Twister Sister Summary - A Pre- Pre- Season peek

Practice has started and the ladies in red are getting ready for what has the potential to be an outstanding season. In the weeks before the first game I hope to begin some conversations about various aspects of this year's edition of the Twister Sisters.

Returning Roster
Its easy to talk about the players coming back. We have our inside crew of Prins, Christofferson, Ellis, Pop and Zimmermann. We clearly have incredible depth here, but outside of Pop we also have an incredible lack of consistency. Here's what I hope to see:
Pop - more of the same. I have a suspicion that charges are going to be harder to come by. She needs to continue on her huge improvement in free throw shooting. Definitely first team All Big 12 candidate.
Prins - This may be the first year she has entered the season healthy. If she is indeed healthy and has had a good off-season to be in shape and work on her game this may finally be the break out season we've hoped for since she first arrived. We have seen glimpses of her potential. Its now or never.
Big C - it seemed like she was ready for something special last year when (a) entering the season it was widely published about how she had prepared for the season and (b) how the season started. It all looked great and then when the rough and tumble Big 12 season started she wasn't up to it physically. She just got beat up most of the time. I love her game and I hope she is more physically ready to make a statement
Zimmerman - She has been a mystery. Always shows moments of intense play where she can dominate inside and out. Then she disappears. Strong, big, and a big who can shoot the three. May be spending her senior year getting spotty minutes unless consistency is attained. Fought some injuries last year so we will see.
Ellis - Someone I'm excited about. She was like a quicker version of Pop at times last year. Was placed on the bench...the deep bench...for reasons not disclosed publicly. She has the physical presence, is quick on her feet, and has tons of potential. I'm hoping we see some of that this year as a solid sub.

The Guards and Forwards (yes I put Big C and Ellis with the bigs...my choice)
Moody - One word so aptly describes this young lady. Like a Mood she can go from being untouchable to highly vulnerable. Fortunately, the former prevailed more often than the later. She was thrust into the starting position as a true freshman last year and she will greatly benefit from that experience. She won't be a first team All Big 12 player, but will definitely get honors if she learned valuable lessons from last year and worked hard in the off season to be ready for this year. Her outside shot has to be more consistent as does her free throw shooting. As our point player she has to be an 85-90 percent free throw shooter, not 76. Her three point shooting has to move into the 35% range from her current 29%. Outside of that...taking care of the ball. Coach F doesn't tolerate sloppy ball protection and spent quite some time making that point last year.
Williamson - Could be the next Bolte. Her biggest asset is that she already moves better than Bolte at a younger age. Needs to be more consistent from deep. A major asset.


The new kids on the block...
Quite a recruiting class based off of their high school reps. I like what I read about this crew. Some will play lots of minutes immediately...others will take some work.

Emiah - I can't think of a better way to refer to her. Big Bing? No. Emiah just sounds solid. Easy to recognize. Outstanding player in high school who led her team with nearly 23 per game. Top player in the Kansas City area. First team all state. She is someone I expect to spell Moody quite a bit and could find numerous times where she is playing side-by-side with her.
Kidd - The Kidd. Love it. Just seems to say tough all over it. Can't imagine why she wasn't called Blaze or something similar. One of the top shooters in the Houston area after averaging 22 per game. If you've seen her videos you know she is something special. We've been lacking a guard who could nail the three in the 2 spot and she may be it. Expect to see lots of her early.
Hagedorn - An Iowa high school player who followed Anderson's shoes in transferring to ISU from DMACC in Boone. Kind of a hard one to nail down. Not an outstanding shooter but does hit in the low 30% range. Probably more of a project for depth right now. A wait and see.
Baier - the one big in the recruiting class. Many seem to think she is too frail to play at this level. I suspect some of that will be corrected with ISU's weight program. She does bring size (6'4") and a love for Iowa State with her. Give her some time to fill out and adjust. She already brings the tools of size and a sweet shot in close. Suspect we will see her early and then lots of bench time as the Big 12 season gets under way. Her greatest asset is having a loaded senior class in front of her.

What is yet to be determined is how the loss of Coach Easley and the addition of Billy Fennelly will impact the team. Everyone has talked about recruiting, but now its time to focus on the day-to-day coaching. Billy is an unknown in that area although his pedigree and chief advisor (i.e. wife) definitely lend towards positive hopes.

Thoughts?

I'm really looking for Anna to have a huge season. She has the potential to put up 10+ EVERY night...really hoping for her to get after it on the boards too.

Should be another exciting year with plenty of 3 point shooters and some new (and old) players ready to get down and dirty. I think this should be a special year and if the everything falls into place making it back to the sweet 16 sure isnt out of the question

Do you think Kidd will start at the 2?

Expect the gals to play games more on an even keel this year.....no really bad stretches...

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Originally Posted by CY9008

Do you think Kidd will start at the 2?

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I think the 1 and 2 positions will be like the 4 and 5 positions: three players all capable of starting splitting time there. I figure Brynn will likely start at 3, but we'll see all three young combo guards on the court together quite a bit. We might see Ellis and/or Hallie at 3 as well.

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Originally Posted by Wesley

Expect the gals to play games more on an even keel this year.....no really bad stretches...

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I'm worried about our extremely young and thin backcourt. However, they are very talented.

I'm not in Ames so can only speculate based on "news" (Facebook, Twitter, CF). It seems the coaches have stressed and are pleased with the conditioning and strength training. It seems the team is developing cohesiveness and enjoys being a team; maybe having more fun and higher expectations. This is good.

Hey acoustimac (formerly known as dmcelroy on CR):
I’ll buy you a beer or two if you stop calling Hallie the Big C. Growing up that was a euphemism for cancer and I cringe a little every time I read. How about just “Hallie” for Hallie. It worth beers to you!

Sorry that it touches you that way! I'll tell you what...I'll get in touch with her and see what she would prefer? How's that?

I'm really hoping that Brynn can turn into another Bolte.

Unless we go big with Brynn at the 2 (which I doubt), both Emiah and the Kidd will have to play a lot. As Mred said, the back court is young and thin. But these two are good offensive players and fast as well. Will their speed help them on defense? Hope so, because they are not long, both being 5-7, so their quickness will have to make up for their lack of height and keep them out of foul trouble.

Have to remember that Coach F. is the master of creating matchup problems for their opponents. We've seen formations of four guards before and I suspect we will again. The situation will dictate what we see on the floor. Previous pre-conference seasons have shown us that he will experiment quite a bit to see what works with this group.

not gonna lie.. this gets me excited for the season!! cant wait nov 1 cant come fast enough! this will be a very VERY SPECIAL YEAR!!!!! my bold prediction this year.. FINAL 4

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Originally Posted by acoustimac

We've seen formations of four guards before and I suspect we will again.

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This season? If we do, it'll be for short stretches. Our post depth/experience/talent is our biggest strength, and we only have four Big-12 caliber guards.

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Originally Posted by swiacyfan

not gonna lie.. this gets me excited for the season!! cant wait nov 1 cant come fast enough! this will be a very VERY SPECIAL YEAR!!!!! my bold prediction this year.. FINAL 4

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I agree. This post did nothing but excite me for the upcoming season. As every season, there's a million different ways it could go, but it's always a fun ride. I hope it's as good as everyone's predicting! As is the famous quote for this time of year, "embrace the process."

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Originally Posted by acoustimac

Sorry that it touches you that way! I'll tell you what...I'll get in touch with her and see what she would prefer? How's that?

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As someone who has been touched by the Big C more than once in the family, I can't help but think that every time I hear it too. Heck, there is even a show, The Big C, about dealing with cancer.