Iowa’s returning veterans will play the vast majority of the team’s minutes this season, but that doesn’t mean that the team’s four new players can’t make an impact. Let’s take a look at the newbies and what role they might fill for Iowa in the upcoming season.
Addison O’Grady | 6’4’' | Freshman | Aurora, Colorado
#92 in ESPNW’s 2021 Class Ranking
O’Grady was the breakout star of Iowa’s 102-32 exhibition victory over Truman State Thursday night. In just 13 minutes of action, she scored 19 points on 9/12 shooting and added six rebounds. And I don’t think those stats were simply due to playing an inferior opponent.
In the second half alone, O’Grady showed multiple post moves, caught a tough entry pass, made a jumper, and comfortably shot a three-pointer. It’s far too early to say if O’Grady’s post scoring can come close to or match Monika Czinano and Megan Gustafson, but she is off to a great start. And she can comfortably shoot from ranges Czinano and Gustafson never attempted in college. The skills O’Grady has already shown combined with the coaching staff’s ability to develop post scoring is certainly an intriguing combination for Iowa’s future.
Defensively, there are more questions. O’Grady isn’t particularly athletic, so I’m not sure her defensive ceiling is all that high. But she is the tallest player on Iowa’s team, so she has the potential to help Iowa significantly on the glass and in contesting shots around the basket.
During media day, Coach Bluder mentioned O’Grady as an option at the 5 position to backup Czinano, but sounded like she was leaning towards starting Logan Cook in the role. Frankly, I don’t expect that to last long. O’Grady’s potential at the 5 is simply too appealing. I expect that O’Grady will be the primary backup 5 by Big Ten play, if not sooner.
That said, O’Grady’s shooting range also could make her an option at the 4 position. She played a lot of 4 in high school and AAU because she was teammates with Lauren Betts, who is 6’7'’, the #1 recruit in the 2022 class, and a Stanford commit. The idea of having O’Grady and Czinano on the floor together on offense is certainly intriguing, though I’m not sure it would work well defensively.
Kylie Feuerbach | 6’0'’ | Sophomore | Sycamore, Illinois
2020-21 stats: 5.5 ppg—3.1 rpg—36.0% from the floor—27.1 % from 3
Feuerbach started 24 of 28 games for Iowa State last season, before transferring to Iowa shortly after the season ended.
The first thing most people will notice about Feuerbach’s game is her athleticism. She might be Iowa’s most athletic guard not named Clark, and should be able to translate that into good defense and solid rebounding. Feuerbach also looks comfortable with the ball in her hands, either in driving to the basket or initiating the offense.
Offensively, Feuerbach’s numbers at Iowa State don’t exactly jump off the page. She shot noticeably worse from 3-point range than any of Iowa’s rotation players from last year, and didn’t shoot particularly well on 2-point shots, either. But Iowa also has one of the best offensive systems in the country, so perhaps Feuerbach will shoot better with the open shots she should get in Iowa’s system.
In terms of role with the team, Feuerbach should be a rotation player at the 2 and 3 positions, and should get a decent amount of minutes right away. She also initiated the offense a lot when Clark wasn’t in the game against Truman State, so she might also be an option as the backup 1.
A couple other notes—first, Feuerbach was a Top100 recruit in her recruiting class. Second, Feuerbach played her AAU basketball with All Iowa Attack and was a teammate of Clark and Shateah Wetering. Her familiarity with Clark was likely a big reason that she decided to leave Iowa State to join Iowa.
Sydney Affolter | 6’0'’ | Freshman | Chicago, Illinois
#48 on Prospects Nation’s 2021 Class Ranking
Affolter might have the most positional flexibility on this Iowa team. She is a natural wing, but Coach Bluder mentioned her as a potential backup 1 option in the pre-season. She also played some minutes as the 4 in a smaller lineup against Truman State.
The best part of Affolter’s game aside from her positional flexibility is her rebounding. She averaged more than 8 rebounds per game as a junior in high school, and grabbed 14 in at least one game during her senior season. Against Truman State, she had eight boards in 16 minutes.
I think that rebounding effectiveness should translate fairly well to the college level, as it was due mostly to aggressiveness, positioning, and boxing out rather than being taller or more athletic than her competition.
Offensively, Affolter can score at all three levels. She is a good shooter and better at attacking the basket than several of Iowa’s other wing options. She also doesn’t need to shoot a lot to be effective, which should work well in an offense where she is unlikely to be higher than the fourth or fifth scoring option.
Defensively, I think Affolter has potential. There were times in high school where she looked like a good on-ball defender who also played effective help-side defense. But there were also times when she wasn’t as focused and let her player get away. If Affolter stays locked-in, she could be one of Iowa’s better defensive options on the wing.
Overall, I think Affolter’s game compares well to Kate Martin, though Affolter is probably a better player than Martin was coming out of high school and also probably has a higher ceiling.
Affolter will likely play some decent minutes during the non-conference portion of Iowa's schedule. Early in the year Coach Bluder likes to use a bigger rotation, and Affolter certainly looks good enough to be part of that.
Iowa’s rotation usually gets smaller once we get to conference play, however, and Affolter is likely behind Marshall, Martin, Taiwo, and Feuerbach at the moment in the wing rotation.
AJ Ediger | 6’2’' | Freshman | Hudsonville, Michigan
#39 on ESPNW’s 2021 Class Ranking and #50 on Prospects Nation’s 2021 Class Ranking
Ediger is an intriguing offensive player in that she is equally comfortable in the low post and at the three-point line. In high school, her team ran a 5-out, so she spent a lot of time on the perimeter. That led her to shoot a decent number of three-pointers, and she looks comfortable on those shots. Her highlight reel even shows her taking and making a few from Clark range. Ediger would also float down to the low post on a number of possessions, and looked very good at scoring around the basket.
Like many Iowa prospects, Ediger’s defense is a far bigger question than her offense. She isn’t very quick laterally, and also doesn’t run the floor particularly well. 4 is probably her best position, though I’m not sure she is quick enough to guard the most athletic 4s in player-to-player defense. I’m also not sure how effective she will be in Iowa’s 2-3 zone. Ediger could also likely play the 5 if needed, but she is shorter than Iowa’s recent 5s have been.
Against Truman State Ediger played just five minutes, which is a signal that she likely won’t be a part of Iowa’s regular rotation to start the season. A couple of injuries have already hit the team, though, and if another 4 or 5 gets hurt, Ediger might be needed for regular minutes.
Recruiting Uptick
One thing you will notice about Iowa’s four new players is that each was a Top 100 recruit in her respective recruiting class. That is particularly notable, because I believe last year’s Sweet 16 team only had two Top 100 recruits on the roster (Caitlin Clark and McKenna Warnock).
Even better, the 2022 class is looking just as strong. Iowa has three commitments in the 2022 class, and each is currently ranked as a Top 100 player by ESPNW.
The last time Iowa had two consecutive recruiting classes with 3 or more top 100 recruits was 2015 and 2016. The 2015 classes included Gustafson, Hannah Stewart, and Tania Davis. The 2016 class included Kathleen Doyle, Makenzie Meyer, and Amanda Ollinger. Those six players each played a huge role in Iowa’s 2018-19 run to the Elite 8.
Of course, Top 100 recruiting lists are far from a certainty. At best they are a snapshot in time that shows a player’s talent and potential before they reach college. At worst, the lists overlook players who should certainly be on them for a variety of reasons.
But it's also clear than Iowa’s recruiting has picked up from where it was before Clark committed. The Elite 8 run and Clark’s commitment are finally paying dividends, and that should mean good things for Iowa’s future.
