It's been a whirlwind day here, obviously. I swear I had most of this written in the morning, before the Rivals tech faceplant. So it goes. Once the process is complete, we'll have better control over what the front page looks like, so don't sweat anything that doesn't look good or isn't working properly quite yet.
1. I've confirmed via university sources that Cade McNamara has been fully cleared by medical staff (told you guys I wrote most of this in the morning). Listeners to the podcast know I picked a major bounce-back year for McNamara as my bold prediction, and if his legs hold up their end of the bargain I think he’s finally got a system around him that can lead to some success. Heisman, I doubt, but he could make a real push for Big Ten recognition by the end of November.
On that note, we had so much fun on the most recent podcast talking NCAA 25 and speculating on individual ratings — give that a watch/listen, and of course be sure to rate and review on whatever service you use. It makes more of a difference than you’d think.
2. Caitlin Clark won the Honda Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year tonight for the second year in a row, to no real surprise. That's the closest Iowa City's ever going to come to riding the tail of a comet, and we got four years of her. A special season.
Speaking of Clark, great to see a Sky-Fever game live up to the hype — for the RIGHT reasons. That fourth-quarter collapse was brutal, but Angel Reese helped the Sky earn it. She and Holly Rowe both did a good job keeping it on the high road in the postgame interview too.
I loved this take on it from Magic:
3. Finishing up interviews on the Hannah Stuelke feature this week — namely with Hannah tomorrow. Her folks JoAnna and Michael are remarkably insightful, and one of the things they mentioned is how integral Hannah’s AAU team, All Iowa Attack, was to Stuelke realizing her dream of playing college ball. I asked the head coach of AIA, Dickson Jensen, what coaching Hannah was like. He gave a remarkably gracious answer, and I'd like to share the full quote with you all privately first (I did the same with Eliot and Ross after we finished recording last night).
"Coaching Hannah Stuelke was a special privilege for me. Hannah was as hard of a worker as any player I have coached. From an early age, Hannah was determined to best version of herself that she could possibly be. Hannah loves to learn and is a great teammate for whatever team she is on. Hannah was always working on her game and eager to do whatever was asked of her for her team to win. I am very grateful to have Coached Hannah for many years!"
One of my favorite parts of this job is when coaches speak glowingly of their players — past and present — and vice versa. Suffice it to say, I'm looking forward to asking Hannah about her AAU career tomorrow.
4. Ava Jones posted her first rehab video since her medical retirement three weeks ago. It's quite inspiring to see the process she's made — it is also, at moments, a stark reminder that she's still working on regaining quality-of-life measures, and that basketball is necessarily a low priority.
Still, the progress she makes is remarkable — jogging outside! — and her indomitable joy and spirit make the journey no less inspiring or powerful. And for the myriad ways the NCAA has dug its own grave over the decades, especially when it comes to athlete welfare and well-being, the medical scholarship exemption is a bright spot of policy.
5. She's obviously not the biggest headline-maker of the class, but is any WNBA rookie enjoying her season more than Kate Martin? Sliding back into a lower rotation role as the team gets healthy and hits its stride, after proving she's already a reliable performer. Her teammates love her, unsurprisingly. She's got the "Martinis" fan base pushing her to genuine all-star contention — to her good-natured embarrassment:
She's probably right — Martin averages 4 points and 2.5 rebounds per game, and her numbers are unlikely to return to early-season levels unless injuries hit the Aces again — but it's not only self-evidently nice to see Martin further rewarded, it's further proof that the "Caitlin Clark Effect" has always had a residual effect of shining a brighter light on those around her too, and that appreciation and support sticks around even after Clark's no longer a teammate.
6. I was in Iowa City this weekend for the Block Party that eventually got rained out, but I did make a point to pop into Joe’s Place and see some old friends and fellow DI veterans. Had a couple Easy Eddy IPAs by Big Grove, and it paired perfectly with the A/C on a sticky summer day.
Tangentially related — one of my favorite little moments of last summer's 80/35 was local legend William Elliott Whitmore 1) FINALLY getting to play the main stage, and 2) enjoying an Easy Eddy on stage and improvising a song about an "Easy Eddy" character through the rest of the set. So 11 months later, I can confirm that Mr. Whitmore's "jingle," as it were, sold at least two pints.
