Re: WBB recruiting: Schnedan's status
Oakhawk is so very well informed about Bluder's program that I have to assume that his post on post possibilities in 2016 waws hasty. Till and Peschl will conclude their eligibility with the 2016 NCAA tournament. The Hawkeyes will have 14 players on schollie going into the 2016-17 season: two seniors, four juniors, four sophomores, and Ollinger, Cera, Meyer & Sevillian as incoming recruits. No way that both Smith & Schnaden could be kept on scholarships. Nicole Smith's eligtibility clock began when she enrolled at Iowa in August 2011, and the five years will have ended. Iowa could apply for a medical exemption to allow her a 6th year, but that seems unlikely to occur: she has a history of repeated knee injuries dating back to HS, when she misssed her entire sosphomore year, and if she plays this year and next will have been on the acvtive roster for four years at Iowa. It is not plausible that a forward with the immense potential of Ollinger would be misused as an undersize post. Carly Mohns would give up so much height against centers for the big time programs Iowa has to contend against if it is going to win the BT, let alone advance far in the NCAA tournaments. Hannah Stewart's best position is small forward, and while her versatility will enable her to play the 4 or even the 2, she is the eventual successor to Disterhoft. True, stringbean Chase Coley was listed at center in HS, but she performed more as a PG than a true post, all over the court--she plays facing the basket and she is a forward in her freshman year at Iowa. She may have to perform as the interim between Doolittle and Gustafson next year, but even then IMO the likelihood is that the more muscular Peschl will handle the post on defense.
That leaves Larson as a possible candidate to be the backup to Gustafson, but she also is slender & undersized to hold her own against bigger and/or stronger posts in the upper echelon of the BT and the perennial powers that the Hawkeyes will encounter in the NCAA tourney and major OOC games. Yes, Schneden has the physique if not the height to play center---but if you observed her game in HS or GTL summers, or infrequent time on the court last season, it is clear why she did not get recruited by high & mid-level majors even as a star for a championship HS team. Her reactions & moves are a bit too slow, and she lacks the agility and mobility to be an undersized inside player.
These are reasons enough why in an ideal future, given the limitless prospects that Gustafson, Coley, Ollinger, Stewart. Disterhoft, Kastanek, Sera, Meyer, Davis, Jennings etal give Bluder's team in the 2016-17, to be intrigued with the notion that adding another highly talented center would be the final piece to gaining national promience, a BT championship and even dreaming of the Final Four.
The identity of the player who gets the 16-24 minutes when Gustafson is not on the court in 2016-17 IS a big deal, and my guess is that Bluder & assistants believe this as well. So even though she prefers to have a squad of 12 or 13 players, and may want to keep walk-on Schneden on scholarship her senior year, IMO the indications that Bluder will continue to pursue a highly talented center in either the end-period of 2015 recruiting, or a top flight post transferring in, or to complete the 2016 recruiting class.
This post was edited on 10/15 4:14 PM by Tiggerhawk
