IOWA CITY, Iowa– The Hawkeyes got their season started on Wednesday with a 110-55 exhibition win over Missouri Western State. Iowa has a new head coach and a ton of newcomers, but there’s still optimism that this is going to be a fun season for them. The real deal gets started next Wednesday, but let’s overanalyze the things that we got to see inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Teagan Mallegni will be a critical four-year player
The true freshman out of Wisconsin was ranked No. 64 by ESPN in her recruiting class and it only took one quarter to realize that she was undervalued on the national stage. Mallegni had shades of former Iowa wing McKenna Warnock. She was all over the floor on both ends.
Mallegni got started with a big block in the first quarter and followed it up with a pair of threes in the first quarter. At 6-foot-1, Mallegni’s versatility was impressive. She was willing to guard any position one through four while making correct decisions with the basketball. Mallegni wasn’t afraid to pull-up with a hand in her face and there’s a confidence about her game. That was evident when she crossed over a defender and hit a step-back three-pointer from the top of the key.
Iowa’s going to have some more stability once Sydney Affolter is back in the mix, but the early returns on Mallegni prove that she could be somebody that is an important foundational piece for the first few years of the Jan Jensen era.
She finished the night with 18 points, three assists, three rebounds, two steals and one block.
“I think it was really good for me,” Mallegni said. “But the confidence my teammates and my coaches have in me has been the biggest impact on my game.”
Lucy Olsen is everything that was advertised
There’s no perfect replacement for Caitlin Clark, but Olsen is going to be a critical part of the Hawkeye team this season. Olsen’s creativity is something that immediately stands out about her game. She’s able to get to her spots and make great decisions. Olsen hit a pair of mid-range jumpers and got to the hoop on a number of occasions.
She also displayed her all-around game with six rebounds to go along with six assists. One of the big things that she has focused on this off-season is her three-point shot. She only went 1-of-5 from distance, but look for her to be aggressive taking threes off of screens.
She’s not going to be Clark and nobody is expecting her to be, but her craftiness and skill-set should pair alongside Hannah Stuelke, Affolter and exactly the style that Jensen wants to run with this group.
A confident Kylie Feuerbach
One of the big questions heading into this season was the role that the senior will play. On Wednesday night, she was thrust into the starting lineup and performed extremely well. Feuerbach was active on defense and is one of the best perimeter players on the team. Just as important, she was playing with great confidence.
Feuerbach appeared to play more free than she has shown in the past year, which is a good thing to unlock her potential. She finished with 14 points and seven rebounds. It’s unclear how much time that she’ll get given that the freshman class will be pushing her, but that could bring out the best for all parties involved.
“That’s what Kylie can be capable of,” Jensen said. “She’s one of our best defenders, if not the best. And then she puts a consistent three-ball with it. So I was particularly pleased with her play tonight.”
Ava Heiden oozes potential
The 6-foot-4 post out of Oregon didn’t get the start on Wednesday, but that’s due to her being sick throughout the past couple of days. She did get 13 minutes. It has become apparent how much skill that Heiden has. Her ability to run the floor, hit the mid-range shot and impact different things is incredibly impressive.
During Iowa’s media day, Hawkeye assistant coach Raina Harmon told me that Heiden’s ability to run the floor reminded her of former great Megan Gustafson. Heiden’s basketball IQ on screens, defense and making the right basketball play was extremely impressive. The intangibles are there and Jensen is one of the best post developers in the country.
Heiden also has the type of game that perfectly accompanies Stuelke, who is going to be a focal point this season.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see Heiden be the starter next Wednesday. There’s too much upside to not continue to play her and see what she can develop into. A foundation of Taylor Stremlow, Mallegni and Heiden should give Hawkeye fans confidence that this era of Iowa basketball isn’t going anywhere but up.
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