For those of us uninformed, what off court isseues does Caitlin have? News to most of us. Please elaborate.
WBB Transfer Portal
- Thread starter huntermmm
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Going out on a limb and speculating that the information came from an ISU fan who didn't like mitch using 'legal issue?' in the other post. Decided to return the favor.
I'm guessing Aubrey would like to start and right now she's behind Ryan, Donarski, and Diew, who are all her same class. Ashley coming back probably means she'd only have 1 year to possibly start unless she utilized her COVID year.
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Your right it sounds like a numbers game and Aubrey is the odd one out. Maggie Espenmiller-McGraw and Fritz are also competing for those minutes at ISU too.
I'm sure there are examples, but I can't recall an NAIA to P5 transfer off the top of my head. That's a huge jump in talent level. Iowa State certainly needs an impact 5, but I'm not sure we can say Soares will provide that until we actually see her on the floor.
Agree. The jump in competition will be a huge adjustment. And teams that shoot lots of 3s typically get long rebounds.
I'm sure she's an improvement over what they have in Ames, but they didn't have much at the 5, anyway.
She was an ESPN 5-star recruit out of high school so it's not like she came out of nowhere. She also has experience with the Brazilian national team. So yes, it's impossible to say just how much of her game will translate from NAIA to P5, but I think this is a big pick up for ISU.
If she pans out this could be a final 4 team for ISU as this will probably be Fennelys last chance for the prize. More power to him. On the other hand Lisa has apparently made no effort to upgrade her team to bring the hawks to that level. Lisa’s final 4 widow will be closing once Clark leaves. Fire away !
They have one roster spot open and all five starters returning. I’m not really sure what you guys expect her to do. She isn’t going to land some all-American to start over someone who has started for two years.
I think some wanted her to do just that. Iowa State just added a 5 to a roster that already had players returning at that position. I don't think Marshall, Martin, or Warnock were as clear of a weak link as Iowa State's 5, but there are players in the portal who could theoretically be an upgrade over any of them (or maybe require a position change in Warnock's case).
All that said, I'm not sure how much any hypothetical addition would do to significantly increase Iowa's chances of a Final 4. Right now, we would be significant underdogs against South Carolina and UConn. We probably will be to Stanford too depending on their guard development/transfer additions. I don't think a single addition puts us level with those teams. After that, things are fairly wide open. Both Iowa and Iowa State are in that next tier of teams that could fight to be 4th best.
Any Final 4 run will come down to seeding. If we end up in a region with South Carolina, UConn, or Stanford, we have an uphill battle. If we end up in a region without those teams, we have a shot.
I just don't get this mentality. I root for McKenna/Gabbie/Kate because they chose Iowa, because they've put in the work for the last three years, because they seem like good people and they're fun to watch. I'd rather get what we get with the team that we've got over turning our back on one or more of those women, picking up someone from the outside just to (perhaps) win another game or two at the end of the season.
I don't know whether Lisa has made an effort to upgrade her team or not. In my opinion, she's not going to take a transfer just to take a transfer. Unless someone leaves, she already has a pretty full roster with the three players coming in, so keeping everyone happy will be a challenge anyway.
I can certainly understand this position. There are a couple other reasons that not taking a transfer might be best. The first is chemistry. Our rotational players have played with each other for a while now. Any transfer wouldn't have that familiarity, and it could impact the team's performance even if the transfer might be a better talent.
The second is high school recruiting. In the near future I think some schools that bring in a lot of transfers are going to struggle to land high school prospects. If you are a player who won't start right away, why would you commit to a school and a coaching staff that doesn't give you time to develop and is constantly looking for a new transfer starter? Transfers can fix short-term problems, but create long-term issues that could still doom a program.
She was a fun player to watch. She could shoot from three and despite her size, had a nose for rebounds. I hate to see her go.
Her playing time was reduced once Diew got healthy and offered a more complete game with her length. I think playing time was going to be a problem for her.
She will be a good player on the right team. Despite their dad, those girls seem like great kids.
I'm gonna disagree with you here. We have Sharon Goodman coming back who could be key. All 5 starters are back, Taylor McCabe will press Gabby for minutes, Stuelke will help as well. Lisa's team is going to be better and deeper next year. No need to dive into the portal.
Why not, since 2 of 3 of the starters are never going to get her to a competitive level with the top 4-5 teams
That's a terrible thing for recruiting. Who wants to come to Iowa if they think it's possible for them to start for 2/3 years and then get thrown aside when someone from the portal comes available. It's one thing if someone joins the team as a freshman or improves and takes a spot, but willingly going and replacing a long time starter is not good.
This take is on the right track. It would take a perfect storm of seeding and upset(s) clearing the path for Iowa for Iowa to possibly make the final four. This has happened once over the last 5 tournaments (Arizona in 2021). Otherwise, there is no path.
