Iowa WBB Class of 2026 Recruiting Thread

[Scott559]

Good stuff. But I’m still a skeptic that Deal is a college PG. Why was Iowa really hoping for Skinner, if they already had their PG? ESPN’s McDonald’s AA write-up describes 5 players as a PG, Deal is not one of them.

ESPN’s description of Deal is as follows:

“Deal is a steady perimeter player with all the answers fundamentally. She has supreme confidence in her long-range shooting, and for good reason. Deal attacks the rim with a slashing ability and can create her own shot off the bounce. She has glue-like intangibles and can play out of pick-and-roll actions. Defensively, she competes extremely hard and will guard multiple perimeter positions.

The Iowa program is used to seeing complete perimeter players who know how to shoot and share the basketball, and that's exactly what Jan Jensen will get in Deal.“

Compare that to Skinner:

“Skinner has a quiet confidence and an inner vicious competitor that shows up in big moments. Smooth with the ball as she glides up the court using more change of pace than flair, she knows how to get to her spots -- using hesitations and snatch-back dribbles to get to her patented pull-up. She has length and a strong frame, and utilizes both with an impressive finishing package. Skinner anticipates very well defensively and is learning how to use her length more to her advantage on that end. A point guard who rebounds as well as she does only to zip the ball to the other end for an easy finish for a teammate -- who wouldn't want her on their team?

Skinner was also recently named as a guard to the Nike Hoop Summit USA team. She will give Kara Lawson the most elite point guard she has had since she took over the Duke program, and it will be a piece that fits well as Duke has young talented wings and forwards waiting in Cameron Indoor Stadium.”

I think we as fans get caught up a bit in pegging players into a certain spot, Having players that can slide to different spots is a good problem, If we have Guyton at PG next year and had landed Skinner do you think Skinner sits because we already have a PG? My guess would be that if we had landed Skinner there would be a pretty good chance we would be seeing a lot of Guyton, Skinner and Deal on the court at the same time and Jan would be pretty comfortable with any of them initiating the offense on various sets.

 

[conn53victor]

These are some interesting comments.

First and foremost, pertaining to her playing for high school teams only, Addie has only been a PG from her days at Pacifica Christian to current days with Mater Dei.

Now regarding her recent EYBL or AAU playing time, Addie has grown in height over the last 2 years so it's apparent that shorter guards may be taking the role of PG while she may be playing more of a taller SG/Wing position on those teams.

I'll start with her Pacifica Christian days.

Meet the Top 35 Point Guards in California high school girls basketball (2/7/22)
"Addie Deal – Pacifica Christian (Newport Beach) – FR."
"Coming into the season, there was a lot of hype about Deal as one of the top freshman in the state regardless of position, and now everyone can see why."
There's more on her within the article.

Meet the Top 35 Point Guards in California high school girls basketball

From Carondelet's Talana Lepolo to La Jolla Country Day's Jada Williams, a litany of the top-ranked PGs in the country currently play high school ball in the Golden State.

www.si.com

Let's role to the present. Now here's a recent eval on her.
Addie Deal Eval Report by Derrick Beechum (1/28/25)
Mentions her development as PG. Need to click on [Show more] link to view it.

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Here's a recent eval on Jenica Lewis by the same person.
Jenica Lewis Eval Report by Derrick Beechum (12/25/24)
No mention of PG and it shouldn't. Need to click on [Show more] link to view it.

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Iowa-bound Addison Deal of Mater Dei basketball selected for McDonald’s All-American Game (1/28/25)
"The senior point guard is the seventh Mater Dei girl to earn the prestigious honor."
"Senior point guard Addison Deal was announced Monday as a West team selection for the McDonald All-American Game on April 1 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York."

Iowa-bound Addison Deal of Mater Dei basketball selected for McDonald’s All-American Game

The senior point guard is the seventh Mater Dei girl to earn the prestigious honor.

www.ocregister.com

12/6/24 - Deal Interview @17:33 Q: What is your main style of play? A: I like to play fast, play with energy. Love to score. I really love transition where I kick the ball up to my teammates like those fast paced games.
So reading between the lines, Deal believes she will be one getting the 1st pass off a rebound or off her own rebound to do rim rums just she does in HS.

Here are a few of those from her current HS season:
10/28/24 - Rim Run @0:39:

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10/7/24 - Rim Run @0:37:

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11/13/24 - Addie Deal interview w/Chad L:
In the video she says she is a point guard at Mater Dei.
"Deal is considered a combo guard in college who can play the point or on the wing. She has more of a score-first mentality, but her passes are accurate and anticipatory."

Leistikow: Meet Addie Deal, prized Iowa women's basketball recruit who 'just wants to win'

Iowa women's basketball's first major national recruit since Caitlin Clark has immense talent on the court, but her relentless motor sets her apart.

www.hawkcentral.com

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I put this in here on how Addie is thinking and to what she projects as. Doesn't mean it will happen. However, this girl has a hard work ethic and it goes to what she will work on to become.

July 2023 - ProspectsNation.com All American Showcase - Addie Deal
"Deal has played into way into a special place in my evaluation realm over the last 12 months. She was a legitimate No. 1 scoring option on a very good club team while also sharing Point Guard duties too. Deal projects in the same light that Sabrina Ionescu, Kelsey Plum and Sydney Wiese did as high school kids with her production and toughness. All three have played multiple seasons in the WNBA and two of them have found a place amongst the game’s elite. -- Brandon Clay"

Addie Deal | Prospects Nation

prospectsnation.com

~Jan 2024 Introducing: Morgan Cheli & Addie Deal
@5:30 A question is asked "who do you try and model your game after?"
Addie says Sabrina Ionescu because she is the best.
Sabrina was a point guard for Oregon and and is a point guard for WNBA Liberty.
Sabrina is a three-time Nancy Lieberman Award winner (nation’s top point guard).

