Just look at the bigs Iowa has coming in the next 2 years, they are more of the size and athleticism to compete with the top programs.
Hawkeye Women's Hoop season
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This is a confusing post. If you are upset we can’t recruit as well as UCONN then I’m not sure what to tell you. Landing Caitlin Clark was a huge breakthrough though and we have some very good recruiting classes coming in the next couple years. Our team really overachieved this year and we return our entire team next year. There’s plenty to be excited about with the future of this team
I was replying to retrodent who said UConn cherry picks from the rest of the country. I’m not comparing us to UConn. However, after all the complaints on the board about the unfairness of it all, Michigan almost beat Baylor, lost in OT, and IU knocked out NC State. IU is in their 3rd or 4th year with this coach and Michigan has never been this far. The Big Ten is the richest league in the country with great facilities. We have arguably the best Freshman in the country. All I’m saying is let’s build on that. Not knocking the rest of our girls but we need better players, plain and simple. And Bluder, just like Fran, needs to commit to the defensive end. Both Michigan and IU battled hard on the defensive end. We do not.
It has been noted elsewhere but I think Iowa will be building on this by ear and Caitlin’s performance. She has areas to improve for sure but the PR she is bringing to program will help.
Someone noted her commitment was later so full impact is just now being seen.
the performance of Mich and Ind is encouraging. Those two teams have more experience and it showed. Next year, hopefully Iowa will benefit from this years e perience.
I would say that NC State had been faltering throughout the tournament. I think Iowa could have beat them too. Baylor was quite a surprise on the other hand.
Also, Iowa did take NC State to the woodshed two years ago in the round of Sweet 16. Of course both were different teams then.
Also, Iowa did take NC State to the woodshed two years ago in the round of Sweet 16. Of course both were different teams then.
The ‘21 bigs coming in will certainly add size (and I’m guessing strength), but it seems uncertain if they can add Hannah Stewart or Amanda Ollinger level athleticism, let alone a higher level of athleticism.
ESPN’s out of date profiles describe O’Grady as a “blue-collar front court performer” and describe Ediger as having a “blue-collar persona.” I worry that these descriptions are recruiting code for not overly athletic. With Stewart, ESPN at least described her as “deceptively athletic.”
Have you watched videos on Stuelke and Gyamfi? Both built solid and extremely athletic and decent size for their positions.
Diamond Johnson from Rutgers has apparently entered the transfer portal. With her and Guirantes gone Rutgers will likely take a step back unless they add some big transfers this off-season. That's probably a good things for Iowa unless she ends up at a better Big Ten school.
I'm sure Suzy M at Mich St is on top of her, she brought in a couple transfers last year.
Maybe Mich to replace Hailey Brown. I don't know what Maryland has coming in for 21, but I'm sure Brenda will check it out.
Kayana Traylor from Purdue is also in the transfer portal. With the extra year due to Covid it seems like transfers will be more crazy than usual this year. As for Johnson, I selfishly hope she transfers out of the Big Ten (unless she wants to come to Iowa). She will help whatever team she goes to immensely.
That's 3 grad transfers for Purdue and 2 under-grad in Traylor & Harmon. Looks like Versyp and their coach in waiting (Gearlds) have some work to do. With the amount of players in the portal this is likely the only way to fill these spots.
For fun I'll rank the players on roster from most to least likely to transfer for basketball reasons (or family ties where I know of them). A big caveat: I have no insider information, don't think anyone is particularly likely to transfer, and this is just my opinion.
1. Shateah Wetering- My general rule is that freshman are more likely to transfer because they've gotten a chance to see if they are in a school's plans, and still have time to leave if they don't expect much playing time. In Wetering's case, she didn't play much her freshman year, and I don't see much of a future role for her with Ediger coming next year. She could certainly find more playing time elsewhere.
2. Lauren Jensen- She didn't play much in the latter half of the season, and Affolter is joining the mix on the wing next year. I can still see Jensen finding regular minutes with this team, but there's a decent chance she doesn't. She could likely find more playing time elsewhere.
3. McKenna Warnock- The only reason I rank Warnock this high is because of her usage and perception. She is clearly a very skilled offensive player, yet she is often an afterthought in Iowa's offense with Clark and Czinano taking most of the shots. The media (and fans frankly) don't give her as much credit as she deserves for the impact she has on the floor. If she wanted to go somewhere else and be the #1 offensive option, I think she could. I don't think there's much of a chance she transfers, but she's the starter most likely to IMO.
