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**NEW** Iowa Women's Basketball Recruiting Thread
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I think this is overstating things a bit. Iowa didn't land Betts and probably won't land Morrow in the portal, but it's not clear either was a real possibility. Betts seemed to want to stay on the west coast.
Iowa did miss on Williams and Crooks (maybe throw in Brown too) in 2023 and Olson in 2024, but Mallegni and Heiden are both highly ranked with very good offer lists. Heiden (36th) is ranked quite a bit higher on ESPN's list than Gustafson was (80th).
Both Levin and Stremlow could end up in the back part of Top 100 lists. Some recent examples of players that fit that criteria: Makenzie Meyer (79th) and Kathleen Doyle (97th).
To me the biggest test of whether this run with Clark can last will be how Iowa does in the 2025 and 2026 classes. Spieser (2025), Greenway (2026), and Lewis (2026) are all very highly ranked recruits that Iowa should have a decent chance to land. If Iowa can get at least 2 of the 3, that would go a long way in keeping the success going.
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anon_salmfilsntd0b
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I also agree ‘25 will be the real test. But I also think there is a big difference in landing a top 15~20 recruit vs Top 100. A team full of top 100 kids is great, for sure, but there are lots of teams like that. I’m the first to admit that I do think Bluder is a good recruiter, if not an elite one (and to her credit, that may just come down to being honest with kids).
BUT I also think, in Iowa’s system, you just need one kid who’s the real deal to keep you in the running for titles + deep post-season runs. Bluder has proven that now. She only needs one to push us over the edge into something special — Logic, Gustafson, Clark did that for us and each time the iteration has been better. It’s totally possible we’ll have another kid who is ready to step up, work hard and prove the rankings wrong just like Gustafson did. And Heiden may very well be that kid. Should be easier for her than either Gustafson or Czinano. In any case, I hope so!
But I am still low-key worried about our PG position lol. Bluder herself says all you is need a good PG and a good C to be a pretty good team. I’d be much more confident in our future if Heiden had an equally talented PG at her side.
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I would add Addi Deal & Aniya Trent to the 25 list. Deal probably a long shot getting her to leave California but she's still liking Iowa basketball related tweets so maybe there's a slight chance. Taliyah Henderson from AZ is also interesting. She must have the staff's attention with multiple coaches following her. There's too many to keep track of 🤯
Let me get this straight...Question for the group -- If we could pick between landing Britt Prince and bringing back CC for her COVID year, which would we choose? It seems there's a greater-than-zero-percent chance Bluder may be in a position to have to make such a choice.
Unless there's another 2024 PG we think she is holding out hope for? Make that a second question for the group
Anyway, I've read Britt's "dream school" is UCLA but with the #2 recruit in 2022 still there for two years of overlap at PG....you'd think she would also consider that a non-starter. Something tells me UNL hasn't sealed the deal (why wouldn't she have announced it yet?). And I think CC fully understands she wouldn't have come to Iowa had Kathleen Doyle not just graduated as well...
For the record, I have no reason to believe or argue that we're a top choice for Prince. But...Bluder still seems to think we're in contention (again, unless there's another '24 PG in mind). So if it ever came to be, 2024 would likely be her best recruiting class in history.
Betts commits to UCLA, and you break the news with a sarcastic post taking shots at fans you think want to run Stuelke out of town.
Then, 2 posts later, you ponder whether Bluder may be better off kicking the greatest player in the history of the program out to cater to a high schooler?
Like...what?
As you pointed out earlier, Levin also had a pretty good early offer list, which is at least equally, if not more telling than recruiting rank. Stremlow’s offer list was not as good, but still ok.
In Doyle’s case, Blue Star also had her as the # 20 recruit, which makes her the second highest rated Iowa player by any service since Sam Logic. Blue Star can crow about being right about Doyle.
With ASGR having stopped updating their rankings, and Prep Girls Hoops seemingly having given up on national rankings, the number of ranking services has shrunk to 3, Hoopgurlz, Prospects Nation, and Blue Star, with the latter 2 seeming to have less than full national coverage. This makes it harder to get a read on prospects, and harder to get a sense when there are sharply divergent opinions about players, as there frequently is, especially when you get past the consensus top players.
Just fyi Levin is no longer with All Iowa Attack, and is now playing with an independent club, which would make it virtually impossible to get rated, even if she was a Top 100 player.
