By Blake Dowson
To quote one of the best movie characters in the past 25 years, legendary (and fictional) NASCAR driver Ricky Bobby once said, “I wanna go fast.”
Iowa women’s basketball head coach Lisa Bluder must be a Will Ferrell fan, because it seems she has taken that saying to heart with her roster.
The Hawkeyes get out and run, and run, and run. That’s the way Bluder likes it, and that’s how she constructs her roster. She loves players who get down the court quickly and can space the floor, and in that aspect, she has an embarrassment of riches this season.
She hasn’t had an issue recruiting small point guards if those guards make up for their lack of height with a surplus of fast-twitch muscles. Whitney Jennings and Tania Davis both stood 5-4 with shoes on, and Bluder had them both in the starting lineup much of last season.
While Jennings has since left the program, in comes another small point guard who loves to run — Alexis Sevillian, a former teammate of Davis’ at Goodrich High School in Michigan.
Junior forward Chase Coley said after the first week of Game Time League action the incoming freshman class really likes to run up and down the court. Go figure, having been recruited by Bluder.
It’s a sight to see during Game Time competition, where the Iowa players really get to shine in front of some competition that is simply inferior to them. The pace is furious at times, but the Hawkeye players rarely look out of control.
Davis, the catalyst of the speedy offense, is sidelined this summer because she is recovering from off-season shoulder surgery. With her not out there running past defenders in transition, it makes it all the more impressive what young players such as Kathleen Doyle, Sevillian, and junior Christina Buttenham have done pushing the pace.
Iowa averaged 73 points per game last season and nearly 80 points per game the previous season. Consider that, then realize Iowa returns four starters this season and really only loses two players who contributed last year — Jennings and Kali Peschel, who graduated.
This roster will feature almost exclusively players who can cover a lot of court really fast and stretch the floor all the way to the 3-point line. All of the freshmen can do it. Carly Mohns, who missed most of last year because of an injury, may be the most athletic and fastest player on the roster, and she has stretched her range to the 3-point while being able to guard every position. She’s back and adds to the pace.
All of this is put on display during Game Time, and it makes for some really fun basketball.
At times it looks like a game played at the Rec, where it’s push, push, push, and the ball rarely gets into the paint unless it’s a straight drive to the hoop.
It makes for a lot of scoring and a lot of possessions.
One of the first things of note when you walk into the two gyms that house the summer league is that the hoops do not have shot clocks. The second thing of note to pop into your head is that it really doesn’t matter, because the Hawkeyes are in the gym.