The only other 24 I can think of is Aaliyah Guyton. Not sure if there's interest from either side at this point.
**NEW** Iowa Women's Basketball Recruiting Thread
- Thread starter KyleHuesmann
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At this point, is anyone thinking that a major player might still be arriving through the portal? We only had one opening; (congrats to Shateah, I'll be following). and despite Iowa's great year and their run in the B1G and NCAA tourneys, it's pretty clear that Iowa City is not a popular destination for major players in the portal. Reasons for this have been discussed in this thread to the point of rage around socio-political issues. But in the end, we just had ONE spot available, and we didn't get Betts, Morrow, or another impact athlete. Sadly, it means that we couldn't take immediate advantage of that run, and CC's stardom. So we're back to recruiting. And even there, our targets, though talented, aren't nearly the level of SC, UCONN, LSU, etc. Unless something else unexpectedly happens, we're more than likely going to back to being one of the top 4 teams in the B1G, and maybe a sweet 16 appearance. I'll still be a big fan, like I've been since the Sam Logic days. But I will be pretty sad we couldn't take advantage of this singular opportunity to become a true national power. Please convince me how wrong i am!
Ok, I will try:
Sue bird said Iowa reminded her of a wnba team because everyone knew who to get the ball to, where to be, and each others strengths and weaknesses. This is a result of so many years playing together. A less lauded recruit with years in the Iowa system may be more effective than a a bigger/stronger/faster first year player due to team chemistry. Hannah/Jayda will both be 2nd year players next year, and spent a lot of time playing together at All-Iowa-Attack. All 3 centers came in more highly rated than Cinzano. OGrady offers better size/rim protection, and has shown potential. Goodman looked like a greener bigger version of Cinzano before getting hurt. Ediger has shown good footwork, and was the highest rated of the 3. I dont think they brought back Gabby/Kate just to have someone else start. I think Kate can be more aggressive on offense.
What I think is going to be hard:
- Warnocks 3 point shooting
- Monicas early positioning
- Monicas ability to catch almost everything close to her
- How well Clark/Cinzano knew each other.
I don't think 2 players not coming to Iowa means that Iowa isn't a popular transfer destination. It seems like Betts wanted to stay on the West Coast. 2 of Morrow's top 3 are schools that are more popular in the moment than Iowa. I've said before, but I'm not sure there was a clear upgrade for this roster that made sense beyond Betts and Morrow.
As for the impact of this run with Clark, I think we need to wait on the 2025 and 2026 classes before making any conclusions. Iowa has 2 highly rated players with great offer lists in the 2024 class. Britt Prince could make that class one of the best in the country.
There are more highly rated players that seem like good fits for Iowa in the 2025 and 2026 classes. It's worth remembering that Marshall, Martin, and Czinano weren't top 100 recruits in their respective classes.
Kate Martin was # 94 by Blue Star, and first-team 4A all-state in Illinois. She was pretty highly thought of in Illinois/St, Louis, even if not a consensus top 100 recruit. The 4A all-state team was pretty stacked Kate's senior year:
Brea Beal -South Carolina
Kate Martin
Aaliyah Patty - 2-year starter Texas A & M; starter at OSU before that
Chrislyn Carr - starter at Texas Tech, Syracuse & Louisville
Rachel Pranger Bradley VB player
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anon_salmfilsntd0b
Guest
Thank you for sharing this info! I’ve wondered whether Marshall, Martin, Czinano, (the non espn 100 girls) were ranked anywhere else but I don’t wanna shell out the subscription for each random service. Especially since Affolter wasn’t an ESPN top 100 kid but was top 60 for Prospects Nation, there is certainly some variation and none of these are foolproof (at least past the 15-20 consensus picks).
I’ll share a few things. One is that the portal is not foolproof either. Look at TN. Look at Baylor. Iowa State. Got some big help from the portal and didn’t do much for any of them — for TN you could say they were better off without. I think Bluder’s philosophy with the portal is to address needs and fill gaps. Feuerbach and Davis did that. But to be fair a lot of us don’t really think we have a gap for next year. I’m not convinced Bluder does either. Hannah and O’Grady have so much more upside than Czinano and Warnock. I know it’s hard to see and I’m not saying it’ll be an instant payoff, but we got into so much relying way too much on Czinano this year (MD loss, ILL loss, NC State, Uconn).
We have multiple kids Bluder can turn to try to replace Warnock’s shooting/rebounding and Czinano’s post presence. Almost everyone ready to come off the bench is a better ball handler and can play better defense than them -- they're quicker / more athletic. It will be a different offense for sure. But that’s a good thing bc again Bluder knows how to play to a kid’s strengths. Hannah for example will be a lot harder to neutralize than Czinano was (again, not instantly, but eventually).
I really think Hannah, Addi, Sydney and Kylie (if healthy) are going to reshape our team into a much more well-rounded crew with a lot more scrappiness and better defense. I also think Edigar, Gyamfi, McCabe, and perhaps Davis are all X factors…they can all bring elevate our game if they can break through.
Furthermore, Bluder has proven since the Logic days that we only need one talented team leader to make some noise. Logic, Gustafson and now Clark did that for us and each iteration was better than the last. She knows not only how to develop players but how to play to their strengths. Our offense-heavy system IMO is also built so that “athletic” shortcomings are minimized. High ceiling, low floor, for sure, but it’s been paying off. Bluder has gotten better as the talent of our top kid/s has improved. Bluder showed in the NCAA tourney this year that she can coach with anyone and I’m not too worried about her final 5 years or so.
