Iowa State women’s basketball media day: Freshmen ready for spotlight, Ryan gets healthy
AMES – Iowa State freshman Addy Brown was moving into her apartment in Ames over the summer when Cyclones women’s basketball coach Bill Fennelly stopped her.
Fennelly, who was helping carry some boxes up the stairs, had an important message for her.
“He was just like, ‘I need you ready, like today — I need you ready today,’” Brown recalled during Iowa State's media day Thursday in Ames.
Fennelly made it crystal clear from the very start that he was going to rely on Brown and the other four players in her recruiting class − Arianna Jackson (Des Moines), Jalynn Bristow (Wichita Falls, Texas), Audi Crooks (Algona), Kelsey Joens (Iowa City) − to carry the load during the 2023-24 season.
“I think that we all knew that coming here, that we were going to have a big role on this team and that we have to be ready to go,” Brown said.
They’ll have to perform at a high level during what is expected to be a season of transition for the Cyclones. Iowa State was already expected to be in a rebuilding year with star Ashley Joens departing for the WNBA following her fifth season in Ames. Star Stephanie Soares, who missed most of the season with an injury, was denied a waiver to play another season and declared for the WNBA Draft. Then five Cyclones entered the transfer portal and left.
Fennelly was able to land some reinforcements, bringing in transfers Isnelle Natabou, Hannah Belanger and Alisa Williams. Williams will redshirt this season while the other two are expected to play significant roles right away. But the biggest impacts this season may come from the freshmen.
Iowa State point guard Emily Ryan has started the past three seasons. Nyamer Diew has bounced between starting and coming off the bench. Izzi Zingaro, who has played sparingly, mostly off the bench, is also back. That means there is plenty of opportunity for playing time.
“If we had a game tonight, I would not be surprised if four of them started,” Fennelly said.
Fennelly said the Cyclones will probably have the deepest rotation they’ve ever had. The freshmen have the potential to make immediate impacts after becoming the highest-ranked recruiting class in the program's history.
But like any new group of fresh faces, there is a learning curve. The problem is, the Cyclones need the five rookies to get up to speed quickly. So far, Fennelly has seen reasons for optimism. He also has reasons for concern concern due to the lack of consistency that is typical of freshmen.
“If you come to practice five days in a row, all of you would leave and go, ‘Those are the two best players on the team’ and you’d all pick two different people every day,” Fennelly said. “And I don’t think that’s a bad thing, but at some point the challenge for us (is) … who are you going to throw the ball to when you have to throw the ball to them? And Ashley Joens isn’t here anymore.”
Fennelly has tried to ease the transition by scaling back on his playbook. He’s also mixing and matching different combinations to see what works best for his team. The Cyclones also took a trip overseas that helped him learn about his new players and get them some valuable experience.
The first true test will come once the season starts with an exhibition against Truman State on Nov. 1 and the first official game coming on Nov. 6 against Butler.
“There will be some really fun moments and there will be some frustrating ones,” Fennelly said of the season.
The good news is the group is eager to take on the challenge. They’ve already nicknamed each other the Swag Wag Five. It stems from their official visit to Ames last fall. When they got ready to travel around town together, an old, beat-up white van showed up to pick them up.
“We really embrace that and just kind of called it our little clique,” Crooks said.
The nickname became the name of a group chat the five started after they all committed to the Cyclones. They used the chat to keep in touch and talk about how things were going and their plans for the future. As Iowa State’s roster underwent a massive makeover, it became obvious to the five that they were going to be thrust into the spotlight.
“There’s a lot of expectations,” Crooks said. “I guess you could say a lot of pressure. But we knew that coming in that there were some roles to be filled and that there were some minutes up for grabs.”
Even though there could be some struggles throughout the season, the hope is that the group can produce some memorable moments. And if all goes according to plan, maybe they can do some big things down the road.
“Coach Fenn has preached that we’re the future of this program so we’re just making sure we stay close and we all love each other,” Brown said.
Emily Ryan expects to be ready to go when the season starts
One of the biggest concerns heading into the season has been the health of Ryan. The star point guard didn't play in the trip overseas while dealing with a lower leg injury. Fennelly said Ryan has been on a "load management" while the Cyclones try to make sure she isn't overworked.
Ryan is an all-Big 12 performer and the most important member of the team. Fennelly has raved about her being another coach of sorts on the court. Ryan has even coached while sitting out of practice, calling plays.
While Ryan has enjoyed it and wants to get into coaching when her playing career is complete, she's eager to be on the floor when the season starts.
"I'm confident that I'll be cleared and ready to play basketball when the time comes," Ryan said.
What are realistic expectations for Iowa State?
Fennelly has never shied away from expectations when it comes to his team. The Cyclones coach and his players embraced the big ones last season and even talked about aiming for the Final Four.
But things are certainly different this year and with this young Iowa State team. The Cyclones were picked to finish sixth in the Big 12 Conference. And even though Fennelly didn't want to put a specific goal out for his team to reach, he mentioned March as an important time but also recognized that may be a tough challenge.
"You're always trying to do something where you're playing in March and for this team, I think trying to play games that matter at the end of the season, it will be a challenge," Fennelly said. "Our schedule is harder than it should be but that's just the way it is."
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Cyclone women’s basketball freshmen ready to make huge impact
