How would you compare Layla's first season compared to Addie O'Grady's first season? Do you think Layla takes a step up in season 2? I think Addie had her best season her senior year. I'm hoping Layla is working on free throws in the off season.
Laya Hays year 2
- Thread starter Todd-Mar....
- Start date
I have no reason to think Layla won't continue to improve and likely take a big step up in 2026. She's from a town in AK that has 9,000 people. It's only 45 minutes from Anchorage so I'm sure she faced "some" good players there, but I have to wonder if she had the kinds of opportunities to play that kids in the lower 48 have.
And Jan is great coaching the bigs.
And Jan is great coaching the bigs.
Layla is in a position just like last season where if she improves and plays a very good sub role it will really help. Ava gets her fouls called on her but as she becomes an older player the refs may give her a bit of a break, but still if the hawks keep going with the fast break opportunities then they need 40 good minutes out of the center position. Always good to know your backup center can do the job.
Addie O'Grady was mediocre at best in her senior year. I don't think Jan was able to coach her up. Goodman didn't progress either. I'm not saying they weren't good women, just underachieving basketball players under Jan's coaching.
I'm not mad at Jan, just saying she is not great at coaching her bigs all the time.
I'm not mad at Jan, just saying she is not great at coaching her bigs all the time.
I tend to agree with the above. AOG and Layla both have heavy legs (IMO) and not sure that can be fixed by a coach, Hope Layla proves us doubters wrong.
I think that Goodman battled injuries and O'Grady was a developmental player that contributed during her senior season. Contributions can be giving someone a couple of minutes on the bench to rest.
If it were only about coaching, everyone would be an All-American. It's like when a baseball player is in a hitting slump. There's a little more to it than simply "coaching him up." If only it were that easy . . .
I thought Hays looked good early, then hit a wall and never progressed, which happens a lot in all sports. Improvement is NOT linear. There are ups and downs and in-betweens. I believe Hays will show marked improvement next season and will be a significant part of this team, at least by the second half of the season. I say that because I believe she does have enough talent and athleticism to make those improvements.
Her recruiting blew up from summer league games against good competition in the lower 48.
Hays is a completely different animal than O'Grady and Goodman.
Her recruiting journey had a bit of an interesting story in that no one knew who she was until she showed up at an AAU tourney (before her junior year, I believe) and wowed everyone. She was so far away that evaluators didn't really know who she was--she wasn't able to showcase her skills before that. I cant remember which ranking (maybe ASGR or Prospects Nation?) then debuted her as a Top 40 recruit in her class. When she debuted on the ESPN list she was a bit lower -- 70s I think.
That's was higher than O'Grady, who was ranked in the 90s via ESPN, but still kind of disappointing based on how much hype she got after that tourney, but I've long been of the opinion that an offer list matters far more than a ranking (consider that AJ Edigar was ranked around the same as Hannah Stuelke in the 40s, while Affolter wasn't considered a Top 100 recruit by ESPN at all).
Others have also mentioned that ESPN's rankings are highly prone to being impacted by AAU politics. Sometimes rankings can vary significantly based on these things alone. Affolter provides another great example with regard to this. While she wasn't ranked in the ESPN Top 100, Prospects Nation had her ranked in the 60s. I think the latter is likely more in line with what she was able to do in college than the former.
The evaluators who work for ESPN also prioritize those who play at tourneys they have a stake in, so many international players famously struggle to break into them if they're just not around for them. Have to wonder if Hays is more "international" or not for the purposes of rankings.
This is all to say that I think Hays has the potential to be very good. Jan has said this more than once -- along the lines of "She might end up being one of our all time great post players." She has contrasted Hays with Heiden more than once as well, describing Heiden as quicker and more of a stretch 4. I believe that at some point (probably not this year), we will see line-ups with Hays and Heiden on the floor together. This is something Jan has said she wants to do (and which she tried at least once this year, but only for a few minutes).
We are incredibly lucky to have depth like Lays at the 5! We have to be patient but I have to believe big things are in store for her. I wouldn't be surprised if after next season we are all terrified she will leave us for a high six figure payday and starting opportunity.
