Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - BREAKING: Iowa Hawkeyes SNAG Division 3 Scoring PHENOM Bria Medina—Can She COMPETE in the BIG TEN?

Starting point is 00:00:00 Two more out of the portal for Jan Jensen's Iowa Women's Basketball Squad, including the fifth leading score in all of women's college basketball a season ago. How big of a difference this is going to be for Iowa women's hoops. You are Locked on Hawkeyes, your daily podcast on the Iowa Hawkeyes. Part of the Locked on podcast network, your team every day. Hey, welcome in. I'm Trent Condon, and this is the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast, your daily Iowa Hawkeye podcast. We got plenty to get into today.

Starting point is 00:00:37 We're going to hit a wide range, including Fran McCaffrey, no longer the Iowa coach, going into year number two at Penn, but back in the news once again, back here in the state of Iowa. We're going to be our post-spring check-in. Today in the spotlight is the offensive line. Obviously, a big backbone of what Iowa does year-in-year-in-year-out

Starting point is 00:00:56 on the football field. We'll talk about that. A new hire and a former Hawkeye coming home to Iowa City to help out the Iowa football coaching staff. But we begin today with some news as Jan Jensen has added two to the roster for next season. Now, this is something that has been a necessity and we have talked about and speculated about here recently over the last few weeks, really hit the ground running early on in the transfer portal, including hitting an absolute home run, getting Danny Carnegie out of Georgia,

Starting point is 00:01:25 what she's going to be able to provide leading score in the SEC a year ago. That was a home run, a top five. player in the portal about as good as you could hope for from the Iowa women's basketball perspective. But because of the defections, there needed to be a whole lot more. And they added a couple more. Got another player from Georgia, former top 100 player in Joshua and Faison, who will come in. Amari Whiting really like the way I think she's going to fit and really helping out on the defensive end of the floor, along with some skill offensively and what she can do there.

Starting point is 00:01:56 And now a couple of more out of the portal. We start with Brea Medina, who comes in from Knox College. Just up the road over in Galesburg, over in Illinois, Brea Medina, though, playing at the Division III level. And, you know, when you look at the numbers, that gets exciting, right? You got a player that put up those kind of numbers. Absolutely, that changes the equation. She is already the all-time leading score in Knox College,

Starting point is 00:02:21 had 25 points or more in 15 games this season, had a career high, 40 points in a game against Illinois College. fifth in all of D1 through D3 scoring all of the NCAA, average 23.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, four assists per game, shot 35%. She'll have one year of eligibility remaining, and 5'6, she can help in the backcourt. She can hit a little bit, watching her skill set and watching some of the highlight videos.

Starting point is 00:02:50 The one thing that you wonder about, making this transition up, it's a big jump. It's a huge leap to go from the Division 3 level up to the D1 level. not just the D1 level, doing it also at the Big 10 level. However, this is something that at minimum, it is a help. It's a practice player, somebody that can help out, and I think can provide them some minutes in the back court. Boul trouble comes out, and we'll see how she goes.

Starting point is 00:03:16 You know, Chit-Chat Wright is the point guard, and her and Carnegie are going to be handling the ball a ton in the back court. But Chichat, because of her size, there are certain matchups that she's going to struggle with at 5'4. though Medina is not huge by any means at five foot six. Just you see some of those matchups, give her some run. I think this is going to be an impactful player, but when you're building up that roster,

Starting point is 00:03:38 somebody that can give you maybe eight to ten minutes a game and just see how she fits and how she goes. But yeah, the athleticism is what you wonder about. The speed of the game is what you wonder about there. I think she's going to be at minimum, though, Medina, a useful piece. Somebody that is going to be able to help them out, certainly next season in some bunches and a good find there for Jan Jensen. We go to the other commitment from yesterday, and we go across the pond over to Sweden.

Starting point is 00:04:04 That's right. As Iowa has landed, well, a great name. My daughter's name is Ella. Ella Strohdahl has come in. Now, my Swedish is not very good. I apologize with the pronunciation. We'll wait from the University of Iowa and get the true pronunciation of that one. But played on a bunch of the basketball circuits over there.

Starting point is 00:04:24 This is something that obviously we've seen in men's basketball for such a long time. and they continued evolution. You look at the top players in the game coming from Europe and how many different players have definitely been a part of that. It appeared in 23 games this past season with the squad that she was playing at, top tier in a league that had some older players also. Kyle Huesman did some good reporting on this over at hawkeye report.com. Average 6.5 points, three rebounds, one and a half assists for game.

