Trust me I try to stay away from comparing the men and the women like its a competition or something. But I just can’t help but acknowledge how the women are exciting and fun to watch. They are selling out Carver. They are dominating on the recruiting trail. I added the entire women’s schedule to my calendar. I would not have done that 10 years ago. They are bringing much needed positive PR to the university at a time when there has been so much not so great PR (e.g., gambling scandal, football offense and so on).
Iowa MBBall vs. Womens BBall
- Thread starter Camhawk2012
- Start date
Agreed. I'm way more vested in the women's team the last two years. It's just hard to watch the same thing over and over. The guys have even had player of the year candidates.
CC is the real deal and everyone knows it. It's awesome.
CC is the real deal and everyone knows it. It's awesome.
Sorry. Drink the Kool Aid this year because once Clark is gone they aren't going anywhere. They are a one-person team. If anyone who wasn't a women's basketball fan prior to Clark playing is still watching them 2 years after she's gone then good for you. Most people will tune out as the quality of the team will go way down. Heck when they lost this year, there wasn't a single player on the team who looked like they belonged on the floor.
I'd let the recruiting cycle play out before making comments such as this, champ. Sound like a deal? Does to me.
Iowa wbb has been a better watch then the men nearly every year since Lisa was signed which was the same year as Alford. Lisa has more more Big titles than Tom Davis, Alford, Lickliter, and Fran combined. Advanced into the NCAA to the great 8 twice which Davis did once with Raveling recruits and no other mens coach even reached the sweet sixteen. Are we Alabama in football no and we are not located close to talent or financially advantaged over the blue bloods. Enjoy the good times they don’t last forever. Check Nebraska in football and either Tennessee, Maryland. or UCONN in wbb
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anon_salmfilsntd0b
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It’s easy to forget Iowa didn’t come out of nowhere when Clark came along. They were B1G champs + made the Elite 8 in 2019 under NPOY Gustafson. In 2020, B1G POY Kathleen Doyle led them to victories over Maryland, Ohio State and Indiana en route to a likely 2-3 seed in the cxld post-season tourney.
Even during her weakest stretches as a coach, Bluder was still more often than not sending teams to the NCAAT. She’s learned a lot over her long career and she is peaking at the right time. She has never been plagued by transfers and last year she out-coached the woman whom many deem the best coach in the country. But she still has 4-5 years left and won’t be going away quietly.
If that doesn’t instill confidence in you, here are more exciting things Iowa fans still have to look forward to in the coming years:
- Stuelke, Feuerbach and Affolter are our most athletic kids not named Clark. They will all be back next year. So will our best 3 pt shooter (McCabe).
- Bluder’s best top-to-bottom recruiting class is coming in for 2024. ~#55 Guyton and ~#40 Heiden promise to be an excellent PG / C combo. Heiden is the kind of post Bluder has been looking to sign and develop her entire career. She not only wants to commit to Bluder’s system, she has the requisite skills to be a beast. Furthermore W/F Mallengi (~#60) has the best offer list of any commit since Clark, which says a lot about her athleticism/skills.
- The highest ranked commit since Clark (Journey Houston, #37 last time I checked) is leading the way for the class of 2025. In addition, Bluder has her eye on multiple Top 20 kids. There is a LOT of mutual interest with 3-4 of them, all of whom are athletic, versatile Gs/Fs.
- As it stands, the ‘24 and ‘25 commits have the talent to be a Top 4 team in the new B1G and make a Sweet 16 or two. If Bluder can land even one of the remaining top targets for 2025, this team will be a contender for more B1G titles and deeper tourney runs.
- The WBB landscape is as wide open as ever. Theres no way you can’t look at the field and deny that parity has arrived. UConn is 4-3. Maryland is no longer a Top 25 team. LSU lost its opening game to an unranked opponent. Stanford was demolished by midmajor Gonzaga this wknd. Iowa beat South Carolina and Louisville! Gone are the days of 8 good teams and 340 also-rans. The opportunity is there for teams like Iowa to stay competitive and be successful in the coming years, even without a star like Clark.
Anyway….if all thats not enough to keep a typical Hawkeye fan coming back, they’re not rly a fan anyway. If you ARE fan of Iowa sports in general — especially teams that exhibit excellent culture, succeed academically, avoid scandals, earn recognition at the player and team level, and have a fun system to watch — Iowa WBB will continue to be one of the best programs to follow and support.
