Bluder Botched the Transfer Portal

[anon_salmfilsntd0b]

Don’t disagree whatsoever and hindsight is 20/20. Based on the season sellout and the outrageous secondary ticket prices people are paying, we likely could have generated a very large sum of money towards a portal player - again I have no concept of how this would be organized, but having a generational talent like Clark and not taking advantage of what has become essentially pay to play seems like a missed opportunity.

No knock on Bluder as I’m sure she did everything in her power to bring in additional talent to support Clark.

The head of the Swarm said in two interviews they had funds for WBB, mentioning once that multiple big donors stepped up with an interest in a sizable WBB donation. Morrow didn’t even return their call. Kids weren’t interested in Iowa.

If Bluder was a top shelf national quality coach she would have made some noise in all the years before Clark.

Bluder made the Elite 8 and won the B1G tourney in 2019. Had the 2020 tourney not been cancelled, we would have been a 2 or 3 seed. If that’s nothing to you, you wouldn’t be happy cheering for 96% of teams out there.

 

[Steamboat529529]

Clarks NIL is through companies paying her as a spokesperson, because her skill has made her such. WHO were companies supposed to give big$ to sight unseen? WHO was available that was worth that committment? People keep making up this dream that there was some player out there that Lisa should have brought in, even though no such person existed, and then trying to call her out for not fulfilling their made up dream....

Tell me you don’t know what you are talking about, without actually telling me. Caitlin is a spokesperson?!?

 

[Steamboat529529]

Easy to be critical….You know of anyone who was willing to “drop” $500,000 on a top center? Didn’t think so.The women’s program had no nil money last year.

🤦‍♂️. I can’t help people like this. Well technically the women’s program has no NIL and never will. NIL can come from whomever, whenever. It doesn’t come from the university or athletic department or the women’s program. It’s just not supposed to be used as an inducement to sign at a school, although everyone does it. Again, the Swarm could be involved or they might not be involved. A lot of schools have multiple collectives.

 

[littlez]

I know nothing of what efforts were made or not, but IMHO, it'll be a shame if the greatest wbb player of all time ends her career without a natty, especially if every effort wasn't made to surround her with the best talent possible. What I do know is what I can see. This team has talent, was up 12 late, and should have won this game. I can also see the talent minus clark is a level below several other teams (k state, osu, sc, lsu, etc) and, to me, that's a damn shame.

Oh cmon. How many great players in men’s or women’s don’t win the whole thing? 1 team wins it. You’re being ridiculous.

 

[littlez]

🤦‍♂️. I can’t help people like this. Well technically the women’s program has no NIL and never will. NIL can come from whomever, whenever. It doesn’t come from the university or athletic department. It’s just not supposed to be used as an inducement to sign at a school, although everyone does it.

Yep, you can specify where you want your money to go. How many of our fans do you think specified they wanted it to go to the women’s team? We’re obsessed with Kirk and our shitty offense. Doesn’t matter. It still gets all the money.

 

[Doodads and Hoohah]

I actually think this teams is better then last year. Post play no. But defense and overall quickness yes. Clark and Martin and Davis are having career years. This team can be better but still not make the title game. Not worried at all after this loss.

 

[Steamboat529529]

Yep, you can specify where you want your money to go. How many of our fans do you think specified they wanted it to go to the women’s team? We’re obsessed with Kirk and our shitty offense. Doesn’t matter. It still gets all the money.

🤦‍♂️ Forget the Swarm. I’m not sure why everyone thinks it’s the end all be all. The Swarm is doing a great job but not everything or everybody has to use it. Literally a company/donor could write a huge check, cut out any collective, and it’s an NIL deal. This isn’t rocket science.

 

[nu2u]

The head of the Swarm said in two interviews they had funds for WBB, mentioning once that multiple big donors stepped up with an interest in a sizable WBB donation.

Therein lies the problem, the funds were there and would be made avaialable. Bluder was unble to lure a talented F/C to join a top ranked team with the reigning POY - a PG who happens to be one of the best passers in WBB history. She had a lot to sell but failed.

 

[shanksit44]

Everyone knew she had to find a big to effectively replace Monica. Teams like LSU and South Carolina will destroy us this year with Hannah as the starting 5.

Without Clark this game would have been a 40 point blowout.

Or maybe play a lot better perimeter D. Ya know, like Iowa didn’t do against LSU last March only to see a reserve come off the bench and lite them up for 20+ points. I think the comment was OSU only averaged 7 made 3’s a game this year. They had that in the first half alone. On top of all the senseless turnovers Iowa had and the missed shots down low the game shouldn’t have been in jeopardy.

