With what's going on with Iowa to the final four is there any chance of Iowa getting a high quality transfer center?
Transfer women's center
- Thread starter chuck285
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Oregon has a 6'8" girl in the portal.
Didn’t Iowa just sign a 6-3/6-4 Top 100 high schooler from out West last week? I thought I read an article about her last week or so?
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anon_salmfilsntd0b
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We are full for next year so someone would need to transfer out first. We are also rather stacked at the post tbh.
6’4, Top 40. Signed quite a few months ago. Class of 2024 tho
I'm not worried about center with Stuelke. I'm worried about depth.
Affolter and Stuelke would presumably be the next in line starters.
McCabe will get more playing time, O'Grady as the backup post. Davis can spell Marshall. We will have to depend on some new players or players who have stepped up.
I'll never doubt Jan Jensen's ability to coach up our post players though.
Affolter and Stuelke would presumably be the next in line starters.
McCabe will get more playing time, O'Grady as the backup post. Davis can spell Marshall. We will have to depend on some new players or players who have stepped up.
I'll never doubt Jan Jensen's ability to coach up our post players though.
She’s more of a PF though. I think the concern is that O’Grady is not ready. Judging by her minutes these past few games, I might agree she isn’t ready for 30 per game. If this was a pro team the gm would be betting the farm for the next two years while CC is still here. She makes the team a title contender by herself. The last thing you want is to miss out on an opportunity because of a perceived weakness in your lineup.
At this point, I trust that Jan Jensen will put out another good post player the same way that I trust that Phil Parker will roll out another good defense.
We have a short window with Clark. If there is any doubt at position, you have to get creative and go after one.
We would be a very attractive destination for portal post. Great coaching at position. Chance to play with generational talent. Chance at NC
We would be a very attractive destination for portal post. Great coaching at position. Chance to play with generational talent. Chance at NC
Honestly, I have faith in AO'G. Give Jan a summer working with her, get her stronger and more confident....
Affolter will be a good player to take some or a lot of Warnock's minutes although she is not as tall. Stuelke is the heir apparent at the post and O'Grady showed she can give good back up minutes. O'Grady just needs more minutes at this level of bball as she seems a little late on anticipating rebounds and other action but that will come.
If someone transfers then another tall lady would be good as the hawks are shorter than most of these top teams
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anon_salmfilsntd0b
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She has a great jump shot and is an excellent shot blocker but I have trouble believing she will be as consistent as we’ve become accustomed to in the low post. Would love to be proven wrong tho.
Everyone says Stuelke is a natural 4 but she rly doesnt seem to shoot well more than 5 feet out. She doesn’t rly shoot 3s at all. Clearly she has speed but we haven’t seen her be able to finish. That may just be development tho.
I’ll say it again, as of now, we do not have any scholarship spots for next year. Last year, with all 5 starters returning, we lost no one (not including grad txfrs) and it’s hard to imagine that now, with two starting spots open, any of our role players who stuck with us in their soph/junior yr would up and leave.
Stuelke, Gyamfi, McCabe are thick as thieves and all promise to be impact players in time. Feuerbach is BFFs with/transfered here for Clark and will likely be first off the bench if not a starter. Affolter is also going to be a major role player for us next year and she seems to absolutely love playing for Iowa.
I was worried about O’Grady due to her lack of minutes this yr but she was rly given some quality PT late in the season so I’m less nervous about that now.
Edigar fits the mold of a player ripe for a transfer but I follow her on social and she has said multiple times that she loves Iowa, her teammates, her coaches, and her major (DEI — which I believe is self-directed so perhaps not available many places). She also seems pretty close with Davis, both Michigan natives.
The players least likely to see quality minutes (Goodman and Wetering) also seem least likely to leave due to being homegrown Iowa girls who didn’t have a lot of P5 offers — and Wetering’s bf also runs track for Iowa.
So, something has to give if the portal is going to become a factor for us.
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This really isn't an issue anymore. Once the season is over I'm sure there will be players entering the portal.
Has there been any noise on Goodman possibly not being able to continue productively from a health standpoint? Still wearing the long knee brace, almost never sees the court, and doesn't give a lot of hope of being the next Gustafson / Czinano when she does.
Must do..... Coach Bluder pro-active. Or power forward. Gotta have, or could Catlin do? She sees challenges as easy huh? Teammates great also Hey Hawks way cool
Does that full count of 15 for the roster include Ava Jones? I know we're still going to honor the scholarship, but unfortunately I don't see her ever playing at Iowa. I hope I'm wrong.
Stuelke will be fine as soon as she can make free throws.
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anon_salmfilsntd0b
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Sure. But we thought the same last year and no one left. Again, they all returned with zero chance of a change in the starting lineup. This year there are two wide open spots. We have discussed this in other threads. Someone could certainly txfr and it won’t be shocking but all this talk about how the portal is essential for next season just misses the mark for where the team is, all of the tuned in WBB fans on this board have mused on it already. Especially when the players that seem to be most at risk are all at the 4/5 which are the open spots.
None. I think the consensus is she will be the backup 5 for either O’Grady or Stuelke. Before her injury; she had shot blocking skills and rebounded well. It also seems like most ACL tears require a brace for a good 18 months FWIW.
