WBB recruiting for the future
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2021 Iowa Hawkeye recruit AJ Ediger 6’2” W/F scored 34 points including six 3-pointers...
I sure hope the 3 incoming frosh at the least make the 8 person rotation next year. Outside of Clark it appears this years frosh won’t help us return to the elite 8.
I sure hope so too. I think some of our freshmen now just need more experience not having a proper preseason kind of hurt their chances of progressing much.
The '21 class is going to contribute right away, all 3. I still think Jensen & Goodman ('20 class) will be solid contributors too but minutes will be tight at the backup 5.
I really hope the '21 3 can help right away on the defensive end. The relative lack of advanced stats for the women's game has helped conceal (at least somewhat) just how horrific the current team is on defense. IMO, the current defensive shortcomings are primarily a personnel issue, not coaching. But reasonable minds might differ on how much coaching is to blame. At any rate, Iowa's current defensive rating at herhoopstats is 91.7 (not sure if this is adjusted defensive efficiency), good enough for 199th in the country (Iowa's offensive ranking is #5).
When Fran's team are ranked below 100 in defense using modern stats, the men's fans harp on this shortcoming. But a #100 defensive ranking for the current women's team would be a stratospheric improvement. Ultimately, if Iowa cannot improve massively on the defensive end, the Clark era will be a missed opportunity.
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20th per this Prospect Nation ranking in December of 2020.
A couple caveats: 1) I generally like ESPN's top prospect list better, and 2) ranking basketball classes is difficult because of the small number of recruits. 1 person might rank a class of two 5 star recruits higher than a class of four 4 star recruits, while another person would do the opposite.
https://prospectsnation.com/class-rankings-2021-winter-2020
Love the ladies we have, but if Iowa could get an athletic big it would be just about the final piece. Doesn't even need to have the offensive skill of Monika, but someone who can change a game defensively.
Does anyone know what the two bigs we got coming in next year can do or what they are expected to do once they get here?
Others would be far better qualified than I, but from what I know they fit the profile of typical Iowa frontcourt recruits- fundamentally sound, solid shooters, good all around but sub-elite athleticism.
I don't think Gustafson was considered athletic either, but she did have hands of glue and fancy footwork.
A.J. Ediger is 6'3 and will play the 4. Her outside game is really coming on, I think she hit 6 three's in a recent game. She has a strong inside game and can play physical so she won't get pushed around much. Most recruiting sites agree she is a Top 50 recruit nationally. She will definitely play early and it will be fun watching her and Warnock.
Addison O'Grady is around 6'4 and will play the post. She has been working on adding range to her game. Plays alongside 6'7 '23 top overall recruit Lauren Betts in HS & AAU so you know she is tested by the best everyday and won't back down to anyone. Should be interesting to see who emerges behind Monika, either Sharon Goodman or the FR but either way the depth is something Iowa rarely has.
I just watched one of Affolter's games from this year tonight, and I think the answer to this is maybe. Affolter's game is fairly comparable to Kate Martin's, though I think Affolter is the slightly better prospect out of high school.
Affolter is 5'10 or 5'11', but she's bulkier than Marshall and Martin. Despite that, I think she's also probably quicker than both of them. I don't think she's elite athletically, but she would improve our athleticism on the wing.
Offensively, she can score at all three levels. She is fairly aggressive at attacking basket, especially in transition, but in a half court offense she sometimes fades into the background like Martin does. She isn't looking to shoot every time she finds a few feet of space like Clark or Lauren Jensen.
Affolter is a very good rebounder. She averaged more than 8 a game as a junior, and I think she grabbed 14 in a game recently. I also think her rebounding will translate to the college level. Her success on the boards is in large part due to aggressiveness, positioning, and boxing out rather than just being taller than her competition or teammates.
