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Hawkeye Women’s BBall Season 2021-2022

Yeah the off-season will be interesting. It's good to have returning, experienced players. 100% agree. The only downside is that the team weaknesses are going to largely remain. Yes, players improve. But the core group has 2 straight years. They did improve on defense, but the offensive efficiency also lacked for much of the year. I don't know if those 2 are related.
I haven't checked the numbers fully to confirm this, but I think our decrease in offensive output was almost completely related to our decline in 3-point shooting. Most players stayed about the same on 2-point shooting, while Kate got notably better at it.
 
I haven't checked the numbers fully to confirm this, but I think our decrease in offensive output was almost completely related to our decline in 3-point shooting. Most players stayed about the same on 2-point shooting, while Kate got notably better at it.
Our 3-point percentage decreased by 5.7% from last season. A part of that probably has to do with Caitlin and Gabbie’s 3-point percentage slump this season. Caitlin’s decreased by 7.4% and Gabbie’s decreased by 7.8%. On average we also attempted 2.5 fewer 3-point attempts from last season.
 
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Our 3-point percentage decreased by 5.7% from last season. A part of that probably has to do with Caitlin and Gabbie’s 3-point percentage slump this season. Caitlin’s decreased by 7.4% and Gabbie’s decreased by 7.8%. On average we also attempted 2.5 fewer 3-point attempts from last season.
The Covid pauses and Gabbys injuries seemed to have a lot to do with that. Offensively Gabby never seemed to get her confidence back after that shoulder injury.
 
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I could see OGrady red shirting. I was surprised she didn't develop more by the end of the season and another year helps her get better.

Plus we have Goodman ready to backup Monica.

Edgier at the end of a long bench and won't red shirt because they can recruit better than her. I could see her transferring out to be honest.
 
Wasn't McCabe shooting north of 40% from 3? If she can come in and do that that could really spring the offense too. (Which seems ridiculous even saying). Gabby and Kate seemed to hit a lot of threes, but a knockdown shooter just camping in the corner to punish double teams on CC or MC could really feast.
 
Wasn't McCabe shooting north of 40% from 3? If she can come in and do that that could really spring the offense too. (Which seems ridiculous even saying). Gabby and Kate seemed to hit a lot of threes, but a knockdown shooter just camping in the corner to punish double teams on CC or MC could really feast.
I'd argue we already have that on the roster. Warnock is the corner shooter. She shot 40.4% from three this year, and 45.1% and 43.9% in past years. Marshall shot 39.3% this year, but 47.1% last year. She seemed to lose confidence at the end of the season, but is still well above average with the potential to return to being one of the best shooters in the country.
 
Yeah the off-season will be interesting. It's good to have returning, experienced players. 100% agree. The only downside is that the team weaknesses are going to largely remain. Yes, players improve. But the core group has 2 straight years. They did improve on defense, but the offensive efficiency also lacked for much of the year. I don't know if those 2 are related.
I dont see how we can get past the sweet16 without a reliable backup at PG. When Clark goes out, getting the ball up the court becomes a risk. We dont need an elete scorer for the role, but ball handling and defense for 7-10 minutes a game is a must.
 
I dont see how we can get past the sweet16 without a reliable backup at PG. When Clark goes out, getting the ball up the court becomes a risk. We dont need an elete scorer for the role, but ball handling and defense for 7-10 minutes a game is a must.
In our important games Coach Bluder just doesn't sit Clark (or does for like a minute). Frankly I'm not sure she'd change that even if we did have a backup.
 
In our important games Coach Bluder just doesn't sit Clark (or does for like a minute). Frankly I'm not sure she'd change that even if we did have a backup.
Correct. They just need an additional dynamic guard/wing player. Why can't you have two guards in the game who can shoot and go to the basket?
 
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Still shaking my head in disbelief over the loss to Creighton. How we laid a proverbial egg in such an important game is mind-blowing. Iowa State will blow this team out by 20+ tonight.
 
I'm betting and hoping they just stay pat regarding transfers /portal in.
Bluder's problem is getting more athletic players on the court that can play just an ounce of defense. Unfortunately, Monica is a big liability and can't afford to go without her offense for any long period of time.

The three other starters just aren't consistent enough on either end of the court.

