Ava Heiden?
- Thread starter Zstatman
- Start date
Heiden, not Harden (for the op).
But to your point, right on...three good players to play the 5, and only one of them can be out there at a time. Ava draws short straw as the freshman. She struggles with some of the nuances of defensive positioning, as well as with shot selection. I love her potential, and wish she could get more minutes, but I agree with the staff that Hannah at the 4 wasn't working.
Heiden has gotten a taste this year, and she will be a valuable sub next year. By junior year, the spot is hers for the taking (if she can beat out the 6'5" freshman coming next year).
Bordone
Well-Known Member
I'm guessing she starts next year, I don't think Hannah as a 4 is over, they just needed to get into win now mode this season.
Zstatman
Well-Known Member
A couple thoughts.
I understand the win now mode, but Hannah needs to play the 4 not the 5, that's where her WNBA potential is. She's got a WNBA body, and her game is getting there but it still needs work. Maybe next year at the 4 then.
At least Ava isn't injured, but I'm surprised she isn't getting any minutes, she's the future at the 5. Next year with the 6'5" gal coming in from Alaska, the two of them will be manning the middle. Ava will still be growing into the position, she needs experience.
In Jan and staff, we trust.
I understand the win now mode, but Hannah needs to play the 4 not the 5, that's where her WNBA potential is. She's got a WNBA body, and her game is getting there but it still needs work. Maybe next year at the 4 then.
At least Ava isn't injured, but I'm surprised she isn't getting any minutes, she's the future at the 5. Next year with the 6'5" gal coming in from Alaska, the two of them will be manning the middle. Ava will still be growing into the position, she needs experience.
In Jan and staff, we trust.
First win against a top tier opponent. Now they can see what it takes to do that consistently. Hopefully this team has turned a corner in their development. I still think we should be happy that such a young team is playing as well as they are. Starting Big 10 play was a shift of gears that took them awhile to adapt to. Hopefully, they see the way forward. Seeing Freshmen getting game experience is a good thing. And I don't see the fall off that we often had last year when the subs are in.
HawkPowerlifter
Well-Known Member
Agree with a lot of being said. I think also beyond the youth, it's a chemistry adjustment. I say it's a bit of the Caitlyn Clark Effect. At times, you saw the team almost lost. Who was going to step up and take the shot. The last several years, you always had Clark to take charge and take the shot. This year, it's a bit more of a team effort, and it's about finding their identity.
It's almost sacra religious to say CC had a negative effect on the team, and I'm definitely not saying that. It's more of an adjustment to their new roles. I would say this team will have more balance than previous teams.
This team is young, and will be fun to see them grow and get better.
It's almost sacra religious to say CC had a negative effect on the team, and I'm definitely not saying that. It's more of an adjustment to their new roles. I would say this team will have more balance than previous teams.
This team is young, and will be fun to see them grow and get better.
I'm not so sure about her starting but with O'Grady graduating they'll be a lot more PT available for her. I only say this because I think Hannah just is who she is at this point. She isn't going to all of a sudden become a stretch 4. She's an athletic 5 who just doesn't have much range outside the paint. So playing Hannah with an O'Grady or Heiden just clogs up the lane on offense so they've all but stopped doing that. I look forward to Ava playing more and I think she still will this yr some too.
Zstatman
Well-Known Member
Hannah was working on her outside game earlier in the year, she even shot and made a 3 or two if memory serves. But the team needed her to go back inside for this year and it has worked so far. Hanah is a hard worker, though, and will continue to work on her outside game. Remember as a freshman she was terrible at free throws and not is fairly decent. She'll get there.
Next year, Ava and the other frosh, won't be coming in as raw rookies so the team will have the whole off season to work on their roles. Throw in Addie, Journey, and Alaska and they will have a good nucleus.
Here's a thought on Hannah. Most opponents don't realize how fast she is, that she was a track standout in high school. I could see her on the Fever in a couple years, farfetched at this point I know. For those that watched the Fever last year, they played the Connecticut Suns a couple times early in the year and got blitzed. I remember CC even commenting on how good they were with their up-temp style. Well, turns out that Sun coach, Stephanie White, has multiple Indiana ties and how has come home. Do you think the Fever will have that same up-tempo style next year? I'd guess so. And anyone that can fit into that style of play will be a good candidate to make that roster.
Now back to Ava..............
Next year, Ava and the other frosh, won't be coming in as raw rookies so the team will have the whole off season to work on their roles. Throw in Addie, Journey, and Alaska and they will have a good nucleus.
Here's a thought on Hannah. Most opponents don't realize how fast she is, that she was a track standout in high school. I could see her on the Fever in a couple years, farfetched at this point I know. For those that watched the Fever last year, they played the Connecticut Suns a couple times early in the year and got blitzed. I remember CC even commenting on how good they were with their up-temp style. Well, turns out that Sun coach, Stephanie White, has multiple Indiana ties and how has come home. Do you think the Fever will have that same up-tempo style next year? I'd guess so. And anyone that can fit into that style of play will be a good candidate to make that roster.
Now back to Ava..............
Fryowa
Administrator
I don't think I'd go that far, her times were bottom middle of the pack at their district meet and way off state qualifiers.
She's going to have to get way better at shooting outside the paint to do that. Not to mention her handle has to improve. She's an undersized 5 atm and her game won't translate well to the W I don't think as it is now. I think she'll get an opportunity to but I don't think she'll be drafted high or necessarily stick anywhere for long.
Monica C kinda had the same issue being an undersized 5 without much range. But she had way better touch inside the paint then Hannah does. So I dunno if Hannah will end up sticking in the W when she gets there or not but I don't think it's a given that she will.
I'm a little baffled by all the references to the Iowa women's team being "so young". Holy cow, their starting lineup consists of: Senior, Senior, Senior, Senior, Junior. In what universe does that qualify as "really young"? Of course the backups are young, but geez, folks, keep it real.
Yeah what folks really mean by that is inexperienced. McCabe and Kylie were bit role players their careers up til this yr. O'Grady had played some but not a ton. Even as much as Syd had played last yr off the bench she wasn't a 30 min starter either. Lucy and Stuelke are the only ones that had some serious experience amongst the group. So yeah the 'young' part of it all really only applies to the bench which is largely freshman
I get your point, but would disagree with the 'inexperienced' label. Kylie started 24 of 28 games as a Freshman when at Iowa St., and by the last half of the 2023-24 season was usually playing 15-23 min/game for the Hawks. That's more than a 'bit role player'. As you point out, Syd played lots of minutes last year, and was even named to the BTen Tourney Team. I would suggest this is a starting team with tons of experience.
They ARE, however, inexperienced playing on a team without CC.
