DALLAS, TEXAS – APRIL 02: In the first half of the 2023 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament championship game at American Airlines Centre on April 02, 2023 in Dallas, Texas, Addison O’Grady #44 of the Iowa Hawkeyes and Sa’Myah Smith #5 of the LSU Lady Tigers are battling for possession of the ball.
For this season, the most crucial thing to keep in mind is that Monika Czinano cannot be directly replaced by the Iowa Hawkeyes.
They are not looking to find the next Monika Czinano, so yes, they will need to figure out how to replace her impact and minutes at the starting centre position.
That is a foolish endeavour. The Hawkeyes and Caitlin Clark are aware of this as well.
Prior to the season, Clark told the Daily Iowan, “I think the biggest thing that I’m trying to live by is just instilling confidence in them.” They are aware of Monika’s greatness, but they are not required to emulate her. They’re going to be different is something we always discuss. It is unrealistic to expect them to be Monika.
Lisa Bluder and associates have the proper mindset. Instead of trying to replace Czinano, who is a fantastic player, they want to develop a young player to complement Clark. Though Addison O’Grady has been making waves since the conclusion of last season, sophomore forward Hannah Stuelke is already the subject of an understandable amount of buzz.
The junior centre is expected to be a significant player this season, having contributed some crucial minutes late in the previous one. Take a look at Addison O’Grady, an Iowa centre.
Four-star recruit by ESPN and regarded as the 92nd-ranked overall player in the 2021 recruiting class
contributed to three straight conference titles, a runner-up place as a sophomore, and state titles in her freshman and junior years.
tallied all-league honours as a freshman, sophomore, and junior, and earned all-state honours as a junior.
1.6 blocks, 2.2 assists, 6.4 rebounds, and 10.9 points per game on average as a junior
| Season | School | Conf | Class | G | GS | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 2P | 2PA | 2P% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | FT | FTA | FT% | ORB | DRB | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS | SOS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-22 | Iowa | Big Ten | FR | 32 | 0 | 10.0 | 1.8 | 3.4 | .532 | 1.8 | 3.3 | .552 | 0.0 | 0.1 | .000 | 0.5 | 0.6 | .789 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 2.5 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 1.1 | 4.1 | 12.07 | |
| 2022-23 | Iowa | Big Ten | SO | 32 | 0 | 5.6 | 0.9 | 1.4 | .622 | 0.8 | 1.4 | .614 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.000 | 0.3 | 0.5 | .500 | 0.4 | 1.0 | 1.4 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 2.0 | 17.75 | |
| Career | Iowa | 64 | 0 | 7.8 | 1.3 | 2.4 | .558 | 1.3 | 2.3 | .570 | 0.0 | 0.1 | .200 | 0.4 | 0.5 | .657 | 0.7 | 1.2 | 2.0 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 3.1 | 14.91 |
It will be interesting to see how O’Grady is utilized this season. All preseason she started at center. However, she only played 19 minutes against DePaul and 12 minutes against Clarke, respectively.
Then, in the season opener against FDU, it was Sharon Goodman that got the start at center. But, O’Grady did add nine points and four rebounds in 20 minutes of floor time.
Is Lisa Bluder simply using her current roster for the early part of the season? Or will O’Grady start games based on matchups and be more of a situational player?
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Jacob’s Twitter handle is @Jacobkeppen.
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