Defensively she has potential. There were times in the game I watched where she played great on-ball defense, forced a steal due to good helpside defense, and where she aggressively contested shots at the basket without fouling. But there were also times when she wasn't as focused and lost her player defensively. And overall I think she plays too far off her player when they don't have the ball, because she's athletic enough to close them out in high school. In college, they'll just shoot over the top.
Overall, if Affolter can stay locked in at both ends once she gets to Iowa, she could play, and contribute, right away. If she struggles transitioning to college, or if she keeps having stretches where she's not locked in, I'm not sure she offers much that Martin and Taiwo don't.
Appreciate the insight from jockos and Braydon as always. Maybe it's because I'm watching this team through Clark, but her abilities make the rest of Iowa's deficiencies stand out that much more. Those are...
1. Closing out on shooters. Lacking awareness, anticipation of ball movement, and quickness to physically move over to contest the shot. I'm hopeful Affolter can contribute to that issue. And if she shoots well on the court it further helps space the floor with the dynamic offensive weapons in Clark and Czinano.
2. Rebounding. Ediger and O'Grady should address that if nothing else for the added depth in some combination with what we already have with Czinano/Goodman and Warnock at the 4 and 5. Iowa is really weak rebounding 1 thru 5 there but you need your bigs to not be a net negative or else more second chance points via easy put backs or open shooters. Stuelke and Gyamfi may offer even more roster flexibility in 2022 as athletic forwards if nothing else but help with these two systemic issues. Any offensive contributions will be icing. That 2022-23 team could be really good.
Also just a random nitpick unrelated to recruiting but I think we've forgotten how good Meyer and Doyle were at passing especially smart passing into the post. I'm sure numbers would support this but turnovers have to be much higher this year. Before this team even attempts to throw the ball into the post, many times the turnover is obvious before the pass is released. Not trying to be negative. This team is still really fun and they have much potential to grow.
1. Closing out on shooters. Lacking awareness, anticipation of ball movement, and quickness to physically move over to contest the shot. I'm hopeful Affolter can contribute to that issue. And if she shoots well on the court it further helps space the floor with the dynamic offensive weapons in Clark and Czinano.
2. Rebounding. Ediger and O'Grady should address that if nothing else for the added depth in some combination with what we already have with Czinano/Goodman and Warnock at the 4 and 5. Iowa is really weak rebounding 1 thru 5 there but you need your bigs to not be a net negative or else more second chance points via easy put backs or open shooters. Stuelke and Gyamfi may offer even more roster flexibility in 2022 as athletic forwards if nothing else but help with these two systemic issues. Any offensive contributions will be icing. That 2022-23 team could be really good.
Also just a random nitpick unrelated to recruiting but I think we've forgotten how good Meyer and Doyle were at passing especially smart passing into the post. I'm sure numbers would support this but turnovers have to be much higher this year. Before this team even attempts to throw the ball into the post, many times the turnover is obvious before the pass is released. Not trying to be negative. This team is still really fun and they have much potential to grow.
This actually surprised me, but according to Herhoopstats, Iowa averages less turnovers per game this year (15.3) compared to last year (15.7). And this year's team averages nearly 4 possessions more per game than last year's. 15.3 turnovers per game is actually in the upper half of teams.
I still think the team has a turnover problem. Several turnovers per game are the result of bad decisions rather than anything the defense is doing. But overall, the turnover problem isn't as bad as I thought it was before looking at the stats.
The lack of rebounding is a much bigger concern and where Ollinger's presence is really missed. Penn State had an insane amount of offensive rebounds. Our defense often will force a bad shot only to be burned by second or even third chance opportunities. And the issues are compounded when the shooting goes cold and often leads to other issues because our players expel a great deal of energy on the defensive end. Hopefully, next year's team with the addition of some needed size will alleviate the rebounding issues plaguing the current team
Rebounding has actually improved this season overall too. Against smaller or more athletic teams they sometimes give up too many second chances but overall they are nearly +2 this year whereas last season they were -1. I was surprised Maryland only out rebounded them 31-24. I agree, next year rebounding should improve, hopefully Iowa will get more second chance points instead of the other way around.
