Four Random Big Ten Things
From Hannah Stuelke's ceiling to Minnesota's impending radical change in style
It’s early in the offseason, which means it’s really time for me to take you on some tangents that do not relate to each other whatsoever.
Here are four things that interest me about the incoming Big Ten women’s basketball season that have less to do with the major stars or obvious storylines, but are instead much more niche and less likely to add any excitement at all, as is the promise on this newsletter.
Hopefully that has gotten you pumped up to read further!
Ohio State’s Band of Thieves
My car was stolen Saturday night because I own(ed) a Kia and apparently that meant it was only a matter of time. While I play the waiting game to see if the TikTok kid who stole my vehicle as a bit is found, let’s talk about a more fun version of stealing, the basketball kind.
If you watched Ohio State women’s basketball last year, the identity of the team was very clear: suffocate the opponent into mistakes with the press defense. When the Buckeyes successfully did that, they were an unstoppable force of nature. When that faltered, Ohio State was less dominant on both sides of the ball, and often had lackluster possessions in the half court trying to find a shot.
As said last week, I really love the additions the Buckeyes have made in the transfer portal, as it both helps cover some weaknesses while also strengthening that identity. But just how annoying is Ohio State going to be?
By my count, there are seven players currently on Big Ten rosters for next season that averaged at least two steals per game in 2022-23 (minimum 10 games played). FOUR of those seven players are on Ohio State: Jacy Sheldon, Madison Greene, Taylor Thierry and the newly acquired Celeste Taylor from Duke. Those four combined for nearly 11 steals per game last season, so that should be fun to play against.
Yes, Sheldon and Greene played less than half the season, but it is clear how strong both are defensively when ready to go. A fully healthy backcourt for the Buckeyes will be a force on the press unlike any we maybe have ever seen, I cannot wait.
The Hannah Stuelke Mystery Box
This quote by Caitlin Clark on Iowa forward Hannah Stuelke has stuck with me, and will continue to stick with me as next season approaches.
“I think Hannah, she doesn’t know how good she can be. Her potential is through the roof. I think everybody on our team sees that.”
Everything about Stuelke’s freshman season with the Hawkeyes made this feel so unbelievably true. Stuelke averaged 6.5 PPG and 3.9 RPG in 13.0 minutes per contest. She shot 61.0 percent from the field, appeared in all 37 games and showed plenty of flashes that proved she was capable of becoming Iowa’s next star forward.
That was the potential part, but I also think that the first part of Clark’s quote showed up in different ways than the star guard meant. When Stuelke played confidently, it looked effortless. Within one week, she shot a perfect 10 of 10 against Maryland and Indiana, scoring 23 points in the process. But, when the Hawkeyes again played the Terps and Hoosiers in a week span, Stuelke shot the ball just three times total in the two contests, making one shot and scoring two total points.
There is a skill Stuelke possesses that came out frequently, both as a rebounder and as an impressive interior scorer, but it also came with lapses and some troubling free throw shooting (46.0 percent on the season).
As of writing this, Iowa has not made any additions in the transfer portal, and it sure seems like Stuelke will be starting as a sophomore, though it could also go to Addison O’Grady, who has been a solid backup in her time with the program. But Stuelke’s talent is beyond deserving of a starting role, and if she makes strides that are in her grasp, she should be an All-Big Ten player next season. But, it will take Stuelke knowing how good she can be to get there.
The Inevitable Michigan X-Factor
It feels like it happens every year, some player on Michigan steps up and makes a dramatic improvement to keep the Wolverines among the best teams in the Big Ten.
Maddie Nolan became a terrific perimeter option a few years ago. Emily Kiser and Danielle Rauch went from garbage time players to key starters. Laila Phelia made a sophomore surge and Leigha Brown became a tremendous point guard.
Kim Barnes Arico gets the best out of her players time and time again, and it will almost certainly happen again. But this Wolverines roster has less clear cut answers, outside of Phelia, as to who it will be coming from. Brown, Kiser and Nolan are gone, so who will be the X-factors?
My first pick is Cameron Williams, the likely starting forward who was solid as Kiser’s backup. Williams doubled her scoring and rebounding last season while still shooting 56.8 percent from the field, and had a breakout 18-point, 10-rebound game against Ohio State when she was given 37 minutes of action. Veteran forwards seem to thrive in Ann Arbor, so this is an easy pick.
After that, I am hoping to see more of a role for Elise Stuck. The fourth-year player averaged just 1.9 points and 2.1 rebounds per game last season, but she shot 54.2 percent from the field and hit 4 of her 7 three-point attempts. She also had one specific performance that stood out: An 11-point, 5-of-5 showing in the Big Ten Tournament to help the Wolverines survive Penn State.
Stuck has (let me have this) stuck around the program and could be a starter at the wing for Michigan this season, and even though we haven’t see a ton of volume from her, she seems to have a solid shooting stroke and could play a major factor.
Minnesota’s Impending Changes
Dawn Plitzuweit is replacing Lindsay Whalen as Minnesota head coach, a needed change for a Gopher program that has been in limbo in the past few years. Whalen will still be around in a new role, as will much of the roster from last season.
Under Whalen, the Gophers scored well and pushed the pace, but were a consistently lackluster defensive team, and that ended up with more losses than wins. Plitzuweit comes to Minnesota after one season with West Virginia and six with South Dakota. She found success at both, especially at South Dakota, and did so in a much different way.
West Virginia made the NCAA Tournament in Plitzuweit’s only year with the team, improving the win percentage by .113 thanks to a 70-team boost in defensive rating. The offensive rating also went up 11, even with the Mountaineers scoring 0.5 PPG less than the year prior.
That is because Plitzuweit slowed down the pace, not dramatically, but enough to create more efficient chances and improve play defensively. That was also the goal at South Dakota, where she found constant success during her tenure. The magnum opus of her time there came in 2019-20:
2019-20 South Dakota
80.5 PPG
56.3 oPPG
No. 2 offensive rating nationally
No. 12 defensive rating nationally
30-2 record
No. 182 in pace nationally
This team dominated opponents with slower, methodical basketball that led to a top 10 finish in effective field goal percentage. This team limited turnovers, had an incredible assist-to-turnover ratio and forced opponents into difficult shots.
That 182nd-place finish in pace was actually the fastest team Plitzuweit coached in South Dakota. Often times, her teams played slow basketball, but always had the defense to back it up.
Last year, Minnesota finished eighth in the nation in pace, one of the fastest-moving teams in the country. It makes the Plitzuweit hire a fascinating one, but could signal that the Gophers believe their best course of action is a complete change in identity.
I doubt that Minnesota will move to a total snail’s pace in one season, but I will be extremely curious to see how this team plays out of the gates. Mara Braun is truly one of the most entertaining players in the Big Ten and she decided to stick around through this coaching change. If this improves her efficiency without taking out her explosive scoring ability, she should be a superstar in no time, and that in itself could get the Gophers to move up the standings.
Minnesota has been a fun team in theory over the past few years, but never as much in the execution. Here’s hoping the total 180 in coaching style is for the better.
Feature Photo Credit: Courtesy of Michigan Athletics
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