Iowa didn't recruit Courtney (or sisters) due to her father and as ElClone posted he is very overbearing. What sealed the deal was Brian (father) getting booted from high school games due to his behavior, he was allowed back but had to sit with a school official who monitored his behavior. Ashley's dream school was Iowa, but they determined her father wouldn't be worth the headache. You just don't recruit a top 15 5* recruit minutes from campus unless there is strong reason why. By all accounts though the girls are absolutely wonderful people and it was Iowa State's gain.
WBB: Nice article on the Joens family
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Iowa didn't recruit Courtney (or sisters) due to her father and as ElClone posted he is very overbearing. What sealed the deal was Brian (father) getting booted from high school games due to his behavior, he was allowed back but had to sit with a school official who monitored his behavior. Ashley's dream school was Iowa, but they determined her father wouldn't be worth the headache. You just don't recruit a top 15 5* recruit minutes from campus unless there is strong reason why. By all accounts though the girls are absolutely wonderful people and it was Iowa State's gain.
Thanks for a credible take on the Joens situation. Wonder if Bluder was intimidated by the Father. I could see Fennelly finding a way to cope with Brian Joens if the situation were to have taken place in Ames.
Bluder isn't intimidated by Brian at all. Some parents are going to create unneeded problems which can effect team chemistry and with the location they felt it wasn't worth it. I felt sorry for Ashley during an interview a couple days before the Iowa game the question was asked why she wasn't recruited by her hometown school. It was very awkward for her, she said she'd like to have stayed at home to play in front of family and friends but didn't know why she wasn't given that opportunity.
Preface: Proud ISU alum who has lived in Iowa City since 1998; all three of my children graduated from City High and I still attend basketball games periodically; I know the Joens family in passing as I like a tenderloin as much as the next guy; I sat within 20' of Brian at least three times last winter in the City High gymnasium...
Truth(s) and Opinions: City High does not assign a school official to sit with Brian Joens - I personally know the principal and recently-retired AD and this is simply not true;
Brian is "intense" - a HS team with "fouls to give" was roughing up Aubrey last winter and Brian was starting to "bark" from his seat in the third row; their daughter in eighth grade (name escapes me) walked over and told him to "knock it off" - he chuckled and quieted down; IMO, his "reputation" is over-rated...
I don't know why EIU (Bluder) elected not to recruit the Joens girls, but it's definitely to our benefit. A coach of Bluder's status should be able to deal with an intense parent, so I'm not buying that angle, no matter how hard the hawk fans attempt to sell it!
For anybody who is expecting Aubrey to play like Ashley, you'll need to temper your expectations. Aubrey is slight of build and try as she might, simply can't go to the hole with authority; she can however, shoot lights out from distance, plus she has a year to get bigger and stronger.
In closing, I've not seen her play, but I've been told the fourth Joens daughter (to be a freshman at City High this fall) might be the best yet. She reportedly broke Ashley's single-game scoring record at SEJH and my neighbor, an experienced girl's b-ball coach (high school and club), says she has the right temperament!!!
Go Cyclones - here's hoping we can keep our pipeline of top-100 recruits from Iowa City open for at least another decade!!!
So, basically, Bruder is such a shrinking violet that she passes on Top 100 players in her own backyard because of a dad that might yell stuff in a big arena with thousands of fans in attendance? Hilarious, it ain't HS or AAU, it's Big 10 P5 games for crying out loud and it hasn't been an empty arena lately, attendance has been really good. BTW, I'd alway thought of Bruder as being kind of an old school toughie but guess she's Charmin soft. My bad. LOL.
Than again, Hawk fans thought ISU should fire our AD for getting mad at a HS game once so there is some consistency in their thought process.
Than again, Hawk fans thought ISU should fire our AD for getting mad at a HS game once so there is some consistency in their thought process.
TxHawk & iccyfan 'takes' most accurate. I don't live in IC and never seen a girls game down there. I do know a couple of Brian's brothers and the grandfather fairly well for 10-15 yrs and know Brian & Bluder loathe each other. Advantage ISU. Has Brian been a problem @ Hilton? Probably not one iota.. Bluder should of sucked it up and made amends w/ the family. Her loss. The girls' extended family of aunts, uncles, grandparents are all very nice people.
