After an unceremonious exit in the second round of March Madness at the hands of No. 10 Virginia, the Iowa Hawkeyes are now about to lose their biggest star. Addie Deal, a five-star recruit and someone Jan Jensen was hoping to mold into the next Caitlin Clark, has announced she will enter the transfer portal after her rookie season with the Hawkeyes.
During her freshman year, Deal averaged only 5.1 points per game despite all the hype she had coming in, with the school pulling out all the stops and rolling out the red carpet for her. She is so far one of the biggest targets to enter the transfer portal, and fans are making their thoughts heard.
“I thought she was the next CC? Didn’t someone say that? Wish her the best of luck but she isn’t a 5 star recruit and I heard she is a holdback in high school too, maybe a double hold back,” one fan pointed out.
“Recruit a 5 star and don’t play her or rotate her in and that will happen, many of us predicted this. It was completely avoidable,” said another person.
“Major fumble by Jensen. You don’t land a 5 star with no intent on developing her even though freshman struggles. Deal played a whole 4 minutes in Iowa’s NCAA tournament exit game. This is on Jan,” added another fan.
“I’m a huge Iowa women’s basketball fan but Jan has to get some new offensive schemes next year. That outdated offense doesn’t lend to landing or keeping high octane players,” noted one person.
“Unsurprisingly, Jan Jensen is a terrible coach. I believe more people will be making announcements in the coming days. McKenna really picked the wrong school,” said one fan.
“Disappointed to see it, but not surprised. We saw flashes of greatness, but the consistency wasn’t there. Maybe the Iowa coaches and system weren’t the right fit. Hope she can find a better fit elsewhere,” one fan hoped.
Addie Deal Posts Thank You Message to Iowa Fans
Despite not playing as many minutes as she would like, Addie Deal was still thankful, posting a farewell message on social media:
“Playing in the B1G Conference title game and making the B1G All-Freshman team will always be things for which I am so thankful. That said, I have made the very difficult decision to enter the transfer portal. Thank you to the staff at the University of Iowa. I will always appreciate my time here.”
Deal is still technically with the Hawkeyes and will remain one until the transfer portal opens on April 7.
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