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WBB 16/17 Season

cyberhawk said:
Now that the WBB season is over, I thought it would be appropriate to start a new aptly named thread to make one final comment about this past season and begin an encouraging look forward to next year and beyond. By keeping the title general, and allowing a broad array of comments, I believe there should be enough interest to keep this thread alive for the summer and leading into the fall preseason.

I will say that I had hoped for a little better season last year. I will also comment that while my expectations were few and modest, I was still a bit disappointed for the team. The season could be summarized as having much potential throughout the non-conference season and into the first week of B1G play. But even then there were some cautionary signs. The team struggled for some reason in the second half of some close games and lost big leads that they had forged. Then they lost Carly which undoubtedly set the team back and limited their potential. Compounding the situation was the inconsistent performances of Kali and Alexa. Beginning the conference schedule they faced a gauntlet of five games in thirteen days. That would have been a difficult task for any team but the challenge was especially so for such a young and inexperienced team. They simply couldn't fully recovered from those early setbacks.

Yet through all that, the team showed promise throughout the regular season and into the postseason tournaments. In addition to showing 'flashes' as a team, the most encouraging takeaway was the development of the two B1G All-Freshmen, Megan and Tania. I think Megan was especially impressive after she became a starter. Her development and progress over the entire season was nothing short of amazing. I believed before the season that she could possibly break Iowa's records for double-doubles in a single season and for her career. I think that is even more possible now. Not only that, but I believe she could possibly rewrite the record books for scoring and rebounds. I will even suggest that she will average a double-double for her career. I also believe Tania could challenge the records for assists.

There is much to be encouraged about for the team as well. They return their entire starting line-up, 90% +/- of the total statistical production, and they bring in a very good class of recruits that will add needed depth at the guard position as well as balance the roster better.

I can hardly wait for the 16/17 season to begin! Go Hawks!
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Since first posting this comment at the end of last season, there have been a couple of changes to the roster. First, Whitney Jennings and Tagyn Larson decided to transfer. The loss of Jennings was at least partially compensated for by the late arrival of Kathleen Doyle who was Ms Basketball from Illinois and was originally committed to Nebraska.

Although this does change the roster some, It doesn't change my outlook. The roster will still be much more guard oriented than last year when Iowa was loaded with forwards. It also adds a bit of suspense at the beginning of the season to see who will be the new starter. Will it be Sr Alexas Kastanek, Jr Christina Buttenham, or perhaps one of the freshmen guards?

The excitement should reach a 'fevered pitch' as Iowa starts their 2016/17 regular season schedule with an exhibition game against Lewis on Nov 6th. I can barely contain my enthusiasm.

I renamed the thread title to keep it for the new season.
 
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Women’s Basketball Week Slated For Oct. 24-28

Preseason polls and honors, video interviews with coaches and students, and media teleconference will preview 2016-17 season

Tuesday, Oct. 25 – Michigan, Michigan State, Northwestern, Ohio State, Wisconsin
Wednesday, Oct. 26 – Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Purdue
Thursday, Oct. 27 – Illinois, Maryland, Penn State, Rutgers
 
cyberhawk said:
Women’s Basketball Week Slated For Oct. 24-28

Preseason polls and honors, video interviews with coaches and students, and media teleconference will preview 2016-17 season

Tuesday, Oct. 25 – Michigan, Michigan State, Northwestern, Ohio State, Wisconsin
Wednesday, Oct. 26 – Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Purdue
Thursday, Oct. 27 – Illinois, Maryland, Penn State, Rutgers
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That's BigTen's media week, isn't it? Does Iowa have its own media day? I believe last week's Men's media day was not part of a BigTen event.
 
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I also thought they would have their own media day, but I haven't seen anything about it yet. I'm anxious to hear what Lisa has to say.

Thanks Oakhawk for the 'heads-up' on the tweet from JanJenson@goiowa
 
I am ready and pumped. Replacing Whitney and Tagyn with Bre, Alexis, Myers and Kathleen I am good with that. Replacing Claire, Kali, and Nicole with Carly, Hannah and Amanda I am also good with that. No disrespect to the transfers and graduates. We have more quality depth since ?. We are still young at a lot of spots. But we have talent, inside I think defense and rebounding will improve and we can run, press and trap with our quality depth at guard
 
Gotta get that turnover demon exorcised, but I think it will be an interesting season. Hawks could be a Sweet Sixteen team again in '17-'18 IMHO.
 
I hated to see Jennings and Larsen leave, but Jennings was at 34% FGs and 30% from the 3, so hopefully she can be replaced, especially like mentioned above, by Doyle. We will never know though what might have been with Jennings her last two years here.
 
Last year Media Day wasn't until October 29th. They seem to have it a week before the season starts for some reason.
 