4. Logan Cook- I think Ediger will beat her out next year meaning she is unlikely to get much playing time. That said, she will be a senior and has family ties to Iowa. It's pretty unlikely she leaves.
5. Caitlin Clark- She came to Iowa wanting to take the program back to a Final Four for the first time in decades. If anything, that project is ahead of schedule. Her interviews also sound like she's still completely committed to that goal. The only reason she ranks this high is that if she wanted to leave, she could go pretty much anywhere she wanted.
6. Tomi Taiwo- Taiwo will be a senior and has carved out a nice role for herself on the team. The reason she's not lower on the list is she could probably go elsewhere and be a starter.
7. Megan Meyer- I don't think Meyer's minutes will go up all that much in the next year or two (barring injury), but she still has a clear role on the team and has family ties to the school.
8. Sharon Goodman- She has a clear role on the team and is the presumptive heir-apparent to the 5 position whenever Czinano's career ends. If O'Grady comes in next year and beats her, though, she could climb on this list.
9. Gabbie Marshall- She's a starter on a Sweet 16 team with a bright future. Unlike Warnock, I don't think she could go elsewhere and get a significantly bigger role.
10. Monica Czinano- She will be a senior, probably a captain, and one of the top scoring options on a Sweet 16 team with a bright future. The only conceivable reason I can see for her transferring is wanting to play with her sister at Minnesota, and I find that highly, highly unlikely.
11. Kate Martin- She's a captain and starter on a Sweet 16 team with a bright future. Coach Bluder calls her the heart and soul of the team. Like Marshall I don't think she could transfer and find a bigger role for herself. There's no basketball reason I can find for why she would transfer.
Not that it means much, but her other finalist coming out of high school were South Carolina, Boston College, and Virginia. I don't see her picking Michigan St. as one other poster suggested, they have Nia Clouden coming back and top 25 national ranked local point guard Damiya Hagemann coming in.
On the one hand, I can understand what Purdue is trying to do: let a longtime coach go out with one last season while having the replacement there to handle recruiting and the future.
On the other, that will be a very strange locker room dynamic. If there is conflict, who do the young players listen to: the current coach or their future coach? And Versyp doesn't exactly have Purdue on a positive trajectory. Another bad year just makes Gearlds' rebuild tougher and might make recruits associate her with the bad year.
Iowa will eventually get hit by the portal, the only school now that Creighton had one not to have a player in it. This year I'd be most concerned about Lauren Jensen. I hope McKenna Warnock stays, she is perfect for the Iowa system.
11. Kate has ties to the program
3. Definitely one player I would hate to see transfer. I don't see it happening. I disagree that she's an afterthought in Iowa's offense. Many teams have a couple players that are key to the team, but she's right there along with Gabby IMHO.
3. Definitely one player I would hate to see transfer. I don't see it happening. I disagree that she's an afterthought in Iowa's offense. Many teams have a couple players that are key to the team, but she's right there along with Gabby IMHO.
I agree on McKenna and Gabby's roles expanding offensively, more like what we saw in the BTT and NCAAT. Early in the year I saw a lot of four players standing around watching the Caitlin Show. As expected, introducing a primo player like Caitlin with little preseason to adjust was going to take time. As potent as this year's offense was, I think it will be even stronger and more balanced next year. And having a summer and preseason, they will also have more time to figure out defensive roles and responsibilities. I am far from ready to say this is a FF team, but it will be another step up.
I can make a case that Warnock is the 2nd most important player on the team. Because Czinano isn't a great rebounder, we absolutely need her rebounding in the lineup. And her shooting ability creates space for Clark and Czinano to work at maximum efficiency. She's a great fit as the 4 at Iowa. I just wish she got more credit for the role she plays.
Purdue fans have been wanting her gone for the last several years, this type of exit saves on a buyout during covid-19 times and allows an alumnus and all-time wins leader to exit gracefully. Purdue fans seem to like Gearlds and are willing to give her a chance, on the national boards most are scratching their heads with this hiring.
I thought Kate had ties to Iowa, but the post was getting long and I didn't want to dig up old articles to find what they were.
The reason I say Warnock is an afterthought in the offense is that she clearly has the talent to average 20 points per game, but often ends up shooting only 5-6 shots per game. If she transferred to a school like Wisconsin, she'd lead the team in scoring and take 20 plus shots per game. She still plays a vital role for a Sweet 16 team on the rise, and I don't think it's very likely that she transfers.
