Yes

Addie Deal had her chance to cement herself as a starter this season but simply wasn’t productive enough for head coach Jan Jensen to continue to give her the nod. Yes, Deal is only a freshman and still has three full years to develop, but her role would remain limited behind fellow guards Taylor Stremlow and Chit-Chat Wright for the next two years. 

At the time of her commitment, Deal carried the weight of the expectation to be Iowa’s next star guard. After posting double-digit scoring figures in only three of her first 14 games with the Hawkeyes, Deal’s shining moment came against then-No.12 Ohio State in the wake of teammate Taylor McCabe’s season-ending injury. 

Deal shined, tallying 20 points and five assists in a dominant 91-70 victory for Iowa. The freshman earned the starting role for the Hawkeyes’ next three games, and it was all downhill from there. 

In losses to USC, UCLA, and Minnesota, Deal scored a combined five points while shooting 2-of-13 from the field. Jensen then turned to Stremlow to start in place of Deal. The sophomore proved herself to be more productive in the role, scoring in double figures in four of the Hawkeyes’ next six games, including a double-double against Illinois. 

Yes, the Hawkeyes will need reinforcements at guard for next season as seniors Kylie Feuerbach and McCabe both graduate. However, Deal never consistently showed she was ready to start for Iowa despite playing 15.5 minutes per game this season. She finished with more turnovers than assists, 59 and 56 respectively, and was hardly a factor in the postseason, scoring 15 points in five games. 

Granted, Deal still has plenty of potential to eventually develop into a great player, but the Hawkeyes don’t have time for patience if they want to compete for a national championship next season. They need to find a perimeter scoring threat now. Additionally, a new team and system may be all that the former five-star recruit needs to finally shine at the collegiate level. 

Deal’s decision is justified and nothing to panic about from an Iowa perspective. 

No

While I have no doubt that a player like Addie Deal will have plenty of suitors via the transfer portal, her decision to leave an Iowa program on the rise could very well prove a costly one. While her starts this season were admittedly a little shaky, she still had a good opportunity with Iowa, even as a player off the bench.

Coming into this season, Iowa’s guard lineup was pretty solid. Despite rising sophomore Aaliyah Guyton’s move to Illinois in the offseason, the Hawkeyes retained fellow sophomore Taylor Stremlow as well as senior Taylor McCabe and graduate Kylie Feuerbach. Add in the addition of sophomore Chit-Chat Wright, and Iowa seemed golden.

Now, heading into next season’s campaign, Iowa graduates both the defensively-sound Feuerbach and a lethal sharpshooter in McCabe, the latter of whom suffered an ACL injury that cut her final season short. In other words, guards are a hot commodity for the Hawkeyes, and Stremlow and Wright are the two big names that come to mind for the role.

I have no doubt that Deal would have been a third. While she may not have been a regular starter by the end of the season, she still earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week twice in one month, scored a career high of 20 points against a strong Ohio State team, and with five more games of double-digit scoring, earned a spot on the all-conference freshman team. 

What really stands out among her accolades isn’t her starts but her numbers. Stremlow scored 80 points last season, where she played in 34 games but only started in two. Even then-freshman Ava Heiden, arguably one of the nation’s most lethal bigs this season, only collected 141 points.

Deal, on the other hand, scored 173 points this season. While that number may not have made her a consistent starter this season, as we’ve seen with Heiden and Stremlow, it can be a recipe for success. 

Stremlow in particular is a player who went from a freshman spark plug to a key starter for the program, scoring 270 points this season, more than tripling last season’s total. 

There’s not a doubt in my mind that Deal could’ve followed a similar path.