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Amanda Ollinger receives her award as Gazette Female Athlete of the Year

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The new Poster is out!
And season tickets arrived on Saturday!
 
JEDN said:
Dont post as much as some but go to most of the home games and always felt Whitney Jennings was overrated!
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I agree. I got into a debate with Oak a year or more ago about Whitney. I thought she was not as good as the hype. I think we now have a few girls on the team who will be better guards at Iowa.
 
Jennings was amazing in the GTL, and seeing what she did there, I thought she'd be a good fit for Iowa's transition game, sort of a shorter Kamile Wahlin (and Wahlin herself had a stretch where she was benched). Unfortunately the GTL performances did not transfer over to actual regular season games. To be fair, she wasn't the only player having an off-season in '15-'16 (and it would be interesting to hear some candid comments from the coaches as to why they thought that was). I hope she's happier now that she's closer to home.
 
I think Whitney had trouble finding shots in Iowa's system. But look at the all-time FR records;
11th in scoring
3rd in 3ptrs made
4th in assists
4th in steals.
And when they absolutely had to have a basket at the end of a half or the end of a game, they went to Whit. In the GTL , where she was allowed to create for herself, she was MVP.
She was hesitant to shoot sometimes for the Hawks, not knowing whether to shoot or defer to upperclassmen.
 
Those players that come from a system of ALWAYS being the one will struggle at times. They don't know how to work within the framework of the offense. Plus, you need to be PHYSICAL in all phases of the college game and be willing to do what it takes for the team to have success not the individual. That mindset is hard to find
 
When it comes to debating such things as hype or overrated (the comparison of hype to real life performance), it is very difficult to make a case either way since it is by nature subjective. There just simply is no universally accepted objective numerical system (an algorithm) for measuring hype or real life performance, not to mention a standard method for comparing the two.

I myself am ambivalent about Whitney's transfer. I was disappointed to see her leave but am still hopeful that Iowa will have a successful season. More specifically, on the one hand, as a two year starter, she was no worse than Iowa's fifth best player. She also presented herself very well in interviews showing composure and articulate thought. Also, I believe she was well liked by everyone associated with the team. On the other hand, she was diminutive which is not necessarily an asset in a physical league like the B1G. Finally, I wonder if Whitney had stayed, would Iowa have recruited Kathleen Doyle.

There is really no way to know what could or would have been and in my view there is no reason to speculate hypothetical situations or debate cases that cannot be proven. I liked Whitney and I wish her success. I will keep up with her career at Butler as well as Tagyn Larson at S Dakota St when they become eligible next season.
 
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All that being said, I think Kathleen Doyle will be a very good player for the Hawks. She is feisty, likes to play defense, can pass very well, and can score in a variety of ways. She is also 5-9, which helps.
 
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What are you hearing as an early season starting lineup oak?
 
Whitney was caught in a tough spot last season for a number of reasons.

Part of a backcourt that listed at 5'5 and 5'3 made for some bad defensive matchups in the man to man, which led to playing much more zone to help cover the deficit. That compounded Iowa's already well established trouble in defensive rebounding, as they have struggled even more to do so when playing zone defense.

Couple that with playing along side (while talented) an inexperienced Freshman point guard. While a tremendous competitor, Tania made some expected (and unexpected) mistakes on both ends of the court that Whitney tried to help cover and was sometimes overwhelmed. She also unfortunately took the brunt of a frustrated head coach many times and suffered some confidence issues as a result. No one should question her work ethic, attitude toward her team or teammates or her basketball IQ.

At the end of the day, her situation could best be described as not being a good fit for what Iowa ran last year...basically out of necessity. She should fare better at Butler.
 
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As I recall, others were also saying she was always talking about home in Indiana, so that part of it was evidently important to her transferring. One observation I had was that when you see one Iowa player, you would see 4 or 5, and I never saw Whit as one of the group, whatever that means. I wish things would have worked out for her at Iowa, but it didn't so I'm looking forward.
 
BGHAWK said:
As I recall, others were also saying she was always talking about home in Indiana, so that part of it was evidently important to her transferring. One observation I had was that when you see one Iowa player, you would see 4 or 5, and I never saw Whit as one of the group, whatever that means. I wish things would have worked out for her at Iowa, but it didn't so I'm looking forward.
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She's now finally back home again in Indiana. I hope she can see the gleaming candlelight still shining bright through the sycamores:)
 
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Whit hung out with the other girls, and got along well with them. But her heart was elsewhere.
 
