2026 Portal shopping list request
- Thread starter Destin Hawk
- Start date
Getting an athletic back up 4 for McKenna will be nice and a starting caliber guard that can shoot and create well off the dribble will be a successful transfer haul for me.
Journey Houston? I feel she has been terrific this year.
She's only 5-11 or 6 ft and does not have the post skills of a forward. I personally think shes a SF that can play the 4 if needed
I agree with the second player for sure. That’s the priority need. I believe the backup 4 will be Journey. Regardless everything Journey brings to the team I don’t see another spot for her.
Fair on her size. I feel she is a good passer out of the high post and can stretch us out more than any big on the team. Currently, the other three bigs are not getting respect to even the elbow. I think everyone loves the Syd Affolter qualities of her game meaning that she plays way bigger than she is, has a great knack for rebounding and you don't have to run a set for her to still put up 8-12 points.
That said, terrible thing to admit but I am going to... how does she do against girls bigger than her on defense? How has she done against more athletic 3/4 players? I honestly haven't paid attention because of the offensive side being Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
There was a point in the game tonight where Jan had Journey, Stuelke, and Heiden in together. Possibly experimenting with her at the 3? I could see her getting minutes at both next year but agree 4 is probably more likely although undersized.
Another 4 will be huge. As per the usual, everyone is expecting McKenna to come in and start on day 1. As we have seen with Deal it might take some time for some of these kids to adjust. There will be a few posters here who will call McKenna overrated if she isnt averaging a double double the first month of the season. I dont follow high school so i have no idea what kind of an impact she will have right put of the gate.
Losing 2 or 3 perimeter players if you count Emely and none coming in so far would make that a pretty high priority IMO.
Want a player that takes us to the next level ......
Dont know if she will be in the portal but
BERRY WALLACE Illini ...
takes over games
I would love this, I think her culture fits,
Dont know if she will be in the portal but
BERRY WALLACE Illini ...
takes over games
I would love this, I think her culture fits,
Journey Houston would do well to observe the skill set of Kara Dunn at USC. If she could work on mimicking her game, she would maximize her upside potential.
Asking alot as Dunn is a phenomenal player, but Journey has exactly the same size and shape and athletic potential and GREAT HANDS.
Jan better strike gold in the portal in 2026 or apathy will set in. She needs really GOOD guards to run her triangle offense.
The triangle offense lives and dies with guard play. If your guards cannot handle the ball, pass quickly, and make reads under pressure, the system breaks down almost immediately.
The triangle is not a scripted offense. There is no constant pick-and-roll bailout or set action to reset the possession. Guards must be able to enter the ball cleanly, relocate, read help defense, and keep the ball moving without over-dribbling. If the entry pass is late or sloppy, the post gets crowded and the spacing collapses. If the guard cannot dribble under pressure, the offense never even gets organized.
Passing speed matters just as much as ball handling. The triangle works because the ball moves faster than the defense. Guards have to see the floor and deliver passes on time and on target. Slow decision-making allows defenders to sit in gaps, stunt at the post, and blow up the weakside actions. Once that happens, everything turns into a late-clock isolation.
Good guards also have to be a scoring threat. If defenders do not respect the guard’s ability to score, they will cheat the triangle to death. They will sit on the post entry, clog passing lanes, and dare the guard to beat them. The triangle assumes the guard can punish that. If he cannot, the system has no leverage.
This is why the triangle never hid bad guards. It exposed them. Every successful version of the triangle had guards who could dribble, pass, think, and score at a competent level. They did not all have to be stars, but they had to be reliable and smart.
When people say the triangle does not work anymore, what they are usually watching is bad guard play trying to run a read-based offense. That is not a system problem. That is a personnel problem.
The triangle offense lives and dies with guard play. If your guards cannot handle the ball, pass quickly, and make reads under pressure, the system breaks down almost immediately.
The triangle is not a scripted offense. There is no constant pick-and-roll bailout or set action to reset the possession. Guards must be able to enter the ball cleanly, relocate, read help defense, and keep the ball moving without over-dribbling. If the entry pass is late or sloppy, the post gets crowded and the spacing collapses. If the guard cannot dribble under pressure, the offense never even gets organized.
Passing speed matters just as much as ball handling. The triangle works because the ball moves faster than the defense. Guards have to see the floor and deliver passes on time and on target. Slow decision-making allows defenders to sit in gaps, stunt at the post, and blow up the weakside actions. Once that happens, everything turns into a late-clock isolation.
Good guards also have to be a scoring threat. If defenders do not respect the guard’s ability to score, they will cheat the triangle to death. They will sit on the post entry, clog passing lanes, and dare the guard to beat them. The triangle assumes the guard can punish that. If he cannot, the system has no leverage.
This is why the triangle never hid bad guards. It exposed them. Every successful version of the triangle had guards who could dribble, pass, think, and score at a competent level. They did not all have to be stars, but they had to be reliable and smart.
When people say the triangle does not work anymore, what they are usually watching is bad guard play trying to run a read-based offense. That is not a system problem. That is a personnel problem.
I think the addition of McKenna will allow Jan to go back more to the 4 out scheme, I think personnel has caused the shift to the triangle.
If they could find another Wright but just 6-7 inches taller would be perfect.
Gotta get more athletic and get more size and length.
Gotta get more athletic and get more size and length.
She has post skills. She has better post skills than guard skills because she played post the majority of her basketball life. She just no longer has true post size.
I agree that we need a guard or two that can score and probably a power forward as well.
Other question though: is everyone sold on Layla being the answer to backup Ava next year? I wasn't concerned about that in the non-conference play, but now I'm not sure. Jan's been going to Hannah at the 5 when Ava goes out. She won't have that luxury next year. They won't have any options after Layla.