 

[Steamboat529529]

Or maybe play a lot better perimeter D. Ya know, like Iowa didn’t do against LSU last March only to see a reserve come off the bench and lite them up for 20+ points. I think the comment was OSU only averaged 7 made 3’s a game this year. They had that in the first half alone. On top of all the senseless turnovers Iowa had and the missed shots down low the game shouldn’t have been in jeopardy.

Hailey Van Lith would have been a great addition defensively.

 

[dtripp26]

NIL money went to a broken QB, a fat QB and an OT who barely played a down. No money left for women's basketball needs.

 

[kceasthawk]

Don’t disagree whatsoever and hindsight is 20/20. Based on the season sellout and the outrageous secondary ticket prices people are paying, we likely could have generated a very large sum of money towards a portal player - again I have no concept of how this would be organized, but having a generational talent like Clark and not taking advantage of what has become essentially pay to play seems like a missed opportunity.

No knock on Bluder as I’m sure she did everything in her power to bring in additional talent to support Clark.

See but those two things DON'T exist in the same statement. "No knock on Bluder, sure she did everything she could", but fans want to hold her accountable when it doesn't appear to be anything she could have done. The argument is still this "mystery" bag of cash, for the "mystery" player that was supposedly there for the taking.

 

[littlez]

Hailey Van Lith would have been a great addition defensively.

She can’t guard anyone either. No. Have you watched her for LSU?

 

[anon_salmfilsntd0b]

Therein lies the problem, the funds were there and would be made avaialable. Bluder was unble to lure a talented F/C to join a top ranked team with the reigning POY - a PG who happens to be one of the best passers in WBB history. She had a lot to sell but failed.

Iowas cachet became toxic after the title game and the saturation of CC22 coverage. Don’t blame Bluder, blame the racist fans who now overshadow all the strengths of our program. Despite all our achievements a lot of people only know the racist keyboard warriors obsessed with Angel Reese.

 

[kceasthawk]

Hailey Van Lith would have been a great addition defensively.

AGAIN, this is just dream land. HVL had no intention of being Robin to Clarks Batgirl, or whatever. She got sold a bill of goods about getting a ring and being a star for LSU. By the time she was even in the portal, she was already announcing LSU as her destination. Pretty obvious it was worked out before she ever went in the portal. How was Bluder supposed to court her before that?

 

[anon_salmfilsntd0b]

AGAIN, this is just dream land. HVL had no intention of being Robin to Clarks Batgirl, or whatever. She got sold a bill of goods about getting a ring and being a star for LSU. By the time she was even in the portal, she was already announcing LSU as her destination. Pretty obvious it was worked out before she ever went in the portal. How was Bluder supposed to court her before that?

HVL was NEVER coming to Iowa, in no universe. Anyone who has followed wbb since she arrived on the scene would bet money on that.

 

[kceasthawk]

Bluder is who she is.

She is riding Clark just like the fan base.

If Bluder was a top shelf national quality coach she would have made some noise in all the years before Clark.

Enjoy a once in a lifetime talent because when it’s over, it’s over.

So the MG and Doyle years sweet 16 and elite 8 years BEFORE Clark was there, never happened, is that it?

 

[kceasthawk]

HVL was NEVER coming to Iowa, in no universe. Anyone who has followed wbb since she arrived on the scene would bet money on that.

I think thats what I said, is it not??

 

[Auger]

Iowa needing to hit the portal hard was discussed at length immediately after the Championship and into the summer. When Bluder failed to bring in the needed pieces before the season started many of us knew repeating last season would be nearly impossible. It is what it is and the best thing to do is just enjoy CC and what she has done for the women's game. Expecting anything past the Sweet 16 is setting yourself up to be let down.

 

[kceasthawk]

Tell me you don’t know what you are talking about, without actually telling me. Caitlin is a spokesperson?!?

Why, you do a good enough job of being ignorant on your own. She's doing commercials for State Farm, Gatorade, Hyvee etc.. Call it spokesperson, front man, whatever the freakin verbage you want. They are using her stardom to sell their product. Call it what you want, its the same thing.....

 

[anon_salmfilsntd0b]

I think thats what I said, is it not??

Yes lol that’s why I liked your comment I was agreeing with you.

 

[anon_salmfilsntd0b]

Expecting anything past the Sweet 16 is setting yourself up to be let down.

I think this is generally a good plan for any fans but the Sweet 16 is not this team’s ceiling. They have beaten 3-4 teams of that caliber already and will be a strong favorite to beat OSU next time. We have discussed why ad nauseum already but they are a more balanced team than last year, with much more athleticism / upside. This much was obvious to many of us on here last year before the departure of Czinano and Warnock. Czinano would have been chewed up out there today just like she almost always was versus more athletic kids. Remember in the Louisville game (Elite 8) Czinano was held to 2 FGAs and we won by 15. Warnock was a steady 3 pt shooter and above avg rebounder but a defensive liability and a TO machine.