Starting point is 00:04:53 Shooting range, shooting percentages, not great. 34% from the floor, 33% from 3.3. range and was also with the Swedish youth national team in the Division B of the 18 Uro Basketball League. So that's what you get there. A developmental piece, she'll have four years of eligibility, back even if a redshirt ear is necessary for her to acclimate a little bit more. But again, we're watching highlight packages.

Starting point is 00:05:16 They're not going to put the bad ones in there. Still decent looking shot out there. It's got some skills, some athleticism, and a developmental piece. So Iowa women now are up to 11 players on the roster. Jan Jensen a week ago talking to her at the Polk County I Club. She had mentioned they had two more. I anticipate these are the two that she was talking about when we were going through and kind of talking about filling out that roster.

Starting point is 00:05:40 You do wonder how much more is going to be there. And as we've talked about before, you know, this is not the same necessity that you have on the men's side trying to fill out a roster and just having even bodies for practice. Because the way that it's set up, and my cousin, Blake, was able to do this a few years, back, he was part of the men's group that came in and they practiced against them. And Blake was a good two-way center at like six foot three. You can see it's a different side of the family for me. He was able, though, to go through practice and help out against the post and do different

Starting point is 00:06:13 things. So they got a bunch of those guys that do that, that practice against them are able to simulate a little bit more of some of the pressure things, some of the size that they have because it's very rare that you're going to be able to find a walk on or a practice player. you know, at the women's side that's, oh, six, four. And you just throw in there and go that route. That's not the case very often, certainly in practice settings. This is something that Lisa Bluter did for a long time.

Starting point is 00:06:37 Jan Jensen's continued as having these guys in there. And they're still going to have that going forward. So it's not a necessity. You look around, boy, you got a couple of injuries. You can't even go five on five. It is different the way things are set up for the women's program. They're at 11. We'll see if anything's out there.

Starting point is 00:06:52 And on top of it, you know, this is what I asked Jan last week in that conversation was is it a little bit more difficult filling out these final spots of your roster because it's easy when you go to Carnegie and say, hey, here's this money, here is the NIL budget that we have. We're going to be able to certainly help you out on that front. Coupled with we got a lot of playing time as opposed to, well, we don't have a whole lot left in terms of NIL. There's not a whole lot there as that pertains. And we don't have a lot of playing time because of what you return, what you have on the roster going into next season with Chet Chat Right coming back. And he got McKenna Willitsko coming in. And obviously, Ava Hayden,

Starting point is 00:07:31 and the emergence we saw out of her, journey Houston, and on and on. You go through the lineup, but just there's not a whole lot of minutes there. And finding those players that are willing, understanding to go in there and sounds like they got a couple of them with the additions, getting Stroudal,

Starting point is 00:07:46 Stromdall from Sweden. And then maybe the bigger one of the two at this point is Brea Medina. So that is the latest on the women's basketball front. Again, up to 11 players now on the. roster for them. Coming back on the other side, we're going to talk a little Iowa football. Iowa has made a new hire on the football ranks, a new helper for Iowa football and the jokes are flowing. Plus, we'll have our post-spring check-in on the offensive line. You lose three starters from the best offensive line in the country a year ago. How do you replace it? We'll tackle it next.

Starting point is 00:08:19 Locked on Hawkeyes. If you've ever opened your bank account and thought, where did all my money go? You're not alone, keeping track of subscriptions, spending a bill. it can get overwhelming very fast. That's where Rocket Money comes in, helping you take control of your finances all in one place. It tracks all your subscriptions in one spot and can help cancel the ones you don't need with just a few taps. I mentioned the other day.

Starting point is 00:08:49 Went through this. The wife was happy, something that she's been talking about for a while, and we got it done. Plus it automatically categorizes your spending. You can see where your money is going. You spend a little too much on takeout, whatever it may be, They got you covered. You can set budgets, get alerts, and stay on top of upcoming bills.

Starting point is 00:09:06 It makes everything feel more organized and gives you a clear picture of your finances day-to-day. Rocket Money is a personal finance app that helps find and cancel unwanted subscriptions. It monitors your spending and helps lower your bills so you can grow your savings. Let Rocket Money help you reach your financial goals faster. Join at RocketMoney.com slash Lockdown. That's rocketmoney.com slash locked on. Trent kind of back with you once again on the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast, your daily Iowa Hawkeye podcast.

