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Hawkeye Women’s BBall Season 2023-2024

The only reason I could see someone waiting before announcing they’re transferring out right now is to wait until after the pep rally next week. If you’re a player it’d be kinda awkward to be up there on stage right after announcing you’re leaving Iowa, but that’s just mean. This is down right torture though seeing a couple of these really good players enter the portal, especially since the idea of playing with CC is probably enticing for a post so you’d think we’d have a good shot at them, but also knowing it’s not likely to happen due to roster limitations.
 
The only reason I could see someone waiting before announcing they’re transferring out right now is to wait until after the pep rally next week. If you’re a player it’d be kinda awkward to be up there on stage right after announcing you’re leaving Iowa, but that’s just mean. This is down right torture though seeing a couple of these really good players enter the portal, especially since the idea of playing with CC is probably enticing for a post so you’d think we’d have a good shot at them, but also knowing it’s not likely to happen due to roster limitations.
When do end of year meetings happen? Ya can’t blame a coach for waiting a week after the biggest run of the players and teams lives. May not have even happened yet.
 
When do end of year meetings happen? Ya can’t blame a coach for waiting a week after the biggest run of the players and teams lives. May not have even happened yet.
I have no idea and I agree with you on that. I’m not sure if Lisa has come out and said one way or the other since Sunday if she had heard if anyone was planning to leave just yet either.
 
Betts or bust. 3 years. Incentivizes Clark to return for another tournament run for '25 (Betts' 3rd year). Then bridges a presumed 'gap year' in '26 (year 4) before fall of 2026 where hopefully Iowa can field a roster with Greenway and Jenica Lewis. Basically, Betts could keep Iowa from having a down year after Clark moves on.
 
The new transfer portal rules SUCK!! Sickening to hear everyone wishing Hawks leave to open space. And praying new players come so Addy/Sharon don't have to play as much.

Much more than Ws and Ls for me. I'm a college sports fan because I like watching players mature as players and people. Don't get that as much with players moving around so much.
 
The new transfer portal rules SUCK!! Sickening to hear everyone wishing Hawks leave to open space. And praying new players come so Addy/Sharon don't have to play as much.

Much more than Ws and Ls for me. I'm a college sports fan because I like watching players mature as players and people. Don't get that as much with players moving around so much.
Agreed. And these same so called "fans" will leave after next year, too, saying, "well the team's no good anymore." But until then fire away at these kids, right?
 
The new transfer portal rules SUCK!! Sickening to hear everyone wishing Hawks leave to open space. And praying new players come so Addy/Sharon don't have to play as much.

Much more than Ws and Ls for me. I'm a college sports fan because I like watching players mature as players and people. Don't get that as much with players moving around so much.
I also have to LOL at the fact that the same fans are like, "HoW aRe We GoInG tO rEpLaCe MoNiKa?" I love Monika and will miss her a lot, but most importantly, we still have the coach on our staff who made Monika into the player that she is. Also, folks were saying the same thing after Megan graduated, and I'd say that turned out pretty well in retrospect...

All that said, now that we *do* have a roster spot, if we land a solid transfer, I won't be opposed. But I'm not holding out hope for Betts. That "article" that claimed she was interested in Iowa was one of the most poorly sourced and poorly written pieces of "journalism" I've seen all season lol. (Of course, I'd love to be wrong.)

I hope Wetering finds a good fit for her remaining years of eligibility.
 
My guess is Norte Dame.

Yeah, that's my 2nd guess tbh. My predictions starting with most likely:

Morrow -> MD, ND, Ole Miss, SC
Betts -> UCLA/USC, CO, South Carolina, Iowa
Van Lith -> UCLA/USC, LSU, some PAC surprise (Wash, Wazzou, Oregon or OR State).
 


This should pretty much conclude award season. The sweep is official now. I know @AMAYS has posted keeping tabs on the past B1G winners of these various awards so this is cool to see.
There is still the Honda Cup, female collegiate athlete of the year. The Honda award she won is for basketball only. Did any previous Big Ten basketball players win the Honda Cup? I imagine there might have been some Big Ten athletes from other sports that won it.

Edit: found the list: https://www.collegiatewomensportsawards.com/archives/cupwinner_bios/index
 
There is still the Honda Cup, female collegiate athlete of the year. The Honda award she won is for basketball only. Did any previous Big Ten basketball players win the Honda Cup? I imagine there might have been some Big Ten athletes from other sports that won it.

Edit: found the list: https://www.collegiatewomensportsawards.com/archives/cupwinner_bios/index
Maybe you @UpstreamHawkeye had been the one filling us in on the past B1G award winners, sorry if i misattributed there!
 


This should pretty much conclude award season. The sweep is official now. I know @AMAYS has posted keeping tabs on the past B1G winners of these various awards so this is cool to see.
Clark’s season and award haul makes her the most decorated player in BIG WBB history, with Gustafson a clear second place. In terms of BIG WBB history, is Clark already the best player in BIG WBB history? Think so, as the award history below makes clear. The other players perhaps in the discussion would be OSU greats Katie Smith, Jessica Davenport, and Jantel Lavender, and perhaps PSU great Kelly Mazzante. IMO, Smith would be the runner-up to Clark.