Yes it does.
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Next, develop a mid-range jump shot or even work on shooting some 3's.
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anon_salmfilsntd0b
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Are you saying that when we have 5 returning starters we’re less likely to have transfers? If so, okay.
Iowa doesn't have much room on its roster with Gabby, Kate and Molly holding over for the Covid year. O'Grady is a quality center playing in the shadow of Monika, Jensen will have her geared up by next year. Hannah's natural position is forward.
We may not see another Monika for a long time, with her skill sets, if ever.
This is an opinion forum, and regarding the type of player Bluder is more inclined to invite if she goes the transfer portal route, size and height is less important than length and speed. Bigs that can run fit her scheme.
We may not see another Monika for a long time, with her skill sets, if ever.
This is an opinion forum, and regarding the type of player Bluder is more inclined to invite if she goes the transfer portal route, size and height is less important than length and speed. Bigs that can run fit her scheme.
Couldn't the U give Ava a non-athletic full ride that doesn't count against the 15 limit? Does it come down to the hope that she could eventually actually play again? That would be nothing short of miraculous.
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anon_salmfilsntd0b
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Yes, Iowa has committed to giving her a full ride if she foregoes her athletic career; but there’s no way in hell Bluder pressures or asks her to do so. She will likely redshirt two years and then have to make a decision is my guess. As long as she wants to play, she will have a roster spot.
You are the one who brought up last year. Last year at this time we were not questioning who was going to be playing where, next year Bluder has 2 holes to fill and that's the point I was trying to get across. These things have a way of working themselves out whether it happens with the current group of players with someone stepping up to fill those holes or they use the transfer portal. There is another game to be played, there will be plenty of off season to worry about stuff like this.
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anon_salmfilsntd0b
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Thanks. That's clearly the only right thing to do. Don't limit Ava's dreams. Let her make those decisions. She's earned it given the tragedies she and her family have endured.
I wish Ava absolutely the best, but at some point soon someone needs to make an educated decision on if she’ll ever play at the necessary level again. I just don’t see how it is possible considering the brain injury she suffered plus her legs being destroyed. She’s struggling to walk even now 9 months later from the recent video I saw, which admittedly was after ACL surgery. I hope I’m wrong, and she’s able to practice after a redshirt year. But if she can’t be ready two years after the injury she may not ever be ready.
A creative option could be that she takes a gap year or two after high school to recover, which frees up a scholarship for this winter and we can bring her in when she’s ready. A gap year to recover might not be bad for her academic success too, so that she has time to recover from the brain injury. And if she can’t physically recover to play, we’d still honor her scholarship as a medical hardship. If she is ready to play, then she joins the team on scholarship as a slightly older freshman.
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anon_salmfilsntd0b
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Didn’t mean to suggest that at all, just a fact. She had zero other P5 offers. She is also very slight. But she looks tough. She plays with swag, which our team always needs. And NGL, we need girls of color on our team. I’m tired of seeing complaints on twitter from SEC fans having to turn the brightness down on their screens when they watch Iowa play lmao. Diversity certainly helps the recruiting cause in WBB.
Czinano was also in the exact same boat FYI — just a 3 star player, Iowa her only P5 offer. Martin and Marshall didn’t get any exceptionally notable offers either, I don’t think. Mostly Big East / mid majors. Really for lots of our players, Iowa was the top school offering them.
There’s some variance tho. Warnock, McCabe Affolter had offers from the likes of UNL, Michigan State, Illinois, Wisconsin etc (Affolter had lots of offers from all over the place actually), but no one like Maryland, Ohio State, Lousville, Texas, UCLA, Duke etc (someone correct me if I’m wrong tho, I could have missed something). Davis chose us over Michigan State. Stuelke had interest from Maryland actually but she committed way early so I think her offers were very low in total. Feuerbach txfrd from ISU obviously and I’m unsure of her other offers, but I think she committed early as well since her parents both went there. I would guess she would have garnered one of the more impressive lists.
Anyway, all to say, Bluder has a way with finding and developing diamonds in the rough, especially by leaning into their unique strengths. So I look forward to KJE joining. She and Hannah seem to have a connection, based on social media. But I don’t think she will have quality minutes her freshman year — I’d be surprised if she sees time on the floor at all since we will again have Davis as a reliable backup.
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Not at the same school. Hence why Justin Britt is transferring from the football team. He wants to play again and can’t for Iowa.
As great as Jan is, she can't teach size and the downfall of the girls we have had is when we meet up with a team that has a taller girl, we struggle in the post. This year with Caitlyn and the Shooters it isn't as much of an issue but it will come back when caitlyn is gone.
I might add that Lisa isn't going to invite just any center to Iowa. If she goes to the portal and I wouldn't be surprised if she does not, that person will need to fit in with the type of person she and her staff and her current players want on their team. I wouldn't be surprised if a player or two would leave, but people need to remember that the players that come here, come because of the Iowa family. There are also some players that love being a part of a team, have good friends and are happy to get a free education along the way.
The men have 13 ships and the women have 15 and playing only a 7 or 8 player rotation is pretty common. I realize some play 9 or 10 but the minutes for them are minimal in my opinion. So, playing 14 with Ava on scholarship doesn't seem to create any problems to me.
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