No Game Time League for Iowa women's basketball, but a busy summer nonetheless

IOWA CITY — It wasn't as if the Game Time League was the Iowa Hawkeyes' only summer gig.

But it was their only public interaction with the fans.

'That's the one thing that's disappointing to us,' Iowa women's basketball coach Lisa Bluder said. 'The fans did get to come and connect with us six times a summer.

'But in all honesty, it was a small, small part of what we did in the summer.'

The Game Time League has closed up shop after 16 seasons. In the old days, players from all of the Big Four universities gathered. Then it was just Iowa and UNI.

Then, it was primarily the Hawkeyes, players from small colleges and high-school players that weren't playing AAU ball.

'It was tough to find enough talent to have quality teams,' Bluder said.

So here's what the Hawkeyes will do this summer:

The NCAA allows two team workouts per week of an hour apiece. In addition, the Hawkeyes are expected to shoot five times a week.

'Our goal is for each player to make 16,001 shots between June, July and August,' Bluder said.

There will be strength-and-conditioning workouts, and the Hawkeyes will scrimmage four times per week, with no coaches in attendance.

Bluder said she has considered making one of those workouts per week open to the public, 'but we can't advertise it. How will people know when to come if we don't advertise it?

'We're still working on that.'

The Hawkeyes are coming off a 20-14 season and their second straight WNIT appearance (they reached the quarterfinals in 2017). They return 73 percent of their scoring from last season, led by first-team all-Big Ten post Megan Gustafson, who will be a junior.

They lost three players (all-time leading scorer Ally Disterhoft, Alexa Kastanek and Hailey Schneden have graduated) and gain one (Jinaya Houston, from Davenport North). Bluder said there is a chance they will add a late sign.

Bluder also said she expects to name an assistant coach to replace Lacey Goldwire (now at Arkansas) in the next few days, and that point guard Tania Davis' rehab from a torn ACL 'is coming along well,' but she probably won't be ready to play until around the time the Big Ten season begins.

'I wish she would be healthy earlier, because we planned our non-conference schedule thinking we were going to be really good,' Bluder said.

In addition to the three in-state rivals, the Hawkeyes have inked non-conference games against Northern Illinois, Western Michigan, Samford and Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

The Hawkeye Challenge consists of Iowa and three 2017 NCAA teams — Quinnipiac (Sweet 16), Missouri and Western Kentucky. And Iowa will compete with Morgan State, Elon and UNC-Charlotte in a tournament in Puerto Rico. The Big Ten/ACC pairings aren't set yet, but Bluder said the Hawkeyes' ACC opponent 'will probably be a top-10 team' and will be at home.

Iowa's first win next season will mark the 700th of Bluder's career.

l Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@thegazette.com