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Hawkeye Women's Hoop season

That sucks. I liked her game a lot (we just never got to see it much). She seemed like a quicker version of Marshall she just never was on the court long enough to get into any kind of rhythm shooting the ball.

Substitution patterns have always been an issue I've had with Bluder. Subs will come in for 45sec or maybe 90sec and then get subbed right back out. Meyer, Taiwo, Cook and Jensen all have been had struggles because of this. So hard to sit on the bench for 30 minutes after warm-ups and then jump in the game for just 45 seconds. Setting them up to fail.

Wish Lauren well and just hope she doesn't end up in the BigTen somewhere and haunt the Hawks in the future.
The primary goal of those quick subs is to get the player coming out a break without them missing much game time. That's why Clark is almost always subbed just before the mid-quarter timeout. I doubt Coach Bluder expects much out of the players in those short stints, or that poor performance in a short stint would impacts her evaluations of the player much. She recognizes it's a tough situation to throw them into. But it's a necessary one.

I wish Jensen the best moving forward, and can't fault her decision. She didn't play much last year, and we are adding two wings, one of which is almost certainly ahead of her on the depth chart going in. As Gabe said on the recruiting thread, she's still young and should have the opportunity to find playing time at another program.
 
The primary goal of those quick subs is to get the player coming out a break without them missing much game time. That's why Clark is almost always subbed just before the mid-quarter timeout. I doubt Coach Bluder expects much out of the players in those short stints, or that poor performance in a short stint would impacts her evaluations of the player much. She recognizes it's a tough situation to throw them into. But it's a necessary one.

I wish Jensen the best moving forward, and can't fault her decision. She didn't play much last year, and we are adding two wings, one of which is almost certainly ahead of her on the depth chart going in. As Gabe said on the recruiting thread, she's still young and should have the opportunity to find playing time at another program.
What is our depth chart looking like now with the recent changes?
 
The primary goal of those quick subs is to get the player coming out a break without them missing much game time. That's why Clark is almost always subbed just before the mid-quarter timeout. I doubt Coach Bluder expects much out of the players in those short stints, or that poor performance in a short stint would impacts her evaluations of the player much. She recognizes it's a tough situation to throw them into. But it's a necessary one.

I wish Jensen the best moving forward, and can't fault her decision. She didn't play much last year, and we are adding two wings, one of which is almost certainly ahead of her on the depth chart going in. As Gabe said on the recruiting thread, she's still young and should have the opportunity to find playing time at another program.

No, I totally get that. I understand that it's to get Clark a quick rest and I agree that Clark should come back in quickly. But instead of Clark coming back in for the same that subbed for her (Meyer or Jensen), have Clark sub back in for Marshall or Martin and give Meyer/Jensen an opportunity to be productive.
 
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No, I totally get that. I understand that it's to get Clark a quick rest and I agree that Clark should come back in quickly. But instead of Clark coming back in for the same that subbed for her (Meyer or Jensen), have Clark sub back in for Marshall or Martin and give Meyer/Jensen an opportunity to be productive.


You tell 'em, Ferret Face!
 
No, I totally get that. I understand that it's to get Clark a quick rest and I agree that Clark should come back in quickly. But instead of Clark coming back in for the same that subbed for her (Meyer or Jensen), have Clark sub back in for Marshall or Martin and give Meyer/Jensen an opportunity to be productive.

Jensen?
 
Hopefully next year there is a normal preseason with a lot of easy games so the bench players get to play, and play a lot, cause there will be 12 players wanting to play. Once the Big conference gets into full swing Lisa usually only likes to play 8 players in the normal rotation.
 
Hopefully next year there is a normal preseason with a lot of easy games so the bench players get to play, and play a lot, cause there will be 12 players wanting to play. Once the Big conference gets into full swing Lisa usually only likes to play 8 players in the normal rotation.
I could potentially see a 10 player rotation next year. This year Coach Bluder didn't trust her depth much beyond Taiwo, Goodman, and sometimes Meyer. Next year, we bring back the entire rotation, add Feuerbach, and add a good freshman class.

1- The backup 1 will play 5-8 minutes per game, so not a huge role. I have Meyer penciled in for this, but someone from the 2 or 3 positions could also fill it.

2&3- I could see all of Marshall, Martin, Taiwo, and Feuerbach being part of the regular rotation. Affolter and Meyer could fill in too, but I think only 4 will play at these positions. It's also possible that only 3 will play primarily at these positions, with the 4th getting few minutes.

4- The backup 4 will probably get 5-10 minutes per game. I'd actually like to see Warnock's minutes go down a little bit, because I think she'd be more effective if she didn't have to play so long. A 4 guard/wing lineup is also possible to backup this position, though I don't think that's best for rebounding.

5- The backup 5 will get 8-12 minutes per game. More if Czinano gets in foul trouble.
 