- O'Grady had some skills but didn't want to be a center. Bluder said this at least 3 different times on the record -- things like "I'm really trying to get her to be more physical, it's just not in her personality" and "She's actually not playing her preferred position." O'Grady always wanted to be more of a stretch 4. That's what she played in HS, alongside Lauren Betts (which I assume provided her a lot of space to maneuver). That's why she liked shooting from the elbow and running in transition. She also loved to shoot from the perimeter, which just didn't happen at Iowa because of the old-school post system. Have to wonder how she may have done somewhere like UNL that is more positionless. Her offer list overall was pretty generic overall -- not terrible but nothing impressive. By her senior year she had bought in and she basically hit her ceiling.
- Goodman was the opposite -- she liked playing the 5 but she didn't really have a lot of skills. I don't even know what her offer list was but my guess is her best offer outside Iowa was probably UNI. On top of that she had her ACL issue which clearly set her back significantly. I know the party line was that she graduated early because she was ready to graduate and become a nurse but I think Bluder was honest with her about not getting any minutes and basically nudged her along that path to open up minutes/a scholarship for other players.
Her recruiting journey had a bit of an interesting story in that no one knew who she was until she showed up at an AAU tourney (before her junior year, I believe) and wowed everyone. She was so far away that evaluators didn't really know who she was--she wasn't able to showcase her skills before that. I cant remember which ranking (maybe ASGR or Prospects Nation?) then debuted her as a Top 40 recruit in her class. When she debuted on the ESPN list she was a bit lower -- 70s I think.
That's was higher than O'Grady, who was ranked in the 90s via ESPN, but still kind of disappointing based on how much hype she got after that tourney, but I've long been of the opinion that an offer list matters far more than a ranking (consider that AJ Edigar was ranked around the same as Hannah Stuelke in the 40s, while Affolter wasn't considered a Top 100 recruit by ESPN at all).
Others have also mentioned that ESPN's rankings are highly prone to being impacted by AAU politics. Sometimes rankings can vary significantly based on these things alone. Affolter provides another great example with regard to this. While she wasn't ranked in the ESPN Top 100, Prospects Nation had her ranked in the 60s. I think the latter is likely more in line with what she was able to do in college than the former.
The evaluators who work for ESPN also prioritize those who play at tourneys they have a stake in, so many international players famously struggle to break into them if they're just not around for them. Have to wonder if Hays is more "international" or not for the purposes of rankings.
This is all to say that I think Hays has the potential to be very good. Jan has said this more than once -- along the lines of "She might end up being one of our all time great post players." She has contrasted Hays with Heiden more than once as well, describing Heiden as quicker and more of a stretch 4. I believe that at some point (probably not this year), we will see line-ups with Hays and Heiden on the floor together. This is something Jan has said she wants to do (and which she tried at least once this year, but only for a few minutes).
We are incredibly lucky to have depth like Lays at the 5! We have to be patient but I have to believe big things are in store for her. I wouldn't be surprised if after next season we are all terrified she will leave us for a high six figure payday and starting opportunity.
Well thought out post. Nice to read an optimistic assessment that gives us something to look forward to. It will be fun to see her mature and develop.
If we had Monica 1 more year, we would have won the National Championship
If we has all our best players on one team at the same time we would have won a national championship
I’m sorry but Layla Hayes is not a big ten level center
in two years I’ve seen very little development
If Ava gets into foul trouble or worst injured we are screwed
in two years I’ve seen very little development
If Ava gets into foul trouble or worst injured we are screwed
Layla has played one year and one game. Not two years.
Some things are obvious.
Hays is just so slow and you can see why.
Hays didn't have any games last year where you could say "Hey, I see potential there".
Hays=Crooks minus 25 pts/game.
AH better not get in foul trouble against any good teams with size at the "5".
Last edited:
It's too early to tell. My Lord it was the first actual game
Fans want to hope that JJ can develop Hays because of her past successes with the "5".
Except there's one MASSIVE difference now...Jensen is the HC and responsible for everything within the wbb program.
She can't possibly spend the same amount of time with Hays that she spent with Megan/Monica.
Hope isn't a plan.
Except there's one MASSIVE difference now...Jensen is the HC and responsible for everything within the wbb program.
She can't possibly spend the same amount of time with Hays that she spent with Megan/Monica.
Hope isn't a plan.
Jan has to figure out the most productive lineups regardless of personnel development and we're seeing some of that early in the season. When Ava leaves the floor, McKenna and JH might prove to be a more effective combination on the floor than Layla and McKenna/JH. That's not "giving up on Layla". That would simply be recognizing that McKenna might be more effective as the backup 5 than Layla is today and can receive some of those minutes.
