Iowa Women's Basketball Recruiting Offer/Commitment List
- Thread starter KyleHuesmann
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According to her Twitter bio, she’s class of 2026 and from Missouri
My only concern with that is that our coaches are really good at developing finishing around the basket, which is one of Crooks' biggest strengths. Will the coaches be able to have the same impact on Crooks when her finishing is already really good?
I could see the answer to that being no. But if the coaches are successful, her ceiling is probably a more dominant version of Czinano due to her size. I think that's why the coaches are really interested in her.
O'Grady is kind of the inverse of that. She's good in a bunch of areas, but doesn't have much of a low post game. So long as she puts in the work, I think the coaches can improve her low post game and make her a very dangerous player. That's why I'm really high on her future.
I googled her last night to see if she was shorter than Greenway.😀
I know that game was scheduled on short notice, but have to wonder if anyone else took advantage of Presidents’ Day weekend to visit. That game should have left a pretty good impression.
Sadly Hannah's team got bounced in the substate final last night. Got outscored 19-8 in the 4Q and lost by 5.
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Monica and Addison have pretty much the same stats as freshmen so far. Addison has played twice as many minutes on average and so she averages twice as many points and rebounds. The main difference is she is shooting 92% FTs to Monica's 50% and of course Monica has really stepped up her FT shooting this year. I think Addison's low post game is ok compared to Monica's first year and maybe even Megan's first year, and I believe she has a pretty decent shot from the 9-10 foot range. She is only going to get better with more game experience.
Monica back.....Goodman back..... incoming recruiting class Iowa should be loaded with great depth
Can’t help but be excited about the next couple years
Can’t help but be excited about the next couple years
O'Grady doesn't really post up in the low post right now. That's what I mean when I say she doesn't have much of a post game. She can certainly finish well in transition. She can post up further away, then pass or turn and shoot. But she doesn't post up on the block, turn and finish with a post move very often.
I certainly think she will develop a low post game moving forward, but both Czinano and Goodman were ahead of where she is in that regard. I think O'Grady's shooting and transition game are better than Czinano's or Goodman's were as freshman, though, and she has a similar defensive impact to Goodman.
Wait, what!?
If you're saying Crooks' current skills would be, what, (Monica as a Jr, or maybe even Megan as a Jr), you don't think that Jan would love to have those skills already in place to really polish them and add new moves? I'd bet my mortgage on the exact opposite of your concern. I think you'd see her SO and beyond years be on levels above previous post players.
I also think O'Grady's rebounding and shot blocking ability will be an asset going forward.
I think the thing with Ogrady is that she can get stronger and bring the post scoring, but she already adds more in terms of defense and blocked shots. She needs minutes to improve though, and often seems to take a while to get into the flow.
I'm saying there's a ceiling on how well a post can do in the low post. Jan has done an excellent job of getting both Megan and Monika to that ceiling.
From what others have said, it appears Crooks' skill at finishing in the low post is already higher than Monika's was at the same age. That means there should be less for Jan to do to get Crooks to that ceiling. Perhaps Crooks' ceiling is even higher than Monika's because of her size.
But low post skills aren't the only criteria for a good post. We're seeing that with Czinano. She's excellent at low post offense and average to bad at most other things.
I think there's tremendous value within the program in a player like O'Grady who is already good or better in transition, in rebounding, and blocking shots, but who is relatively weak in the low post. If Jan can get O'Grady close to Megan and Monika's level in the post, she's a very valuable player. Almost certainly more valuable than Monika is now because she will be able to impact the game in so many areas and still do well in the low post.
If Crooks is more in the Monika mold (great at low post offense, weak in other areas), our program's strength in developing low-post offense isn't as beneficial. Even if she is as dominant in the low post as Monika, there are other things she won't be able to do.
I doubt Crooks is at her ceiling in the post, but if she is, that would mean the coaches aren't going to be able to add much to her game in that area. She would already be a relatively finished product in that area.
Most high school posts aren't going to be at their ceiling for things like low-post offense. They might be for something like three-point shooting, though. Warnock, for example, has shot almost the exact same three-point percentage in her three years at Iowa. I don't think the coaches can do anything more to develop her shot.
My overall point with this is that Jan's development is going to be more beneficial to players who aren't as good in the low post. If a player is already closer to their ceiling, the development won't be as beneficial.
A second point, then, is that we should ideally recruit posts who are better at things like defense or rebounding, but who aren't necessarily as good at low-post offense. We can improve their low-post offense substantially, but can't improve those other areas as well.
