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Can the youthful exuberance of Iowa State keep up with the more star studded, experienced teams across the country? Iowa State may be the most underrated top 10 team in the country, if that makes sense. Standout sophomores Audi Crooks and Addy Brown return, and senior guard Emily Ryan does as well. Mackenzie Hare, Lily Hansford, Sydney Harris, and Lilly Taulelei look to be key contributors in their first seasons with the Cyclones. Arianna Jackson should have a more consistent role this season as well.
Young But Talented
The last two games we saw of Audi Crooks’s freshman year, she dropped 40 points on Maryland and then battled it out with Cameron Brink and Kiki Iriafen. She absolutely dominated Maryland, grabbing 12 rebounds and shooting 18-20 from the floor. She struggled with the length of Brink and Iriafen, who stood at 6’4 and 6’3 respectively. Although she seemed outmatched, she never gave up and continued to give her team her best effort. That will be the game that she will look back at and draw to as she continues to grow her game offensively.
She averaged 19 points and eight rebounds, while shooting 57% from the field. She is more skilled and more intelligent than some will give her credit for. She wants to be coached hard, she wants to improve and talked about the different areas she focused on offensively in the offseason. Audi will be even better this season and with valuable experience to draw off of.
Addy Brown was one of my favorite players to watch last season. She was second on the team in points and led the team in rebounds and assists. She was remarkably efficient while doing so, shooting 47% from the field and 39% from three. A versatile forward who can do everything on the court and do so efficiently, what more could you ask for? Brown is great at creating space off of screens and getting her shot off. She is a matchup nightmare for defenses, especially when she’s surrounded by Crooks and shooters. She will be a great pro in the future and may very well be solidifying herself as one of the best players in the country this season.
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Kelsey Joens played a pivotal role last season and looks to play a similar role in her sophomore season. Lilly Taulelei transfers in from Umass to bring size and help behind Crooks. Alisa Williams is another sophomore, who transferred from LSU, hoping to add depth in the frontcourt.
Added Experience
Emily Ryan is the lone senior on the team, and the three juniors (Hare, Hansford, Harris) are all transfers. Ryan is the always steady point guard, who averaged seven assists and shot 43% from three. She can get hot from three in a hurry, just ask Stanford as she went 6-9 from three against them. She missed the first half of the season due to injury and started to find her stride as the season went along. Ryan is the perfect point guard for this offense and this team.
Head coach Bill Fennelly made sure to bring in players that can contribute and can do it for multiple years. Hare, Harris and Hansford are absolute snipers from the three-point line. Hare shot 43%, Harris shot 40% and Hansford shot 45% from three. They only shot 22 threes per game last season, but they will likely attempt more with the abundance of shooters they have assembled. It will be even more difficult to double team Crooks now with them having the ability to put four knock down shooters on the court next to her.
Iowa State won the Big 12 Championship Tournament last year and has a legitimate chance to be the regular season champions this season. With Oklahoma and Texas no longer in the conference, Kansas St, West Virginia, and Utah are their top competition. I can’t wait to see the growth of the returning players and the contributions of the newcomers. Iowa State is not a team you should sleep on!
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