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anon_salmfilsntd0b
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Yes I'm arguing that Bluder should "kick off" CC. Lol please. Ppl here were ACTUALLY saying Bluder should have run off one or more of our own players to grab a ringer from the portal. I found that disrespectful, pathetic, and tone-deaf. I still do.
I've always hoped -- actually, assumed if I'm being honest -- CC would return for yr 5. I'm always reminding randos talking about her WNBA prospects on Twitter that she has that extra yr. But she has most recently said she hasn't made up her mind. At the same time, LB has said she's holding out for a '24 PG. If LB signs any '24 recruit, there's no room for CC to return barring further txfrs. So these are related decisions. CC and LB have a candid relationship, nothing is being sprung on either party.
I want this program to be successful. And CC obviously brings, well, a level of automatic success. But those of us who have long followed this team understand that CC too shall pass. It seems the reigning sentiment here is Natty in '24 or bust. I think it more realistic and a better use of resources to try to stay at a B1G champ/Sweet 16 caliber team for the foreseeable future.
I also think there's an argument to be made that if CC has broken every record she can, taken the program to new heights, and left it in good hands for the next "era", we can't rly expect her to want to give any more. If, say, next yr we're just not as successful as '23 (which, unlike so many, I'm not convinced is most likely), I can certainly understand her being ready to move on. I still do hope that she wants to stay for a 5th year and I think that, like Czinano, Joens, Berger, Holmes, she's likely to want that as well. Personally, I would LOVE to see the Clark-Stuelke combo play out for three seasons...
Tbh I find it strange that a typical recruit would see CC's presence as a net-negative, but according to her, it may be. She'ss said time and again she chose Iowa b/c she was able to step right into Kathleen Doyle's place. And players like her (Hillmon, D. Miller) have simply decided that four yrs was enough....I guess best case scenario, LB successfully bets the farm on Deal or another '25 PG...but it's still postponing the inevitable and a gamble lol. It may be her only choice...
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Is this an ominous sign? Seems like she may have regressed or not progressed as expected. Is this a correct take for those that have watched her?
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anon_salmfilsntd0b
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I'd guess it might come down to...was she cut from AIA or did she voluntarily choose a different program?
Her team went 1-3 in AAU tourney this past weekend in Nebraska and lost to All Iowa Attack 81-34 I believe.
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anon_salmfilsntd0b
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I actually think Henderson might have been why the staff were in Arizona last week (unless it was just a simple connection to get to LA). I remembered there was an AZ kid they had gone to see a few months ago, but couldn't remember the name. Thank you for the reminder of who that was!
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That decision will be Caitlin's to make.
You implied that it may be Bluder's, and are questioning whether Iowa may be better off turning down a player with eligibility left just to receive a commitment from someone else.
Sorry, but that doesn't jive with your negative view of those other fans.
Shik is a very passionate Hawk WBB fan who appears to have little tolerance for those fans have differing opinions than his !
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anon_salmfilsntd0b
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Please let me know which fans I have little tolerance for and I'll confirm/deny.
Unless you're of course referring to those fans who suggested ad nausuem that Bluder would "find a way" to open a scholarship, meaning run off the players whom we we have ready to step up at the 4 and 5 in favor of a sure-bet ringer from the portal just dying to play for Iowa.
I again find those fans -- or at least, those sentiments -- to be not only disrespectful, pathetic, and tone-deaf, but also tacky and embarrassing. We have some great kids on our team whose families have entrusted LB with their future. They want to be Hawkeyes and they're all part of the team that went to the NC this year. CC didn't do it alone and I think she would agree with me.
And don't get me started on those "fans" who have "creative" ideas about Ava Jones' future....
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I've seen her play. And I'm certainly not an expert, but I don't see her contributing for the first two years or so. Shoots around 40% from the field, 30% from threes, and is only 5'8"/5'9".
Decent defender.
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anon_salmfilsntd0b
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But what if her only competition at PG are Johnson-Etienne and Stremlow? Not expecting you to know the answer, just kind of a dicey prospect tbh...
You seem to deflect away discussion from your original premise by resorting to the 'run other people off' perhaps a review of your original posts about whether they should keep CC for a 5th year if it meant missing on Prince. That is what the op's are addressing.
