Iowa Women's Basketball: Frontcourt Preview

We continue on with our previews for Iowa women’s basketball team. After looking at how the backcourt is the strength of the team yesterday, we turn our focus to the area that has the most questions heading into the year. The frontcourt. Head coach Lisa Bluder and her coaching staff are confident in the options that they have returning, but the departures from last year leave big shoes to fill.

Over the course of her four-year career, McKenna Warnock racked up 1,277 points, 755 rebounds and 287 assists at the forward position. She averaged 10.9 points and 6.2 rebounds, while shooting 38.4% from behind the arc last season. At center, the Hawkeyes lose Monika Czinano. She ranked top five in the country in field goal percentage in each of her four years as a starter and racked up 2,413 career points. She averaged 17.1 points and 6.5 rebounds, while shooting 67.4% from the floor last season. This season, the Hawkeyes go from 222 career starts in the frontcourt, to zero.

“How do we fill the void of Monika and McKenna? That’s what everybody wants to know, right? I think there’s a number of options,” said Lisa Bluder during media day. “Addi is winning (the center job) because of experience and height, but she did have a very good foreign tour, and I thought she played very well in the NCAA Tournament…What do we do with the power forward position? I think that one is obvious. I think everyone saw last year how good, how athletic, how fast Hannah Stuelke was.”

Frontcourt Breakdown

So, let’s start at the forward position with Hannah Stuelke. The sophomore out of Cedar Rapids earned a sizable role with the team as a true freshman last year. She appeared in 37 games, averaging 6.5 points, 3.9 rebounds and 13.0 minutes per game, while shooting 61.0% from the floor. That was good enough to earn her Big Ten 6th Player of the Year honors.

“I think over the summer she became a better basketball player, and that’s what we needed for her to become, and I think now she understands the game better,” said Bluder. “I always see the biggest jump between freshman and sophomore year…they just understand a little bit better and they are more comfortable. It’s like the game slows down for them a little bit.”

The role for Hannah is going to go from being an energetic spark off the bench, to playing starting minutes at both the forward and center position. Despite playing just 31.4% of the total possible minutes last season, there was a lot that jumped off the page about her game. First off, her athleticism carries her a long way. She beats opposing teams down the floor in transition for easy baskets, while she also averaged 12.0 rebounds per 40 minutes, including 4.07 offensive rebounds per 40 minutes. Hannah also had the ability to score points in bunches, including 17 points in 14 mins vs Northwestern and 13 points in 17 mins vs Maryland. On the season, Stuelke averaged 20.0 points per 40 minutes.

As is the case with almost every freshman, there are areas of her game that must improve if she is going to play 30 minutes a game. Hannah shot just 1/6 from three-point range, which allowed teams to not worry about her as a perimeter threat. She was also just 40/87 (46.0%) from the free-throw line. Two areas that are going to have to see jumps this season.

“She’s really worked on her outside shot. That’s a lot more consistent. Last year when she played on the perimeter, (teams) didn’t really guard her as much because that three ball was really inconsistent,” said associate head coach Jan Jensen during the summer. “She’s worked on that a lot. I’d say the outside presence with the consistent shooting so far looks really good.”

“I think just being more confident on the floor,” said Stuelke on what the biggest difference has been for her so far this year. “Knowing that I can drive to the basket, knowing I can post up, get the ball and score. I think my teammates have helped me a lot in building that confidence.”

Sure, it was against Clarke University this past Sunday, but Stuelke put up 27 points and ten rebounds, including a three-point make and 4/5 from the free throw line. Hannah is a different forward than what the Hawkeyes have had in the past with Warnock, but I have said it once already this fall and I will say it again. I believe she will be an All-Big Ten caliber player for the Hawkeyes this season.

Forward Sydney Affolter is entering her junior year and while she may not be a starter, she is expected to be one of, if not the first player off the bench this season. Last season, Affolter averaged 2.9 points, 2.3 rebounds and 10.3 minutes per game. She talked at media day why she has decided to stay at Iowa, when some players would have transferred after two years playing sporadic minutes off the bench.

“I have so much trust in this team and the coaches here. They have a lot of belief in me and I’ve believed in them. People always think the grass is greener somewhere else. It may not be different or what you expect (if you leave).”

Affolter put together an impressive Europe trip, averaging 10.0 points, 11.0 rebounds and 3.6 assists over the course of three games. She said the trip helped her build confidence for the upcoming season.

“It definitely did. I think just having those games in the summer builds confidence for the season to come. It was nice with a new team to get to play together before the season starts.”

Sydney has always been known for her ability to go get a rebound and be a solid defender. On the offensive end, she knows that more opportunities will be available for her this season.

“Rebounding, you don’t have to be the biggest, strongest, fastest, it’s just whoever wants the ball. Go after it and go get it. My dad kind of instilled that since I was younger. It’s just hustle,” said Affolter. “McKenna and Monika put up great numbers and that leaves openings for new people to step up. We’ll have the ball in our hands more this year, so it gives us more opportunites. I’m ready for it.”