How so? She's arguably the best developer of low-post offense in the country. The work she's done with Gustafson and Czinano has been incredible. I'm not sure there's a better compliment you can give a coach than saying they helped a player reach their ceiling. That's very, very difficult to do.
After observing a couple of practices and pre game shoot arounds Addy definitely has potential to step out and hit 15 foot jumpers more than Monica or Sharon. If she put in the work in the off season, I could see some potential for little high low game between Addy and Monica. Very similar to Hannah and Megan. If Addy could step out and hit some jumpers I believe that would really open the paint for our penetrating wings.
Couldn’t Goodman be a freshman in eligibility next with the Covid year and medical redshirt this year?
For what it's worth, I think an underappreciated aspect is Iowa's ability — most likely Jan's — to identify low post scoring talent that will translate to college. Both Megan and Monika were not highly recruited, and improved considerably since arriving at Iowa, but they also were both prolific scorers in high school (Monika averaged 23.5 ppg her senior year). I think Iowa knows what they're looking for at that position at this point. Which isn't to downplay Jan's ability to develop posts at all. But I do think both of those players would've scored at a lot of places.
Okay, Crooks plays at a lower level in Iowa, and everywhere else? Do you think Iowa and all these schools offered because of her high school games??
Crooks has great hands and some nice moves. As for being too slow, how many times do people say a true center is slow or too slow?? All the time. My point, it would be great to see her get faster, but she will be fine, she will be slow like most of the other centers.
I totally get what you're saying about most centers, but I'll use one that's been mentioned above--O'Grady. She runs the floor very well (and has been a sizeable contributor for that exact reason).
I also get what you're saying that pretty much any player is no longer judged by their high school games--it's their AAU seasons where they're playing--in most cases--significantly upgraded talent--each game. I haven't seen Crooks play against that level talent and am basing my (pretty much worthless in the grand scheme of things) opinion on her state games that have been televised. If I were to base things on just what I've seen of the two, I take O'Grady every time. Crooks may well end up a total stud and as I said before, if Lisa wants her, I hope she gets her. But the Iowa way right now is to outscore their opponent by pace, not defense, and Crooks wouldn't seem to fit that pace.
To change the subject a little bit...
Which recruits and possible recruits are playing at the state tourney next week??
I see Hannah's team lost.
Jada's team is playing.
Also, which recruits are going to the sold out Michigan game on Sunday??
What a great chance to show off Iowa!!
Here's a tweet from Big Ten Conference-
🙌 This will be the largest crowd to watch a @B1Gwbball conference game since 2007 (15,269 - Minn @ Wis)!
Which recruits and possible recruits are playing at the state tourney next week??
I see Hannah's team lost.
Jada's team is playing.
Also, which recruits are going to the sold out Michigan game on Sunday??
What a great chance to show off Iowa!!
Here's a tweet from Big Ten Conference-
🙌 This will be the largest crowd to watch a @B1Gwbball conference game since 2007 (15,269 - Minn @ Wis)!
Some more names may come out but 2023 PG Kennise Johnson-Etienne and 2024 F Amiah Hargrove were at the game today, as were at least a few of our 2022 commits. Both Johnson-Etienne and Hargrove have offers. Hargrove is the daughter of former NFL player Anthony Hargrove and I think she has a ton of potential from the little I’ve seen of her.
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That was a hell of game for a recruit to be at. Atmosphere had to have been amazing, and man did the women put on a show.
Talked to Hargrove today she was decked out in Hawk cloths. Nice looking athlete and every bit of being 6’2”. I said to her I can’t wait to see you on the Hawk Team some day and she smiled and said thank you. 🙂 Very well spoken.
Well, to be fair, playing 8 man football in high school killed Chad Greenway's career.
Iowa '22 commit Jada Gyamfi (Johnston) plays in the Iowa state tournament at 10 AM today and can be streamed on the IGHSAU app.
The rest of the '22 class was in CHA yesterday. Is McCabe's season done?
The rest of the '22 class was in CHA yesterday. Is McCabe's season done?
Here’s the game from earlier. Gyamfi is #42 for Johnston. Also, #13 Ava Zedicker (G - 2025) from Dowling is a player that has garnered some interest from Iowa.
Also, here’s the Waterloo West game from today as well. 2023 F Sahara Williams has an offer from Iowa.
I wasn't aware of this, but it sounds like UConn maybe has some interest here. There's been some discussion of her on their message board. She doesn't have an offer from them yet but sounds like she might be a potential candidate for one of their spots in that class. It could be message board talk without any actual info, but they seem fairly plugged in.
All I have heard is Iowa feels they have a decent shot at Williams as she played on the same AAU team with Stuelke, Gyamfi, and McCabe.
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