An Iowa 85 and 87 Alum who enjoys watching and discussing the Hawks. Enjoy reading Hawk forums to get news and opinions about the Hawks, and really enjoy this thread for the adult conversation (cannot say that for the MBB posts). Have been ok to be "read only" to date, but have decided to share some thoughts and opinions solely as a way to be able to read more of your thoughts as well (i.e. provide some thoughts get an additional information fix). As FYI, I have no connection with the MBB or WBB teams, other than being an avid alum who watches from New Jersey.

One side note: TY B10 for expanding east. I have seen the FB and MBB Hawks live at Rutgers and hope to see the WBB team next time that travel to RU, Maryland or Penn St.

Thought #1 - 2017 Recruiting Class: The coaches may not be able to sign anyone else of note given the depth and talent of the current roster. The team is young and other than the 4 returning starters is largely unproven...but...with three of the starters potentially starting again in '17-'18, a strong freshman class, some potential rotation players in Hannah, Christina, and Carly, and a strong '17 wing in Jinaya...any other '17 recruit will likely evaluate this and say where am I going to get minutes in the next two years. If they are true stars, they will be confident that they will rise to the top - but if they are promising college players, they will likely look at the potential quantity of quality players and see better playing time options elsewhere.

Thought #2 - Past strong Iowa WBB players have started as freshman or sophomores - therefore believe we need 2 of the freshman to be truly good this year and to finish in the top 3-4 in the Big Ten. Support Point #1: I looked at the Iowa WBB starters since ~2003, and with a couple exceptions, the core starters / players all started as freshman or sophomores (injuries aside). One exception was Melissa Dixon, who started games as a freshman and sophomore, but did not start consistently until her junior year. Support Point 2: Alexa K has the potential to start if she consistently hits the 3 and understands she should not be handling the ball much (gets out of control too much with the ball in her hands). Christina could start as well if she gets more lift on her shot and consistently hits the 3. Love her hustle, energy and believe she could can be the ultimate wing hustle player - but she need to hit 3s to start. But believe we need a frosh to be good enough to have Alexa and Christina to be strong bench players to be really good this year. Love that Ally described the Frosh collectively as "getting after it" and hope that either Kathleen, Makenzie or Bre (or all 3) turn out to have the talent to start (i.e.well rounded, poised, two ways threats) so the team can take a leap this year. THE SUMMARY POINT: Believe the team's leap this year is more dependent and more likely from a frosh "leap" than a returning player leap.

Thanks for providing a Hawk junky with an information fix - hopefully the above helps yours (even if only to disagree)
 
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Some other possible "leaps" for this season:
Carly Mohns. She was on the verge of joining the starting lineup when she got injured. She brings rebounding, defense, and shooting to the arc.
Hannah Stewart. I was impressed with the improvement Hannah showed in the GTL this summer. She showed an improved offensive game and guarded the post.
Amanda Ollinger. An athletic forward that can score and rebound.
Alexis Sevillian. A guard that can ply defense, handle the ball, and take it to rim with strength.
 
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A year ago I thought Carly was the most improved in summer league and would play and she did till getting hurt. This summer it was Hannah.Most years you see some projects or practice players you wonder if they will ever play at this level. I remember Beth Doolittle as a freshman looked skinny and lost This class looks really good. Can;t wait for the games to start
 
Welcome NJ-hawkDog! Also, congratulations on your first post and instant popularity. The WBB threads are virtually my only vise on the Iowa rivals forums, but I can relate with you about the MBB threads. I also appreciate the maturity and civility of the members that comment here. I originally started by posting links to internet content about HS recruits who had verbally committed to Iowa. My hopes then and now was/is to acquaint the readers to the new players joining the team and thereby raise interest and spur increased home attendance. I also enjoy reading other's links, inside information, thoughtful analysis, and opinions. More recently, I've started sharing some of my own thoughts.

I agree with you about the 2017 class and I believe others have echoed the same idea. This year's team has only one returning starting senior and one returning starting junior. That is only two current returning starters that graduate in the next two years. There are nine players on the roster that have at least three years remaining to play. I believe there is a lot of potential talent among those freshmen and sophomores. Recruiting behind them is no doubt a challenge and very possibility not a crucial necessity. I think Iowa should be just fine next year. I believe the priority for 2018 would be a replacement for Megan.

