They talked about this on KXNO in the offseason after they landed no one in the portal. Apparently the SWARM collective had allotted some pretty significant dollars to be players in the portal so really makes you wonder why they couldn't land anyone. I mean ISU was able to get Natabou and Belanger, while neither were big names you can't tell me either wouldn't have been valuable depth pieces to Iowa right now. Add that ISU also has a great freshman class too, imagine if Crooks had gone to Iowa how different that team would have looked with a solid post player.
Clark can carry that team, she is a tremendous player but can you imagine if she had a better supporting cast like the other elite teams in the country like SC and LSU do where she didn't have to carry the team on her back nearly every night. For being a runner up for the national title with the best player in the sport they should have been a destination team for top recruits and transfers and instead they rolled out basically the same team minus Czinano who was the perfect compliment for Clark last year. You would think that would have made them a destination for talent so that has to make you pause and think why they didn't make any big additions in the offseason. I'm not so sure they get a #1 seed if they lose tonight as they still have Ohio State to finish the conference season and another loss would certainly mean 3rd place in the conference.
I'm convinced Clark will not be back next year. They lose several key players and she has nothing left to prove and won't win a national title with the cast coming back. The NIL/sponsorship money will still be there when she goes to the WNBA so the money is not a factor.