Other question though: is everyone sold on Layla being the answer to backup Ava next year? I wasn't concerned about that in the non-conference play, but now I'm not sure. Jan's been going to Hannah at the 5 when Ava goes out. She won't have that luxury next year. They won't have any options after Layla.
yeah count me as concerned. I know she only a freshman, but she has not progressed much in area of the game this year. Hopefully she wil off-season, but big gamble IMO.
She has only given positive reviews of Hays' progress. Sure, she could be simply trying to keep Layla confident, but Jensen is sort-of an open book.
A lot might depend on who is available in the portal, and who actually wants to visit from that pool. I'm sure if they could lure another forward with size/height, they will try, simply because they have the spots open to bring in players.
That said, Jensen said just this week (UCLA post-game) that she mainly wants to keep Iowa as a developmental program recruiting incoming freshmen. How long that philosophy lasts, might be dictated by overall results year to year.
Hays looks like she needs to work on strength and quickness. Will be interesting to see how bad she wants to improve her game.
A lot might depend on who is available in the portal, and who actually wants to visit from that pool. I'm sure if they could lure another forward with size/height, they will try, simply because they have the spots open to bring in players.
That said, Jensen said just this week (UCLA post-game) that she mainly wants to keep Iowa as a developmental program recruiting incoming freshmen. How long that philosophy lasts, might be dictated by overall results year to year.
Hays looks like she needs to work on strength and quickness. Will be interesting to see how bad she wants to improve her game.
You can hope for that, but probably not coming to Iowa.
1- More quick-twitch players who can change direction quickly
2- More who can analyze, anticipate and adjust mentally
Iowa's offense seems to bog down vs teams who are more athletic, pressure-def types. We're more 'robotic' and not as quick adjusting. Not sure if it's a scheme thing or a few (as I would call them) 'drill killers' who don't grasp or process as quickly.
2- More who can analyze, anticipate and adjust mentally
Iowa's offense seems to bog down vs teams who are more athletic, pressure-def types. We're more 'robotic' and not as quick adjusting. Not sure if it's a scheme thing or a few (as I would call them) 'drill killers' who don't grasp or process as quickly.
Journey is only 1 of 7 from 3 but she did hit one on Sunday. I found an article on 247 sports from a couple of years ago and said she would bring shooting at a 34-36 percent to Iowa. (don't know if she averaged that % in HS or not) She is shooting 54.1% overall this year with 5 RBs in 14 minutes this year which is very good for a freshman IMO. If she can improve her 3s great. She already has a nice short range jumper.
edit: the article said 34-36% from three. I couldn't find her actual stats from HS
edit: the article said 34-36% from three. I couldn't find her actual stats from HS
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Here's my thought on Houston. Love her game but she's certainly a tweener. I think ideally she's a 3. Tough to win playing her at the 4 full time unless she's an athletic mismatch and while she's a good athlete she's not great. Tough banging against girls 6-2 and 6-3 all game. Looks like next year's starting lineup in my opinion would be Chit Chat, Deal at the 2, Journey at the 3, Woliczko the 4 and Heiden the 5. That's a super young team and hopefully Woliczko is ready sooner rather than later. Not even sure who else we would have at the 4 unless we hit the portal.
A lots going to depend on what Erod does and if Mallegni is finally able to contribute. I'd still say we need a combo guard, (maybe Levin will step forward), and another 3/4.
I doubt if any of those 3 (Emely, Teagan, Levin) are on the roster next season.
I think Houston is similar to Stuelke in some ways; they are both really good, but just as Hanna is kind of a "5" in the body of a "4," Journey is a "4" in the body of a "3."
Ultimately, Journey’s career trajectory will depend on her ability to develop a stronger perimeter skillset. She is good right now, but she will need to diversify her game if she wants to be great.
My guess is Levin will be back. She has Hawkeye blood running through her veins. I would tend to agree on the other two. Of course I could be totally wrong on all three. Just a gut feeling.
And if your ultimate goal is to improve the talent level on the team those 3 leaving likely isn’t a bad thing. Emely has talent but virtually no basketball I.Q., Callie seems like a great kid but isn’t the type of player that is going to elevate the program. I actually had high hopes for Teagan but she looks like the same player as last years version of Teagan. Apparently a good practice shooter that can’t transition it into games.
Losing 3 players in the transfer portal in one season would be untread waters for this program and would signal a culture shift. I'm not sure I personally am ready for that. They're going to have 4 open scholarships to work with anyway.
It’s an evolving world, Some players want to play, If they don’t see that as a likely option in their current situation then the portal is an option. Overall we have seen with Jada and Kennise that Jan doesn’t seem to be pushing girls out the door. Iowa likes to sell the culture and that is great but in my view the landscape in college BB has shifted pretty drastically the past few seasons and Iowa isn’t likely to be immune to those changes, I believe that factored into Lisa’s decision to get out when she did.
I agree with the first too, which is why I said it depends. I find it hard to believe Erod is at Iowa, and I think Mallegni looks elsewhere for playing time. I could see Levin getting some back up play though..
Normally I'd agree, but the first two will probably make that decision on their own. The whole Erod thing is too weird to think she'll be back, and the way Houston has played and with MW coming in I just don't see Mallegni spending another year on the bench. Who know. Maybe she finds her shooting stroke and can play some 3 minutes, but I don't see her being solid on defense at that spot and she seems very foul prone.
Time will tell, as for Erod leaving, doesn't matter, what I’ve been noticing last 2 games is when Mallegni and Houston are in at same time, Houston is playing 3, Mallegni at 4. Perhaps this is a clue of what may happen. Mallegni brings height and reach into the game. I thought she played fairly well on the road, but needs to find her shot. Again, time will tell.
Mallegni played fairly well? I must have been watching a different game