pay for the scholarship but the scholarship does not count against team scholarship numbers (85 for football) or Title IX Numbers, or anything like that.
Not a medical redshirt.
 
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I was actually impressed with Ava in the vlog. Do I think she still has a journey absolutely, but she has come a very long ways. I’m not sure what her story will be on the court. What I can tell is she will be an asset of some sort. As to Kate Martin she is awesome, absolutely #1 total class. As good as Clark is - Kate has been the glue to this team.
 
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