At the center position, it will be junior Addi O’Grady taking over the starting role in her third season with the program. She averaged just 5.6 minutes per game last season, but had eight points, five rebounds and four blocks over 28 minutes on the floor during the Final Four.

“That was a huge confidence boost, especially, some points during my sophomore season, I didn’t get as much playing time as I’d like, but seeing that I could go in and have crucial minutes against the best teams in the country was a big confidence boost.”

During the Hawkeyes trip to Europe, O’Grady put up 37 points and 19 rebounds on 75% shooting over three games. In their exhibition game against DePaul, she finished with ten points and 14 rebounds. Lisa Bluder knows that the first thing people want to to do is compare her to Monika, but says they are different players.

“I’m going to ask you, I might even beg you to not compare her to Monika, just like four years ago I sat here and I begged you not to compare Monika to Megan. Monika came of her own. Give Addi time to come of her own. Addi is a darned good basketball player.”

The Hawkeyes will need O’Grady to show the same ability to score in a variety of ways and willingness to rebound, as she did against DePaul. Early season matchups against Virginia Tech All-American Elizabeth Kitley and Kansas State All-American Ayoka Lee will test her willingness to be physical in the post.

“Monika taught me to embrace the aggresiveness and physical contact down there, so I’ve been working a lot on that,” said O’Grady. “I feel like skill wise, I’ve always had it. I just really have to assert myself and be that dominant post player, so I’ve really been working on that.”

When the Hawkeyes want to go with a smaller, faster lineup, they will look to move Hannah Stuelke to the post and likely bring Sydney Affolter onto the floor to play the power forward position. Against DePaul, O’Grady (19 mins) and Sharon Goodman (8 mins) combined for the bulk of the minutes, while Stuelke played nine of her 29 minutes at the five. It’s not likely a lineup that Lisa Bluder and her staff will use for the majority of a game, but it does allow them to get out and run in transition and a pace that won’t be matched by many teams.

Behind O’Grady at center, Sharon Goodman and AJ Ediger are battling for the backup minutes. Goodman played in just 13 games last season after missing the 2021-22 season with an ACL tear. She is in her second year removed from surgery and is looking to get back to the level that had her getting backup minutes at center during her freshman season. She finished with 14 points and nine rebounds in their exhibition against Clarke on Sunday.

““I’m ready to do whatever the team needs me to do. I think a lot of that feeling more comfortable comes from my teammates. They’ve been encouraging me for the past two years since I’ve been back,” said Goodman. “Seeing all the work that’s been done and the support from my teammates pay off, it’s fun. It’s exciting to be back and looking forward to be able to help the team out.”

It has been a while since that aforementioned freshman year, but Goodman was able to averaged 3.7 points and 2.1 rebounds, while averaging just 8.6 minutes per game. Addi O’Grady figures to get the bulk of the minutes, while Hannah Stuelke will get time there as well. If Sharon Goodman can add in some valuable minutes, even if it is similar to her freshman season, it will give the team a well-rounded rotation at the five.

AJ Ediger and Jada Gyamfi round out the roster for the Hawkeyes. Ediger saw some extended minutes at the five last year in a couple of games, but, at least for the moment, appears to be the odd one out with Goodman earning the backup minutes in the two exhibitions. Ediger has averaged 1.6 points and 3.4 minutes per game through two seasons at Iowa. She is currently out with a left foot injury, but Lisa Bluder said it is not long term.

Gyamfi is a sophomore out of Johnston and appeared in just eight games for the Hawkeyes last season, as she missed time with some injuries. She had 15 points and eight rebounds during Iowa’s trip to Europe, but has played sparingly in the two exhibitions.

FINAL THOUGHT

Anytime you lose two players with the production, longevity and accolades that McKenna Warnock and Monika Czinano had, as well as the overall comfort of having them in the lineup, it’s not unusual for a fanbase to have some concern about replacing them.

That being said, their replacements possess the skillsets that are needed to keep the Hawkeyes at the top of the Big Ten. Hannah Stuelke is a star in the making. She likely isn’t going to shoot 40% from the three-point line like Warnock, but she can stretch the floor, run the floor and rebound on both ends of the floor. Stuelke will be a different type of player, but should give 10-15 points on a nightly basis. At center, Addi O’Grady has shown that she can be a capable player in the post and going up against a couple of really good post early in the year will help her get ready for Big Ten play. Off the bench, Sydney Affolter is looking to break through as a valuable role player for the Hawkeyes, as a defender, rebounder and a scorer, while Sharon Goodman giving some backup minutes at the five would be a big help.

Do not mistake this for me saying that everything will go smoothly this season. Anytime you go from 222 starts to zero in your frontcourt, there’s bound to be some bumps in the road. I suspect that there will be some ups and downs in the first half of the year, but as the season goes on, they should shows signs of gaining consistency. As long as that happens, the team should be in a good spot late in the regular season into the postseason and that is where Lisa Bluder tends to get her teams on a roll.

Up Next, it’s time for a some season predictions. I’ll go through the Hawkeyes schedule game by game and predict what their final record will be in my 2023-24 Iowa Women’s Basketball Fearless Forecast.