2024-25 ISU WBB Season Thread

CycloneRulzzz

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There are very few career and all-class single-season records in ISU WBB set prior to the Fennelly era:

Career rebounds per game: Stephannie Smith (10.02) -- had the advantage of being a juco transfer
Career steals: Tracy Horvath (233)
Career steals per game: Tracy Horvath (2.12)
Single-season steals: Tracy Horvath (92)
Single-season steals per game: Tracy Horvath (3.29)

Emily with 168 steals 65 away from tying 66 from breaking.

Her career season high is 62 so if she stay healthy it's possible.
 
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acoustimac

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I’ve been spending a little time thinking about the structure of this year‘s basketball team, and how players will fit together in the rotation. It appears there are several options available to the coaches that will be rather unique compared to what we’ve been used to over the last decade or so. First, and I feel most importantly, is the ability to substitute multiple scoring threats in the guard court. If the new players are able to not only transition their scoring to this level of basketball, but can play solid defense, then it would appear the guard court is exceptionally deep. The result of this would be guards not having to play 30 to 35 minutes per game and would remain relatively fresh throughout this season. The second thing that has been much talked about, is the ability of 2 to 3 players to switch interchangeably between multiple positions. Having personnel that can play one through four on the court is a great asset and creates matchup problems for other teams. Especially when those players are capable of not only pounding inside, but stepping outside to hit the three. The biggest mystery that remains is to see how Crooks is backed up by existing and new personnel. Probably the greatest unknown in the lineup at this point. In the end, all of these combinations, really give the coaching staff freedom to create matchup problems for various teams, even in the midst of a game to take advantage of what we are facing. It’s exciting to think that we have numerous players that are scoring threats versus being role players, or only used to “safely“ give someone some rest.
 

OWLCITYCYFAN

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Entering year 30 at ISU, CBF has shared one conference title, in '99-'00. We've finished outright 2nd five times, with another shared 2nd.

Serious question, because I really want to share the optimism exuded by the great majority of the board. It doesn't matter how talented the players are if the coach doesn't put them in positions to succeed. What makes you so confident CBF has the goods to win an outright conference title and / or advance to a Final Four? Does CBF need to change, and if so, what are you hoping to see from him?

A way to exercise the noggin as the Rules countdown continues.
 
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acoustimac

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Entering year 30 at ISU, CBF has shared one conference title, in '99-'00. We've finished outright 2nd five times, with another shared 2nd.

Serious question, because I really want to share the optimism exuded by the great majority of the board. It doesn't matter how talented the players are if the coach doesn't put them in positions to succeed. What makes you so confident CBF has the goods to win an outright conference title and / or advance to a Final Four? Does CBF need to change, and if so, what are you hoping to see from him?

A way to exercise the noggin as the Rules countdown continues.
The 30 years that coach has been here need to be put into perspective a little bit. when he arrived, the lineup he put together was revolutionary. It focused on having an incredibly talented big (which was rare at the time), surrounded by active guards, who could shoot the deep ball. He was obviously very successful with this. This led to many other teams, following the same formula and fighting for, at that time, a limited pool of talent. During the following 10 or so years coach was out recruited by several higher profile (more money) programs in the conference, such as Oklahoma and Texas. He had his moments where things came together, such as when they would finish second to Baylor and Brittney Griner, but for the most part, they were always missing pieces. This is what differentiates this team from teams in the past. Teams in the past had one superstar, a couple of good supporting players, and a series of players who were adequate. This team appears to have what those Texas and Oklahoma teams of the past had – a complete roster with a deep bench. So, to me that is what differentiates this year‘s team was what was seen in the past. In my opinion, this is the first time since the year 2000 that Iowa State has had a complete roster with substitutional depth.
 
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CloneSt8

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Acoutimac, you mentioned Baylor and Britany Griner. It's fun to go to cyclones.tv and look at the Cyclone women's classic game on February 13, 2020. Baylor- Iowa State when Griner was a Freshman.

Alison Lacey was a Senior but we had some Freshmen that year, too! Chelsea Poppens, Amanda Zimmerman and Anna Prins.

Prins hit three pointer after three pointer and so did Zimmerman, Lacey, and Kelsey Bolte. Team was up about 20 at half and at one time had a thirty point lead! Ended as a 69-45 Cyclone victory!

Fun game to rewatch!
 
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BoxsterCy

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Entering year 30 at ISU, CBF has shared one conference title, in '99-'00. We've finished outright 2nd five times, with another shared 2nd.

Serious question, because I really want to share the optimism exuded by the great majority of the board. It doesn't matter how talented the players are if the coach doesn't put them in positions to succeed. What makes you so confident CBF has the goods to win an outright conference title and / or advance to a Final Four? Does CBF need to change, and if so, what are you hoping to see from him?

A way to exercise the noggin as the Rules countdown continues.

For one thing, and it's a big thing in my opinion, the league isn't exactly loaded at the top. Texas and Sooners be all gone daddy gone. Baylor ain't Baylor anymore but still might be a wildcard in the race. I can't imagine the coaches preseason picks don't have us in first after the off-season recruiting we had. If Texas was still here I am guessing they would be the nod over us by a few votes.

We'll have three pillars with Crooks, Ryan and Brown, where everyone else fits we'll just have to wait and see. Ms. Crooks has already demonstrated her commitment to improvement so am expecting she will be in even better shape than last year. I doubt anyone out worked her this off season.

