We are still a couple of months away from the tip-off of the college basketball season, which means that we have plenty of time to prepare for the action ahead. We will do so via a series of season previews featuring the best players/coaches in the country. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel continues our coverage with Iowa JR G Kylie Feuerbach, who talked about her team’s run to the title game last season and her expectations for this season.
In 2018 you made the game-winning 3-PT shot to win the AAU national title: did you think the shot was going in, and where does that rank among the highlights of your career so far? That was obviously an unforgettable shot for me. When I released it I thought that it was going in: our coach drew up a play and I was ready to go. I remember the setting/crowd: it was super-cool.
1 of your AAU teammates was Caitlin Clark: how good was she back in the day, and could you tell back then that she was good enough to become the best college basketball player in the nation? A few months ago I was looking back on some film from when I was in 7th/8th grade. I played a game against Caitlin and what is crazy is that she moves the exact same way yet is constantly evolving. She has great court vision and is a great leader: she has always been amazing but improves exponentially each year by working so hard.
You began your career at Iowa State, where you started 24 games as a freshman: why did you decide to transfer, and what made you choose Iowa? Iowa State was just not the best fit for me. Iowa has a great coaching staff and it was closer to my home. I knew a lot of the girls on the team from AAU ball and they have a great/stable program that felt perfect to me.
How would you describe the rivalry between the 2 schools for someone who has never seen it in person? Either location is a hostile environment for the road team. There is a lot on the line for those in-state rivalry games and they are very intense.
You play for Coach Lisa Bluder, whose 850 career wins are top-15 in NCAA D-1 women’s basketball history: what makes her such a great coach, and what is the most important thing that you have learned from her so far? I have learned countless things from her such as, “Be where your feet are”: when you are in practice you cannot be thinking about your exam the next day, which helps me a lot. She also talks about the fact that she cannot “coach effort”: it is all under your control. She is also a great person and respects us as much as we respect her: we have a great team chemistry.
You missed all of last year due to a torn right ACL: how bad was it, and how is your health doing at the moment? I tore my ACL/MCL/meniscus but I had a great surgeon who I am very thankful for. I feel that everything happens for a reason even though it is hard for any athlete to be injured. Looking back on it now I feel like the time has gone by very fast and I was cleared for contact/scrimmages a few weeks ago. Everything is going great and I am getting right at it and focusing on my conditioning.
Your teammates won a school-record 31 games without you and made it to the NCAA tourney title game before losing to LSU: what was your favorite part of that magical run? You cannot compare it to anything: it was a great experience. We made the most of it by working hard and just kept it going. Even though I was not playing it was still fun to sit courtside and watch the team.
Last year your school was 2nd in the nation in attendance: how much of a home-court advantage do you have at Carver-Hawkeye Arena? It is quite the experience because we have great fans and our games are already sold out for this season. From our perspective we are very thankful for our fans who show up for every single game.
Next month your team is hosting an outdoor scrimmage vs. DePaul at Kinnick Stadium with proceeds benefiting the Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital: how excited is everyone for the “Crossover at Kinnick”? We are super-excited: seeing the atmosphere at the Nebraska outdoor volleyball game a week ago was amazing. It will be another unforgettable experience to see our fans show-out.
What are your goals for this season, and what are your expectations for this season? We have the same goal every year: get to the Final 4. I will work as hard as I can and try to help the team.