There have been five BIG WBB players who have won one or more national player of the year awards, three of whom are Hawkeyes:

1988 – Michelle Edwards, IOWA (WBCA[discontinued when WBCA took over Wade in 2001])
1994 – Carol Ann Shudlick, MINN (Wade)
1999 – Stephanie White, PUR (Wade, Honda)
2019 – Megan Gustafson, IOWA (AP-Naismith-USBWA-Honda) [Consensus]
2022 - Caitlin Clark, IOWA (AP-Naismith-Wade-USBWA-Wooden-Honda) [Unanimous]

The list of BIG WBB players who have been unanimous 1st team AA since 1995 (when AP starts picking WBB AA teams and the NCAA began identifying unanimous AAs) is short, with just four 2-time selections, including Clark, and 10 players total:

Katie Douglas, Purdue (2001)
Kelly Mazzante, PSU (2003, 2004)
Jessica Davenport, OSU (2005, 2007)
Jantel Lavender, OSU (2010, 2011)
Amanda Zahui B, Minnesota (2015)
Kelsey Mitchell, OSU (2016)
Megan Gustafson, Iowa (2019)
Naz Hillmon, Michigan (2022)
Caitlin Clark, Iowa (2022, 2023)
McKenzie Holmes, IU (2023)

From 1988-1994, when only the WBCA (10-player teams) and USBWA (sometimes 5-, sometimes 10-player teams) picked AA teams, the only BIG WBB players to make both teams in a year were Michelle Edwards, Iowa (1988) and MaChelle Joseph, Purdue (1992). The great Katie Smith of OSU made the WBCA and USBWA teams in different years during this period, and then made both of these teams in 1996.

Finally, the only 3 BIG WBB players in the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame are Katie Smith (OSU), Michelle Edwards (Iowa) and Lindsay Whalen (Minnesota).
 
Reflecting on 2022-23: One of the coolest parts, to me, about our postseason run is that we were the only Sweet 16 team to not have a transfer in our starting lineup. I feel like that was under-reported initially, and now it's been further lost in the shuffle of casual fans lusting after various portal targets.
 

Here's some quotes from Bluder talking about Stuelke and O'Grady. I thought it was interesting how Bluder explicitly called Hannah "a different type of 5" as opposed to saying something like, "We're working with her as a 4."

Though Bluder said they won’t necessarily need to reinvent the wheel when it comes to their offense next season, losing two of the most consistent offensive sources will certainly open up opportunities for other players to step up.
In the post, keep an eye on rising sophomore Hannah Stuelke and rising junior Addison O’Grady.
Stuelke presents a bit of a different skill set than Czinano, with greater athleticism and abilities to rebound.
“Hannah Stuelke is just a tremendous athlete,” Bluder said. "She's somebody really that I haven't had the opportunity to coach for a long time that has these athletic skills, somebody that can run the floor as fast as she does, get off the floor for rebounds out of her area. It's a different type of five than we've had lately. I just look forward to the challenge of incorporating a shorter, more-athletic five into the mix than a Monika or Megan Gustafson was. It's just a fun challenge for us.”
One area in particular that Bluder sees Stuelke bringing value: offensive rebounding. The Hawkeyes ranked 338th out of 361 teams this past season in offensive rebounds per game and in the bottom 75 in offensive rebounding rate, per Her Hoop Stats. Of course, having the top field goal percentage in the country means fewer opportunities for offensive boards, but it’s still an area Stuelke should help Iowa improve in.
As for O’Grady, the tallest player on last year’s roster, she provided valuable bench minutes throughout the NCAA Tournament after struggling to find playing time during the regular season.
“In the NCAA Tournament, we were going against much taller women, and we needed her height, and she came in and responded,” Bluder said. “She sees a huge opportunity right now with Monika leaving, and I think she's really motivated to work hard this summer to try to gain herself some more minutes, if not a starting position.”
 

Here's some quotes from Bluder talking about Stuelke and O'Grady. I thought it was interesting how Bluder explicitly called Hannah "a different type of 5" as opposed to saying something like, "We're working with her as a 4."