I suspect next year won't be much different than this season.
 
Bluder's problem is getting more athletic players on the court that can play just an ounce of defense. Unfortunately, Monica is a big liability and can't afford to go without her offense for any long period of time.

The three other starters just aren't consistent enough on either end of the court.

I suspect next year won't be much different than this season.
Even if we don't get any better (and I think some players will improve fwiw), you also have to factor in that other teams might be getting worse.

Michigan is losing Hillmon. I don't think there's a transfer or younger player stepping up that can replace her impact. Indiana is losing Patberg, Gulbe, and Cardano-Hillary. For a team with little depth, those are huge loses. Maryland is losing a couple pieces. Not their best players, but important pieces nonetheless. Northwestern is losing Burton.

Same thing nationally. Baylor is losing Smith. NC State us losing Cunane. UConn is losing a few pieces. Iowa State might lose Joens. Sure they can add transfers, but again those transfers are unlikely to have the same impact.

If Iowa doesn't add or lose any players, I expect the team will be ranked Top 10 in the pre-season again next year. We might even be top 5 depending on how the off-season goes for other programs.
 
The games so far today have made me feel better about next year. Ohio State could've easily beaten Texas if it made one or two fewer mistakes. Creighton is tied with Iowa State at the half. Clearly they're playing better than a normal 10 seed right now. And Stanford looks like the best team in the country, so no surprise Maryland is losing.

Next year we'll probably still be behind Stanford, UConn, and South Carolina, but I don't think it's crazy to think the roster as currently constructed could be one of the better teams in the second tier.
 
I contend that if Creighton played a full Big10 schedule they would be no better than a mid level team.
 
I contend that if Creighton played a full Big10 schedule they would be no better than a mid level team.
Creighton beat Iowa/Iowa St basically the same way. Doubling the star player and daring everyone else to beat them. They would lose to balanced team like Indiana and Maryland but likely beat Iowa and Michigan and maybe split with OSU.

They are dangerous because everyone can score. Bluder needs to take notice and tune up her offense so it's not all Caitlin and Monika to win everything. And the coaches need to work with Martin/Marshall/Warnock and coach them not to be tentative. Doesn't mean they should be taking or early shots or jacking up prayers but they need to shoot when they're open and need to learn to get to the basket and finish.

I'm optimistic due to the incoming class but it won't matter unless Bluder makes some changes too, including pulling players who pass up wide open shots in favor of players who will score.

Creighton does a great job with the five out offense. It's a good offense when it's working but it will kill you if you don't have the right personnel. I'd love to go back to the triangle which propelled us to the Elite Eight a few years ago.
 
We do not have enough drivers— and that is huge in woman’s game as the defense has limited vertical jumping ability and arm length. Gabby will drive occasionally but always stops ten feet in and retreats. Kate has the handle to do it but rarely does. Warnock drive last year but rarely this year
 
I agree that everyone can improve, but I don’t get all the ‘hate’ after 1 loss. The season is over, but every team ends with a loss except 1 team, that matters.
We have 2 people that are All Big Ten and score 20+ points a game, how many other starters are going to be scoring machines? The other 3 each have their big games from time to time, that’s basketball, most teams don’t have 5 starters all scoring 20, 15, or 10+ points per game.
Marshall is our best defender and can hit some 3s. With Warnock back from injury she helped right the ship and we go on a great run at end of season and big ten tourney, including winning 3 games vs top 10 opponents and a tricky road game way out east with a chance of the title on the line. Martin is called the glue of the team, she does all the little things.
Yes, they can all improve, but I think we should very thankful for the players and coaches that we have. Each and every team in about every sport is saying we need to be quicker and more athletic.

As the for Creighton game, officials don’t want to decide a tourney game, call fouls, in the mens or womens tourney. Thus I thought they let a lot of stuff go. I thought Monika could have been at the free throw line ALOT more. No fouls meant Creighton didn’t have to worry about foul trouble and they were able to keep their best / smaller players on the court and guarding Monika and making us defend their smaller lineup.
 
