How would you compare Layla's first season compared to Addie O'Grady's first season? Do you think Layla takes a step up in season 2? I think Addie had her best season her senior year. I'm hoping Layla is working on free throws in the off season.
Laya Hays year 2
- Thread starter Todd-Mar....
- Start date
I have no reason to think Layla won't continue to improve and likely take a big step up in 2026. She's from a town in AK that has 9,000 people. It's only 45 minutes from Anchorage so I'm sure she faced "some" good players there, but I have to wonder if she had the kinds of opportunities to play that kids in the lower 48 have.
And Jan is great coaching the bigs.
And Jan is great coaching the bigs.
Layla is in a position just like last season where if she improves and plays a very good sub role it will really help. Ava gets her fouls called on her but as she becomes an older player the refs may give her a bit of a break, but still if the hawks keep going with the fast break opportunities then they need 40 good minutes out of the center position. Always good to know your backup center can do the job.
Addie O'Grady was mediocre at best in her senior year. I don't think Jan was able to coach her up. Goodman didn't progress either. I'm not saying they weren't good women, just underachieving basketball players under Jan's coaching.
I'm not mad at Jan, just saying she is not great at coaching her bigs all the time.
I'm not mad at Jan, just saying she is not great at coaching her bigs all the time.
I tend to agree with the above. AOG and Layla both have heavy legs (IMO) and not sure that can be fixed by a coach, Hope Layla proves us doubters wrong.
I think that Goodman battled injuries and O'Grady was a developmental player that contributed during her senior season. Contributions can be giving someone a couple of minutes on the bench to rest.
If it were only about coaching, everyone would be an All-American. It's like when a baseball player is in a hitting slump. There's a little more to it than simply "coaching him up." If only it were that easy . . .
I thought Hays looked good early, then hit a wall and never progressed, which happens a lot in all sports. Improvement is NOT linear. There are ups and downs and in-betweens. I believe Hays will show marked improvement next season and will be a significant part of this team, at least by the second half of the season. I say that because I believe she does have enough talent and athleticism to make those improvements.
Her recruiting blew up from summer league games against good competition in the lower 48.
Hays is a completely different animal than O'Grady and Goodman.
Her recruiting journey had a bit of an interesting story in that no one knew who she was until she showed up at an AAU tourney (before her junior year, I believe) and wowed everyone. She was so far away that evaluators didn't really know who she was--she wasn't able to showcase her skills before that. I cant remember which ranking (maybe ASGR or Prospects Nation?) then debuted her as a Top 40 recruit in her class. When she debuted on the ESPN list she was a bit lower -- 70s I think.
That's was higher than O'Grady, who was ranked in the 90s via ESPN, but still kind of disappointing based on how much hype she got after that tourney, but I've long been of the opinion that an offer list matters far more than a ranking (consider that AJ Edigar was ranked around the same as Hannah Stuelke in the 40s, while Affolter wasn't considered a Top 100 recruit by ESPN at all).
Others have also mentioned that ESPN's rankings are highly prone to being impacted by AAU politics. Sometimes rankings can vary significantly based on these things alone. Affolter provides another great example with regard to this. While she wasn't ranked in the ESPN Top 100, Prospects Nation had her ranked in the 60s. I think the latter is likely more in line with what she was able to do in college than the former.
The evaluators who work for ESPN also prioritize those who play at tourneys they have a stake in, so many international players famously struggle to break into them if they're just not around for them. Have to wonder if Hays is more "international" or not for the purposes of rankings.
This is all to say that I think Hays has the potential to be very good. Jan has said this more than once -- along the lines of "She might end up being one of our all time great post players." She has contrasted Hays with Heiden more than once as well, describing Heiden as quicker and more of a stretch 4. I believe that at some point (probably not this year), we will see line-ups with Hays and Heiden on the floor together. This is something Jan has said she wants to do (and which she tried at least once this year, but only for a few minutes).
We are incredibly lucky to have depth like Lays at the 5! We have to be patient but I have to believe big things are in store for her. I wouldn't be surprised if after next season we are all terrified she will leave us for a high six figure payday and starting opportunity.
- O'Grady had some skills but didn't want to be a center. Bluder said this at least 3 different times on the record -- things like "I'm really trying to get her to be more physical, it's just not in her personality" and "She's actually not playing her preferred position." O'Grady always wanted to be more of a stretch 4. That's what she played in HS, alongside Lauren Betts (which I assume provided her a lot of space to maneuver). That's why she liked shooting from the elbow and running in transition. She also loved to shoot from the perimeter, which just didn't happen at Iowa because of the old-school post system. Have to wonder how she may have done somewhere like UNL that is more positionless. Her offer list overall was pretty generic overall -- not terrible but nothing impressive. By her senior year she had bought in and she basically hit her ceiling.
- Goodman was the opposite -- she liked playing the 5 but she didn't really have a lot of skills. I don't even know what her offer list was but my guess is her best offer outside Iowa was probably UNI. On top of that she had her ACL issue which clearly set her back significantly. I know the party line was that she graduated early because she was ready to graduate and become a nurse but I think Bluder was honest with her about not getting any minutes and basically nudged her along that path to open up minutes/a scholarship for other players.
Her recruiting journey had a bit of an interesting story in that no one knew who she was until she showed up at an AAU tourney (before her junior year, I believe) and wowed everyone. She was so far away that evaluators didn't really know who she was--she wasn't able to showcase her skills before that. I cant remember which ranking (maybe ASGR or Prospects Nation?) then debuted her as a Top 40 recruit in her class. When she debuted on the ESPN list she was a bit lower -- 70s I think.
That's was higher than O'Grady, who was ranked in the 90s via ESPN, but still kind of disappointing based on how much hype she got after that tourney, but I've long been of the opinion that an offer list matters far more than a ranking (consider that AJ Edigar was ranked around the same as Hannah Stuelke in the 40s, while Affolter wasn't considered a Top 100 recruit by ESPN at all).
Others have also mentioned that ESPN's rankings are highly prone to being impacted by AAU politics. Sometimes rankings can vary significantly based on these things alone. Affolter provides another great example with regard to this. While she wasn't ranked in the ESPN Top 100, Prospects Nation had her ranked in the 60s. I think the latter is likely more in line with what she was able to do in college than the former.
The evaluators who work for ESPN also prioritize those who play at tourneys they have a stake in, so many international players famously struggle to break into them if they're just not around for them. Have to wonder if Hays is more "international" or not for the purposes of rankings.
This is all to say that I think Hays has the potential to be very good. Jan has said this more than once -- along the lines of "She might end up being one of our all time great post players." She has contrasted Hays with Heiden more than once as well, describing Heiden as quicker and more of a stretch 4. I believe that at some point (probably not this year), we will see line-ups with Hays and Heiden on the floor together. This is something Jan has said she wants to do (and which she tried at least once this year, but only for a few minutes).
We are incredibly lucky to have depth like Lays at the 5! We have to be patient but I have to believe big things are in store for her. I wouldn't be surprised if after next season we are all terrified she will leave us for a high six figure payday and starting opportunity.
Well thought out post. Nice to read an optimistic assessment that gives us something to look forward to. It will be fun to see her mature and develop.
If we has all our best players on one team at the same time we would have won a national championship