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I respect Coach Bluder a lot. Maybe if she wants to take the program to a higher level, she'll demand more defensive effort and use more players to accomplish that. Given the nature of the portal, giving more minutes to bench players to spell the starters/ maintain defensive intensity may reduce the desire to leave the program. Jus a thought.
 
I respect Coach Bluder a lot. Maybe if she wants to take the program to a higher level, she'll demand more defensive effort and use more players to accomplish that. Given the nature of the portal, giving more minutes to bench players to spell the starters/ maintain defensive intensity may reduce the desire to leave the program. Jus a thought.
Defensive intensity has to be taught. Most college players haven't earned a scholly because they're good defensive players. Just my observation, but "help defense" in WBB is nearly nonexistent.
 
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Defensive intensity has to be taught. Most college players haven't earned a scholly because they're good defensive players. Just my observation, but "help defense" in WBB is nearly nonexistent.
Agree with this. Some coach's in high school don't want their best scorer to have real tough defensive assignments for fear of foul trouble or fatigue.
 
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Kim Mulkey moving to LSU might be beneficial for us. It will be hard for Baylor to find a coach that can replace her. If they fall off some, that would be one less elite team to compete with on the road to a Final 4. It will also probably take Mulkey at least a year or two to build LSU to the level that Baylor is now (if she does at all).
 
Kim Mulkey moving to LSU might be beneficial for us. It will be hard for Baylor to find a coach that can replace her. If they fall off some, that would be one less elite team to compete with on the road to a Final 4. It will also probably take Mulkey at least a year or two to build LSU to the level that Baylor is now (if she does at all).
Then again, it only took one season for Vic Schaefer to take Texas to the Elite 8. No reason to think Mulkey won't do the same this season with LSU.
 
On the other hand, it only took one year after Vic Shaefer leaving for Mississippi State to go from three elite 8s including two national runner ups to not making the tournament.
 
The NCAA Women’s Basketball Rules Committee on Friday proposed moving the 3-point line to the international distance of 22 feet, 1¾ inches, beginning with the 2021-22 season.
 
The NCAA Women’s Basketball Rules Committee on Friday proposed moving the 3-point line to the international distance of 22 feet, 1¾ inches, beginning with the 2021-22 season.
Good news for Iowa. Gives Caitlin Clark an even bigger advantage.

Nice too that there will no longer be two different lines on the court I assume, one for men and one for women.
 
The NCAA Women’s Basketball Rules Committee on Friday proposed moving the 3-point line to the international distance of 22 feet, 1¾ inches, beginning with the 2021-22 season.
Good thing it won’t be 22’2” cuz nobody would ever make anything.
 
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Megan was waived by Dallas Wings this morning.
Only good thing is she can go to a better franchise than the Dallas Wings now. They drafted her two years ago because the owner liked her but the coach didn't, so he promptly waived her and then had to bring her back when they had a spate of injuries but hardly played her. Then this year they had the #1 and #2 picks in the draft and took centers with both. So the handwriting was on the wall, yet they kept tweeting how they were glad to have Megan back and she was tweeting how glad she was to be in Dallas for a third year. She improved her game this past winter playing in Europe, so maybe she can get picked up by a franchise that is not a mess.
 
I'm hearing Kathleen has been waived as well.
Disappointed about this one. I live in Indiana and was hoping to catch one of the Fever's home games to see KD in a WNBA jersey. But it became very hard for her to make the roster once Indiana used their lottery pick -- surprisingly -- on Kysre Gondrezick, who plays the same position as KD.
 
Disappointed about this one. I live in Indiana and was hoping to catch one of the Fever's home games to see KD in a WNBA jersey. But it became very hard for her to make the roster once Indiana used their lottery pick -- surprisingly -- on Kysre Gondrezick, who plays the same position as KD.
Fortunately for Kathleen she has a future in broadcasting. She left her European team mid-season this winter and got off to a great start with the Big Ten Network. She played poorly in the two Fever preseason games so maybe her TV career will take off sooner rather than later.
 
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It's extremely difficult to make a WNBA roster. There are only approximately 140 roster spots in the entire league. That Megan and Kathleen each made a roster for a full season (two for Megan) is very impressive. They both got to live out childhood dreams.
 
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It's extremely difficult to make a WNBA roster. There are only approximately 140 roster spots in the entire league. That Megan and Kathleen each made a roster for a full season (two for Megan) is very impressive. They both got to live out childhood dreams.
In my life I've watched about 5 minutes of a WNBA game, while I replaced the batteries in my TV remote. It seems to me you either need to be insanely tall, or the super-fast distributor guard. Neither of "our" two girls fit that mold, but again, I don't speak from much experience of fandom on that front.
 
