A More Sober View of Kylie Feuerbach's Transfer to Iowa
from a Die-Hard Cyclone Fan Who has No Tie to the HawkeyeNation
A further response to @
NEICyFan and other posters who share a neutral opinion on this transfer
The discussion of a single ISU WBB player's transfer news has reached an unprecedented level (17 pages long and counting) and I'd like to touch on a deeper issue which I'm more concerned about.
I believe the negative reactions in this thread are never about her being a bad person. As a matter of fact, she's a good person and we still appreciate what she has done to the ISU WBB program. She does have the right to choose what's best for her basketball career and her life. IMO, the nature of those negative reactions is more about her impact on the CyHawk rivalry.
First of all, I respect all of the posters' opinions whether I agree or disagree, as long as they are rational without personal attacks (including hints of sarcasm or humiliation). I understand if the same issue is viewed from different angles, the opinions could be the opposite. I also understand we come from different backgrounds, but we all share the same thing in this community - the love for the ISU WBB program. I believe the diversity in opinions on this board with healthy discussions can help the forum grow because most of the posters here are well-educated and civilized people.
Regardless of where you come from, if you only root for ISU, or if you root for both ISU and Iowa, this thread wouldn't have reached this level if
1) Kylie decided to transfer to a different school other than Iowa
or
2)
ISU was at a completely different competitive level than Iowa (like Baylor vs Texas Tech)
In those two scenarios, her transfer would make little to no impact on both programs. Unfortunately, the reality is her transfer has escalated the rivalry between the two programs that have been on a very similar competitive level for a long time.
If you are a fan who has ties to both schools and would root for both programs to succeed, then you are probably OK with this transfer because it's a win-win situation for you or it's not that big of a deal. But for a fan like me who is a die-hard Cyclone fan (as my username suggests) and has no tie to the Hawkeyes, this is a different animal. I'll try my best to be objective here as a women's basketball fan to explain my point of view.
Although I'm a die-hard CycloneWBB fan, I'm not a HawkeyeWBB hater. My hate for the Hawks is more from the men's sports side. On the contrary, Iowa WBB is a likable program and I can hardly find anything I don't like about them. Their games are fun to watch, to be honest. My bottom line is: I just don't root for their success and would stay neutral mostly when they play non-ISU opponents.
As most posters here would agree, ISU and Iowa are very close in competitive level with a slight difference, just like the relationship of big sister and little sister with a year difference in age. But it's that slight difference that frustrates me because in the past 5 seasons, Iowa is just a little better than ISU in every single year record-wise. I'm just sick and tired of ISU being the second fiddle or "1b" of the State, i.e. the "little sis" for half a decade and counting.
I'll just let the facts talk.
1. Regarding the records
Since the 2016-2017 season,
1) ISU has lost to Iowa 5 games in a roll, even though the scores were very close. Lisa Bluder has never won at Hilton before the period, then did it twice in the past 5 years.
2) Iowa had a better overall record than ISU in every season. Iowa had 20 or more wins in each season while ISU only had one 20+ win season (Bridget Carleton's senior year).
3) Both programs have made the NCAA tournament three times. Iowa had one Elite Eight and two Sweet Sixteen, while ISU lost in the Round of 32 twice and hasn't made Sweet Sixteen since 2010.
4) When facing the in-state rival Drake, ISU went 3-2, Iowa went 4-1.
When facing the in-state rival UNI, ISU went 2-1, Iowa went 4-1.
5) ISU has seen two of the program's all-time best players in Bridget Carleton and Ashley Joens in this period, while Iowa raises it with Megan Gustafson, Kathleen Doyle and Caitlin Clark who led Iowa for better records.
2. Regarding the coaching
There are three major aspects to judge how good a coaching staff is.
1) game preparation and in-game coaching
2) recruiting
3) player development
Combine all three, I think Iowa has done a slightly better job than ISU in the past five seasons.
3. Regarding the goal for the near future
Lisa Bluder and Caitlin Clark have both said the goal is to reach the Final Four and compete for the B1G championship in public. While the goal of ISU remains unclear (I have read, watched and listened to every single ISU coach and player's interview that I could possibly find). The closest answer I could find is to compete and meet higher expectations next season.
4. Regarding the fan support
1) Attendance: ISU is still with an upper hand but Iowa is closing the gap fast.
2) Social Media following: Iowa is getting better now since the program gets more national exposure with Caitlin Clark's popularity
3) Fan forum traffic: CycloneFanatic is dominating HawkeyeNation on the WBB forum, which is the one I'm really proud of.
Overall, I don't think either program is capable of suddenly going supernova to reach Baylor or UConn's level. The competition will stay close. I'm a realist fan. What I hope is for the balance to be restored back to the old days, for ISU to at least get back to the same 50-50 level with Iowa so both programs can have a chance of being the "1a" or "big sis" of the State in turn.
To me, this KF transfer thing is a trigger to a much deeper issue about the CyHawk rivalry. Whether she can become a positive addition for the Hawks is to be determined, but it certainly doesn't help ISU in this matter.
For ISU to get back to the even level with Iowa, or surpass Iowa, IMO the ISU coaching staff needs to do the following
1) Develop players better, especially make it a priority to ensure Donarski and Ryan achieve close to Ashley Joens level. A team with three legitimate stars usually can go very deep in the postseason.
2) Change or optimize player usage with more options. Can't always rely on Ashley Joens exclusively. Need to get other players involved in crunch time, be more unpredictable.
3) Recruit better players at the high school level and from the transfers, especially good post players. I understand we can develop freshman posts but they need time to become P6 level players but there's only one or two years left for Ashley Joens, so the quickest route is to get a better one through the transfer portal. Iowa doesn't have a problem recruiting good post players, neither should ISU.
If ISU can improve more than Iowa in the foreseeable future, then I guess losing KF to Iowa isn't really a big deal after all. You may treat my previous passionate takes in this thread as being out of the envy or jealousy of the Hawks being more successful than ISU did in recent years.
In conclusion, I have nothing personal against Kylie. As a Cyclone fan, I want ISU to get back to its glory days and achieve as much as Iowa did in recent years.
Peace.