The one thing we can not control is the Refs, so we need to play better ball to over come the officiating. In the Creighton game they had three players in double figures we had two. Their bench had 15 pts, ours 4. They had 15 more rebounds than us. Bottom Line, They Kicked Our Ass, and in so doing they did it on our court, a sold out court.
P.S. I'm not happy, I don't want excuses, I would rather have answers. And I would hope everyone else does to.
 
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Notre Dame got beat by NC State in the Sweet-16 game in a similar way that Iowa lost to Ohio State - their point guard got the pocket picked clean and NC State scored a layup to take a 1-point lead. Only this time, NC State just needed to steal the ball once, and it happened with less than 15 seconds left in the game.
 
Notre Dame got beat by NC State in the Sweet-16 game in a similar way that Iowa lost to Ohio State - their point guard got the pocket picked clean and NC State scored a layup to take a 1-point lead. Only this time, NC State just needed to steal the ball once, and it happened with less than 15 seconds left in the game.
Hated it when it happened to us but loved seeing Notre Dame go down like that hahahaha. It actually wasn't their PG (Olivia Miles) but their SG (Dara Mabrey) who got her pocket picked. Mabrey's an incredible shooter but not much of a ball handler so I'm not sure why the ball ended up in her hands in the backcourt.
 
Hated it when it happened to us but loved seeing Notre Dame go down like that hahahaha. It actually wasn't their PG (Olivia Miles) but their SG (Dara Mabrey) who got her pocket picked. Mabrey's an incredible shooter but not much of a ball handler so I'm not sure why the ball ended up in her hands in the backcourt.
It was mostly a perfect storm. Miles got the ball into the frontcourt, then passed off to Mabrey who was wide open and is a much better free throw shooter. I assume both thought an immediate foul was coming. It didn't, so Mabrey tried to dribble into space and got herself in trouble. Great individual play by Perez to get the steal instead of fouling.
 
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The one thing we can not control is the Refs, so we need to play better ball to over come the officiating. In the Creighton game they had three players in double figures we had two. Their bench had 15 pts, ours 4. They had 15 more rebounds than us. Bottom Line, They Kicked Our Ass, and in so doing they did it on our court, a sold out court.
P.S. I'm not happy, I don't want excuses, I would rather have answers. And I would hope everyone else does to.
Our basket also betrayed us at the worst possible time, not letting shots fall that normally would.

Funny how temperamental those damn things can be.........
 
I agree that everyone can improve, but I don’t get all the ‘hate’ after 1 loss. The season is over, but every team ends with a loss except 1 team, that matters.
We have 2 people that are All Big Ten and score 20+ points a game, how many other starters are going to be scoring machines? The other 3 each have their big games from time to time, that’s basketball, most teams don’t have 5 starters all scoring 20, 15, or 10+ points per game.
Marshall is our best defender and can hit some 3s. With Warnock back from injury she helped right the ship and we go on a great run at end of season and big ten tourney, including winning 3 games vs top 10 opponents and a tricky road game way out east with a chance of the title on the line. Martin is called the glue of the team, she does all the little things.
Yes, they can all improve, but I think we should very thankful for the players and coaches that we have. Each and every team in about every sport is saying we need to be quicker and more athletic.

As the for Creighton game, officials don’t want to decide a tourney game, call fouls, in the mens or womens tourney. Thus I thought they let a lot of stuff go. I thought Monika could have been at the free throw line ALOT more. No fouls meant Creighton didn’t have to worry about foul trouble and they were able to keep their best / smaller players on the court and guarding Monika and making us defend their smaller lineup.
I don't think anyone is "hating" on the players. Just pointing out that our starters are limited in certain aspects of their game. Marshall/Warnock/Wartin have had plenty of time to improve. They still might improve somewhat between now and next season, but IMO they are all limited in what they can do. The class coming in is much more athletic and I expect at least two if not all three to be vying for playing time.

I believe that Marshall/Warnock/Martin play as best they can. Unfortunately, their best is not enough to propel Iowa to a Final Four. And as good as Czinano/O'Grady are offensively, both are a liability when trying to guard on the perimeter.

I think many of us feel that it's time for some changes to be made, which means cutting minutes for some of the starters in favor of younger players with more potential.
 