As far as Warnock's position on my list, I think anyone below 2 is very unlikely to transfer. But in terms of reasons to leave, being able to be option 1 elsewhere and also being underappreciated in your current role are stronger reasons to me than anything I can come up with for other players. Warnock is never going to be higher than scoring option 3 with Clark and Czinano on roster.
I think being scoring option 3 to 5 with the offense that Iowa runs is still better than option 1 on Wisconsin or Illinois, if the player has the slightest care for team success. 5 players averaging double figures next season is not out of the question.
We have to be better on the defensive side of things if we want to gain more success next season though
I agree that team success is likely a bigger factor for most people. Especially where you're a starter on a successful team. But I have also seen cases where being option 1 is a very important factor for a player. And Warnock could be that at Wisconsin and also play for her state school.
Again, I know nothing about Warnock's motivations. I don't think her transferring is very likely. All I'm saying is that her transferring would shock me less than if Martin, Czinano, or Marshall transferred.
I know you watch and chart the games very closely, and I may be way off, but I can’t imagine a BIG team where Warnock averages 20 shots a game. Against most teams, she is a stationary shooter (a very good one). Once in a great while (MSU last year, Kentucky this year) she has a match up where she can drive the ball, but against teams like Maryland, Rutgers or OSU, she is more likely to end up on the floor when she drives than something good happening. She also has very limited post up skills. I agree she should get more shots, and is super valuable as a defensive rebounder and shooter, but on a team with very few players who can drive and finish, or drive and kick effectively, there are games when it can be hard to manufacture shots for her.
Would be interested in your view about her driving ability, and estimate for what percentage of her shots came off the bounce (other than a rhythm dribble).
In my opinion Bluder has not pressed high level defense because she is usually short on enough bodies to have them play that way and keep people fresh
I understand the need for the portal but with the NCAA opening up eligibility this is getting crazy. Syracuse now has 8 players in it and Mississippi St. has at least 5 - the latter likely due to a coaching change last summer. Doesn't seem like there will be an end to it, with incoming recruits wondering where all these transfers think they'll end up?
The team I had in mind was Wisconsin. Lewis was one of their best players, and she's leaving. There aren't a ton of great players on that roster (at least before any transfers). If Warnock were to transfer there and play immediately, I think she becomes their best or second best scoring option.
If she were option 1 or 2 I think she would look to drive more. She would probably work on a post-up game against good matchups (like Clark does on occasion). And the team would probably design more plays to get her open for 3. It's not necessarily that those are great options. I think you're right that her driving isn't the best shot Iowa can get most games. I just think it would be one of the better shots a team like Wisconsin could get.
In hindsight 20 shots per game is way too many. I was shooting from the hip with that number and remembering Clark took 21 against UConn. If she were at Wisconsin, I would expect somewhere in the neighborhood of 12-15 shots per game, depending on system. Right now she's averaging fewer than 8.
In terms of getting her more shots at Iowa, I'd want to think more about how to accomplish that. The offense this year didn't run many plays aside from Clark isolations, high screens for Clark, and isolating a side for a Clark-Czinano pick and roll. I think letting the offense largely work organically is an advantage. I just don't love games where Warnock is hot from three early, then gets 1 or 2 shots the rest of the game (like Rutgers in the regular season).
As common as transfers are now, I generally don't think players transferring is a sign of issues with a program. But if 8 players are transferring that's certainly concerning. If I were a player I would think twice about joining a program where 8 people wanted to leave all at once. And filling 8 roster spots with transfers seems very difficult to say the least.
I think there are players who will definitely lose out with such a big transfer market. There are going to be plenty of teams (like Iowa) that are comfortable with the players on roster and have little or no interest in transfers. Some players will likely end up at D2 or D3 institutions, and it's entirely possible some won't end with many or any options.
Warnock attempted nine shots against UConn and scored 20 points. Was it just hot shooting, or was it Iowa's offensive scheme, or UConn's defensive scheme?
It was a combination of things. She shot 3-4 from three, which helps. She was also 5-5 from the line (normally she averages 2.5 free throws per game and shoots 80%, so both the attempts and percentage exceeded her average).
In general Warnock is one of our most efficient scorers. She shoots 52.7% from the field (2nd amongst starters behind Czinano) and 45.1% from three (2nd on the team behind Marshall).
I thought I read that Syacuse had 4 players that didn't play against UConn for discipline issues. That could be the reason 4 of those 8 are leaving or it could be the reason for all 8. If it is who would want to deal with that excess baggage. They would have to be really good to take a chance on them.
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