Women's Hoops Preview: The Frontcourt

Looking at the front court for the Iowa Women’s Basketball team, Monika Czinano is the star of the group.

She returns for her final season of eligibility after finishing in the top two in the country in field goal percentage each of the last three seasons, including leading the country the past two years.

Czinano averaged 21.2 points and 6.2 rebounds per game a year ago, but still is not getting much national recognition. She says it’s not something that she’s too worried about.

“It does motivate me, but I’ve never been one that really looks at the outside. I care about what the teams thinks about me,” said Czinano. “I don’t know if it’s just the way I’m wired, but I really don’t care (what the outside people think).”

Czinano has been a focal point in the Iowa offense for the past three seasons and this year figures to be no different. She is a preseason All-Big Ten selection and was named to the Lisa Leslie Center of the Year Watch List.

Who is going to be the primary backup to Monika? That question was left unanswered after Thursday’s media day, but sophomore Addison O’Grady is back after showing plenty of potential last season, while redshirt sophomore Sharon Goodman returns after missing last season with an ACL tear.

“It's still a tight race, and right now Sharon is competing for that time, but also A.J. Ediger, also Addison O'Grady, and we've been messing around with Hannah Stuelke at that position a little bit, as well,” said Coach Bluder. “We have a lot of options, and nobody has risen to the top as the clear-cut second in our depth chart at the center position.”

As a true freshman last season, Addison O’Grady was the backup to Czinano averaging 9.9 minutes per game. She scored 8+ points seven times, with her best game coming against Evansville when she scored 14 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. She also showed her ability to protect the basket with three blocks against Wisconsin and four against Nebraska. Monika is excited to see Addison showcase her improvements this season.

“When you come to college and you’re playing against people who have all of this experience, it’s hard (for freshman). You’re not used to getting hit like that, especially as a center. I think her physicality, her basketball IQ and her reads have gotten a lot better. I’m so excited for her.”

Sharon Goodman is back into the fold after missing a year due to injury, but as a true freshman in 2020-21 she filled a role similar to the one that O’Grady filled last season. She averaged 8.7 minutes per game, scored 8+ points four times and grabbed 5+ rebounds in five games.

“Sharon is coming along. I think we're going to see a lot more progress out of her in the next month, and I'm really looking forward to it,” said Bluder.

“Sharon has recovered tremendously, she’s so strong,” said Monika Czinano. “The first time she posted up on me, I was like ‘oh my god’. I think there’s a huge growth from freshman to sophomore year and that’s kind of what they’re both (Addison/Sharon) going through at the same time.”

With an emphasis on rebounding, there is a chance that the coaching staff will choose to pair Addison O’Grady or Hannah Stuelke with Monika Czinano on the court at times. It would give the Hawkeyes a boost rebounding wise, while not having to take Czinano off the floor.

“We've worked on both of those options with Addie at the 4 or the 5 and Hannah at the 4 or 5 along with Monika. So yeah, we've worked on both of those options,” said Bluder.

-Points-

Monika Czinano: 29.48 pts/40 mins

Sharon Goodman: 17.10 pts/40 mins (2021)

Addison O’Grady: 16.43 pts/40 mins

-Rebounds-

Addison O’Grady: 10.03 reb/40 mins

Sharon Goodman: 9.73 reb/40 mins (2021)

Monika Czinano: 8.58 reb/40 mins

AJ Ediger saw limited playing time last year as a true freshman out of Hudsonville, Michigan. She was the #47 rated recruit in the class of 2021 by ESPN and appeared in 14 games last season. Arguably her best game came on the road against Nebraska when she went for five points, a rebound and two assists with Monika Czinano in foul trouble. Ediger can play both the 4 and 5 position for the Hawkeyes.

Returning at forward for the Hawkeyes is Second Team All-Big Ten selection McKenna Warnock. A sometimes-forgotten piece in the Iowa starting lineup, Warnock can shoot it from outside, as well as help the rebounding effort. As a junior last year, she led the team in 3pt shooting percentage at 42.3%, while scoring in double figures 12 times and grabbing 8+ rebounds in eight games. According to ENFP Hoops, Warnock became the first player since 2012 to average 11 points. 6.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1 steal and 1.5 3pt makes, while shooting 50% from the floor and 40% from behind the arc. After working through a wrist/hand injury during the second half of the season, she is back and healthy for this season.

Backing up McKenna at the four spot is the highly touted true freshman out of Cedar Rapids Washington Hannah Stuelke. She was the 2022 Iowa Gatorade Player of the Year, a four-time All-State selection and arrives in Iowa City as the #45 recruit in the class of 2022 by ESPN.

“She has been really impressive in practice. You just never know how quickly a freshman is going to adapt to the college game and get that confidence to play at this level, and she's getting there, and it's really fun to watch. It's fun to watch her development and her confidence grow,” said Coach Bluder. “She will definitely add to our rebounding, which we needed, and her ability to attack off the dribble is really good. Her ability to post-up is good, and her three-point shot is looking a lot better, as well. I'm extremely excited about Hannah.”

“She could play really for us the 3, 4 or 5. We're going to kind of keep her at the 4 and 5 this year as a freshman because our transition offense is quite different between our 1, 2, 3s and our 4/5s.”

The other forward on the roster is true freshman Jada Gyamfi out of Johnston. As a senior for the Dragons last season, she was selected to the All-State and All-State Tournament teams for a Johnston team that won the 5A State Championship.

“Really, we've been trying to play her at the power forward position,” said Bluder. “We'd like to have her play the 3 and the 4 in time, but again, with freshmen, I don't like to give them so many roles that they have to learn so much because they're learning a lot as it is.”

It will be interesting to see how the coaching staff utilizes the players they have available at the 4/5 positions in the lineup. There are certain rotations that can be used to have a more offensive frontcourt on the floor, while different lineups can be used to boost the rebounding, an area that the Hawkeyes need to improve in.