At the start of this past season, the coaches told Logan Cook and Tomi Taiwo they were moving on at the end of the year, but left open the possibility that Monika Czinano could return. How do we think the coaches will handle next year's seniors (Marshall, Martin, and Warnock) when it comes to the possibility of an extra season?

On the one hand, bringing them all back for a super-senior season has to be tempting. Each of those players is a multi-year starter. Them plus Clark and our posts were a top 10 team this year, and likely would be next year and the year after too if they returned. That combined experience could pay huge dividends in important games.

On the other hand, I could see them returning causing big development and transfer problems in the program. If those players are back for a super-senior year, it would likely mean McCabe and Stuelke aren't starting or playing big minutes. Could that stunt their development? Affolter, Ediger, Gyamfi, and Wetering probably wouldn't be playing much if those players returned. Would they stay with the team if they knew they wouldn't play much the next two seasons?
 
At the start of this past season, the coaches told Logan Cook and Tomi Taiwo they were moving on at the end of the year, but left open the possibility that Monika Czinano could return. How do we think the coaches will handle next year's seniors (Marshall, Martin, and Warnock) when it comes to the possibility of an extra season?

On the one hand, bringing them all back for a super-senior season has to be tempting. Each of those players is a multi-year starter. Them plus Clark and our posts were a top 10 team this year, and likely would be next year and the year after too if they returned. That combined experience could pay huge dividends in important games.

On the other hand, I could see them returning causing big development and transfer problems in the program. If those players are back for a super-senior year, it would likely mean McCabe and Stuelke aren't starting or playing big minutes. Could that stunt their development? Affolter, Ediger, Gyamfi, and Wetering probably wouldn't be playing much if those players returned. Would they stay with the team if they knew they wouldn't play much the next two seasons?
I think a lot of it also depends on how many 2023 recruits we get. I'm not sure they'd bring back all 3 of them as that would leave only 2 spots open for 2023 recruits which would then total out to be a roster size of 15 which we know Bluder doesn't normally like to do. I don't think it's a good idea to have all 3 stay for the exact reasons you listed but I also don't think all 3 of them should leave as that'll mean Clark will be the only returning starter for her senior season.

I'm not sure the coaches should have this conversation with them before the season starts either as I think they should see what McCabe and Stuelke bring to the table during the season. If I had to guess I would say that Kate stays due to her connection to the program and none of the freshmen being in competition for the 3 position. If McCabe turns out to be the player like everyone says she is then I would say I would like to see Gabbie leave as she's mainly just a good defender and spot-up 3-point shooter. Warnock is where I'm not so sure.
 
As hunter said I think it depends a lot on how our underclassmen do next year and if we can sign any promising 2023 recruits (fingers crossed).
 
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I thought Iowa's coaches recruited Stuelke as an inside-outside wing player and Gyamfi as a power forward, even though Stuelke has grown taller than Gyamfi now? So Stuelke plays the same position as Kate Martin.
 
I think a lot of it also depends on how many 2023 recruits we get. I'm not sure they'd bring back all 3 of them as that would leave only 2 spots open for 2023 recruits which would then total out to be a roster size of 15 which we know Bluder doesn't normally like to do. I don't think it's a good idea to have all 3 stay for the exact reasons you listed but I also don't think all 3 of them should leave as that'll mean Clark will be the only returning starter for her senior season.

I'm not sure the coaches should have this conversation with them before the season starts either as I think they should see what McCabe and Stuelke bring to the table during the season. If I had to guess I would say that Kate stays due to her connection to the program and none of the freshmen being in competition for the 3 position. If McCabe turns out to be the player like everyone says she is then I would say I would like to see Gabbie leave as she's mainly just a good defender and spot-up 3-point shooter. Warnock is where I'm not so sure.
To add to this, I think Feuerbach and Affolter could both take over the 3 position from Kate after next season. They've already had a year in the program, and will hopefully grow over the next year. I could see Kate staying with the team even if she's in more of a time-share, though. She seems like the type of player that would willingly play a lesser role and still be a leader if it makes the team better.

IMO if the coaches are going to tell a player they aren't coming back, they should make that decision before the season starts. Otherwise, it puts the player in a tough position to plan for their future and also enjoy their final year. I do think it's fine to say "you can come back, but you'll be in a lesser role" if they get beat out for playing time during the season, though.
 
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