Starting point is 00:09:41 Thanks for being with us as always. Make sure you hit subscribe if you're watching us on YouTube, five star reviews over on the podcast side. All that helps get in front of more Hawkeye fans. And on top of it, if you are an everyday listener, then the everydayer club is built for you. Get the same show you watch and listen to every single day and get it ad free. Lockdownhawkeyes.

Starting point is 00:10:01 com. Lockdownhawkeyes. dot supercast.com. On top of that, you can also jump aboard. We have a Discord server, any questions, thoughts, ideas. You want to pass along to me direct contact with me each and every day with our Discord and those ad-free episodes, Lockdown Hawkeyes. Dot Supercast.com.

Starting point is 00:10:20 Let's talk some football and start with the hiring of Tom Moore coming in from where it all began for him, former Iowa Hawkeye way back in the day. And yes, the jokes are flying. of course only Iowa would go out there and hire a 87 year old to help with the offense. But this guy absolutely is renowned. And he's not coming into coach a position. He's not coming in to be the quarterback coach. He's not the offensive quarterback.

Starting point is 00:10:48 That's not what it is. But you talk about the depth of resume that the former Hawkeye Tom Moore has. He definitely has that. He'll turn 88 coming up during the season this year. but this is a guy that knows offense. And the story was relayed. I heard Scott Docterbin had something about that where he was out of practice a few years back.

Starting point is 00:11:09 And he saw Tyrone Tracy and said, you know what, that guy would probably look pretty good at running back. Alas, where's Tyrone Tracy now playing running back in the NFL? The guy still has a great acumen. Absolutely can help out with ideas. He was the O.C. under Peyton Manning with the Indianapolis Colts. It's a great resume, a great mind. and you can definitely also see from Kirk Farrants' perspective,

Starting point is 00:11:30 just the respect that he has. And this happens so often, you know, with Kirk Farrants of these guys that he truly believes in. He's not going to be out on the practice field every single day, but he is going to be just another voice. And that is a good thing, having new ideas and an opportunity to improve on this passing game. I mean, that is the big step this season that we talked about a ton.

Starting point is 00:11:53 We've seen the offense take a huge step forward. these last couple of years. It has been incredible to see that the way that they've been able to take the step forward, certainly that they have. But now it's about taking that next step. The running game has improved. And we've seen that these last couple of seasons and some of the changes that we've seen, obviously from what the offensive coordinator Tim Lester now is doing with them and building forward.

Starting point is 00:12:18 And another voice, another idea, a guy that has seen a whole lot throughout the years, definitely not a bad thing. So as we go over to football today, I want to jump in to the offensive line. And you look at the offensive line coming into this season. You return two starters from a year ago and two guys that are absolute studs. I want to start with Trevor Lough. And Lauk a year ago was in a battle for that left tackle position. We felt good about the whole rest of the offensive line.

Starting point is 00:12:44 It was who was going to be the left tackle. They went out there into the portal. They brought him Bryce George. A lot of people thought maybe he was going to be a guy after talking to Kirk at Big Ten media days a year ago. I thought that was going to be the case. Didn't come to fruition. He got hurt in the first game of the year. So it came down to two guys that didn't have a lot of experience in Lauck and Jack Dotsler.

Starting point is 00:13:03 Louttsler won the job. And then he was able to keep Jack Dotsler at arm's reach throughout the course of the year because early on it was a bit of a rotation. Loutch just played so well and continued to prove throughout the course of the season that he became the guy out there. He's going to be a stud. And there were some teams that came calling, including some teams in his home state of Indiana, including a team that won a national championship

Starting point is 00:13:25 and won if they would have gotten the playoff, might have won a national championship, but he decided to stay in Iowa City. And that is a good thing. I think he is going to be an absolute bedrock. I think you're going to see an even bigger step forward out of Trevor Lough this season. Then the other returning starter is Kate Piper.

Starting point is 00:13:41 And the big question about him, is he going to remain at guard or move to center? He worked at both of the positions throughout the spring. Looks like Kirk Farrinson, he said, after practice, the open spring practice at Saturday, that Piper is going to be there. center. That is the game plan that they have. He is going to be the guy in the middle and then you fill in the gaps from there. Mention Jack Dotsler. He's going to be your right tackle.