Lastly, remember if no one comes, it means we definitely have a spot for Clark to return for her 5th yr. As Braydon says, I think our ‘25 class will be the true test of whether we were able to capitalize on the CC era. Signing Heiden and Mallegni likely wouldn’t have happened without the success of this era. Those two commitments were clearly signs of an expanded recruiting strategy and better results. If we can sign one or two more recruits comparable to them in ‘25, we’ll be in good shape. If we can get a kid like Deal/Speiser for ‘25 or Lewis/Greenway for ‘26, watch out. We will certainly be a contender. And the gap between this era and the next may only be one year at most…
And lastly I’ll say that I think two more years of Clark and Stuelke just sounds really really fun! We were all so excited for Hannah all season and now we're acting like she's a non-event. What gives?
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Not sure your 1 elite-talent theory works in the case of Gustafson, who played with Doyle, a second elite talent. Doyle's All American accolades equal Logic's, and Doyle went higher in the WNBA draft than Gustafson.
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anon_salmfilsntd0b
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Hm tbh I guess I wouldn’t call any of these players “elite” perse…just highly talented.
You could def say that Gustafson + Doyle = Czinano + Clark and both of those combos led us beyond the Sweet 16 (whereas Logic, who didn’t have as much help, got us to that round but not past it).
If that logic holds (no pun intended) would that mean Heiden alone could likely get us to the Sweet 16 but with a talented ‘25 PG take us beyond again? Sounds like fun!
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Agree
Iowa needed to take advantage of the window of having perhaps the best women’s college basketball player of the past 10 years to go for it while Clark is still here. Apparently they have been unable to land an impact portal player for immediate help next season (at forward/center). A major missed opportunity.
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anon_salmfilsntd0b
Guest
Good. Addy/Sharon/Hannah have put in the work. They were Hawkeyes from the start. It's their team.
Good? You really think Iowa will even smell the FF next year without a player transfer or you just don't really care? I am all in on loyalty to players, but they have to be able to compete with the best if they want to be the best.
Au contraire, Dew Hawk -
The potential is there for next year’s team to be every bit as good as this year’s even without portal transfers. Clark is Clark, but even she can improve. Martin and Marshall are decent offensively, and Marshall is a demon on defense. Stuelke is more athletic and faster than either Warnock or Czinsano- she just needs confidence and time to mesh with Clark’s feeds. O’Grady was Czinsano as a frosh last year and will improve, plus there is more help at the 4-5 on the bench.
They will be just fine.
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anon_salmfilsntd0b
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This is what everyone said last year lol.
If you think Czinano and Warnock have more upside than Stuelke, Ogrady, Affolter, and Feuerbach, you haven’t watched them play enough. Not to mention our best 3 pt shooter, who is also a reserve.
This will be a more athletic, well-rounded team who can play better defense. There will be bumps in the road for sure and we can discuss that all off-season but this much has been clear to fans of this team for a year or so now.
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Being followed by Jensen and Stamp. Trying to find kids not on the front page who seem to have caught the interest of the staff.
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anon_salmfilsntd0b
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Bluder and Jensen went all the way to AZ to see her play in the fall (and also were in AZ a couple weeks ago but that may have been a coincidence).
They will definitely miss Czinano next year! She was the Robin to Clark's Batman. She was pretty un-stopable and was a scoring machine! It may take a season or 2 to bring Stuelke along. Too bad we haven't struck gold in the portal.
Not being able to smell the FF happens to several of the "elite" teams every year, so Iowa not making it to the FF next year probably isn't that rare of a case. Recruiting is so easy.
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anon_salmfilsntd0b
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We will miss Czinano in the low post but not on rebounding (where she was average) or defense (where she was non-existent).
Stuelke and O’grady already shoot over 60% in the low post. Hannah is a MUCH better rebounder (I wouldn’t be surprised if she averages a double double) and O’Grady at 6’4 is an excellent shot blocker — you can tell she was a volleyball player. Edigar was a top 50 recruit who is also quick with a nice jumpshot. Just better all around games.
Other schools seem to be able to recruit difference makers in the portal and nobody said it was easy.
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anon_salmfilsntd0b
Guest
I see she has a plethora of major offers. Any particular reason to hope that she'd choose Iowa?
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anon_salmfilsntd0b
Guest
I definitely appreciate that Coach B is pursuing players that would historically be outside the normal Iowa recruiting parameters. Seems that not landing a major portal player might have lit a recruiting fire?
Not easy? Reading the posts of so many EXPERTS on here I assumed it was.
One thing to note... They have potential to be better given enough time and development, they a 5th year Cinzano was better that a limited playing time OGrady. Same with Warnock/Stuelke. How good we can be next year is really limited by how hard they work, and how much they develop. The other part of the equation is the synergy with Clark. Monika had and Clark worked extremely well together, OGrady/Clark don't always seem to be on the same page. There will be an adjustment period while they figure out how to put Addi in positions to use her strengths and minimize her weaknesses. I am a big fan of the post players on our roster, and think a lot of people on this board are selling them short, but I also recognize that there is a lot of development that needs to happen before this team can be better than last years, and that how much they grow is probably going to be the limiting factor for success.
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anon_salmfilsntd0b
Guest
Upcoming season, and in '24/25 if CC stays should still be great for the Hawks. Team will be a little different; we're losing some offense and floor spacing with Monika and Makenna, but gaining some sorely-needed rebounding and paint D with Addy and Hannah. We still have shooters with Taylor and Kylie getting more minutes, and hopefully Sydney will develop her outside shot. So I think we can expect the Hawks to be just as competitive overall, and I'm sure we'll see Bluder adjust to different strengths. Does that mean expect FF? No, but I do think we'll again be in contention for another B1G title, and at least sweet 16. The hope is that another good year or two in national recognition sways some great recruits.
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