The extended family supports the girls and their successes at their respective colleges. They are primarily all big Hawkeye FB fans however. Mild Iowa mbb fans. Brian's younger brother played mbb for McDermott @ Wayne St (NE) and is in their hall-of-fame. The ball boys @ Wayne St. at the time?
~ Doug McDermott & Mike Gesell
The extended family supports the girls and their successes at their respective colleges. They are primarily all big Hawkeye FB fans however. Mild Iowa mbb fans. Brian's younger brother played mbb for McDermott @ Wayne St (NE) and is in their hall-of-fame. The ball boys @ Wayne St. at the time?
~ Doug McDermott & Mike Gesell
Whatever, hawk fan - you have an agenda here and I don't. I'm regularly present at City High games, sitting near Brian Joens, and you're not.
Brian Joens sits on the north side of the gym, which is where the CH students sit. There are always City High administrators standing just inside the gym doors; have been for the twenty years I've been attending games there. If you want to pretend they're standing fifty feet away to keep Brian Joens from misbehaving, be my guest.
For whatever reason, hawk fans have a pathological need to denigrate Brian Joens; my friends say the most ridiculous things about the man and they've never met him! Have at it my hawk friend - we're more than happy to have his daughters wear cardinal & gold!!!
That pretty much matches what I've heard. Aubrey is more of a pure shooter while Kelsey (the next one in line) is more like Ashley v2.0.
We are on a similar line of thought BoxsterCy. We have now three posters noting some proximity to the situation leaving the big question as to why Bluder and Brian are at odds. I know we have had overbearing parents pull their kid from Iowa State because they were not getting the respect and playtime expected (best example was a transfer Darcie Diick years ago)
Two adults, one in a position and payed a lot to do a big job and failed. Bluder did not even try from reports and Boxster's writing is on the mark. I reiterate. Given having this happening in Ames, I am pretty sure Bill would not at least try.
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Now we have a coach diagnosed as a manic depressive. Come on..,this is a guy who is pure emotion. He wears his passion on his sleeve and that sometimes leads to strong comments being made.
My only disagreement with Boxter is "thousands in attendance." You can quite often hear individual voices in that cave. People joke about ISU's reported attendance (usually around 10k), but Iowa's reports of 6k average are grossly over actual.
Their attendance was good this year in spite of what you say. Every game I watched last season the crowd passed the eye test, especially later in the season.
And then there’s the NCAA home games we both hosted .
First round:
Ames 6,503
Iowa City 10,720
Second Round
Ames 5,809
Iowa City 12,376
Not sure they can sustain the interest that Megan and almost winning the conference generated but to say it was not there at all is BS.
Megan G was the draw last year-- the novelty that is now gone along with a couple other popular seniors for Iowa. No fanbase or university out there more full of self-importance, self-promotional, or insecurity, than Iowa's. They do nothing organically.
ANF, a promotional fraud.
"The Wave?" quickly became a promo, dubbed as a 'tradition' after one week, with "The Wave" apparel showing up at stores (w/ $0.00 retail profit dollars going to the Children's Hospital).
Megan G? She gone
ANF, a promotional fraud.
"The Wave?" quickly became a promo, dubbed as a 'tradition' after one week, with "The Wave" apparel showing up at stores (w/ $0.00 retail profit dollars going to the Children's Hospital).
Megan G? She gone
They also had the benefit of both Drake and Missouri being there.
I live in Iowa City and attended their games. Drake filled almost a full section. With a scattering throughout. So did Missouri. I was surrounded by Missouri fans in the 2nd round. These were season ticket seats. There was nowhere near that many people there in the 2nd round. Drake didn't attend.
And, yet, we still drew almost 50% less that what we regularly count as attendance and for the biggest two games of the year. I just think mocking their attendance is small minded and kinda silly especially when fans that follow WBB as a whole would like to see more interest and better attendance for the sport.
Which was a surprise to no one with two eyes and a brain, given how schools count attendance in the regular season vs. how the NCAA counts attendance at championship events.
