All things are possible with Caitlin Clark. Things like Naismiths, nattys and feats that nobody in NCAA history have touched. She puts balls in nets, butts in seats (and couches) and the Hawkeyes in the national spotlight.
But intertwined in her legend last season was a championship supporting cast.
In Clark’s 41-point masterpiece to down South Carolina, there was Gabbie Marshall playing nearly all 40 minutes — in a defensive effort that held the Gamecocks to 39% from the field and 20% from three.
The same Gabbie Marshall who hit seven three-pointers to beat Maryland in the Big Ten tournament semifinal.
Then there’s Monika Czinano, who chipped in 20 points and nine rebounds and provided the needed physicality in a bar-fight with Georgia that came down to the final pair of minutes. Czinano also missed just a single shot in her 26-point effort to win the Big Ten tourney championship over Ohio State.
The only two players who have scored more points as a Hawkeye than her? Just, ya know, two National Player of the Year winners: Megan Gustafson and Clark.
Then there’s the “glue,” or the do-it-all, Kate Martin who seems to never get enough credit for her efforts in all facets of the game. Or McKenna Warnock, who Jan Jensen described to me as a “kick-ass” player.
Iowa’s dream run to the national championship was Clark-led, role player-assisted.
Marshall and Martin elected to use their COVID years and will be back. But unfortunately, Czinano spent hers last year and Warnock elected to bypass hers. The Hawkeyes will need to replace two of their top three leading scorers.
After getting shutout in the transfer portal, Iowa will be heavily relying on youth development to get back to the heights reached this past March and June.
Simple solution
Filling the void Czinano leaves may be simple — ascension from reigning Big Ten Sixth Player of the Year winner Hannah Stuelke.
Stuelke flashed her potential as a threat at the rim during the regular season. Her best performance came against Northwestern, scoring 17 points and grabbing nine in just 14 minutes.
Overall she scored in double digits eleven times off the bench, but found herself on the bench for the majority of the team’s NCAA run. But don’t get it twisted — for a freshman, she exceeded expectations.
The former Iowa Miss Basketball winner will get to work with “post guru” Jan Jensen — and her superstar teammate has her back too.
“I’m super excited about Hannah Stuelke. I think that’s very obvious to the outside world,” Clark said in June. “She’s a special player. It’s just getting her to believe that in herself and getting her to believe what she can contribute to this team because we need her.”
It’s hard to expect Stuelke to be the dominant post presence that Czinano was. But hey, nobody expected Czinano to fill the shoes Megan Gustafson left in 2019. Czinano was a more than amicable replacement, maybe Stuelke is too.
The not-so-simple solution
McKenna Warnock was a model of consistency, and has what every basketball coach is looking for in 2023: Knockdown three-point shooting ability and a versatile defender.
All she did in four seasons was shoot 51% from the field, 41% from three and defend the best wing player on the opposition every night. Warnock is not going to be easy to replace, and there is no clear option.
Junior A.J. Ediger has played 31 games in her first two seasons but has only played a total of 105 minutes. However, she’s 6-foot-2 and was a top 50 recruit coming out of high school. Perhaps with an uptick in minutes she could grow into a starting role.
Another likely candidate to receive the minutes Warnock leaves behind is Kylie Feuerbach. Sadly, Feuerbach missed the entire 2022-23 season due to injury. But, the redshirt junior has two years of experience under her belt and should be able to contribute immediately.
Feuerbach started 24 of 28 games at Iowa State in 2020-21 before transferring to Iowa for the following season. She played all 32 games in 2021-2022 and even started three for the Hawkeyes.
Her 41/31/86 shooting splits weren’t eye popping, but she’s a capable defender and notched 15 steals in her last full season. At the very least, Feuerbach is serviceable and can play right away if she’s healthy.
Sydney Affolter seems to be the most likely candidate to step into Warnock’s role. She played nearly 400 minutes in 37 games and offered experience, efficiency and rebounding in her time on the court. She’s not the sharpshooter Warnock is, but maybe Affolter turns a corner her junior year and earns herself a starting gig.
The splashiest prospect, however, is Taylor McCabe. As a true freshman last season, McCabe flashed her marksmanship from three, shooting 42% from beyond the arc on 42 shot attempts. However, the 5-foot-9 McCabe cannot play the forward position like a Feuerbach or Edinger could.
Regardless, McCabe should see much more than the 139 minutes she saw last season.
The final word
The Hawkeyes were able to essentially go six deep in their postseason run to the national championship. The starting lineup of Clark-Marshall-Martin-Warnock-Czinano was so productive and cohesive that Lisa Bluder barely had to tap into her bench.
But, as Clark points out, it’s Bluder’s coaching style that is going to get the Hawkeyes where they need to be. It just might take some growing pains.
“We’re going to be young, I definitely think there’s going to be some learning curves as we go,” Clark said. “Coach Bluder’s a tremendous coach and that’s why I came here. She doesn’t keep the same scheme every year — it’s formatted to fit her team.”
“We’re lucky we have the foreign trip to go out and play games and see what works and what doesn’t. I think it’s going to be a really fun year.”
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