Summer Check-in: 2024 Commit Ava Heiden
Although the Iowa Women’s Basketball season is still almost five months from tipping off, the AAU season is in full swing in with teams traveling across the country to take part in various tournaments. With that comes recruiting and that Hawkeyes have four 2024 commits competing with different AAU organizations. Ava Heiden is a center commit out of Sherwood, Oregon and plays her basketball with Under Armour Northwest Select.
They have played in four tournaments so far, including the Best of the West tournament in Roseville, CA and the Girls Under Armour Session One tournament in Manheim, PA at the Spooky Nook Complex.
“All these (tournaments) went well. Some were easier than others, but all were great learning experiences,” said Heiden. “It was fun to go to Pennsylvania and play on the UA circuit for the first time. Saw how we stacked up and how we needed to prepare for the next two UA sessions.”
Upcoming in July, her team will travel to Louisville, KY for the Run 4 the Roses tournament (6th-8th) and the GUAA Session Two (9th-11th). They will finish up the month with the Under Armour Finals in Hamilton, OH (21st-24th).
“I am most looking forward to our two tournaments in Louisville from July 5th-12th. We will get to stay a whole week in Kentucky playing against amazing competition and I also get to celebrate my birthday with my teammates while I’m out there.”
Heiden committed to the Hawkeyes back in October of 2022 over Utah, Oregon State and Washington. She is a highly regarded prospect and ESPN ranks her as the #32 recruit in the country for 2024, as well as the #4 overall center.
As a sophomore, Ava averaged 10.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 1.5 blocks per game for a Sherwood Lady Bowmen team that went 15-10, won the Pacific Conference and advanced to the second round of the playoffs, where they fell to #2 seed Jesuit. She was named Pacific Conference Player of the Year.
“Ava seperates herself by her growth mindset,” said Northwest Select Player Development Coacoh James Purchin. “She asks tremendous questions on why she/we do things and when is the right time. Ava moves extremely well off the ball for her size and makes great decisions. When she catches in the post, she understands her reads and is incredibly patient. She also have the desire to defend, compete and rebound.”
This past season as a junior at Sherwood, her year was cut short due to an ankle injury that ended her season after just seven games. Though she played just a couple of games, her stats still stand out, as she was averaging 12 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two blocks per game.
“My ankle is good now,” said Heiden. “I had grade 2/3 sprains in three spots along my ankle and was in a boot for a long time, but after I got out of it, I began rehabbing. I was working diligently to get it back to normal and it healed up nicely. Every day, I do exercises to keep my ankles strong and prevent future injury.”
While Ava has her senior year remaining at Sherwood, she is currently playing out her final summer with Northwest Select and is trying to enjoy the moments while she still can.
“My goal for this summer is to, of course, perform well and help my team be the best it can be, but also to have the most fun I can while doing it,” said Heiden. “It’s my last summer traveling with my family and playing club ball and I want to enjoy it.”
Don’t let that fool you though. She is determined to improve her game at the same time and is looking to continue to expand her game from the post out to the perimeter.
“My goals have been to continue executing in the post, but also pulling out my game to mid range shots and the three-point line. I think I’ve been doing a pretty good job applying my three-point shooting to the game so far. In the last tournament (Bay Area Showcase), I believe I hit four three-pointers during that weekend and one game I had a field goal percentage of 83%.”
“Being able to expand my game, while staying confident in the post position will be crucial for me at Iowa and I’m glad that I’m working on it now. My hope is that when I get to Iowa, the transition from club to college ball will be a little bit easier.”
Hearing that Ava is looking to expand her game to the perimeter, while remaining incredibly efficient in the post should be something that excites the Iowa fanbase. Megan Gustafson and Monika Czinano combined to finish top five in the country in field goal percentage in seven of their nine seasons, including leading the nation four times. The one thing that was missing was a perimeter game, as the two were just 1/3 from three-point range from long range over a combined nine seasons. While Ava is looking to expand her game, she still has the ability to channel her inner Gustafson/Czinano. Here is an example where she scored eight straight points without a dribble. Something that comes right out of the Monika Czinano playbook.
“In today’s game, it’s extremely hard to get on the floor unless you can shoot. With Ava’s size, she can definitely shoot the three-ball off the catch when needed,” said Purchin. “I give her a hard time a lot because her foot is usually on the line, but she has the work ethic to do able to shoot it consistently off the catch and will continue to work playing off the catch on a long closeout.”
Purchin says that Ava seems to add one or two things to her game each year that he has been around her. Over the past year, he said that she has grown in a couple more areas, including pursuing the ball on rebounds, off ball movement and patience when catching the ball in the post.
As for how much she talks to the rest of the 2024 class, Ava says that they have a group chat on instagram that they talk in every so often, but she is excited to meet them in person.
When the class arrives on campus in the summer of 2024, it will be at a time where the Hawkeye program is at its highest, with the team reaching the Final Four last March. They will once again be a preseason top ten team, as the Ava and the other ’24 commits play their senior high school seasons. Despite the recent success, Heiden says a Final Four appearance didn’t change her feelings about Iowa.
“It was super exciting to see, but it doesn’t change a thing about how I feel,” said Heiden. “I committed to Iowa because it’s such a great fit not because of how many national championships or awards they’ve won. They have a great program and school, but most importantly, they have a network of people that are kind, caring and feel like family.”