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Kelsey Plum also earned the Nancy Lieberman award, an honor given to the top point guard in women's college basketball.

Kelsey Plum - Women's Basketball - University of Washington Athletics

Kelsey Plum (10) Guard - AT WASHINGTON - All-time NCAA scoring leader with 3,527 points - Broke single-season NCAA scoring record with 1,109 points in 2016-17 -

gohuskies.com

Sydney Wiese was a four-time All-Pac-12 Team point guard for Oregon State.

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Like I said Deal plays PG ~100% of the time in high school games. Here are some of her recent HS games:
(Last 3 Qtrs):

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(Full Game):

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(Full Game Starts @ 7:48):

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Last time I looked Lucy Olsen is a PG.
I consider Olsen and Guyton interchangeable. You may not and can say Olsen is not a "legit" PG.

If I believe Lucy and Guyton interchangeable, for damn sure I feel comfortable saying Deal and Guyton are interchangeable. I even give Deal one year coz my comment is regarding 2026, but my hope is Deal is interchangeable w/Guyton from the 1st day of practice in 2025. My "right now" comment means they are the ones committed to us. Of course, this all depends on if we bring in any extra players (recruits/portal) that can change the makeup of player positions just like it does when Addie plays in the EYBL/AAU circuit.

I don't think I've gone off the reservation saying Deal and Guyton are interchangeable. Everyone is entitled to their opinion of whether Deal is ONLY a PG and NOT a "legit" PG.

EDIT:
Addie Deal's team is now up to #2 in the nation with her team captain leadership and being the PG ~100% of the time.

The Sporting News Top 25 national high school girls basketball rankings (1/27/2025)
"2. Mater Dei (CA) (23-2 – 2nd)
The good news for Monarchs fans is that the winning streak is up to 12 after a pair of outstanding non-league wins, 74-42 against Bishop Gorman and 82-43 over Rancho Christian.

The Sporting News Top 25 national high school girls basketball rankings (1/27/2025) | Sporting News

Morris Catholic, Bishop Ireton, Bullis, and Clovis West were some of the top risers across the country in girls basketball last week.

www.sportingnews.com

Being PG on the #2 team in the nation has to give her some merit to perform this role at a high level.

I skimmed through the game films. I have no doubt that Deal was playing the point. I'm used to CC22 bringing the ball down court and setting up plays. This year, several players bring the ball down. Next year, if Guyton & Deal are the guard court, I think they will share point duties with lots of fluidity rather than a clear label of point guard and shooting guard.

Deal is long like Clark, so she may play the shooting guard more and be able to rebound.

Coaches often go with veterans to start the season, but next fall, Deal could be a starter by conference games. A lot will depend on who on the current roster puts in the work to improve their game. Stuelke getting a 15-footer would resolve a lot. The four freshman not named Guyton each need to work on one part of her game to earn substantial minutes if not actually starting. I particularly think that Mallegni and/or Heiden will raise her game.

 

[JEDN]

I predict Deal will start game 1.

 

[HawksGoneWild1]

“Skinner has a quiet confidence and an inner vicious competitor that shows up in big moments. Smooth with the ball as she glides up the court using more change of pace than flair, she knows how to get to her spots -- using hesitations and snatch-back dribbles to get to her patented pull-up. She has length and a strong frame, and utilizes both with an impressive finishing package. Skinner anticipates very well defensively and is learning how to use her length more to her advantage on that end. A point guard who rebounds as well as she does only to zip the ball to the other end for an easy finish for a teammate -- who wouldn't want her on their team?

That's the difference between you and I. You put trust in ESPN's eval and I'm not a fan of ESPN. Doesn't mean they're worthless. Many years ago I liked them, but they have fallen off a cliff in recent years, imho. In some sense, I really hope the place goes under. But I digress.

Btw, what I highlighted from your ESPN quote on your last post above, you can change Skinner to Deal and you wouldn't know the difference. So you could add Deal's ESPN eval + the Skinner ESPN quote in bold and that could be Deal's eval as well. That's why I watch video on her.

The reason to go after Skinner also is exactly what @Scott559 said. Iowa likes to play with four guards in recent years and the more positionless guards the better. Meaning if you can get 4 PGs with height that can drive, shot, put down 3s, create their own shot and dish out to beyond the arc for 3s the better. Although, tall wings or PFs would also be nice IF you can get them! That seems to be another sore spot with us getting these 6'2 - 6'3" players. The backup plan then is this 4 guards config with as many tall PGs as possible. That's what Deal and Skinner (if she committed) could provide. The way I see it is they're basically trying to find as many players "as close as they can" to what CC provided to us in the class of '25. The class of '26 seems to focus more on 6'2 - 6'3" player.

The problem now is we have a bunch of role players who don't want to take charge when the game is on the line. It seems Guyton, Deal and Skinner (again, if she committed) could all do this for us in the future. However, I'm hoping Guyton steps up more this year to provide that. Lucy may but I'm not counting on her as I was hoping she would have provided that already.

I should also say there's nothing wrong with being skeptical. Sometimes it's healthy to take that approach 1st and hope it pans out with your best case scenario. In this case, I don't share your reasoning of why they also went after Skinner when they already had Deal because she was inferior for the PG spot. That piece to the puzzle doesn't add up to me.

Let me put it this way, if we had Guyton, Deal and Skinner on board with us already, I would bet that we would still be going after PG Kate Harpring in '26 to fill out that 4 guard positionless config only because it's so hard to fill our taller wing/PF role.