One question, one answer and Addie Deal remained ‘on board’ with Iowa women’s basketball

IOWA CITY — One question, and one answer, was all it took for Addie Deal to reaffirm a commitment.

The date was May 13, 2024, when Lisa Bluder announced her retirement as women’s basketball coach at the University of Iowa, and Jan Jensen was picked as her successor.

Bluder and Jensen called each of their recruits — from the Class of 2024 and the Class of 2025 — to fill them in on the news, before it went public.

That included Deal, the headliner of the 2025 crew.

“I asked Coach Jensen if the culture was going to change,” Deal said. “She said no, and I said, ‘I’m on board.’”

A 6-foot freshman guard from Irvine, Calif., Deal met the Iowa media for the first time at Carver-Hawkeye Arena after Tuesday’s practice.

Her hopes for herself are high, as are those from outside the Hawkeyes’ inner circle.

“I definitely want to be an impact player,” she said. “I can be a point guard, I can be a shooting guard, I can shoot, I can score, I can drive.

“I just want us to win.”

Several factors contributed into Deal’s original decision to come to Iowa.

One was her trainer: “He said that Iowa’s style would fit me so well,” Deal said.

Another was her brother, Tanner, who plays at Grinnell College.

“That was the cherry on top,” Deal said.

Iowa assistant Abby Stamp said Tuesday that Deal and Chit-Chat Wright — a transfer from Georgia Tech — are projected as the primary point-guard candidates, “though Addie can slide over as the ‘shooting guard.’

Stamp was asked what, and who, has been the most notable surprise of the summer.

“The newcomers,” she said. “They’re breaking a lot of things down.

“Addie has been really big. Layla (Hays) has been so coachable. You’ve got Chit-Chat, somebody who really buys into the drills.”

The five newcomers — three freshmen, two transfers — come from near and far.

You’ve got freshman guard Journey Houston, from Davenport.

Deal hails from southern California, Hays (a freshman post) from Wasilla, Alaska.

Wright is from Atlanta; Emely Rodriguez from La Romana, Dominican Republic.

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Rodriguez transferred to Iowa after one season at Central Florida.

“Coach Jensen called and told me what she’s trying to build here,” Rodriguez said. “I’m excited to be a part of this.”

Rodriguez believes that her value is her versatility.

“I’m a natural (small forward), but I can play all five positions if necessary,” she said. “I’ll play where they need me to play, and I’ll be ready.

“It’s a learning process. I feel like a freshman again.”

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com