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One terrible thing about the women's game is the officiating.
As much as all fans bitch about it in every sport the officiating in women's BB really is the epitomy of "hold my beer".
The title game last year was not an outlier, it is the norm. Hell im so used to piss poor officials i rarely bat an eye now. Is not that we always get screwed, everyone gets boned. Ya just hope it evens out
I am w kirk on one thing, blow up the replay, its more bs than savior
As much as all fans bitch about it in every sport the officiating in women's BB really is the epitomy of "hold my beer".
The title game last year was not an outlier, it is the norm. Hell im so used to piss poor officials i rarely bat an eye now. Is not that we always get screwed, everyone gets boned. Ya just hope it evens out
I am w kirk on one thing, blow up the replay, its more bs than savior
I would say that as of 2018, fans were starting to tire of Lisa Bluder. 18 years at Iowa, 7 first round tourney exits, 5 second round exits, 4 WNIT appearances, 1 Sweet 16 and 1 no post-season. Finally got to the sweet 16 in 2015 and followed it up with two WNIT appearances. That was with 11 top-4 finishes in the B1G in 18 years.
Even the second-round loss to Creighton in 2021 had people grumbling about her coaching ability.
Hopefully the CC effect continues with recruiting for a few years and Iowa can become the Midwest powerhouse for kids to come to.
Even the second-round loss to Creighton in 2021 had people grumbling about her coaching ability.
Hopefully the CC effect continues with recruiting for a few years and Iowa can become the Midwest powerhouse for kids to come to.
Disappointed in losing to Creighton yes. Tired of Bluder- no. If I had a daughter good enough to play at that level Bluder would be my only choice for her.
That’s you….our fans, their fans, all fans have unreasonable expectations. The more you win, with no effort on their part, they expect more….
That's a bunch of BS. Iowa has been having good crowds for several years, so to think people will not continue to attend games is pretty negative thinking.
Its Clark mania. They drew pretty well when Gussy was POTY but NOTHING like whats happening now. Now not only are they selling out Carver for EVERY game, but the show goes on the road. There'e never been anything like this in the womens game, so comparing it to the mens team just doesn't make any sense.
Exactly. Bluder is a good coach. And she’ll have successful teams after Caitlin leaves. But winning alone cannot duplicate her. Arenas are selling out to watch her, although winning helps. Getting to the championship game last year was huge for the women’s college game. Good on Bluder for not reining her in. She gets it.
I think the other thing that helps is that the women are required to be in college for 4 years. If they had the one and done rule, she might have left for the WNBA after her first or second year. She’d be a good player still, but I don’t think on the celebrity level she’s at now.
The economics would never allow this, but the men’s game would enjoy more notice if players stayed in school and fans would get to know the players in college before they went to the NBA. That shipped sailed long ago.
Because I like facts (and I am retired with time on my hands) I tried to compile a meaningful spreadsheet of WBB attendance. It started with many more columns, but I decided to go with home attendance, national attendance rank, coach and leading scorer, plus national average attendance. I could only get complete numbers since 1999-2000. They stayed very consistent until Gustafson sparked interest.
I do believe that even if we don't continue at this level, we will maintain a larger fanbase than pre-Clark.
Here's the spreadsheet link, going all the way back to the beginning plus a picture 1977-78 results, of the earliest Iowa stats I could find.
Iowa's Women's Basketball Attendance Through the Years
I do believe that even if we don't continue at this level, we will maintain a larger fanbase than pre-Clark.
Here's the spreadsheet link, going all the way back to the beginning plus a picture 1977-78 results, of the earliest Iowa stats I could find.
Iowa's Women's Basketball Attendance Through the Years
Look at those opponents in 1978. I imagine their travel budget back then was about $1000 - for the year. Grant probably had to beg for that allowance.
I would have to say the overall product has been better, in comparison to their own opponents. In no way has it been a better watch before or will be after Clark. And I could not care less that the womens game is played below the rim. Right now, no argument here whatsoever. I absolutely enjoy their games.
Does Clark have a year of eligibility left? If so, has she declared she is finished after this season?