Not disagreeing and didn't see the game and that's good news for McKenna that she can do that but bad news that Layla hasn't improved enough for Jan to feel comfortable still in giving her more minutes, especially against a team like Towson. But, as others have said she's still only a Sophomore and bigs in most cases take longer to develop. Was just hoping to hear more positive news about her.
It's really as much about McKenna as it is about Layla. McKenna just looks much better at pretty much everything today which shouldn't be surprising as one of the most heralded recruits in Iowa history. Giving her a few minutes at the 5 and JH a few more minutes at the 4 isn't a crazy idea.
I actually thought she has improved some and looked a bit quicker and more decisive with her moves. She played 17 min. Had 6 points on 3 for 5 shooting, 5 boards and a blocked shot. I think she can give us 8 to 10 minutes a game. MW can play some minutes especially against teams that don't have a big dominant post. Honestly we've spent a lot of time on this. There was ZERO chance Jan was going to sign another back up center in the portal to play behind Ava that would have been an upgrade over Layla
Layla got 17 minutes in a backup role, Not sure that translates to Jan not trusting Layla vs Jan trying out different personnel packages early in the year.
It's okay to admit that players have different ceilings at different levels of the game...........or did you guys not understand that?
She's even less athletic than Crooks. I doubt the team they played had a big..
Of course we do. Just with the lack of depth at the Center position and of course the foul problems of Ava from last year was just hoping to hear Layla had taken a bigger step forward. Again, I didn't see the game so maybe that's just the OP's perspective.
Layla has a ceiling with her lack of athleticism. We will struggle if she is getting big minutes.
I think Layla has shown some improvement. I like the payback she dished out. She seems like player that develops into a solid player in years 3 and 4 or maybe 5. 10 minutes a game now would be nice.
You can't develop athleticism to a large extent. That's the main problem and why expectations should be tempered even if she is young.
Crooks whole body is a tree trunk and I wouldn't call her athletic. Layla can give us 8-10 decent minutes.
She was more productive in her minutes. Just the same people who have been down on her from day one. Same thing you see on the football board. She doesn't need to be an All conference player to give us 8-10 good minutes. Here's the question for the naysayers. What was Jan supposed to do, short of kicking her off the team. We were NEVER going to get a player that would certainly be better to come and sit on the bench behind Ava and play 8-10 minutes. Next season they have Hartwell coming in. Either Layla continues to improve, or she'll lose those minutes to the freshman, and she'll probably leave on her own.
This what I want to see, Play decent defense, Don’t commit silly turnovers, And be a threat in the low post whether real or imagined so the offense can continue to run as intended and not have to drastically change because she is on the floor. She doesn’t need to be a force she just needs to not be an obvious liability.
Disappointing to see some of the so called experts tear down a young lady who works her a$$ off every day. Layla represents the university with class She has shown improvement with her footwork in the lane. Slightly quicker and much stronger. Hauled down several offensive rebounds at key moments in the second half. She will only get better as the season progresses.
Some people only see what they want to support their original thoughts on a player. Jan said she's progressing well, and had a solid off-season in the weight room and on the court. Of course we have those who don't even want Jan as the coach, so. I thought she played some decent minutes off the bench
two things can be true at once….. we can support and appreciate Layla as a Hawkeye and acknowledge she might have some athleticism limitations….not sure why some posters feel the need to rush to defend her …. I don’t think anyone wants to see her fail
She absolutely has an important role and she can give the Hawks solid minutes…… experience I hope will help her game ….time will tell…. I’m glad she’s a Hawkeye
She absolutely has an important role and she can give the Hawks solid minutes…… experience I hope will help her game ….time will tell…. I’m glad she’s a Hawkeye
Latest
-
01
Hawkeye Report Olympics
Media Day takeaways from Iowa head coach Tom Brands
-
02
Hawkeye Report Football
Extensive injury report for the Hawkeyes
-
03
Hawkeye Report Olympics
Iowa Field Hockey knocks off #12 Penn State at the Big Ten Tournament
-
04
Hawkeye Report Football
Hawkeye Report Podcast
-
05
Hawkeye Report Basketball
WATCH: Jan Jensen, Hawkeyes recap the season-opener, look ahead to EIU and UConn