Though Bluder said they won’t necessarily need to reinvent the wheel when it comes to their offense next season, losing two of the most consistent offensive sources will certainly open up opportunities for other players to step up.
In the post, keep an eye on rising sophomore Hannah Stuelke and rising junior Addison O’Grady.
Stuelke presents a bit of a different skill set than Czinano, with greater athleticism and abilities to rebound.
“Hannah Stuelke is just a tremendous athlete,” Bluder said. "She's somebody really that I haven't had the opportunity to coach for a long time that has these athletic skills, somebody that can run the floor as fast as she does, get off the floor for rebounds out of her area. It's a different type of five than we've had lately. I just look forward to the challenge of incorporating a shorter, more-athletic five into the mix than a Monika or Megan Gustafson was. It's just a fun challenge for us.”
One area in particular that Bluder sees Stuelke bringing value: offensive rebounding. The Hawkeyes ranked 338th out of 361 teams this past season in offensive rebounds per game and in the bottom 75 in offensive rebounding rate, per Her Hoop Stats. Of course, having the top field goal percentage in the country means fewer opportunities for offensive boards, but it’s still an area Stuelke should help Iowa improve in.
As for O’Grady, the tallest player on last year’s roster, she provided valuable bench minutes throughout the NCAA Tournament after struggling to find playing time during the regular season.
“In the NCAA Tournament, we were going against much taller women, and we needed her height, and she came in and responded,” Bluder said. “She sees a huge opportunity right now with Monika leaving, and I think she's really motivated to work hard this summer to try to gain herself some more minutes, if not a starting position.”
I said this in another thread, but I think the most likely starting lineup at this point has O'Grady playing the 4 offensively in a Stewart/Coley role and Stuelke at the 5 in a Gustafson role with more transition opportunities.

Defensively with that lineup I think they would switch and O'Grady would be the 5 with Stuelke as the 4. O'Grady is more of a rim protector and Stuelke should be athletic enough to guard the 4 and also get to rebounds.
 
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I said this in another thread, but I think the most likely starting lineup at this point has O'Grady playing the 4 offensively in a Stewart/Coley role and Stuelke at the 5 in a Gustafson role with more transition opportunities.

Defensively with that lineup I think they would switch and O'Grady would be the 5 with Stuelke as the 4. O'Grady is more of a rim protector and Stuelke should be athletic enough to guard the 4 and also get to rebounds.
I like that approach... still get size and rebounding. Where would Goodman/Edger play in that strategy?
 
I like that approach... still get size and rebounding. Where would Goodman/Edger play in that strategy?
Goodman would be an option as the backup 5. Ediger would be an option as the backup 4 or backup 5.

One thing we haven't seen in college is that Ediger can shoot the 3. When I watched her high school tape she shot a couple from Clark range. I'm not sure she's quick enough to play the 4 like Warnock did, but maybe with a really good summer that could be an option.
 
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Ogrady had potential to shoot 3 as well... I think she attempted one or twobher freshman year. Jayda is a 3/4, so I suspect she gets some time as well
 
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Ogrady had potential to shoot 3 as well... I think she attempted one or twobher freshman year. Jayda is a 3/4, so I suspect she gets some time as well
Yes. I think they could opportunistically have O'Grady drift out to the perimeter, especially against a zone. I don't think she'll play out that far nearly as much as Warnock, though.
 

O’Grady looking strong, showing off some range.
Good highlights. It remains an open question if we're going to ask/allow her to play a role that would let her show those skills.
 
Good highlights. It remains an open question if we're going to ask/allow her to play a role that would let her show those skills.
I think they wanted Monika to play inside, and to keep continuity they had all of the posts play the same way. Depending on who they decide to go with, they could invert a little and have Ogrady/Ediger play more like warnock on offence and Stuelke/Goodman play more inside. Jayda is a wildcard though, it sounds like she is more like a Warnock style player, and if she starts demanding minutes it changes the dynamic. Also people are sleeping on Goodamn, she is good at establishing post position, and seemed to be effective around the basket. They have tools, but how to make them fit?
 
The roster on hawkeyesports.com lists Kennise Johnson as 5-4. Typo? I've always seen her listed as 5-7 or 5-8.

I have been skeptical of a few of the "official" heights in the past, but always wondered if they were overstating. BTW, Addi is now listed as 6-3, which is down an inch from the past two seasons.

Two-year old photo of Kennise. Doesn't appear to be standing completely straight in it.
 
The roster on hawkeyesports.com lists Kennise Johnson as 5-4. Typo? I've always seen her listed as 5-7 or 5-8.

I have been skeptical of a few of the "official" heights in the past, but always wondered if they were overstating. BTW, Addi is now listed as 6-3, which is down an inch from the past two seasons.

Two-year old photo of Kennise. Doesn't appear to be standing completely straight in it.
She's smaller than Gabby?!
 
I think they wanted Monika to play inside, and to keep continuity they had all of the posts play the same way. Depending on who they decide to go with, they could invert a little and have Ogrady/Ediger play more like warnock on offence and Stuelke/Goodman play more inside. Jayda is a wildcard though, it sounds like she is more like a Warnock style player, and if she starts demanding minutes it changes the dynamic. Also people are sleeping on Goodamn, she is good at establishing post position, and seemed to be effective around the basket. They have tools, but how to make them fit?
Wasn't Goodman suppose to be neck and neck with Czinano when it came to replacing Gustafson (back in the day) and injuries have just limited her development?
 
I have been skeptical of a few of the "official" heights in the past, but always wondered if they were overstating. BTW, Addi is now listed as 6-3, which is down an inch from the past two seasons.
LOL funnily enough, during the NCAAT a few people were saying Addi was 6'5" -- IDK where they got that, keep dreaming tho.
 
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