2024-25 ISU WBB Season Thread
- Thread starter mred
- Start date
I'm going to make the case that TT is more than capable of making noise in Big XII WBB this season. For some reason, I like Krista Gerlich - she was a gritty player who won titles at TT and she hasn't been handed anything - she's worked her way up thru the coaching ranks and won everywhere she's been. She has assembled a nice coaching staff - Plenette Pierson was a WNBA star and has proven handy at developing "bigs". They have four players on their roster listed at 6'5 - 6'7. If they get one of them to "hit", they're a contender.
TT won 17 games last season, including a win vs ISU in Lubbock, and returns their core, Baily Maupin, Jasmine Shavers and former 5 Star Recruit (Florida) Jordyn Merritt. We all know TT obtained two former ISU players with starting experience in Denae Fritz and Jalynn Bristow, but they didn't stop there. They also signed a Croatian Junior College All-American PG in Ivana Krajina and former Oregon State shooting guard Adlee Blacklock, If I remember this correctly, Blacklock was a higher rated portal prospect than Lily Hansford by The Athletic.
My interest is mostly in Jalynn Bristow, who I believe will be an all-conference talent before her career ends. Unlike many other here, I'd also like Fritz to redeem herself after the lost season at Baylor. In closing, Gerlich has been building a program at TT and this is year #5 when plans often come to fruition. I expect them to outperform the preseason #10 prediction. JMHO
My favorite Cyclone. Love the story of her using her NIL $ to get season tickets for her high school friend who is special needs.
A long time coming for Williams to see the court in this day n age. Excited for her to get going in Ames.
I can’t disagree with anything you said, but…I see TTU as a big question mark. They will be made or broken by their chemistry and depth.
I def wouldn’t hang anything on the loss in Lubbock. Everything bad a team could do…ISU did it. 7 1st quarter turnovers. Brown fouling out. No production from Diew or Jackson. Tech hitting threes like they were going out of style. No Ryan yet. Lots of aberrations.
Plenty of hate directed at transfers out of ISU when it initially happens. I was never a very big fan of hers to start with but would never root against an ex-player and found her situation at Baylor last year sort of sad. Don't generally like the idea of rooting against players in general unless they've said something to deserve it.
And there's been plenty of "Ha, ha, look at her not playing as well!" directed at Donarski in this forum.
Hailey Van Lith has underwhelmed you? She's been named to numerous USA Basketball teams (won Olympic Bronze in 3x3), put Louisville WBB on the map for three years and willingly took on a lesser role (to Reese & others) on an LSU team which lost to Iowa in the Elite 8. We should all be so underwhelming!
If excellent young TCU coach Mark Campbell (got Isnelle Natabou to score 16 PPG at Sac. State) can develop chemistry on this squad, he has all the talent he needs to win a Big XII title - Hailey Van Lith, Madison Conner, Sedona Prince, Donovyn Hunter (Oregon State's starting PG on an Elite 8 team), Maddie Scherr (former 5 Star Top 20 Recruit) and solid veteran role players from winning programs (Seniors & 5th Year Grads).
Even without Texas and Oklahoma, the Big XII should provide very entertaining WBB this season!!! Anybody who believes ISU will cakewalk to a conference title simply isn't paying attention.
Yes…after leaving Louisville Van Lith disappeared at LSU. Very inconsistent and never seemed to fit in there. Sometimes that grass isn’t greener….
The coach has a big challenge at TCU to build chemistry. If you watched that team last year you’d see some of the problems. Can it be done? The biggest barrier might be Prince and the team as a whole getting past her antics. But, yes it can be done. I just don’t expect it to be at a level that challenges ISU or KSU at the top.
Fritz was one of my favs while at ISU and it pained me how she languished at Baylor. I wish her the best…just not at our expense!
I'm usually disappointed when someone transfers, but it certainly isn't as big as deal now as it was before, now days you never know what or why they transfer. If Fritz got her cash to transfer to Baylor hope it was upfront and not performance based for her sake.
Personally the only persona non grata I have on my list is our previous assist leader.
That whole episode was nothing but a money grab IMO.
Personally the only persona non grata I have on my list is our previous assist leader.
That whole episode was nothing but a money grab IMO.
Yeah with TCU I need to see it before I believe it.
I definitely felt a certain way when she transferred and especially to Baylor because it seemed like a move that made no sense.....I'm not sure who advised her but I never thought she would get meaningful playing time in Waco and she didn't.
That said, she was pretty emotional following the Baylor/Iowa State game last year in Hilton and I think there was a tiny bit of her that missed Ames in that moment.
Yes, I'm simply addressing the four discussion points posed by Acoustimac at the top of Page 24.
Having said that, I'm not as optimistic as others. We weren't a good defensive team last season and I don't see much reason to expect improvement in that area. In 30 years at the helm, our coach has shared one regular season conference title, way back in 2000. Does he have any tricks up his sleeve? Like Rulzz says about TCU being a contender, I'll need to see CBF with some creative coaching before I'll believe he can win another title.
Anyway, we have a great group of kids, play an exciting brand of basketball and ended last season on a high note, so it's impossible to not be excited for this season. I'm hoping for the best (regular season conference title) while keeping my feet on the ground. Go State!
This is one of the points I hope Audi and the team worked on in the off season. Audi was often slow to get out to defensive positions outside the charge arc. She looks more athletic in recent pictures so maybe that will translate to a bit of quickness.
Fennelly has shown lots of examples of adapting in the past decade. He does what’s needed to set his teams up for winning rather than sticking with “tried and true” like he used to. I’m not worried about the coaching at all. The team this year is MUCH different from last year. We are relatively healthy in our key players. We have more depth. More fire power. Lots to be positive about versus dwelling on the past. Has the potential to be a very fun year if we stay healthy.
