If Iowa plays well they win by 20. Absolutely no post play tonight along with poor shooting
*****Iowa (W) vs Iowa St Game Thread*****
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She's been able to go off offensively in the past. Experience. Leadership.
Coming out of a timeout in the Bowling Green game you could see her explaining the set-play to Caitlin.
And Caitlin likes playing with her.
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We would have won by 15 or more tonight if not for some serious home cooking from the refs. When Molly Davis are Hannah Stuelke are called for fouls when ISU players fall on them it's easy to understand why ISU is good in Hilton and why they always choke in the tourney when the whistles don't fall their way.
Also the best person to person defender on the team and is really great as a passer. She doesn't need to score though it's nice when she's on. The people dogging her forget that there's more than one statistic in basketball.
Iowa did pull out the stops. Rumor is Iowa wanted Crooks to commit to restrictive diet and weight training regimen so Audi could get in the kind of shape she needs to be in to play Iowa's style and Audi didn't want to commit to it. Ava Heiden who is coming in next year will be a pivotal player and has a much higher ceiling than Crooks.
Crooks isn’t a great fit for Iowa’s style of play. We push the ball quickly (even after makes) & that’s not her gig. She could only play in short spurts & then would be on the bench waving down the nearest hot dog vendor.
Great hands and can finish with either hand. What’s the upside. Weight is an issue and can be fixed. She will be a major headache the next three years.
The weight sorta plays to her advantage closer to the rim. In my uneducated opinion, Goodman backed up too easily and didn't hold position very well in 1st half.
Once she drops some weight, maybe she can't push people around?
Crooks seems like a great kid. We'll see how she responds when Fennelly rips into her like he does at some point with all his players.
Also, thought I heard that she wanted to stay closer to her home town of Algona. Algona to Ames is about 110 miles, whereas Algona to Iowa City is nearly twice as far at 225 miles.
wonder if she has put on the "Freshman 15" yet?Thoughts on the game:
- looked like we coasted for much of this game, only doing enough to keep our distance and be in position to pull away at the end. Anyone saying we were pushed by Iowa State doesn't understand what Iowa looks like when they're playing at their best and what they look like when they're just going through the motions on offense...........
- and when you play like that and shoot like we did, you allow teams like Iowa State to hang around and have hope. They are not a bad team by any means, but they will also be a fringe NCAA team unless the rest of the Big 12 turns to dog water or Iowa State all of the sudden turns into 8-man football state champion Bishop Garrigan and not even South Carolina can stop the juggernaut that the Cyclone women have become in April compared to what we saw tonight
(Yes that is what Garrigan essentially did....or everyone else in 8 man stopped trying just for them this year.........well except for the team they lost to)
- Clark was in chucker mode tonight. Lots of "I missed a shot so I'm gonna shoot another one in frustration" shots by her in this one and she tends to get that way, especially in the first third of the season.
But at least she was 5-5 on FTs!!
- Crooks looked better than I expected for her first year, and I think she'll only continue to get better as she develops and gains a more athletic body training at the college level (assuming she puts in the time).
Seems to be a pretty darn good athlete
Who else was scoring besides Caitlin? They were really slow last night. Did not finish. The bigs were worthless last night. Got schooled by a freshman. Gabbie was wasted minutes last night. She is not a real confident addition right now.Thoughts on the game:
- looked like we coasted for much of this game, only doing enough to keep our distance and be in position to pull away at the end. Anyone saying we were pushed by Iowa State doesn't understand what Iowa looks like when they're playing at their best and what they look like when they're just going through the motions on offense...........
