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IOWA CITY — Emely Rodriguez’s Iowa women’s basketball tenure is over before it even really started.
After transferring to the Hawkeyes from UCF last offseason, the sophomore guard is headed back to the portal, multiple sources with direct knowledge of the move confirmed to the Register. Her Iowa career concludes after playing just 85 minutes and scoring 43 points over six games.
Concerns regarding Rodriguez’s long-term status date back to Iowa’s late-November appearance at the WBCA Showcase in Orlando. Rodriguez’s last official action came there as she played four minutes in the Hawkeyes’ win over Miami on Nov. 22.
Shortly after came the first mention of Rodriguez’s back injury, which forced her to watch home wins over Western Illinois (Nov. 26) and Fairfield (Nov. 30) from the bench. Rodriguez missed the Dec. 6 game at Rutgers but still made the trip. Three days later, Iowa coach Jan Jensen said the back tweak came either in Iowa’s final practice in Florida or its first one back in Iowa City.
How Jensen ended that answer, though, offered the first sign of something amiss.
"It hasn't gotten to the place where she feels comfortable returning yet with the rehabbing,” Jensen said on Dec. 9, one day before Rodriguez didn’t make the Cy-Hawk trip to Ames.
Jensen’s comments on the situation continued to suggest something was off. Following the Lindenwood home win on Dec. 13 that unfolded without Rodriguez on the bench, Jensen said there are “a lot of things I’m trying to figure out with that one,” while continuing to label Rodriguez as day-to-day. When asked three days later if Rodriguez was still on the team, Jensen’s answer wasn’t loaded with confidence.
“As of right now, yeah,” Jensen said on Dec. 16 ahead of the UConn game.
Rodriguez didn’t make that trip to Brooklyn for the Women’s Champions Classic, but she was back on the bench when the Hawkeyes returned to action Dec. 28 against Penn State. From there, Rodriguez was present at every one of Iowa’s final 21 games but never suited up again. She remained “out” on the availability report each time.
A 6-foot scoring weapon who operated somewhere between riveting and reckless, Rodriguez offered plenty of potential for a Hawkeyes squad that lacked offensive consistency at various points this season. If Jensen and her staff could corral that aggression and streamline it into something more productive within the Iowa system, the Hawkeyes would have themselves a bona fide shot creator unafraid of any defensive challenge.
There were positive flashes early, as Rodriguez put up 13 points in Iowa’s season-opening win over Southern and 11 points in a blowout victory over Drake. That's when things started to unravel.
Four points and six turnovers in 16 minutes while shooting 2-for-9 nearly derailed Iowa’s eventual upset of then-No. 7 Baylor. Rodriguez did have a big bucket late in the game — a driving layup through traffic that gave the Hawkeyes a 54-51 advantage with 1:45 remaining — but what came next was arguably more significant.
After picking up a loose-ball rebound with 40 seconds left and Iowa owning a 56-51 lead, Rodriguez pushed hard in transition with two separate spins around Baylor defenders. The second one was problematic as Rodriguez tripped and threw up an unsuccessful layup that Baylor easily rebounded. The Bears suddenly had an opening that shouldn't have existed.
In a moment that clearly called for Rodriguez to pull the ball out and absorb Baylor’s inevitable foul, she ignored a very basic time-and-score situation. Doubly detrimental was the entire Iowa bench — both coaches and players — yelling at Rodriguez not to drive the ball.
The error didn’t prove fatal as Iowa hung on for a 57-52 victory. But the play offered a microcosm of Iowa's Rodriguez dilemma.
"She has that ability," Jensen said after Iowa returned from Florida. "It’s just knowing when and clock management and knowing how we need to utilize that."
After recent portal successes to varying degrees with Molly Davis, Lucy Olsen and Chit-Chat Wright, the Rodriguez addition never materialized into something significant. Both parties will move on and try again elsewhere.
Dargan Southard is a sports trending reporter and covers Iowa athletics for the Des Moines Register and HawkCentral.com. Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter at @Dargan_Southard.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Emely Rodriguez leaving Iowa women's basketball, will enter portal
Continue reading...