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anon_salmfilsntd0b
Guest
From ESPN in January:
Taliyah Henderson, F
Height: 6-1 |Salpointe Catholic HS (Ariz.)Henderson has to be one of the strongest players in the 2025 class. Also nationally elite in track, she gets up and down the court fast and smoothly. She uses her physical tools to outmuscle opponents inside, but has enough finesse to push the ball, stop under control, and make quality decisions. She is a very good passer and facilitator as a forward.
Henderson is an elite rebounder and plays the game with relentless energy. She has major upside potential as she adds to her offensive game.
Her recruitment includes offers from Utah, Arizona State, BYU, San Diego, Grand Canyon, Utah Valley and Hampton and she is garnering interest from programs like Oregon, Arizona and Illinois.
I think she can distribute, but I don't think she's a #2/#3 scoring threat.
Runner-ups. Iowa City is a great college town. We sell out our arena. We’re on TV all the time. Our NIL is robust. What am I missing here?
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anon_salmfilsntd0b
Guest
My original premise was not that Bluder should run CC off (lmao c'mon). Again, I think CC and LB will come to the decision about her return together. And FWIW she is not an average kid. We can't compare her taking a 5th year to Kate Martin taking one. The expectations, her professional prospects, her accomplishments, the implications are in a completely different universe.
My original post regarding this issue wasn't even an argument, but a question. I'm not sure how I'm deflecting anything when I'm happy to discuss any sentence I've posted on this board. If anything I think most people would prefer I stop lol.
If we're all convinced that CC is dead-set on a 5th year and there's no chance it may not be best for the future of the program (especially when you consider the posts immediately preceding this one pointing out that our 3 incoming PGs aren't remotely close to elite) then this crew is even more short-sighted than I thought we were by assuming Betts and Morrow were just going to show up to CHA begging to play.
There's def an argument to be made that a COVID yr for CC is the best decision for the program. Like I said, I'm still hopeful and expecting that she'll take it. I just hope it doesn't mean we miss out on the last '24 recruit LB is holding out for (we assume it's BP). To pretend there's no risk in that decision w/ regard to recruiting is myopic...especially when CC herself has said she chose Iowa in large part b/c our starting PG had just graduated.
Cliffnotes = Unpopular location/climate. Old coach. Team/staff/town too white. No titles. Lack of AA caliber competition in the B1G. Sharing the spotlight with a star. One or more of those reasons applies to most top recruits, many of whom have offers from places that none of those apply to.
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That offer list would rank behind all of the 2024 recruits if that's where it ended.
I'd be shocked if an Iowa commit was cut from All Iowa Attack due to talent. I believe she played a decent amount for them a year or two ago.
Agree. I could see her playing more minutes at the 2, helping with ball-handling, and serving as the backup 1. If the coaches want a scoring 1 like Doyle (or a realistic version of Clark) Levin probably won't be that.
Yes, it was. For your scenario to exist at all, it must make the presumption that Clark wants to return.
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anon_salmfilsntd0b
Guest
I need to apologize. It was a poster responding to your question who did the 4 years of Prince over a year of CC
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anon_salmfilsntd0b
Guest
When is the last time they had a player from south of Indiana on the roster? There was a player from Spain a few years back. Looking at the rosters from 2010 on, I don't see anyone.
Jan visited Taliyah back in late January or February in Arizona. Also read, maybe on here, that Addi Deal '25 has an older brother Tanner (aka Sarge) who committed to play at Grinnell in March. Can't hurt that Bluder's son also plays for Grinnell.
Isnelle Natabou - Florida International Panthers Forward - ESPN
View the profile of Florida International Panthers Forward Isnelle Natabou on ESPN. Get the latest news, live stats and game highlights.
What about this girl? Played a year at Iowa Western.
Looks like the Clones are among the schools following her. Could be from her time at Iowa Western.Isnelle Natabou - Florida International Panthers Forward - ESPN
View the profile of Florida International Panthers Forward Isnelle Natabou on ESPN. Get the latest news, live stats and game highlights.www.espn.com
What about this girl? Played a year at Iowa Western.
That is 5-Star hair.Isnelle Natabou - Florida International Panthers Forward - ESPN
View the profile of Florida International Panthers Forward Isnelle Natabou on ESPN. Get the latest news, live stats and game highlights.
What about this girl? Played a year at Iowa Western.
I hadn't heard anything about Bluder pursuing her. I do follow Clones recruiting a bit, and with all of their portal defections, plus Soares and Joens graduating, they surely needed her more than do the Hawks. What we're probably all hoping is that Coach is trolling for a bigger fish either in the portal, or recruit.
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