I always assumed she was coming back, but you are right that it wasn't a given. But it does appear she is returning.
Ashley Joens Future
- Thread starter mwwbbfan
- Start date
"Will Ashley's game translate well to the WNBA?" is a legitimate question . I don't know what aspects of her game she lacks compared to skills Bridget had existing the NCAA.
To me they are similar enough in size, speed, shot range, and shot repertoire to find Ashley equivalent to Bridget and to be on a similar track into the Pros. The only question will there be a slot for her and a team willing to take a chance on Joens.
Well. BC had a reasonable jump shot. A stop a drive and pop shot. Ashley has none of that.
watched Smith closely. She actually travels on many of her jump shots and the announcers bragged about how much she covers on he pivot. She steps with both feet and then jumps and shoots, that’s a travel.
Just found out that Joens is an elementary education major and has not done student teaching yet, so conceivably has to return next fall anyway. Would be really hard to play basketball while student teaching but majority of her placement would be before games start rolling and she'd be done before conference
I think it was more often a set shot, BC had, she rose to her toes, but she could do that at mid-range with consistency. Ashley, as discussed has high tendency to drive in and with taller players twist around, fake, get the angle, or get fouled. That will be less effective in the pros.
Bridget I admit is better, but there is no way she is so much better as to make it a "thick" hairsplitting. Ashley as scoring leader at Iowa State indicates some aptitude for a pro career, most likely overseas.
Why would it be hard for her to do that? My wife has had several athletes student teach and still compete and she doesn’t have a college where she teaches. So Ash could easily student teach and work around that.
Practice, film, weight room, travel, competition all have to fit around the 745-345 schedule. Just because it's been done before doesn't mean it's not hard. Heck, student teaching for the common student is hard.
Yeah…..so you have your student teaching happen in Gilbert/Ames type area during when games hit. Most things in life that are worthwhile are hard work.
Angie Welle was also an el ed major. Easy to do. She could take grad courses in the spring. Would also be easier to find a teaching job graduating in the spring.
Based on Ashley's reaction when returning to bench after fouling out, she looked liked a player who was realizing this was her last game in Hilton.
I'm not sure if you meant specific kinds of jump shots or just jump shots generally. But to add some data in, Joens has a higher career three-point percentage than Carleton did (35.9% vs. 34.3%) and their senior year percentages are exactly the same at 37.1% with Joens taking a couple more per game.
That being said, I do agree with some that Ashley's skillset doesn't translate as well to the WNBA. Carleton was still a more versatile scorer, and a better defender and passer. That being said, Joens definitely has the capability to adapt. I think her bump in three-point attempts this year is clearly to give her a more defined possible role professionally. If some of these mock drafts are right, Joens would also get draft significantly higher than Carleton did, so maybe teams see something in her that we aren't.
This is something that Cheryl Reeve, MN Lynx head coach, really appreciates. BC is one of the best defenders on the team. She can defend and she can score.
I think the biggest difference is the awareness of other players to pass to. Bridget was so good at making her supporting cast look good while Ashley often puts too much into doing it herself. I think Ashley is a pretty effective defender, even against Baylor she was not owned, but that is debatable if the team results are concerned.
I think Joens is a pretty solid defender, just not on Carleton's level. If memory serves me right, Carleton was basically the team's lockdown defender her senior year in addition to her offensive workload. One thing I didn't mention is that Joens is probably the better rebounder.
It’s interesting how different people can have different interpretations of what the player is thinking/feeling. When I watched her go to the bench that was the first time that I honestly felt she might return next year. Like something was left undone. Next year‘s team with Fritz returning and the addition of our new recruit will be deeper and stronger than this year‘s team if she returns. That also means more dangerous.
We need that 6 3/ 6 4 banger inside and we would be very dangerous. We just don’t have the tall “goon” to fight the physical teams.
Oh where is another Chelsea Poppins when you need one? No, she wasn't a goon, but damn she was physical!
Poppins was tumbling to the floor, as does Ashley, a lot battling to the point of concussions. She was as tough of a forward we've had in our era. BUT, with Crooks soon to make a commitment we may have a new enforcer. At 6'3"+, Crooks could be a major part of making us tougher.