Starting point is 00:14:02 Feel really good about him after what we saw in the limited minutes that he got a year ago, a senior got stuck around, did all the work, made the improvements, and now it's going to be ready to go. After that, then the questions begin. At the other guard positions, Layton Jones, who we saw a ton of year ago. And I thought it was great the way that George Barnett talked about when Layton Jones went in there because of injuries a couple of times last season, they didn't see a dropout. They didn't see that huge step back that sometimes you anticipate going from a starter to a backup. That wasn't the case with Layton Jones. Now, I believe the right guard is going to be on the other side. I think it is going, excuse me, that we're going to see

Starting point is 00:14:44 Michael Mislinsky be that guy. But they're still waiting for his final year of eligibility. they're awaiting the decision from the NCAA. And as Kirk Farrantz told us last week at the Bow County I Club, he's a little bit miffed about this one. And we've gone through this before with Iowa football, waiting for that final year. Drew Ott obviously comes to mind fighting for that eligibility. And he brought up the old miss quarterback.

Starting point is 00:15:08 Boy, right before the draft, he got his decision. Kirk wasn't sure how he got to the front of the line. And they're still waiting for Michael Mislinski and what that's going to be. Now, he was also banged up during the spring. but health, that has always been the big one with him. If it's not that, I wonder about Lucas Allgaier. I know that Lucas Allgaier likely might be the right tackle of the future. In fact, he might be the guy that takes over next season for Jack Dotsler out there.

Starting point is 00:15:34 But getting his feet wet, and Iowa historically has done a really good job of taking these guys, getting them an opportunity earlier in their career inside and then bouncing him outside. And I think that definitely can be the case for him. Now, the guy coming on, Caden Leder, biggest guy, the roster, tallest guy in the roster at 6'4.9 from over in Illinois. Is he a guy that's going to be able to help out of guard? A couple of the young offensive guards too. Will Nolan, Bodie McCas, Caslin.

Starting point is 00:16:00 Both those guys will have opportunities, certainly. And then Trent Wilson, who comes in from James Madison. Wilson, it sounded like during spring, it was an adjustment period coming in and what he was able to do. But a guy that has three years of eligibility, if he's going to be getting into the mix at that guard position and certainly understanding all that Iowa wants. Kiel Winter is another guy we got to talk about who is going to be one of the interior guys. And if for whatever reason it doesn't work the way that they want with Kade people at the center position,

Starting point is 00:16:28 I think Kiel Winter is going to be the guy that you would see there that would slide over and they'll slide things around. People would kick out to guard and that would probably be the rotation that you'd see. On top of it, Iowa brings in a bunch of freshman offensive lineman this year. Again, we don't anticipate any of these guys are going to play right away. That is a rarity. but could be the case, Linder, Nielsen, Rairden, and Parliament, Hudson Parliament. And somebody in the comment section brought up Hudson Parliament, maybe it makes sense for him to flip to the other side.

Starting point is 00:16:57 Defensive tackle, he's got the size already at 6-4, 320 pounds. And as you're looking for some defensive tackle help down the line, if Hudson Parliament could be a name. Interesting, like that thought and like that idea. That is our post-spring look through the offensive line this season. Michael Messlinski, maybe the key to all. this and figure out exactly what they're going to do. We come back here, Lockdown Hawkeyes, and Fran McCaffrey is back in the news in the state

Starting point is 00:17:23 of Iowa. Back with you one final time on the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast. Thanks for being with us and making Locked on Hawkeyes your first listen every day. So as we conclude today's conversation, this is a different kind of one. It's not newsy like we normally talk about, but it's something that has definitely dominated. I know a lot of the conversations and I've got a lot of questions about it. with my relationship.

Starting point is 00:17:55 And one of my former colleagues over at KX&O and the Iowa Sports Radio Network, Keith Murphy, who was displaced as the MC for the coaches versus cancer benefit. And the reason is because of the McAfris. Now, this is not to jump on anybody's grave afterwards. If you've been a longtime listener of me, either on the radio or here on the podcast, you certainly know my thoughts on Fran.

Starting point is 00:18:20 Fran resurrected Iowa basketball. And there are reasons to commend him for that as a basketball coach. There were things also that drove me nuts as a basketball coach, but that's a conversation maybe for a different day. Now, if you don't know who Keith Murphy is, and if you're from other parts of the state outside of Central Iowa, that very well could be the case. He has been a news guy, a sports news guy here in the Des Moines market for decades.