After transferring to the Hawkeyes from UCF last offseason, the sophomore guard is headed back to the portal, multiple sources with direct knowledge of the move confirmed to the Register. Her Iowa career concludes after playing just 85 minutes and scoring 43 points over six games.
Concerns regarding Rodriguez’s long-term status date back to Iowa’s late-November appearance at the WBCA Showcase in Orlando. Rodriguez’s last official action came there as she played four minutes in the Hawkeyes’ win over Miami on Nov. 22.
Shortly after came the first mention of Rodriguez’s back injury, which forced her to watch home wins over Western Illinois (Nov. 26) and Fairfield (Nov. 30) from the bench. Rodriguez missed the Dec. 6 game at Rutgers but still made the trip. Three days later, Iowa coach Jan Jensen said the back tweak came either in Iowa’s final practice in Florida or its first one back in Iowa City.
How Jensen ended that answer, though, offered the first sign of something amiss.
"It hasn't gotten to the place where she feels comfortable returning yet with the rehabbing,” Jensen said on Dec. 9, one day before Rodriguez didn’t make the Cy-Hawk trip to Ames.
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Jensen’s comments on the situation continued to suggest something was off. Following the Lindenwood home win on Dec. 13 that unfolded without Rodriguez on the bench, Jensen said there are “a lot of things I’m trying to figure out with that one,” while continuing to label Rodriguez as day-to-day. When asked three days later if Rodriguez was still on the team, Jensen’s answer wasn’t loaded with confidence.
“As of right now, yeah,” Jensen said on Dec. 16 ahead of the UConn game.
Rodriguez didn’t make that trip to Brooklyn for the Women’s Champions Classic, but she was back on the bench when the Hawkeyes returned to action Dec. 28 against Penn State. From there, Rodriguez was present at every one of Iowa’s final 21 games but never suited up again. She remained “out” on the availability report each time.
A 6-foot scoring weapon who operated somewhere between riveting and reckless, Rodriguez offered plenty of potential for a Hawkeyes squad that lacked offensive consistency at various points this season. If Jensen and her staff could corral that aggression and streamline it into something more productive within the Iowa system, the Hawkeyes would have themselves a bona fide shot creator unafraid of any defensive challenge.
There were positive flashes early, as Rodriguez put up 13 points in Iowa’s season-opening win over Southern and 11 points in a blowout victory over Drake. That's when things started to unravel.
You must be registered for see images attach
Four points and six turnovers in 16 minutes while shooting 2-for-9 nearly derailed Iowa’s eventual upset of then-No. 7 Baylor. Rodriguez did have a big bucket late in the game — a driving layup through traffic that gave the Hawkeyes a 54-51 advantage with 1:45 remaining — but what came next was arguably more significant.
After picking up a loose-ball rebound with 40 seconds left and Iowa owning a 56-51 lead, Rodriguez pushed hard in transition with two separate spins around Baylor defenders. The second one was problematic as Rodriguez tripped and threw up an unsuccessful layup that Baylor easily rebounded. The Bears suddenly had an opening that shouldn't have existed.
In a moment that clearly called for Rodriguez to pull the ball out and absorb Baylor’s inevitable foul, she ignored a very basic time-and-score situation. Doubly detrimental was the entire Iowa bench — both coaches and players — yelling at Rodriguez not to drive the ball.
The error didn’t prove fatal as Iowa hung on for a 57-52 victory. But the play offered a microcosm of Iowa's Rodriguez dilemma.
"She has that ability," Jensen said after Iowa returned from Florida. "It’s just knowing when and clock management and knowing how we need to utilize that."
After recent portal successes to varying degrees with Molly Davis, Lucy Olsen and Chit-Chat Wright, the Rodriguez addition never materialized into something significant. Both parties will move on and try again elsewhere.
Dargan Southard is a sports trending reporter and covers Iowa athletics for the Des Moines Register and HawkCentral.com. Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter at @Dargan_Southard.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Emely Rodriguez leaving Iowa women's basketball, will enter portal
Continue reading...