- and when you play like that and shoot like we did, you allow teams like Iowa State to hang around and have hope. They are not a bad team by any means, but they will also be a fringe NCAA team unless the rest of the Big 12 turns to dog water or Iowa State all of the sudden turns into 8-man football state champion Bishop Garrigan and not even South Carolina can stop the juggernaut that the Cyclone women have become in April compared to what we saw tonight
(Yes that is what Garrigan essentially did....or everyone else in 8 man stopped trying just for them this year.........well except for the team they lost to)
- Clark was in chucker mode tonight. Lots of "I missed a shot so I'm gonna shoot another one in frustration" shots by her in this one and she tends to get that way, especially in the first third of the season.
But at least she was 5-5 on FTs!!
- Crooks looked better than I expected for her first year, and I think she'll only continue to get better as she develops and gains a more athletic body training at the college level (assuming she puts in the time).
It felt like we thought we would coast and never got into the game. CC was trying to shoot us out of a funk and the balance of the team besides Syd and Kate were watching. Not good bball.
A few calls here and there but let’s face it, our post play was horrible and shooting horrible. Not a great effort.
Iowa was hanging by a thread…against 4-3 ISU… b/c Clark was the only player making baskets.
So yeah, Iowa needs offensive production from those sucking up all the minutes.
My man Boji…..the top Y league coach in northwest Iowa! Still waiting for your rookie-league a$$ to respond to my Fball questions.
Audi would have come to Iowa if she'd known Deacon was coming.
Just think of them both in a pie eating contest. They'd clean up.
That union would produce the greatest offensive tackle to ever play the game.
Better watch your language, Snacks.....you need to set a good example for your team of impressionable 5th graders!
Sharon had three blocks and Audi didn't score in the 2nd half.
I like the roster, yes. This year they are just too young. Didn’t get a chance to see the game yesterday, I’m on vacation. I really like what I’ve seen from Jackson, Crooks, Joens, and of course Brown. They won’t probably contend for a national title or anything but thats the foundation for the program in the near future and I’m happy with it.
Ultimately this is always a concern as well at Iowa State. History has shown some of them will transfer and then it’s tough to say what the future holds.
Hats off to Crooks - Based on watching her play in the IA HS finals, I didn't think she'd see the floor in Ames for at least a year maybe 2. She didn't move her feet at all. I thought she was a project, but thought she kept up last night. I'm not sure why he didn't get her more minutes in the 2nd half as she really caused problems for Iowa in the 1st half. From all accounts she's a good kid. It's good to see in state kids have success, but I understand why Iowa didn't pursue her harder based on her style of play in HS.
Gabby was cold most of last year too, but turned it on late in the season. I'm not sure they can afford to wait for her to get hot. She's made 14 3's in 10 games (5 vs UNI) at 30% overall. She is often reluctant to shoot after she misses early which is indicative of a lack of confidence.
As mentioned, Affolter is a stud. She doesn't quit, gets after loose balls and always hustles.
CC will soon get T'd up if she keeps being vocal towards the referees. I thought she was better last year, but she's starting to slip back to her old ways of complaining about foul calls and non-calls. That's too bad as there are always a lot of eyes on her and it's not a good look.
Gabby was cold most of last year too, but turned it on late in the season. I'm not sure they can afford to wait for her to get hot. She's made 14 3's in 10 games (5 vs UNI) at 30% overall. She is often reluctant to shoot after she misses early which is indicative of a lack of confidence.
As mentioned, Affolter is a stud. She doesn't quit, gets after loose balls and always hustles.
CC will soon get T'd up if she keeps being vocal towards the referees. I thought she was better last year, but she's starting to slip back to her old ways of complaining about foul calls and non-calls. That's too bad as there are always a lot of eyes on her and it's not a good look.
Crooks had 15 points and 10 rebounds in 25 minutes
Our two bigs combined were 1 for 3 and a total of 7 rebounds
I truly believe Crooks wore down as well on the second half...conditioning.
I am not smacking on our bigs but they have to contribute MUCH more than 2 points and 7 rebounds. That is bad.