Starting point is 00:18:43 And when I moved to Des Moines, I didn't know who he was either because we certainly didn't have the streaming capabilities and social media that we have today. and that's also a part where our world becomes a little bit smaller when he can make these connections. So I know a lot more people know him, but I didn't. And got an opportunity to talk with him a few times, even before I worked at KX&O. Always great interactions and got to know him better as we work together. His show would be the one right after mine on KX&O.

Starting point is 00:19:10 So got to know him, got to have a couple of drinks with him. Look, if you got a problem with Keith Murphy, if you have a problem with him as a person, that's a you problem. He is one of the kindest, most thoughtful people that I know. I consider him a very good friend and somebody that has helped me out in this business well before we were colleagues. Even before that, he is kind. He is very, very upfront about the kind of person he is. And if you got a problem with Keith, it's probably something you need to look in the mirror about. I will put it that way.

Starting point is 00:19:42 Plus he's fun and a really fun guy. He relayed this story to me years ago. and going through it, and you could just see also the hurt that it had. And if you saw the clip and watched him on his Murph and Andy show, he definitely saw that it was something that was hurtful. It definitely impacted him in that kind of way. And because of that, you're left saying, why? Why did the McCaffreys have to do these kind of things?

Starting point is 00:20:09 And he put out a commentary about a contract extension that was given to Fran, as most everybody did, media in the state at that time. It was under, got a cloak and dagger. Iowa got off to a slow start. The contract extension had happened. The reasoning that it wasn't announced, according to Iowa, was because that the athletic director at the time,

Starting point is 00:20:29 Gary Barta, was going through cancer treatment. And that's why it was there. But Scott Docterman put in the FOIA request, found out that there were a lot of changes and the buyout was up to $10 million, and suddenly you're left scratching your head. And these are the things about Fran that just drive you absolutely crazy. it's the part that just the stubbornness, the hardheadedness, the unwillingness to adapt and change

Starting point is 00:20:53 that really in the end hurt him and not connecting with the fan base in the same way. Yeah, you win games. You're a basketball coach, but there's more that goes into it. You know, the two-fowl thing drove me crazy for years. And if you ever listened to me, you knew that, where he fouled out his own guys. And best-case scenario, a guy gets two fouls in the first four minutes of the game. He's not going to play the rest of the first half. We were going to get 24 minutes maximum out of a guy.

Starting point is 00:21:16 It was short-sighted. I hated the thought process. And I asked him about it. And that was also the part that I had to know, and you had to know dealing with Fran McCaffrey, is he had to treat it with kid gloves. Because if you didn't, he'd freak out, for he wouldn't answer. And some of the press conferences and listening to them week in and week out, and Fran would just not give you a whole lot towards the end and not doing the things you have to as a basketball coach.

Starting point is 00:21:42 Fran McCaffrey had an opportunity. Yes, it went sour at the end. That's going to happen. But he still could have been beloved by the fan base. When you get that space that starts to build, we go back and we think about the good times and ascending Iowa up to number three at one point in the middle of his career. And though he never made a sweet 16 and didn't get over that hump, there were a lot of successes and a lot of things to celebrate. He's the all-time leading wins leader in Iowa men's basketball history.

Starting point is 00:22:15 And there would have been a time where things would have passed where he would have been asked to come back. Now, the way that he is, the way that his wife is, I don't think that's ever going to happen. But that was a reality. And it's sad to see that sometimes things like that can be a problem. Disappointing to say the least. That story out there now. And definitely you can understand why Keith Murphy was frustrated the way it went. He's an emcee for a coaches versus cancer event.

Starting point is 00:22:43 And yet the McCaffreys were the one that got him out of there. It just doesn't make a whole lot of sense until we dig deeper into the family. And the family continues to just leave you scratching your head. That'll do it for today. Thanks for being with us. We'll talk to again tomorrow. Tom Kaker from hawkyear reports.com is going to join us. You can jump aboard with us again with the ad-free episodes of Lockdown, hawkeyes.

Starting point is 00:23:06 go to lockdown hawkeyes. Dot supercast.com. We'll talk to you tomorrow. Go hawks.

Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - BREAKING: Iowa Hawkeyes SNAG Division 3 Scoring PHENOM Bria Medina—Can She COMPETE in the BIG TEN?

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.