Let's Hope That Madison Wise and Ashley Joens Learned from Bridget Carleton...

[Buckminster]

the importance of hard work.

I am excited about the future of WBB at ISU. Getting Ines back for another year is nice and the class of true and RS Freshman will inject some new talent. And I expect Adriana and Kristin Scott to have solid seasons next year.

But I think the critical element will be the ability of Madison Wise and Ashley Joens to improve and fill in the gap that will be left without Bridget.

Let's just hope that their numbers get better with age as they did for Bridget. Here are some of Bridget's Senior year statistics compared to her career averages as a Cyclone...

FG % - 47% vs. a career average of 41%
3-Pt % - 37% vs. 34%
Rebounds/Game - 8.6 vs. 7.0
Assists/Game - 4.0 vs. 2.8
Points/Game - 21.7 vs. 17.3
Blocks per year - 43 vs. 31
Steals per year - 79 vs. 53

Seniors are typically better players than they were as underclassmen, but it is not always as impressive as Bridget's progression was. Let's hope she rubbed off on her teammates.

 

[StClone]

the importance of hard work.

I am excited about the future of WBB at ISU. Getting Ines back for another year is nice and the class of true and RS Freshman will inject some new talent. And I expect Adriana and Kristin Scott to have solid seasons next year.

But I think the critical element will be the ability of Madison Wise and Ashley Joens to improve and fill in the gap that will be left without Bridget.

Let's just hope that their numbers get better with age as they did for Bridget. Here are some of Bridget's Senior year statistics compared to her career averages as a Cyclone...

FG % - 47% vs. a career average of 41%
3-Pt % - 37% vs. 34%
Rebounds/Game - 8.6 vs. 7.0
Assists/Game - 4.0 vs. 2.8
Points/Game - 21.7 vs. 17.3
Blocks per year - 43 vs. 31
Steals per year - 79 vs. 53

Seniors are typically better players than they were as underclassmen, but it is not always as impressive as Bridget's progression was. Let's hope she rubbed off on her teammates.

Bridget was pretty impressive out of the gate. She was special. Great players often start strong and get better.

 

[Royalclone]

Unfortunately, they will not have Middleton to distribute the ball. Even Bridget couldn`t carry the team to success without a decent starting PG.

 

[Cyclad]

Unfortunately, they will not have Middleton to distribute the ball. Even Bridget couldn`t carry the team to success without a decent starting PG.

I agree.
I too am excited about the future. Recruiting certainly has ramped up the last couple years, but I do worry about a lack of creators.

 

[kcdc4isu]

I think to start Rae will do a decent job. For the year Alexa played 14172 min., had 185 As and 112 T/O while Rae played 630 min. with 66 As and 32 T/O. What we will really miss is the scoring we got from Alexa at the end of the season. In the last 5 games she averaged 14.4 points a game. I look for Nia and Jade to also step up to spell Rae while our new players get the feel of Div 1 WBB

 

[BoxsterCy]

For all of the excellence that Bridget brought, best all around stats of any player ever at ISU, we only made the NCAA's twice and scored only one win in the big dance.

Since we realistically aren't winning the Big 12, I judge seasons on NCAA appearances and any runs we might make in March. Maybe Joens and some of the new gals can lead us back to the Sweet Sixteen sometime in her career.

 

[Cyclad]

I think to start Rae will do a decent job. For the year Alexa played 14172 min., had 185 As and 112 T/O while Rae played 630 min. with 66 As and 32 T/O. What we will really miss is the scoring we got from Alexa at the end of the season. In the last 5 games she averaged 14.4 points a game. I look for Nia and Jade to also step up to spell Rae while our new players get the feel of Div 1 WBB

I still see nobody who can create their own shot. Game is much harder offensively without somebody who can beat their defender off the bounce and create a shot for themselves or a teammate. I like Rae - tough kid, probably will do OK handling the ball and passing. Creating - I do not see it in anybody.

 

[acoustimac]

For all of the excellence that Bridget brought, best all around stats of any player ever at ISU, we only made the NCAA's twice and scored only one win in the big dance.

Since we realistically aren't winning the Big 12, I judge seasons on NCAA appearances and any runs we might make in March. Maybe Joens and some of the new gals can lead us back to the Sweet Sixteen sometime in her career.

You have to have a team to make the NCAA's and go deep. This was the first year since the Pop days that we've nearly had a complete team. The missing piece was a big in the middle. You can never completely judge an individual by what the team does. The person who I always compare players like Carlton to will always be Megan Taylor. Carlton definitely rose to that level as a senior.

What I saw this year was a freshman (Joens) who came in an competed right away. Sky is the limit there. Rae was a much more mature and trustworthy player at point. Madison also looked like a player who had grown tremendously from year 1 to year 2. I have all the faith in the world that these highly motivated players will take the next step.

 

[BoxsterCy]

You have to have a team to make the NCAA's and go deep. This was the first year since the Pop days that we've nearly had a complete team. The missing piece was a big in the middle. You can never completely judge an individual by what the team does. The person who I always compare players like Carlton to will always be Megan Taylor. Carlton definitely rose to that level as a senior.

What I saw this year was a freshman (Joens) who came in an competed right away. Sky is the limit there. Rae was a much more mature and trustworthy player at point. Madison also looked like a player who had grown tremendously from year 1 to year 2. I have all the faith in the world that these highly motivated players will take the next step.

Wasn't doing that, was talking team and the last four or five years have been sort of disappointing as far as team success, in spite of the winning record this year. Bridget never disappointed me. We'll have to see if this year was a blip or comeback of sorts for the team.

 

[BoxsterCy]

I still see nobody who can create their own shot. Game is much harder offensively without somebody who can beat their defender off the bounce and create a shot for themselves or a teammate. I like Rae - tough kid, probably will do OK handling the ball and passing. Creating - I do not see it in anybody.

That's true about beating someone off the dribble but more years than not we don't really have that as a staple. What drives me crazy is if a team has a point who isn't readily capable of driving yet dribbles away on the perimeter for 25 seconds or so. The three is still a huge part of our offense and it's best when the ball is being moved with passes not dribbles. One thing Rae does do very well in the passing department, IMO, is feed the post. I think she's the best on the team at doing that in a set. If Kane can get position in the half court or Scott/Nezerwa in transition I think they will see the ball coming to them. I am picking Kane as my sleeper impact player next year if we are looking to bust 20 wins. I think the league likely being down again works in our favor as far as wins/losses for next season.

 

[StClone]

Expecting bigger things out of Wise and Joens is in the cards for 2019.

Maddie has the motor and can be a deadly shooter. I hope she learned from Middleton on drives to be crafty around the basket.

Joens has big shoes to fill following Bridget and that is literally true. Carleton had over an inch on her in height and more inches in reach. Bridget got a lot of steals by anticipating back passes after opponents inbounding often aided by her unexpected reach.