Offensive change leads to Sweet 16 run

Lisa Bluder calls it a “light bulb” moment.

One recommendation from her coaching staff during a film session after the 2016-17 season changed the offensive approach for the University of Iowa women’s basketball team. It’s not a stretch to say that the recommendation propelled Iowa back into the Sweet 16 and assisted in the development of the best player to ever wear a Hawkeye uniform.

At the end of each season, like all good coaches do, the Iowa women’s basketball staff pour over film from the previous campaign and take a deep dive into statistics. Iowa finished 20-14 (8-8 in Big Ten play) in 2016-17, including a deep run in the WNIT. The coaches were watching film, breaking down the upcoming season’s roster, and kept staring at statistics.

That’s when the idea clicked.

“I think it was (associate head coach) Jan Jensen that said ‘hey, why don’t we go back to the triangle,’” Bluder said. “It was one of those light bulb moments where you see the bulb light up on the top your head. It made perfect sense.”

Iowa had to replace Ally Disterhoft, who was Iowa’s all-time leading scorer at the time. The remaining roster provided significant height and athleticism at the post position, with Chase Coley (6’3”), Hannah Stewart (6’2”), and Megan Gustafson (6’3”).

Bluder and the Hawkeyes had switched offenses around the 2008 season from the triangle offense, made popular by Phil Jackson and the Chicago Bulls in the 90’s and Lakers in the 2000’s, to the Read and React offense, which is a guard-heavy offense built on slashing and three-point shooting.

With the idea of going back to the triangle in mind, the coaches watched more film and the light bulbs glowed even brighter.

When athletes became better slashers and the three-pointer became more prominent, Bluder and her staff switched from the triangle to the Read and React offense. Athletes like Kachine Alexander, Disterhoft, Jaime Printy, Melissa Dixon, and Sam Logic thrived in that style of offense.

In fact, six of the top 14 scorers in Iowa women’s basketball history played over just an eight-year stretch for Bluder when the Hawkeyes ran the Read and React offense (2009-17). Iowa won the 2008 Big Ten regular season championship after switching from the triangle to the Read and React.

“We had some tremendous guards and needed a system for them to succeed,” Bluder said. “We wanted to get more guards on the court and the three-pointer became so big. We had some great shooters during that time.”

Entering the 2017-18 season, however, three players (Coley, Stewart, Gustafson) were battling for essentially one post position in a four-guard offense. The coaching staff believed all three could provide major contributions, so the switch back to the triangle was made.

“The triangle offense really allows athletic posts to play together and make each other better,” Bluder said. “The high-low game that comes from running the triangle was really perfect for our combo of post players.”

Judging by historical statistics, it’s safe to say the Iowa coaching staff made the right decision.

From 2009-17, Iowa averaged 1,960 field goal attempts per season, 668 of those (roughly 34 percent) were three-pointers. Over the last two seasons, Iowa has averaged 1,958 field goal attempts, 520 of those (roughly 27 percent) were three-pointers.

Switching to the triangle allowed a dominant scorer like Gustafson and a player with incredible potential like Stewart to get more touches and play bigger roles in the offense.

When looking at the three post players’ statistics before and after the switch, it’s quite easy to see why the change was a huge success. The 2017 season was the last year of the Read and React, with 2018 and 2019 in the triangle.

Chase Coley

2017 – 4 ppg, 144 FG attempts, 15.9 mpg

2018 – 8.9 ppg, 222 FG attempts, 24.9 mpg

Hannah Stewart

2017 – 4.9 ppg, 138 FG attempts, 9.8 mpg

2018 – 7.3 ppg, 215 FG attempts, 17.2 mpg

2019 – 11.1 ppg, 295 FG attempts, 28.6 mpg

Megan Gustafson

2017 – 18.5 ppg, 402 FG attempts, 64.7 FG%

2018 – 25.7 ppg, 477 FG attempts, 67.1 FG%

2019 – 28 ppg, 561 FG attempts, 70.1 FG%

The switch to the triangle offense allowed Coley to have a successful senior year, Stewart to have a phenomenal year of development as a junior that set her up for a great senior season and gave Gustafson the opportunity to be the focal point of the Hawkeye offense.

Bluder is quick to note that the triangle doesn’t work unless you have smart and versatile posts. The triangle has highlighted the posts players’ strengths and helped them develop into complete players.

“I just think it shows versatility,” Bluder said. “Both Megan and Hannah aren’t just camped out on the block. They step out and hit 15-footers, they pass the ball extremely well, and they can drive by defenders.”

Bluder has been coaching the triangle, off and on, for years. While Gustafson’s success story in the offense will be an obvious memory for years to come, a previous recruiting story still stands out in Bluder’s amazing history.

Bill Cartwright, who played for Jackson and the Bulls during their first title run, had a daughter who was a Division I recruit. She took a campus visit to Iowa and brought her world champion father along on the trip.

“He was so excited to see us running the triangle,” Bluder said. “He was so dialed in during our practice and was saying things like ‘man you guys are even running the right splits’ and other things like that. It was fun to see someone like him, who had so much success in the system under a coach like Phil Jackson, recognize what we were doing.”

It wasn’t just Cartwright’s triangle knowledge that Bluder remembers from that visit.

“His legs were so long,” Bluder said of Cartwright. “When he sat down at the conference table, the entire table lifted up because his knees couldn’t fit under the table.”

Talent recognizes talent and Cartwright could see that Bluder and her staff had incredible coaching knowledge. Fast forward to the last two seasons, and that extensive knowledge has put Iowa back in the Sweet 16 with a national player of the year shattering multiple records.

The light bulb is still glowing bright for the Hawkeyes and they hope to keep it illuminated through the Final Four in Tampa.