 

[Steamboat529529]

Why, you do a good enough job of being ignorant on your own. She's doing commercials for State Farm, Gatorade, Hyvee etc.. Call it spokesperson, front man, whatever the freakin verbage you want. They are using her stardom to sell their product. Call it what you want, it’s the same thing.....

Exactly. NIL is literally the Wild West. You can pay someone for doing just about anything or nothing. That’s not how it’s supposed to work. It’s not the traditional, “I’m only going to pay this person to move product or improve my brand.”
Players are being bought for millions before they even reach college. These companies and people aren’t expecting to see a return on a deal like this one. Literally the thought is, “Let’s bring in a player for one or two years for 500k and go after a title.” That’s why it’s not sustainable.

 

[littlez]

Iowa needing to hit the portal hard was discussed at length immediately after the Championship and into the summer. When Bluder failed to bring in the needed pieces before the season started many of us knew repeating last season would be nearly impossible. It is what it is and the best thing to do is just enjoy CC and what she has done for the women's game. Expecting anything past the Sweet 16 is setting yourself up to be let down.

We’re ranked 2 in the country. Why would we not get past the sweet 16?

 

[oldnewkirk.0]

See but those two things DON'T exist in the same statement. "No knock on Bluder, sure she did everything she could", but fans want to hold her accountable when it doesn't appear to be anything she could have done. The argument is still this "mystery" bag of cash, for the "mystery" player that was supposedly there for the taking.

I’m relatively new to the world of WBB as I didn’t ever watch prior to CC. Thus I’m not blaming Bluder whatsoever. I just look at LSU and all the talent they brought in and then look at Iowa’s roster and can’t help but wonder what more could have been done to help CC. If those on this board say nothing more could have been done, I’m inclined to believe you. It’s just unfortunate having arguably the best player of all time and what appears to be an only average supporting cast. Based on attendance and interest CC has brought, it just seems like on the surface that we could have enticed more talent to join her, but again I know little to nothing about this, so I’m likely wrong.

 

[anon_salmfilsntd0b]

I’m relatively new to the world of WBB as I didn’t ever watch prior to CC. Thus I’m not blaming Bluder whatsoever. I just look at LSU and all the talent they brought in and then look at Iowa’s roster and can’t help but wonder what more could have been done to help CC. If those on this board say nothing more could have been done, I’m inclined to believe you. It’s just unfortunate having arguably the best player of all time and what appears to be an only average supporting cast. Based on attendance and interest CC has brought, it just seems like on the surface that we could have enticed more talent to join her, but again I know little to nothing about this, so I’m likely wrong.

This is what happens when your brand becomes synonymous with racism.

 

[kceasthawk]

Exactly. NIL is literally the Wild West. You can pay someone for doing just about anything or nothing. That’s not how it’s supposed to work. It’s not the traditional, “I’m only going to pay this person to move product or improve my brand.”
Players are being bought for millions before they even reach college. These companies and people aren’t expecting to see a return on a deal like this one. Literally the thought is, “Let’s bring in a player for one or two years for 500k and go after a title.” That’s why it’s not sustainable.

AND the point of this ENTIRE thread was WHO was Lisa supposed to bring in with your "bag O cash" if there even was one? Tell us what difference maker player should they have approached, and how you know they had an interest in Iowa (or that Iowa didn't approach them), should said "bag O cash" have materiolized?

 

[kceasthawk]

I’m relatively new to the world of WBB as I didn’t ever watch prior to CC. Thus I’m not blaming Bluder whatsoever. I just look at LSU and all the talent they brought in and then look at Iowa’s roster and can’t help but wonder what more could have been done to help CC. If those on this board say nothing more could have been done, I’m inclined to believe you. It’s just unfortunate having arguably the best player of all time and what appears to be an only average supporting cast. Based on attendance and interest CC has brought, it just seems like on the surface that we could have enticed more talent to join her, but again I know little to nothing about this, so I’m likely wrong.

Part of this is the fallout with the whole Clark vs Reese dustup. If you noticed all the black leaders who rushed to Reese's defense even though they had ZERO knowledge of any of the context. People like Kareem Abdul Jabbar who has a real voice in the black community taking Reese's side publicly when he had no knowledge of facts like Clark NEVER actually Faced up anyone, and even HVL admitted that , while Reece did Clark at the free throw line while muttering the words "hey bitch", and then chased her off the court facing her three times and pointing to her ring finger. Yet so many people of color stood with Reese in public statements. Of course the vocal minority of white Iowa supporters didn't help either by making poorly chosen attacks at Reese. This caused several black players to say publicly they would never play at Iowa. Not sure how Bluder is supposed to be responsible for any of this, but thats fandom I guess.