Big challenge tomorrow on the boards against Michigan and Naz Hillmon though...
Big challenge tomorrow on the boards against Michigan and Naz Hillmon though...
Sydney Affolter led Marist (6-0) with a double double!
Jada Gyamfi (2022) had a huge game in the state quarterfinals with 19 points and 18 rebounds!
There is a lot of young talent on that Johnston team in addition to Gyamfi. Aili Tanke & Aliyah Riley both are FR but played really well with the situation not being to big for them at all. Tanke starts at F & Riley plays PG coming off the bench. Tanke can shoot well & Riley is a strong ball handler getting into the lane at will.
Was also really impressed with Emma Ingersoll-Weng the '22 PG from IC West. Strong ball handler, good athleticism, sets her teammates up, hit big long range 3's today in helping her team beat a good Waterloo West team. She is definitely past her ACL issue & a name to watch.
For those interested in checking out Iowa signee Sydney Affolter, who will be a freshman next year, here's a link a game from a few weeks ago where she scored 33 points. Sydney is #1 for the team in white.
This YouTube channel has most, if not all, of Marist's home games, so there's a lot of her games to choose from.
This YouTube channel has most, if not all, of Marist's home games, so there's a lot of her games to choose from.
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Here's Iowa commit Jada Gyamfi's game from the state tournament last night for Johnston. She scored 19 points and had 18 rebounds. She's #42 for the team in white. She's in the class of 2022 so she will be a freshman the season after next.
Here's 2022 commit Taylor McCabe's game from a week ago. McCabe had 25 pts, 6 assists and 5 steals. She's #10 for the team in white. Taylor will be a freshman the year after next.
Here's 2021 signee Addison O'Grady's game from about a week ago. O'Grady is #22 for the team in black and will be a freshman next year.
I promise this is my last one for a bit.
Here's Iowa signee AJ Ediger's game from a few weeks ago. AJ is #34 in white and will be a freshman next year.
I'll add that a lot of these YouTube channels have other games so they might be worth checking out if you're interested in seeing more.
Here's Iowa signee AJ Ediger's game from a few weeks ago. AJ is #34 in white and will be a freshman next year.
I'll add that a lot of these YouTube channels have other games so they might be worth checking out if you're interested in seeing more.
Monster game for Sydney Affolter against Fenwick!
Nine double doubles in nine games!
Nine double doubles in nine games!
They contrast each other. Affolter a power forward who likes to drive and draw contact, while Jensen is a guard you can't can't leave open on the perimeter.
Affolter is a 3 in Iowa's system, the position Kate Martin currently plays. Probably more skilled than Kate, but they complement each other well. Jensen is a 2 in Iowa's system, a shooting guard who can also play a little point guard in a pinch.
I just watched part of Audi Crooks' first game at state today. I know she has a Maryland offer, but I'm very skeptical her game will translate well to college. Offensively, I think her size has a big impact on her numbers, because most high schoolers just can't defender her. Her size will still make her somewhat challenging to guard at the college level, but I think taller or athletic defenders should be able to do the job okay.
Defensively, I have major concerns about her mobility. It could be a bigger issue for her than it is for Czinano. She can protect the area right around the basket well, but would struggle guarding a larger zone or in man defense.
Another concern: when either team is shooting free throws, she goes to the other end of the court rather than rebounding. That is a major red flag to me about her stamina/ability to run the floor.
I'm not sure how much interest Iowa has, but from what I saw I would prefer other targets.
Defensively, I have major concerns about her mobility. It could be a bigger issue for her than it is for Czinano. She can protect the area right around the basket well, but would struggle guarding a larger zone or in man defense.
Another concern: when either team is shooting free throws, she goes to the other end of the court rather than rebounding. That is a major red flag to me about her stamina/ability to run the floor.
I'm not sure how much interest Iowa has, but from what I saw I would prefer other targets.
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