1) UCLA kicked our butt 2) season record is 26-6 and 3) over-all record establishes (look at the scores) Hawkeyes are the second best team in the Big Ten... above Michigan, Ohio State, Minnesota and all the others! And finally, there ARE more games to play and win... Go team!!!
WBB realities!
- Thread starter Powell living Hawkeye
- Start date
There is a large gap between the top 4 and the next 6-15. It has been that way in women's basketball forever.
UCLA was a final four team last year, starts five seniors and will probably put six in the WNBA.
Time for the Hawks to flush this game? win two at home and see where we go from there.
I truly feel this team is a year ahead of where I thought we'd be.
Go Hawks!
UCLA was a final four team last year, starts five seniors and will probably put six in the WNBA.
Time for the Hawks to flush this game? win two at home and see where we go from there.
I truly feel this team is a year ahead of where I thought we'd be.
Go Hawks!
Kind of interesting thinking about the next couple of years between the women's and men's team: with women's team, you have non-senior dominated team with a young nucleus and really good recruiting class moving ahead. With the men's team, you have a team largely carried by one superstar senior and alot of seemingly role players, with recruiting a bit of a gray area. In both cases, the portal can giveth and taketh. Let's hope for the best in both cases!
There is a harsh truth evident after the UCONN and UCLA games. Ava and HS would the only potential starters on elite teams. The entire Iowa backcourt would be backup players on the teams. Not to take away from Wright and TS. They’ve been mostly great. But their limitations were on full display relative to the elite teams.
Truth is Iowa can’t compete at that elite level until they upgrade the backcourt with skill, size, and athleticism. They need to become a program where players like Wright and TS are vital role players, not starters.
Let's hope we have a good start with this year's freshman class and the incoming recruisi
Would take a significant change in team culture and recruiting/development philosophy to join the elite teams in the new era. I'm not sure I see that happening, and I don't see Jensen portal recruiting over her players.Maybe, but I'd be surprised.
I fully hate the new era. It's soulless.
I fully hate the new era. It's soulless.
I think she’s trying, actually. She went after great players this year and next and missed on them. But she seems to be taking swings. I think she’ll be able to recruit elite frontcourt and hybrid post players. Just not sure about the backcourt.
"Soulless." Interesting adjective. I think it applies even more in an even more important area than women's college basketball. BTW, how do you like my new gold curtains?
I enjoy your posts, but there is an off topic forum.
This has nothing to do with the new era. We’re actually recruiting better than we’ve ever recruited. We’re a top 10 team. It’s no different than it’s been since women’s bball became popular. We had the C Vivian era back in the day which was similar to the Raveling recruiting days. And we reached a Final 4. The Bluder days were pretty similar to now except for once in a lifetime player in CC that carried some nice players to 2 championship games. Our recruits are highly rated, but not an entire team of 5 stars like UConn. And UCLA has built up to this. Kudos to them. But this isn’t some new thing.
With 5* McKenna joining Ava, Taylor, Chit Chat, Journey, five* Addie, and Layla. That is a really good core. A portal addition or two, look out.
Iowa gets beaten by 51 and incredibly moves up to 7th in the AP poll!
You do have to consider they won two games before that, ya?
So not in Championship territory but rated amongst the best of the rest. Given the body of work for the entire season not unreasonable IMO.
Obviously I disagree. The portal era creates a situation where teams that already recruit well, can bring in star players from other teams, forming superteams built to play in the Final4 and win a championship. It deflates high school recruiting and makes one incoming McD AA pretty irrelevant in reaching that elite level where there are two just like her sitting on the bench.
This isn't going away. Teams will choose to play in that elite field or play for SW16s and E8s.
You can say it's the same as it ever was, but it's really not. I respect what Iowa is doing and as a fan appreciate it, but given the philosophy that built the Caitlin Clark team those F4 runs were the last of an era in NCAAW.
Because clearly you have to understand rankings are based on more than one game (or should be, but who really knows)
The philosophy that built the CC teams were we had Caitlin Clark. Plain and simple. Teams don’t choose to be a sweet 16 team. We’re obviously trying to get further than that. UConn was great before the portal and they’re still great. They’re not bringing 5 new portal players a year. California schools are hemorrhaging money so not sure that UCLA has a huge budget for women’s bball. If I were to guess I’d say our women’s NIL budget is up there pretty high.
It kind of is the same as it ever was, just with an extra step. Now the top historical teams can just recruit after a year of playing college ball instead of relying on high school evaluations. They'll get the typical 5 stars, and also be able to bridge any gaps with rising stars that they may have missed initially. Net result: exactly the same.
I'm realistically perfectly fine with a top 10 team knowing that getting over the hump into top 5 requires a generational talent (or going back in time 35 years and taking advantage of a terrible conference to start a dynasty). Even men's basketball seems to be filtering itself away from parity if it ever was on that path anyway. Middle of the pack is a clusterf*ck every game but the top teams over the course of a season are pretty much who they've always been.
I have a pretty good idea what your old handle was on the old board. Like there, you just don't know when to keep your trap closed. Take it to off topic, you'll fit right in
Are you familiar with the the Tennessee/UConn run in the 90s? Sure, things are different, but superteams are nothing new.
I mean Iowa lost at UCLA 65-88, fresh off McCabe's injury. That's a more accurate reflection of the difference between the two teams. Maybe the pollsters are smarter than many of the posters here after all.
Or not. Addie grows her game, Hays takes to Jan's tutelage like Ava did from year one to year two and McKenna plays like a true 5 star from her freshman year.
UCLA has 6 seniors in their rotation this year that are projected to be drafted, 4 in the first 9 pics. An upper class team is what wins in the women's game, provided a team has a couple talented bigs. At this point, Iowa has one and maybe more. Point being, Iowa is not too far away.
Maybe a Caitlin NIL donation puts Iowa over the top. Stranger things have happened, see Indiana football the last two years.