Iowa needs to go get Raegan Beers from Oregon State
- Thread starter mpfeiler
- Start date
WE ALREADY HAVE A BIG COMING IN WHO BLUDER WANTS TO START WTF DO YOU NOT GET ABOUT THAT
Last edited:
Ava Jones staying on scholarship and remaining a genuine member of the team is just one of the many things that endears people to this Iowa women’s team.
It’s also what differentiates the integrity/character/leadership of Bluder vs. the “Mulkeys” of the world.
It’s also what differentiates the integrity/character/leadership of Bluder vs. the “Mulkeys” of the world.
Here in is the biggest difference between a UConn or SC and Iowa, they can recruit over or bring in 5-star transfers to load up their entire roster without anyone feeling hurt and leaving. Iowa doesn’t have that same credibility apparently?
Also, even if Beers never plays a min for UConn, they’ve taken her off the market and kept a school that could really use her from landing her.
WTLF 😣
Did you guys not watch UConn at all this year? They desperately need a big. They had Aaliyah Edwards who is 6’3 playing C and that didn’t cut it, and now she is graduating. They had a 6’5 post player who rarely left the bench (guess Geno didn’t trust her) but just transfered out. Beers WILL get minutes, she’ll probably start on day one. She will be a difference maker for them, almost everyone else on their team that gets minutes is a guard.
I also don’t see get how you guys don’t understand that Bluder wants HEIDEN to start. She doesn’t want her on the bench. She was not recruited to be a reserve. She was recruited to be the next Megan Gustafson. She fits that mold. If you watched her tape, you’d see that she likely jumps O’Grady sooner rather than later.
Last edited:
Soooo...are you saying that we don't need to pursue this player? Just trying to get a read on what you are laying down, that's all. /sarc
Watch the Heiden video people. Forget it, Beers is not on Iowa’s radar.
It looked to me at the beginning of the season like AJ had gained some bad weight over the summer. However, by the end of the season she looked to be in much better shape and perhaps capable of contributing off the bench next year.
I’ve asked this elsewhere but I’d love to hear people’s thoughts on what happened to AJ. She was ranked right around where Hannah as in HS but has had a very different career. Why was she so highly ranked and why has that not translated to minutes? Is there any way Bluder could to adjust things to better utilize her? The CW seems to be “too short, not athletic enough” but if that’s the case I don’t get why she was ranked in the top 50 kids in the country. She must have other skills we’re not seeing (or that she hasn’t been given the opportunity to show).
We already have a second and third post coming off the bench. Both are seniors and both are ESPN top 100 / 4 star athletes. This forum is nuts.
My comment is still valid whether you apply to UConn-Beers scenario or not. Schools like SC, UConn and LSU appear to be able to fully load their rosters with 4/5-stars without any backlash. Iowa is not afforded the same consideration apparently?
Also, I understand that UConn was decimated by injuries this year, so maybe I thought some of the injured were post players. My bad.
No, Iowa is not afforded the same consideration bc it’s Iowa and not UConn, LSU, or SC. Bluder has struggled to recruit her entire career. That was never going to change overnight. There are many reasons for this, discussed to death all over this forum.
Are things perhaps on the upswings thanks to Clark and recent success? Yes, I really believe so! The signings of Heiden, Mallegni, Deal, and Olsen all portend well. So does the fact that Scherr was seriously considering Iowa. But we’re still a ways from getting over the hump of being a true destination.
Kids in the portal now did not grow up with Iowa in the limelight like kids now. This is why some of us are so excited about/confident in Bluder’s remaining targets for ‘25 and ‘26. Iowa has a LOT more cachet than it did only 3-4 years ago. HS kids today are growing up in a world where Iowa has been at the center of the WBB universe.
Again, Bluder is playing the long game…trust the process. Next year’s team is just one step in the journey of Iowa in the post-Clark era.
Last edited:
No, just keep her on scholarship. They don't need that 15th scholarship
This. For goodness sake people. Were almost 2 years in and the young lady can't sit on the bench because she wouldn't be able to get out of the way. She was also in another car accident a few months ago. Don't know the details but it was reported here. I have no doubt that Ava knows pretty well by now whether or not she'd be able to compete at the D1 level in the next couple of years. There are a lot of ways that Bluder can support her AND keep her as part of the team without her being on the active roster. It would be a fabulous thing if Ava was ever able to play at Iowa, but at this point I wouldn't give it even a 1 % chance of that ever happening. Lisa can still pay for her education and keep around the team, and frankly if she wanted to let her walk out in the last game in a couple of years and get introduced to the crowd she could do that as a walk on non athletic scholarship player. The staff have most certainly kept their commitment to Ava, and to suggest otherwise is foolish.....