 

[bbwretler]

🤦‍♂️. I can’t help people like this. Well technically the women’s program has no NIL and never will. NIL can come from whomever, whenever. It doesn’t come from the university or athletic department or the women’s program. It’s just not supposed to be used as an inducement to sign at a school, although everyone does it. Again, the Swarm could be involved or they might not be involved. A lot of schools have multiple collectives.

Yes, we needed a quality center if we were going to be a top four or even top eight team. Without a 6’3”-6’4” type center we were and we are going to have problems with good teams with a strong inside presence. Problem was none of the top centers were coming here when they were getting major financial offers from other schools. Nothing you just said is anything new, everyone knows how NIL is suppose to work. Bottom line there was no money available through our collective (swarm) for the women’s basketball program. Not sure what you think anyone would need or want your help……I certainly don’t.

 

[onlyTheObvious]

So the MG and Doyle years sweet 16 and elite 8 years BEFORE Clark was there, never happened, is that it?

Did they lose the elite 8 game by 32 points ?

The sweet 16 game by 20?

Hardly national championship caliber.

 

[kceasthawk]

Did they lose the elite 8 game by 32 points ?

The sweet 16 game by 20?

Hardly national championship caliber.

So 350 some odd teams suck and only three or four had a really good season? K........

 

[anon_salmfilsntd0b]

So 350 some odd teams suck and only three or four had a really good season? K........

For far too many fans, there is no worthwhile accomplishment outside making a Final Four (and for some, nothing short of a NC is a waste of a season).

Idk why they even pay attention, sounds like a terrible way to spend your time and energy. I’d much rather just get into something else more fulfilling.

 

[sober_teacher]

Bluder is who she is.

She is riding Clark just like the fan base.

If Bluder was a top shelf national quality coach she would have made some noise in all the years before Clark.

Enjoy a once in a lifetime talent because when it’s over, it’s over.

You do know Bluder has had quite a bit of success in the years prior to Clark right?

 

[Steamboat529529]

Yes, we needed a quality center if we were going to be a top four or even top eight team. Without a 6’3”-6’4” type center we were and we are going to have problems with good teams with a strong inside presence. Problem was none of the top centers were coming here when they were getting major financial offers from other schools. Nothing you just said is anything new, everyone knows how NIL is suppose to work. Bottom line there was no money available through our collective (swarm) for the women’s basketball program. Not sure what you think anyone would need or want your help……I certainly don’t.

I can only help those who want to be helped. You are on your own big guy.

 

[Steamboat529529]

For far too many fans, there is no worthwhile accomplishment outside making a Final Four (and for some, nothing short of a NC is a waste of a season).

Idk why they even pay attention, sounds like a terrible way to spend your time and energy. I’d much rather just get into something else more fulfilling.

That’s a defeatist attitude. This is Iowa. There are never any Iowa sports teams (excluding wrestling) that are literally one player away from competing for a national title. That’s where Iowa women’s basketball was because of Caitlin Clark this past offseason. It just didn’t happen. Iowa probably won’t be in this spot ever again.

 

[bbwretler]

I can only help those who want to be helped. You are on your own big guy.

Certainly don’t need your help since I know far more about what transpired than you do. Plus know more about the game so you are on your own.

 

[Steamboat529529]

Certainly don’t need your help since I know far more about what transpired than you do. Plus know more about the game so you are on your own.

That’s why I said you are on your own big guy! I believe in you though.

 

[CyberJJ]

LIsa didn't need to hit the portal for a big until we lost today. Par for the course here.

It was obvious since the first game against Kansas State.

 

[shudaddy]

AND the point of this ENTIRE thread was WHO was Lisa supposed to bring in with your "bag O cash" if there even was one? Tell us what difference maker player should they have approached, and how you know they had an interest in Iowa (or that Iowa didn't approach them), should said "bag O cash" have materiolized?

Say we approached the top 2-3 portal 5’s with our NIL offer & none of them wanted to come because it wasn’t enough or they sided with Joe Camel.

Fine…..but what about available 5’s #4-20? I don’t know exact numbers in the portal, but it’s a safe bet that at least that many were available who were decent upgrades from our current stiffs. And you don’t think anyone from that 2nd tier wanted to play on national TV, with packed arenas, & CC feeding them?? I doubt any outside the top 2-3 got bigger bags anywhere else either.

I think it’s most likely our coaches only thought it was worth pursuing the top few & it wasn’t worth upsetting team chemistry by bringing in someone from that next tier. If that’s correct, it was a mistake because we ain’t winning it all with our current post players.

 

[aflachawk]

Was thinking something similar. This team without Clark is…bad. Really unfortunate that next years team likely reverts to being irrelevant with half full attendance.

Lisa is recruiting very well. I am quite upbeat about our future