We are going to have a really good team but will still not match the athleticism of the #1 seeds. Not like that excludes a title or a possible Final Four. Iowa was out classed athletically per all of the talking heads but made it although some of the players were better than they were given credit. How our coach manages all of this is anyone's guess.

One thing I hope to see is more of is the fun and joy that Crooks brings to the game/team/program. We haven't seen what looks like the true joy of playing the game in some time, maybe since Taylor played. Thought about this some more this summer seeing the pure joy Bridgett Carleton seems to have playing for the Lynx that you didn't see at ISU. Some of that has been introverted players and some of that has been the program culture but I think Crooks may be breaking that.
 

loyalsons4evertrue

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For one thing, and it's a big thing in my opinion, the league isn't exactly loaded at the top. Texas and Sooners be all gone daddy gone. Baylor ain't Baylor anymore but still might be a wildcard in the race. I can't imagine the coaches preseason picks don't have us in first after the off-season recruiting we had. If Texas was still here I am guessing they would be the nod over us by a few votes.

We'll have three pillars with Crooks, Ryan and Brown, where everyone else fits we'll just have to wait and see. Ms. Crooks has already demonstrated her commitment to improvement so am expecting she will be in even better shape than last year. I doubt anyone out worked her this off season.

We are going to have a really good team but will still not match the athleticism of the #1 seeds. Not like that excludes a title or a possible Final Four. Iowa was out classed athletically per all of the talking heads but made it although some of the players were better than they were given credit. How our coach manages all of this is anyone's guess.

One thing I hope to see is more of is the fun and joy that Crooks brings to the game/team/program. We haven't seen what looks like the true joy of playing the game in some time, maybe since Taylor played. Thought about this some more this summer seeing the pure joy Bridgett Carleton seems to have playing for the Lynx that you didn't see at ISU. Some of that has been introverted players and some of that has been the program culture but I think Crooks may be breaking that.
Big 12 definitely lost good programs with OU and Texas and while Baylor is a far cry from the Kim Mulkey teams that dominated the Big 12, they did make an Elite 8 run last year and K-State should be great again. I think the clear front runners for the Big 12 are Iowa State, Baylor, and K-State....Colorado ain't too shabby either
 

VeloClone

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From the looks in that pic I'd say Audi kept working on her conditioning after the season ended.
A girl all in black walked past our tailgate last Saturday but I didn't see her until she was walking away. I thought, "That looks like Audi, but if it is her she has lost some weight and added muscle." Mrs. Velo later confirmed that it was Audi walking by.

Great to see, but I hope she doesn't go too far. Angie Welle sculpted her body before her senior season, likely trying to get ready for a look from the WNBA. However she got almost too thin and suffered while facing some of the more physical centers in the league.

If Audi can continue to bring her body fat percentage down but replace it with muscle and keep her size advantage she will continue to be a force and be able to continue to grow her game.
 

BoxsterCy

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A girl all in black walked past our tailgate last Saturday but I didn't see her until she was walking away. I thought, "That looks like Audi, but if it is her she has lost some weight and added muscle." Mrs. Velo later confirmed that it was Audi walking by.

Great to see, but I hope she doesn't go too far. Angie Welle sculpted her body before her senior season, likely trying to get ready for a look from the WNBA. However she got almost too thin and suffered while facing some of the more physical centers in the league.

If Audi can continue to bring her body fat percentage down but replace it with muscle and keep her size advantage she will continue to be a force and be able to continue to grow her game.

In the recent images there are two things I noticed. These are just for what's it's worth "eye test" but Audi looks really good and Ryan looks to have gained some lost weight back and also looks more her 2022 self.
 
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VeloClone

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In the recent images there are two things I noticed. These are just for what's it's worth "eye test" but Audi looks really good and Ryan looks to have gained some lost weight back and also looks more her 2022 self.
That's great to hear. I really hope that Audi never loses the ability to get post position and be immovable off the block. So many posts repeatedly fouled her (called or not) trying to move her off the block with practically no success. That immovable object ability is really tough to defend. Courtney Paris was able to exploit that for an interminably (in my eyes) long career at OU.
 
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OWLCITYCYFAN

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We'll have three pillars with Crooks, Ryan and Brown, where everyone else fits we'll just have to wait and see. We are going to have a really good team but will still not match the athleticism of the #1 seeds. Not like that excludes a title or a possible Final Four. Iowa was out classed athletically per all of the talking heads but made it although some of the players were better than they were given credit. How our coach manages all of this is anyone's guess.

One thing I hope to see is more of is the fun and joy that Crooks brings to the game/team/program. We haven't seen what looks like the true joy of playing the game in some time, maybe since Taylor played. Thought about this some more this summer seeing the pure joy Bridgett Carleton seems to have playing for the Lynx that you didn't see at ISU. Some of that has been introverted players and some of that has been the program culture but I think Crooks may be breaking that.
Bingo, Bango, Bongo. I appreciate your observations and agree with your conclusions. Audi might be that "special player", but dealing with CBF while carrying the weight of Cyclone Nation's expectations is a heavy burden for a 20 year-old. I hope she's up to the task and continues to show that joy!
 
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OWLCITYCYFAN

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TrulyCyclone - Really? Please join the conversation as I'd love to hear your perspective. I think Bill's a very good coach, as evidenced by his .660 lifetime winning percentage, but a great coach wins conference titles and goes deep into the tournament more than once a decade. How is that a blasphemous position to take? What're your thoughts?
 
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