Thanks as always to everyone for reading, and special thanks for your patience through the turbulence of today's site refresh. Once it works right, it'll be a significant improvement to your browsing experience here.
1. I've confirmed via university sources that Cade McNamara has been fully cleared by medical staff (told you guys I wrote most of this in the morning). Listeners to the podcast know I picked a major bounce-back year for McNamara as my bold prediction, and if his legs hold up their end of the bargain I think he’s finally got a system around him that can lead to some success. Heisman, I doubt, but he could make a real push for Big Ten recognition by the end of November.
On that note, we had so much fun on the most recent podcast talking NCAA 25 and speculating on individual ratings — give that a watch/listen, and of course be sure to rate and review on whatever service you use. It makes more of a difference than you’d think.
2. Caitlin Clark won the Honda Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year tonight for the second year in a row, to no real surprise. That's the closest Iowa City's ever going to come to riding the tail of a comet, and we got four years of her. A special season.
Speaking of Clark, great to see a Sky-Fever game live up to the hype — for the RIGHT reasons. That fourth-quarter collapse was brutal, but Angel Reese helped the Sky earn it. She and Holly Rowe both did a good job keeping it on the high road in the postgame interview too.
I loved this take on it from Magic:
3. Finishing up interviews on the Hannah Stuelke feature this week — namely with Hannah tomorrow. Her folks JoAnna and Michael are remarkably insightful, and one of the things they mentioned is how integral Hannah’s AAU team, All Iowa Attack, was to Stuelke realizing her dream of playing college ball. I asked the head coach of AIA, Dickson Jensen, what coaching Hannah was like. He gave a remarkably gracious answer, and I'd like to share the full quote with you all privately first (I did the same with Eliot and Ross after we finished recording last night).
"Coaching Hannah Stuelke was a special privilege for me. Hannah was as hard of a worker as any player I have coached. From an early age, Hannah was determined to best version of herself that she could possibly be. Hannah loves to learn and is a great teammate for whatever team she is on. Hannah was always working on her game and eager to do whatever was asked of her for her team to win. I am very grateful to have Coached Hannah for many years!"
One of my favorite parts of this job is when coaches speak glowingly of their players — past and present — and vice versa. Suffice it to say, I'm looking forward to asking Hannah about her AAU career tomorrow.
4. Ava Jones posted her first rehab video since her medical retirement three weeks ago. It's quite inspiring to see the process she's made — it is also, at moments, a stark reminder that she's still working on regaining quality-of-life measures, and that basketball is necessarily a low priority.
Still, the progress she makes is remarkable — jogging outside! — and her indomitable joy and spirit make the journey no less inspiring or powerful. And for the myriad ways the NCAA has dug its own grave over the decades, especially when it comes to athlete welfare and well-being, the medical scholarship exemption is a bright spot of policy.
5. She's obviously not the biggest headline-maker of the class, but is any WNBA rookie enjoying her season more than Kate Martin? Sliding back into a lower rotation role as the team gets healthy and hits its stride, after proving she's already a reliable performer. Her teammates love her, unsurprisingly. She's got the "Martinis" fan base pushing her to genuine all-star contention — to her good-natured embarrassment:
She's probably right — Martin averages 4 points and 2.5 rebounds per game, and her numbers are unlikely to return to early-season levels unless injuries hit the Aces again — but it's not only self-evidently nice to see Martin further rewarded, it's further proof that the "Caitlin Clark Effect" has always had a residual effect of shining a brighter light on those around her too, and that appreciation and support sticks around even after Clark's no longer a teammate.
6. I was in Iowa City this weekend for the Block Party that eventually got rained out, but I did make a point to pop into Joe’s Place and see some old friends and fellow DI veterans. Had a couple Easy Eddy IPAs by Big Grove, and it paired perfectly with the A/C on a sticky summer day.
Tangentially related — one of my favorite little moments of last summer's 80/35 was local legend William Elliott Whitmore 1) FINALLY getting to play the main stage, and 2) enjoying an Easy Eddy on stage and improvising a song about an "Easy Eddy" character through the rest of the set. So 11 months later, I can confirm that Mr. Whitmore's "jingle," as it were, sold at least two pints.
Thanks as always to everyone for reading, and special thanks for your patience through the turbulence of today's site refresh. Once it works right, it'll be a significant improvement to your browsing experience here.
