Fennelly likes the newcomers

[acoustimac]

The lineups will be interesting. I am high on Beatty and hope to see her get some solid PT. I’m also excited just to see who improves and steps up. Having Hare and AJ healthy is also exciting.

 

[WartburgClone]

I am hopeful that Wilson will take a big step forward this year and provide some good bench minutes. I love her energy whether she is in the game or not, she just seems like a sparkplug. She has a little bounce to her step when she is on the court and has some pretty good speed

I feel like I remember Wilson struggling against pressure. That's personally where I hope she improves.

I think these go hand-in-hand, like she'd move faster than she thinks and get herself in a trap.

 

[bozclone]

I think these go hand-in-hand, like she'd move faster than she thinks and get herself in a trap.

I'm expect Wilson will be much improved this year. She seems like a hard working motivated person. A freshman D1 PG has a steep learning curve. She wasn't the only one on our team that struggled with pressure. I'm sure teams saw blood in the water when they played us. It is going to be interesting to see how/if Jada helps that this year.

 

[ZorkClone]

If this roster is going to max out and truly contend for a conference title, they need a healthy Paulk to get the most PT at the 3 with her defensive length and athleticism.

Agree. I think we need two defensive specialists on the floor with Audi and Addy as much as possible to compensate for their weakness in that area. I hope AJ and Paulk are healed up by the time the season comes.

 

[isucy86]

I feel like the battle for 5th starter is between Hare and Paulk with likely Hare being the one to come off the bench. AJ glues in better to start off then Hare

PG: Jada
SG: AJ
SF: Paulk
PF: Addy
C: Audi

6: Hare
7: Harris
8: (One of) Beaty, Wilson, Tanke, Jensen
9: (One of) Williams, Taulelei

It will be interesting to see who emerges as preseason play progresses because most of the women in the 6 & 8 spots have played limited minutes at Iowa State or are freshman/sophomores.

I wouldn't put Wilson in the same bunch as Beaty, Tanke or Jensen. IMO if Wilson is going to play in 2025/26, she will probably need to beat out Jackson for back-up PG minutes. Have to think Jada will play 32-34mpg.

One thing is for sure, there will be a fierce battle for minutes at the 2/3 spots based on numbers alone: Jackson, Hare, Paulk, Harris, Tanke, Beaty and Jensen. AJ can spell Jada and Paulk or Harris spell Addy.

 

[Clonefan32]

Glad Bill is high on the newcomers. I would love, however, to see an article from a coach that says "Man, these newcomers. Not...very...good...".

 

[ZorkClone]

Glad Bill is high on the newcomers. I would love, however, to see an article from a coach that says "Man, these newcomers. Not...very...good...".

 

[bozclone]

I'm hoping we go away from such a ball dominate PG this year. I think there is a benefit to having multiple players on the court at the same time that can bring the ball up and initiate the offense. The men's team has done that with a lot of success. It will make it harder to pick us up full court.

 

[SolarGarlic]

I am hopeful that Wilson will take a big step forward this year and provide some good bench minutes. I love her energy whether she is in the game or not, she just seems like a sparkplug. She has a little bounce to her step when she is on the court and has some pretty good speed which is something we lack. She has some skills that I think would play well, it was more about showing it with consistency at times last year as she had some struggles on defense and needed to be more decisive running the point.

We know Tanke is capable of shooting it but her biggest issue was she just did not look that athletic compared to the competition at this level. She going to need work on getting her shot off quicker and be able to defend better. Kind of needs to do what Jake Sullivan did after his freshman year which was work on getting a step faster and getting his shot off quicker. Jake benefited his freshman year playing with Tinsley and Horton that allowed him to just spot up and shoot it without much pressure and Tanke was kind of that spot up shooter last year too when she got minutes. But you can't just camp out and expect to get wide open shots all the time you gotta be able to create some separation off the ball and be able to shoot it quickly when you get a look.

We know Addy and Audi will get their points. There are a lot of minutes up for grabs right now and roles to be filled. First off, anyone that can be valuable on defense is going to earn minutes as that was our biggest downfall last year. The next is who is going to step up and be the 3rd and 4th scoring options. I think Jada is going to not only fill the PG role but also be that 3rd option scoring. A healthy Hare will probably be the 4th option. Who is going to be the scoring threat off the bench is the next role and how deep will Bill go into the bench. I feel that if you can keep the rotation to 8 or 9 you are playing your best players the most minutes. TJ usually only goes 7 or 8 deep.

My guess for the lineup:

PG: Jada
G: Hare
G/F: Probably AJ but could potentially go big here with Harris or if Paulk is healthy and they use her size and defense here
F: Addy
C: Audi

Bench: Whoever between AJ, Harris, and Paulk that doesn't start are 6 and 7, Williams will spell Audi for 5-10 mins is 8 then lets see who wins the 9th or 10th spot in the non conference schedule.

I didn't see any issue with Tanke's shot other than it didn't go in as much as what was being touted. The release was fine, she just has to make them when she's open. True freshman with undefined roles and minutes can struggle to find a rhythm. She plays hard and is usually in the right spot on defense, but she's very slow footed.

 

[LurkingClone]

One plus for Tanke that I haven't seen mentioned a lot is her passing. Several times last year I thought she had good awareness and knew where to get the ball. When she picked up her dribble, she was quick with a decision on where to pass and usually got it there. No real hesitation or waiting for someone (Audi) to get open - she just quickly moved to the next opportunity so the ball didn't sit. I think she was even our in-bounds passer often when she was in the game.

 

[CyberJJJ]

One plus for Tanke that I haven't seen mentioned a lot is her passing. Several times last year I thought she had good awareness and knew where to get the ball. When she picked up her dribble, she was quick with a decision on where to pass and usually got it there. No real hesitation or waiting for someone (Audi) to get open - she just quickly moved to the next opportunity so the ball didn't sit. I think she was even our in-bounds passer often when she was in the game.

Tell me you didn't just compare her to Connor McCaffery!

 

[acoustimac]

One plus for Tanke that I haven't seen mentioned a lot is her passing. Several times last year I thought she had good awareness and knew where to get the ball. When she picked up her dribble, she was quick with a decision on where to pass and usually got it there. No real hesitation or waiting for someone (Audi) to get open - she just quickly moved to the next opportunity so the ball didn't sit. I think she was even our in-bounds passer often when she was in the game.

A lot of truth here. Tanke, late in the season, made some tremendous passes inside and was the recipient of some inside out goodness from Crooks.

 

[nfrine]

Tell me you didn't just compare her to Connor McCaffery!

Does Tanke have a bounce pass?