The Iowa women’s basketball team missed out on the NCAA Tournament last season after eight-straight appearances. However, the team returns four starters this season, including all-conference performer Ally Disterhoft. Will Iowa be back in the NCAA Tournament this season?

Yes

Like the rest of the fans of the women’s basketball team, I am tired of hearing about it missing the NCAA Tournament last year.

Have we all forgotten what Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder has done in the eight years before last season? She put together championship-caliber team after championship-caliber team.

Let’s look at the Hawkeyes’ current roster.  According to Blue Star, they had the seventh-best recruiting class in the nation going into this year. In that class, they managed to recruit Illinois’ and Iowa’s Ms. Basketball, who are competing for the final spot in the starting lineup and are ready to contribute right away.

Not sold on the freshman talent? It won’t matter. The team has four starters returning from last year, including senior Ally Disterhoft, who has made the All-Big Ten second team the past two seasons. More importantly, she is hungry for a chance to get back and do some damage in the NCAA Tournament in her final year of eligibility. Junior Chase Coley, meanwhile, brings back a steady baseline jump shot and size to the frontcourt.

Sophomores Tania Davis and Megan Gustafson have one year under their belts and are both coming off of freshman campaigns in which they were named to the All-Big Ten Freshman Team. Gustafson added a hook shot to her game and on Nov. 6 demonstrated in an exhibition game against Lewis that she will be a physical presence on the block.

While it is easy to jump ship after one down year, this team has the determination to get back to the NCAA Tournament.

— James Kay

No

Last season, Hawkeye fans saw the Iowa women’s basketball team miss a berth in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in eight years. 

This year, a top-10 recruiting class has rejuvenated the team’s swagger, thanks to the efforts of Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder.  These freshmen have the potential to break out this season, but the more realistic approach is that it might take a year or two for them to get a good grasp of things.

After watching the exhibition win over Lewis, the Hawkeyes have some big holes they will need to fill if they want to compete for an NCAA Tournament bid.  The 3-point shooting will definitely need to improve — which it should over the course of the season — but unless some player becomes the reincarnation of former Hawkeye sharpshooter Melissa Dixon, I do not see it being the team’s strong suit.

If the team cannot consistently shoot from the outside they’ll have to get points between the paint lines, which will be possible because Megan Gustafson is very talented down low.  The only problem is she cannot play the entire 40 minutes, so the team will need a another post player to come off the bench and consistently give quality minutes and affect the game offensively.

The pieces are there for this young and talented platoon of women, but it will take time for the freshmen to consistently play well in a stellar Big Ten. 

Because the Hawkeyes are looking to rely a lot this year on their top-10 recruiting class, Iowa fans should adopt the Chicago Cubs’ former mindset: “Just wait till next year.”

— Michael McCurdy