Observations
Ashley Joens - as of this writing, Ashley was just named the Cheryl Miller Forward of the Year for the second straight year. Really, that's almost all you need to say about her. Although her numbers were down from a year ago, she actually did more for the team this year than last. She became more adept at driving and finding open players when she was double teamed. She could step back and play a role when her teammates were hot. She was still tenacious on the boards. She was quite simply a better player and the leader of this team. Add to it 1st Team All Conference and All American honors.
The Sophs - Donarski, Ryan and Diew were integral parts of this team as they each stepped up their games. Donarski was the Big 12 defensive player of the year and quite literally harassed anyone she guarded into meltdowns. She wasn't always consistent scoring, but was always a threat. She showed excellent speed and had a burst to the hole that often left her defender behind. Ryan was the floor general. She could find players all over the court and by the end of the season broke a record that not many of us thought she could reach. But she did and became the season assist leader by dishing an amazing 249 assists. She was also a very consistent scorer at 13 ppg. These two evolved from talented freshmen to veteran players and both were named 1st Team All Conference as a result. Diew was the big surprise. No one knew what to expect from this tall, and yes I'll say it, gangly player from Butler. From early season hits and misses to the end of the season starter, Diew showed the greatest improvement from day 1 to end of season of anyone on the team. She blocked shots, played defense and became another scoring option on this talented team.
The Posts - All season long post play was a challenge. We saw several parts used interchangeably as Kane, Jordao, Zingaro, Diew and a few others played in the middle. There were some games where the posts were beaten by more talented athletes such as Baylor's Smith. In others, the group did a yeoman's job of matching up and either playing evenly or out-performing their opponents. Surprisingly, the group averaged around 15 points and 12 boards per game. It didn't always work out that way from game to game, but the plan put together by the staff and the depth at that position worked out nine times out of ten. There was never any doubt they all were working their butts off on the court. In the off season Jordao (who moves the best) needs to work on her shot and free throws. Zingaro came into the Georgia game and showed where her size and strength could be an asset rebounding. Also needs to work on her shot (needs to learn to get off the floor vertically). Kane is the starter as she has the most complete skill set of them all.
The Bench - M&M and Aubrey Joens are the only two players with significant minutes I've not mentioned so far. M&M continued to fight injuries early in the season just as she did much of last year. She had moments where she shined and made a huge difference and other times when things didn't work quite as well. The skills are definitely there and we have to hope this off-season will finally allow her to get healthy for next season. Because of some of the games where she was hot from deep she ended the season with the highest percentage from three on the team. Aubrey also had her up and downs. She had some games where she scored a bunch and others where the scoring wasn't there. But what was always there was her defense and rebounding efforts. For being one of the shorter players on the team she was always pulling down boards due to her aggressive nature and body placement.
The Deep Bench - as expected the remaining players on the bench saw time when there were blowouts (and there were quite a few) and that is about it. King will always be the Sarah Robson type player that we love, but is relegated to trash time. Vick and Frederick have a lot of growth to make in order to carve out any playing time on a very deep team. Time will tell what off-season workouts do for these players.
The Future
I've never seen a Cyclone team that quite literally returned every single starter and practically the entire team roster. The early Fennelly years saw us return strong cores of teams that won conference titles and went deep into the dance. But this is different. Expectations are going to be sky high next year. Everyone is saying this will be a definite Top 10 pre-season team and perhaps Top 5. I think the later is a bit much. We add a relative unknown in Shatavia Dawkins out of Canada. But she is supposed to be fast and athletic. That would be a boost to team depth. We return the two time All American, two time Cheryl Miller Award winner, three time 1st Team All Conference player in Ashley Joens. Fritz will be back. The team we saw at the end of the season will be even deeper at the beginning of next year and I think even more dangerous. What we don't know is if the coaches are pursuing any of the multitude of big posts that are in the transfer portal? Time will tell.
There are several games to circle on the calendar next year. First, the Phil Knight Invitational that includes Michigan State, North Carolina and Oregon. Good competition for us early season. Then the re-match with Iowa in Iowa City. Finally, the conference season with a loaded Texas squad (who will likely be picked first pre-season) and a rebuilding Baylor. OU will be back as will an improving KU. KSU returns Ayoka Lee. Nothing is easy, but if there was a time to make another move this is it.
Folks, it was fun this year. And I mean for everyone. Yes, I had a blast following the team and writing these things up for you. But it was so great to see the Coaches and players having a fun time together and seeing that translate to success on the court. Enjoy the off-season. We'll be back in November!