Iowa still returns a bunch next year (4 of their top 5 scorers), and pulls in 4 top 100 girls to add. Stuelke, Mccabe, Edingers, Gyamfi, and O'grady were all top 100 recruits, but they just really haven't gotten to show much with it being the CC show. 2025 they already have Houston #36 in the country committed and are deep in on her teammate Bourrage who is top 10. Further, Fennelly is losing his girls left and right at the end of every year. Mccabe and Stuelke are going to be really good before their careers are done.
Iowa is in a weird position of having to get players that may be called unique. When playing the blue bloods, who have 6'6" or taller girls, sometimes physical weight can make a difference. For some reason the really tall girls never come here.
It was nice to CC generate a bit more and feed on the drive. I felt like a lot of shots were forced when she was drawing a lot of attention and the extra pass would've got a more probable shot. At the same time, teammates need to hunt for shots two. Standing around and ball watching is not going to get it done.
After ISU took lead, Jan & Bluder ripped into officials during timeout. At that point Iowa had been called for 5 fouls and ISU zero in forth. That includes the football tackle on Caitlin no call, two arms wrap up on legs.
After timeout, officials called fair game, and Iowa ran away.
Unfortunately, sometimes incompetent officials need to be called out on national TV to get fair game. Makes me wonder if Bluder gets tech in Championship, would officials be more fair.
Fennelly seems to lose focus late in games. Forgets what worked.
The ISU coaches must be afraid to question the HC's playcalling.
He's a horrible end of game coach.
Their oob plays were brutal. How often do you see three bad in bound plays in 2 minutes?
The ISU coaches must be afraid to question the HC's playcalling.
He's a horrible end of game coach.
Their oob plays were brutal. How often do you see three bad in bound plays in 2 minutes?
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So quick question for people more in the know. I'm sure we recruited Crooks, but sounds like maybe being closer to Ames was a thing? I know she's big, but I've seen her play twice now and she has been impressive in both games against Drake and Iowa. Obviously she will need to get in better shape ( and maybe never will) but her stat line was impressive and when she gets the ball down low its' over. Even in our system for 20 minutes playing w/Caitlin she'd get 15-18 pts every game. Incredible hands, and she finishes. Sure Clark had to shoot way to much last night because literally nobody else could do anything in the 2nd half until Martin finally came alive. Were we ever really in the game or she just liked Iowa State?
As previously mentioned, I think her father's death played a huge part in her decision.
IF there were alot of eyes on her then the refs would do their part...unfortunately most of the time they let the other team completely and utterly MAUL her to death. It is embarrassing how much contact they allow the other team to put on Clark just sad and stupid...and you got to stick up for yourself when that crap happens,
That and Iowa backed off a bit.....didn't think she would fit into their up and down style of game
There should have been a flagrant foul called on ISU for the tackle of Clark with two arm wrap up. Friends said it was not visible on TV but completely obvious from ever person in arena not wearing stripes.
Happened right in front of Bluder and Iowa bench. Bluder was close enough to help her up if needed.
Based on what? We struggled last year early, and played balls to the wall the last two months. This team is still searching more then last years was, so I wouldn't count them out.
Its really hard for me to be too critical of CC. We REALLY have no idea what kind of pressure she's under. With MC and Warnock leaving they were are 2nd and 3rd scorers last year, and they had been together for 3 seasons. To this point Kate is the only player she's in sync with, and who has been pretty consistent on the offensive end. Syd is a menace on defense and on the glass, but she doesn't have Warnocks offensive skill, at least yet. EVERY eye is on Clark, in every game. She gets mauled constantly by several players on every team, and in games where we are struggling she does the one thing that she's confident in, and thats look to score. Add on the pressure of chasing all these records. This comes right from the horses mouth if you will Kelsey Plum even contacted CC and told her to take a breath when she can and be prepared because it will mess with you emotionally. Plum had mental struggles chasing the record, and when she was first drafted in the WNBA which she attributed to chasing the record, and she was never under the kind of scrutiny that Clark is under as "the face of all of college basketball".
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