In my life I've watched about 5 minutes of a WNBA game, while I replaced the batteries in my TV remote. It seems to me you either need to be insanely tall, or the super-fast distributor guard. Neither of "our" two girls fit that mold, but again, I don't speak from much experience of fandom on that front.
Wbb in college is much a better game to watch
 
Fortunately for Kathleen she has a future in broadcasting. She left her European team mid-season this winter and got off to a great start with the Big Ten Network. She played poorly in the two Fever preseason games so maybe her TV career will take off sooner rather than later.
I think Kathleen wanted to eventually get into coaching at one point as well. I don’t believe Iowa has had GA positions for the women’s basketball team in the past but maybe that’s something they would think about with Kathleen.
 

We have an open position for Director of Women's Basketball Operations. Hannah Bluder filled this role last season in a temporary capacity, as is explained here (scroll down): "LISA BLUDER: Well, our director of operations from last year, got an assistant coaching position closer to her hometown, so it was an advancement. Happy for her, but this late in the game it was a little bit hard to go out during COVID and to find a director of operations. Hannah has graduated from our sports administration program here, had all the qualifications, is working on her Master’s Degree, so I’m glad to have her in this temporary role."
 
In my life I've watched about 5 minutes of a WNBA game, while I replaced the batteries in my TV remote. It seems to me you either need to be insanely tall, or the super-fast distributor guard. Neither of "our" two girls fit that mold, but again, I don't speak from much experience of fandom on that front.
I think that's just a byproduct of having so few roster slots in the league. There might only be 1 or 2 players in each college recruiting class that have the size and athleticism to stop Megan in the post. She dominated college because she rarely played any of those players. But in the WNBA, virtually every team has one or two.

Kathleen is a great defender. She is really good at driving and distributing. But she isn't a great shooter, and she has some turnover issues. Each year there are a handful of guards who are either better defenders or who are close but better on offense. And that's all it takes when only 140ish players make a roster each year.
 

Megan was waived by Dallas Wings this morning.
Maybe no WNBA for Megan this year, but she just signed with the top team in Poland for the winter. They also play in the Euroleague. Sounds like a better deal for her.
 
I think that's just a byproduct of having so few roster slots in the league. There might only be 1 or 2 players in each college recruiting class that have the size and athleticism to stop Megan in the post. She dominated college because she rarely played any of those players. But in the WNBA, virtually every team has one or two.

Kathleen is a great defender. She is really good at driving and distributing. But she isn't a great shooter, and she has some turnover issues. Each year there are a handful of guards who are either better defenders or who are close but better on offense. And that's all it takes when only 140ish players make a roster each year.
Women’s college basket is fun and watchable- WNBA is not
 
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Women’s college basket is fun and watchable- WNBA is not
I haven't watched much WNBA, so I can't really say whether I enjoy it. Maybe that will change when Caitlin makes the WNBA and I have a rooting interest.

I hoped Megan and Kathleen would do well when they made the Wings and Fever, but never really made an effort to watch either team because their roles were limited. I think Caitlin will be a starter early in her career and will have a long pro career barring injury.
 
With the loss of Meyer who added depth at the 1/2 positions, Iowa's roster next year is looking like this:

Clark
Marshall/Feuerbach/Affolter
Martin/Taiwo/Wetering
Warnock/Ediger/Cook
Czinano/Goodman/O'Grady

Martin and Marshall (edit: and maybe Affolter?) can back up Clark at the 1 as needed, and Feuerbach and Affolter can also both play the 3. And although it's farther down the depth chart to matter too much, Wetering is probably more of a 3/4 while Cook and maybe even O'Grady are more of a 4/5. Should be interesting to see which of the freshmen crack the regular rotation by the time conference play starts.

I can't wait for November!!!
 
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With the loss of Meyer who added depth at the 1/2 positions, Iowa's roster next year is looking like this:

Clark
Marshall/Feuerbach/Affolter
Martin/Taiwo/Wetering
Warnock/Ediger/Cook
Czinano/Goodman/O'Grady

Martin and Marshall (edit: and maybe Affolter?) can back up Clark at the 1 as needed, and Feuerbach and Affolter can also both play the 3. And although it's farther down the depth chart to matter too much, Wetering is probably more of a 3/4 while Cook and maybe even O'Grady are more of a 4/5. Should be interesting to see which of the freshmen crack the regular rotation by the time conference play starts.

I can't wait for November!!!
I think Ediger has a really good chance to be the backup 4. From the tape I've seen, she's more skilled than Cook, and she's taller.

I think Affolter is solid, but she also probably has 4 players ahead of her at the 2 and 3 when practice starts, with 3 of the 4 having multiple years of experience in Iowa's system. Maybe Megan leaving opens up some minutes for her, but that's far from a guarantee, especially in conference play.

I'm not sure what to think of O'Grady's chances of playing. On the one hand, the coaches seem really high on her. On the other, Goodman looked pretty good as a freshman, and we have seen big growth with posts between their freshman and sophomore seasons recently.
 
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