Ashley Joens - as of this writing, Ashley was just named the Cheryl Miller Forward of the Year for the second straight year. Really, that's almost all you need to say about her. Although her numbers were down from a year ago, she actually did more for the team this year than last. She became more adept at driving and finding open players when she was double teamed. She could step back and play a role when her teammates were hot. She was still tenacious on the boards. She was quite simply a better player and the leader of this team. Add to it 1st Team All Conference and All American honors.
The Sophs - Donarski, Ryan and Diew were integral parts of this team as they each stepped up their games. Donarski was the Big 12 defensive player of the year and quite literally harassed anyone she guarded into meltdowns. She wasn't always consistent scoring, but was always a threat. She showed excellent speed and had a burst to the hole that often left her defender behind. Ryan was the floor general. She could find players all over the court and by the end of the season broke a record that not many of us thought she could reach. But she did and became the season assist leader by dishing an amazing 249 assists. She was also a very consistent scorer at 13 ppg. These two evolved from talented freshmen to veteran players and both were named 1st Team All Conference as a result. Diew was the big surprise. No one knew what to expect from this tall, and yes I'll say it, gangly player from Butler. From early season hits and misses to the end of the season starter, Diew showed the greatest improvement from day 1 to end of season of anyone on the team. She blocked shots, played defense and became another scoring option on this talented team.
The Posts - All season long post play was a challenge. We saw several parts used interchangeably as Kane, Jordao, Zingaro, Diew and a few others played in the middle. There were some games where the posts were beaten by more talented athletes such as Baylor's Smith. In others, the group did a yeoman's job of matching up and either playing evenly or out-performing their opponents. Surprisingly, the group averaged around 15 points and 12 boards per game. It didn't always work out that way from game to game, but the plan put together by the staff and the depth at that position worked out nine times out of ten. There was never any doubt they all were working their butts off on the court. In the off season Jordao (who moves the best) needs to work on her shot and free throws. Zingaro came into the Georgia game and showed where her size and strength could be an asset rebounding. Also needs to work on her shot (needs to learn to get off the floor vertically). Kane is the starter as she has the most complete skill set of them all.
The Bench - M&M and Aubrey Joens are the only two players with significant minutes I've not mentioned so far. M&M continued to fight injuries early in the season just as she did much of last year. She had moments where she shined and made a huge difference and other times when things didn't work quite as well. The skills are definitely there and we have to hope this off-season will finally allow her to get healthy for next season. Because of some of the games where she was hot from deep she ended the season with the highest percentage from three on the team. Aubrey also had her up and downs. She had some games where she scored a bunch and others where the scoring wasn't there. But what was always there was her defense and rebounding efforts. For being one of the shorter players on the team she was always pulling down boards due to her aggressive nature and body placement.
The Deep Bench - as expected the remaining players on the bench saw time when there were blowouts (and there were quite a few) and that is about it. King will always be the Sarah Robson type player that we love, but is relegated to trash time. Vick and Frederick have a lot of growth to make in order to carve out any playing time on a very deep team. Time will tell what off-season workouts do for these players.
The Future
I've never seen a Cyclone team that quite literally returned every single starter and practically the entire team roster. The early Fennelly years saw us return strong cores of teams that won conference titles and went deep into the dance. But this is different. Expectations are going to be sky high next year. Everyone is saying this will be a definite Top 10 pre-season team and perhaps Top 5. I think the later is a bit much. We add a relative unknown in Shatavia Dawkins out of Canada. But she is supposed to be fast and athletic. That would be a boost to team depth. We return the two time All American, two time Cheryl Miller Award winner, three time 1st Team All Conference player in Ashley Joens. Fritz will be back. The team we saw at the end of the season will be even deeper at the beginning of next year and I think even more dangerous. What we don't know is if the coaches are pursuing any of the multitude of big posts that are in the transfer portal? Time will tell.
There are several games to circle on the calendar next year. First, the Phil Knight Invitational that includes Michigan State, North Carolina and Oregon. Good competition for us early season. Then the re-match with Iowa in Iowa City. Finally, the conference season with a loaded Texas squad (who will likely be picked first pre-season) and a rebuilding Baylor. OU will be back as will an improving KU. KSU returns Ayoka Lee. Nothing is easy, but if there was a time to make another move this is it.
Folks, it was fun this year. And I mean for everyone. Yes, I had a blast following the team and writing these things up for you. But it was so great to see the Coaches and players having a fun time together and seeing that translate to success on the court. Enjoy the off-season. We'll be back in November!