Last edited:
Ya could actually try to know what you are talking about before you post.
Since 2021 UConn had 9 players enter the portal. South Carolina has had 6 in that time.
We have had 5.
The difference Einstein is that they lose 4-stars and replace them with 4/5-stars ....Iowa, not so much.
I admit you're a bit of a dunce.
It's about recruiting over players with better players, or replacing players with equal or better players.
Dude do you even read what you write?
All I responded to was you saying that players do not leave schools like UConn.
Obviously that is incorrect.
Okay, that's valid.
Of course players leave UConn.
Iowa fans seem to be afraid of that, and rightfully so, since we can't afford to lose highly rated players by bringing in some competition. We don't have a team/depth made up almost entirely of highly rated players like UConn, SC, LSU, USC, etc.
Wish that would change, but it will take time and hopefully Bluder is up to the task.
Bluder is certainly working to create such a roster with her targets in ‘25 and ‘26. But she’s doing it on her schedule, no one else’s.
If she wasn’t, the class of ‘25 would be done. She would have signed kids like Ava Zediker (Creighton commit out of DSM) who probably would have committed to Iowa in a heartbeat. Or she would have given offers to kids in the portal who had more than one year of eligibility. She didn’t do that bc she wants to use up all of the available spots for the class of ‘25.
Looking at our targets/commits, it’s clear that there was a shift in our cachet between the classes of ‘23, 24 and ‘25.
- ‘23 was basically a bust. We only got Jones bc she decommitted from ASU. KJE seemed like a backup that we signed bc we otherwise would have had no one else and having any PG is better than no PG.
- ‘24 started slow but ended up great by getting Mallegni and Guyton, both of which had better offers by far than Stremlow and Levin (Heiden’s offers are more opaque but I’m happy with the 4th best true Post in the country signing, and the fact that a kid from Oregon — who at least had some major PAC offers — was all in on the Hawks is very telling).
- For ‘25, we have signed a consensus Top 12 kid (Deal) and another Top 50 (Houston). We are a finalist for 3 more kids in the Top 25 (Hays, Speiser, McGaughy) and likely in the mix for 2-3 more top 50 kids (Jernigan, Henderson, Jackson).
- ‘26 has a similar outlook: We are clearly a finalist for one Top 10 (Bjorn) and two Top 25 kids (Greenway, Lewis). Other Top 50 level kids likely in the mix too (Koupal).
Again, she clearly wants to add MULTIPLE kids for ‘25 or she certainly would have offered to someone in the portal that had more than just one year remaining.
Last edited:
We're O.K. IMO.
We're at the point scholarships need to be planned. Stuffing the roster is not a wise strategy. Bluder has kept a consistent roster with few defections by maintaining a happy group.
She has a top ten recruiting class arriving and quality returnees. Add Olsen to that and we have the formula for a strong season, maybe a Big Ten title. Weight it down with too much attention want-a-bees and it can backfire.
Not sure where you are getting your info but UConn has had 4 transfer out, 1 leave to turn pro and now have 2 additional ones in the portal between 2019-20 and now.
UConn Women's Basketball Transfer Tracker - WBB Blog
UConn women's basketball transfer tracker, covering transfer portal activity, with a rundown of transfers in and out back to 2019-20
wbbblog.com
I can tell you when Jan and Raina identified and offered AJ early in HS she was a different athlete then. She was good inside and was developing a good outside game with deep range, this is what lead to her HS rankings. As she progressed through HS her body type changed and she wasn't the same athlete, so they've only been playing and developing her at the 5 during her time at Iowa although she does run a few sets at the 4 from time to time. She did get in better shape and stayed healthy as this year progressed and got more time, she has a lot of game most haven't seen yet.
AJ's situation was almost the reverse of former Hawk Shateah Wetering.
There was always a huge disconnect between Ediger’s recruiting ranks and her offer list. Neither Michigan BIG school offered, and her offer list, per WBB Blog, was unimpressive: W. Michigan, Iowa, Oakland, Illinois State, Illinois, Nebraska, Xavier.
Edit: the above is not a criticism of Lisa’s/Jan’s evaluation skills. Czinano’s offer list was also unimpressive, for example.
Last edited:
Lisa really liked AJ, it was her versatility they thought would be a great fit for the program.
AJ was offered at the 2017 elite camp I believe, then committed around the same time in 2019 after her SO. year so it was slightly early still. It wasn't a secret she'd visited Iowa outside of the camps several times and was likely headed here which could have effected her offer list, although Nebraska made a late push and got her to visit.
Similar threads