Speaking of the current impending season and the 'leap' you mentioned, my preseason vote is for Hannah [Stewart]. Not only is she starting from a low base (she played very sparingly last year), my opinion is that the greatest need is for a more physical backup to Megan and Chase. Carly and Christina are also in that discussion. However, their base is a bit higher and their opportunities will probably be more limited competing behind Ally. (I suppose Carly could very possibly backup Chase as well.) As for the freshman, I wouldn't say they could leap so much as they could make an immediate impact. With regard to that (immediate impact) I am uncertain. I know that there are those here that think Kathleen [Doyle] is the most likely successor to replace Whitney and I can't argue with that. On the other hand, Bre [Cera] has her supporters here as well. The comments on her have mentioned her defensive tenacity and that she is unselfish (team oriented). From the limited video that I've seen, I can see it. The other thing about her that I will say is that she seems to be selective and efficient shooting the ball. As for the other two freshman guards, Makenzie [Meyer] and Alexis [Sevillian], they may be just as good for all I know. How these four develop this season (and in the future) is one of the most exciting aspects to anticipate. Finally, Amanda [Ollinger] is an enigma. I think she resembles Carly. I have read that she will be a small forward but I believe she could also play stretch (or wing) forward. Regardless, I can't see her starting this year.

I have remarked in the past that Iowa's roster was loaded with forwards last year (there were no players listed between Whitney at 5'5" and Alexas at 5'10") and that that might have contributed to the increased turnovers. This year that gap is filled by the four freshmen guards so now I think the roster is much better balanced in that regard.

I am very excited and hopeful for the season so let the discussion here continue!

PS Yes NJ-HawkDog your post is like an addiction 'fix' and also I suppose that I do disagree with you to a small extent about the leap comment. Also, I'm in northern Virginia and have seen only one game, two years ago at Maryland. The Hawkeyes won that game from the floor but the fouls were lopsided in favor of the Terrapins and they escaped with the win from the FT line. If you can make it here for the 1/29 game, I will look for you.
 
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UpstreamHawkeye said:
That's BigTen's media week, isn't it? Does Iowa have its own media day? I believe last week's Men's media day was not part of a BigTen event.
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Oct. 10, 2016

ROSEMONT, Ill. — With the 2016-17 women’s college basketball season rapidly approaching, the Big Ten Conference will hold its inaugural Women’s Basketball Week Oct. 24-28. Media and fans will have several ways to follow their favorite teams, coaches and students online at bigten.org, via social media channels and a media teleconference leading up to the start of the new season.

According to the press release, this is the first event of it's kind. Iowa's day is Wednesday.

BTW, I am almost certain the men did have a B1G media event. (Peter Jok and I think Dale Jones were Iowa's team representatives.) Whether they had a separate event I am not aware.
 
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Any word on how Mohns has been doing? In the 2015 GTL I thought she looked quicker and faster than most of the forwards the Hawks have brought in over the last several years. But it seems like in WBB it can sometimes take a couple of seasons to get back to 100% from a knee injury.
 
Hmmm, Indiana is number 3 in both media and coaches polls. Last season they finished fourth in the Big Ten standings. I remember before the last season started the team was in complete turmoil, with several starters quitting the team after a year under the the new coach. And now they are one of the favorites, with people in the know apparently believing last year was not a mere fluke.
 
They have all five starters from last season returning, including Tyra Buss who led the B1G in FT's made with 203. They also have Amber Deane who is a graduate transfer G from Dayton. They have talent and depth at every position.

The B1G didn't really name a first team per se. Ally has a chance to become Iowa's all time career scoring leader and may not make the B1G postseason first team even once for her career. I hope she does this year but those other players will take a lot more shots and score 20+ PPG. Ally will share the ball more and allow her teammates to be involved in the scoring. That is the Iowa way.
 
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The Big Ten had only 5 teams make the NCAA last year, Maryland, Ohio St, Michigan St, Purdue and Indiana, I think the top 2 were obvious. Other than the top 2 I would like to think our talent level will compare though we are still young. Upper classmen really help on the road
 
Iowa led Indiana by 17 points with 13:38 to go on the road last season. And ended up losing. They beat Indiana at home. It should have been a sweep.
If Whit hadn't left , Iowa would also have been returning all five starters.
Just one of about 5 or 6 games the Hawks gave away last season.
 
I think the Hawks will be interesting and fun to watch this season, but an upper half of the conference finish/NCAA appearance may not happen. It certainly won't if the turnover bug doesn't get fixed. Maryland is Maryland, OSU is loaded again, and most of the rest of the B10 has enough talent to give us trouble. I'm optimistic for '17-'18 though.
 
oakhawk said:
Iowa led Indiana by 17 points with 13:38 to go on the road last season. And ended up losing. They beat Indiana at home. It should have been a sweep.
If Whit hadn't left , Iowa would also have been returning all five starters.
Just one of about 5 or 6 games the Hawks gave away last season.
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Oh Well, I can remember the second half double-digit leads squandered at Iowa State, at Michigan, at Michigan State, and at Indiana, the two inexplicable losses to Penn State, and the last second heave by Banham at Minnesota. However, the silver lining is, Iowa could actually play that well to get the big lead at the opponents' home courts, repeatedly. I hope they continue that trend this year!
 
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