It’s not cheating to bring in a player that will immediately improve your team. Coaches are paid to win, and I firmly believe that’s what they should do without cheating like Kansas, LSU, etc.
With Sydney Parrish transferring to IU, and unless I have missed another transfer in, next year’s Big Ten rosters will have 3 McDonald’s AAs (Caitlin Clark and Diamond Miller). The lack of McDonald’s AAs really hurts the Big Ten. 16 of the last 20 teams to make the final four had 4 or more McDonald’s AA. Since Angel Reese and Clark signed with Big Ten schools in 2020, the Big Ten has struck out with the top tier recruits. On the heels of two very good NCAA tourneys, will be interesting to see if Big Ten schools can nab some McDonald’s AAs in the ‘23 class.
I suppose you get a new wife every five years, upgrade. You seem like a real winner and brilliant person.
To me, bringing in a player from the portal is really no different than bringing a player back for their covid year. Someones playing minutes will be affected. I think coaches need to be up front with recruits when they are recruiting them. Like, " if I see someone in the portal that I think can make this team better I'm going after them, even if you end up losing minutes." Or something on that order, just like if your not happy here you can put your name in the portal.
Bringing in a player from the portal may or not fit and may or not perform in this system and may or may not upset the chemistry. You know what you have when you bring a player back for their covid year.
The debate we're having about the portal is happening all over college sports right now. College football actually illustrates the difference of opinion well. Top teams like Alabama, Georgia, and Ohio State are using the portal, but Clemson largely isn't, preferring to stick with high school recruits. College football media think that will lead to Clemson falling behind the others, but that remains to be seen.
Many of the top programs Iowa would need to beat are using the transfer portal to supplement their roster or completely overhaul it in some cases. We will see how that strategy works out for them. I still don't think a single portal addition would put Iowa on the level of South Carolina, UConn, or Stanford.
Last thought: Tomi Taiwo and Lauren Jensen weren't expected to be starters last year, but Iowa brining in Kylie Feuerbach certainly took minutes away from both. It's almost certainly one of the reasons why Jensen transferred. Feuerbach did fine in her first season here, but I'm not sure the season plays out any differently if Jensen and Taiwo were playing her minutes instead. I do think our 2nd round tournament game turns out different if Jensen wasn't playing for Creighton. That's a stinging reminder that portal additions don't always work out.
Many of the top programs Iowa would need to beat are using the transfer portal to supplement their roster or completely overhaul it in some cases. We will see how that strategy works out for them. I still don't think a single portal addition would put Iowa on the level of South Carolina, UConn, or Stanford.
Last thought: Tomi Taiwo and Lauren Jensen weren't expected to be starters last year, but Iowa brining in Kylie Feuerbach certainly took minutes away from both. It's almost certainly one of the reasons why Jensen transferred. Feuerbach did fine in her first season here, but I'm not sure the season plays out any differently if Jensen and Taiwo were playing her minutes instead. I do think our 2nd round tournament game turns out different if Jensen wasn't playing for Creighton. That's a stinging reminder that portal additions don't always work out.
Meh. Sure, Creighton went on a great run the end of the season. Good for them! But Jensen misses that one 3 pointer the end of the Iowa game and we aren't having this conversation. Creighton finished 3rd in their conference and lost in the first round of the Big East tournament. Jensen averaged 12 points a game. Iowa has B1G regular season and tournament championships. I don't think anyone at Iowa is looking at their Championship rings and saying "Dang, we really missed Lauren Jensen this year!"
I would largely agree with this. Iowa with the current roster is a longshot to go to the Final 4. No real surprise there. They will likely content for the Big 10 again, that's great. But currently the Big 10 is quite a bit below the best teams in the nation.
Just moving aside multiple current starters for transfers would probably not work out positively. Iowa kind of is what it is right now. Very good offensive, skilled team, with a transcendent player who on a given night can keep them in a game with most anyone. But glaring deficiencies on defense and rebounding. Enjoy them for what/who they are. They will be right in it for a conference title again next year. Hopefully they can get home games for the first two rounds again next year and this time get to the 2nd weekend.
I actually believe Megan Meyer transferring was highly detrimental to the team success early on in the season. Megan was such an excellent defender and a capable ball hander. She would have been at the beginning of the season where Kylie was at the end of it. I still believe Megan is nowhere near her ceiling.
Iowa still had a good season despite the transfers but I don't know that I can say that team is better with Kylie over Megan or Lauren. Perhaps Megan or Lauren would have meant more to the team coming back with a season of experience.
I do wish Bluder would look to the portal to fill holes. There were a handful of elite guards that could have changed the dynamic of next year's team. I'm also disappointed Tomi was not allowed to come back. She was playing at a very high level and technically we have a scholarship available.
I watched several games when Megan was there and was never too impressed. Maybe I missed some of her better games but she didn't do much at all in the ones I seen. And what makes you think tomi was asked not to come back, I could be wrong but I find that hard to believe
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