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After a highly successful regular season in year two under Jan Jensen, things didn't go as planned for the Iowa women's basketball team in the postseason.
A 51-point loss to UCLA in the Big Ten Tournament championship game seemed to throw off the Hawkeyes' rhythm as they entered the NCAA Tournament. After struggling and barely scraping by 15th-seeded Fairleigh Dickinson, Iowa's season came to an end at home in the second round with a double-overtime loss to Virginia. It was a disappointing exit for a two-seed that entered the postseason with dreams of making a run.
Now, the roster is undergoing a major overhaul. Four seniors have graduated, including Hannah Stuelke and Kylie Feuerbach. Throw in an additional five players who have entered the transfer portal, which includes Addie Deal and Teagan Mallegni, and this roster is going to look very different next season.
With only six players returning to Iowa next year, Jensen will have to go to work in the transfer portal to rebuild the roster. What does she need to grab in the portal to ensure the Hawkeyes continue taking steps forward?
Here are the biggest transfer portal needs for the Iowa women's basketball program:
One of the biggest struggles for the Hawkeyes in the NCAA Tournament was their 3-point shooting. They shot a dreadful 6-of-42 from behind the arc in the two NCAA Tournament games, a huge reason why they bowed out early. Throw in the graduation of Taylor McCabe, and there's not much shooting coming back next season. Chit-Chat Wright, and Taylor Stremlow are basically the only reliable shooters who will be back.
Adding another shooter or two should be one of the biggest priorities for Jensen in this transfer portal period. The offense that she runs goes primarily through the post, so having players who can keep defenses honest on the perimeter is a must. Jensen has to walk away with a couple of shooters over the next few weeks.
Iowa's depth was brutal toward the end of last season. Jensen was basically rolling with a six-player rotation in the postseason, with the five starters plus Journey Houston getting all the minutes. With Deal, Mallegni, Callie Levin, and some more of the bench pieces off to the portal, the depth needs to be rebuilt. The Hawkeyes can't rely on six players consistently.
Jensen needs to pick up some high-impact role players to fill out the depth. These should be players who can come in and defend at a high level, with some scoring upside at some point in the future. Adding more depth will keep the starters fresher as the season goes on and will give Jensen more lineup flexibility.
Iowa doesn't have a senior on the roster currently. They're a young roster that doesn't have a ton of experience winning in the postseason. The leadership of Stuelke, Feuerbach, McCabe, and others was invaluable to last year's squad. With those pieces gone, Jensen needs to go out and find someone who has more postseason experience to join the roster.
The returning pieces that are coming back are very talented, but could use some extra leadership to help get them over the top. It doesn't have to be a star player scoring 20 points per game, but someone who's played a ton of games and can be a coach on the court would be great for this team.
If Jensen can grab a piece or two from each of these three categories, there's no reason why Iowa can't continue its elite play from the regular season last year.
Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes and opinions. Follow Zach on X: @zach_hiney
This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: What are Iowa women's basketball's transfer portal needs?
Continue reading...
A 51-point loss to UCLA in the Big Ten Tournament championship game seemed to throw off the Hawkeyes' rhythm as they entered the NCAA Tournament. After struggling and barely scraping by 15th-seeded Fairleigh Dickinson, Iowa's season came to an end at home in the second round with a double-overtime loss to Virginia. It was a disappointing exit for a two-seed that entered the postseason with dreams of making a run.
Now, the roster is undergoing a major overhaul. Four seniors have graduated, including Hannah Stuelke and Kylie Feuerbach. Throw in an additional five players who have entered the transfer portal, which includes Addie Deal and Teagan Mallegni, and this roster is going to look very different next season.
With only six players returning to Iowa next year, Jensen will have to go to work in the transfer portal to rebuild the roster. What does she need to grab in the portal to ensure the Hawkeyes continue taking steps forward?
Here are the biggest transfer portal needs for the Iowa women's basketball program:
More perimeter shooting
One of the biggest struggles for the Hawkeyes in the NCAA Tournament was their 3-point shooting. They shot a dreadful 6-of-42 from behind the arc in the two NCAA Tournament games, a huge reason why they bowed out early. Throw in the graduation of Taylor McCabe, and there's not much shooting coming back next season. Chit-Chat Wright, and Taylor Stremlow are basically the only reliable shooters who will be back.
Adding another shooter or two should be one of the biggest priorities for Jensen in this transfer portal period. The offense that she runs goes primarily through the post, so having players who can keep defenses honest on the perimeter is a must. Jensen has to walk away with a couple of shooters over the next few weeks.
High-impact depth options
Iowa's depth was brutal toward the end of last season. Jensen was basically rolling with a six-player rotation in the postseason, with the five starters plus Journey Houston getting all the minutes. With Deal, Mallegni, Callie Levin, and some more of the bench pieces off to the portal, the depth needs to be rebuilt. The Hawkeyes can't rely on six players consistently.
Jensen needs to pick up some high-impact role players to fill out the depth. These should be players who can come in and defend at a high level, with some scoring upside at some point in the future. Adding more depth will keep the starters fresher as the season goes on and will give Jensen more lineup flexibility.
A veteran presence
Iowa doesn't have a senior on the roster currently. They're a young roster that doesn't have a ton of experience winning in the postseason. The leadership of Stuelke, Feuerbach, McCabe, and others was invaluable to last year's squad. With those pieces gone, Jensen needs to go out and find someone who has more postseason experience to join the roster.
The returning pieces that are coming back are very talented, but could use some extra leadership to help get them over the top. It doesn't have to be a star player scoring 20 points per game, but someone who's played a ton of games and can be a coach on the court would be great for this team.
If Jensen can grab a piece or two from each of these three categories, there's no reason why Iowa can't continue its elite play from the regular season last year.
Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes and opinions. Follow Zach on X: @zach_hiney
This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: What are Iowa women's basketball's transfer portal needs?
Continue reading...
