Category Archives: Basketball

2010-04-29

Whew! This is a big one. Just by adding these pictures to the SmugMug Gallery from the folder 2010-04-29, I was able to fix 5 “An Artist’s Notebook” posts. I believe I added pictures to 14 different photo albums.

The pictures in this folder are taken from over several days of vacation I took back in 2010. Some in Minnesota. Some at Iowa State. Lots of flowers. A few of people.

Here are a few of them:


Vacation Day 6

Vacation Day 6

Vacation Day 3 - Guinea Pig

The 5-8 Club

Still Laughing - 2010

Still Laughing - 2010

Still Laughing - 2010

Still Laughing - 2010

Still Laughing - 2010

Still Laughing - 2010

Still Laughing - 2010

Still Laughing - 2010

Still Laughing - 2010

Still Laughing - 2010

Where It Got Its Life

Where it Got Its Life

Vacation - 2010

Vacation - 2010

Vacation Day 6

Vacation - 2010

Vacation - 2010

Where It Got Its Life

Where It Got Its Life

Where It Got Its Life

Vacation Day 4 - Cotton Candy

Vacation Day 4 - Cotton Candy

Vacation Day 4 - Cotton Candy

Vacation Day 4 - Cotton Candy

Vacation Day 4 - Cotton Candy

Vacation Day 4 - Cotton Candy

Vacation Day 6

Vacation Day 6

Vacation Day 6

Vacation Day 6

By adding these pictures to the Photography 139 Gallery, I was able to restore the following historic “An Artist’s Notebook” entries to their original glory:

VACATION DAY 3 – GUINEA PIG DENIAL

VACATION DAY 4 – COTTON CANDY

VACATION DAY 5 – THE JUICY LUCY

VACATION DAY 6 – CAMPUS

PERSONAL PHOTO PROJECT OF THE WEEK NO. 21

In that collection of restored posts, is a very bad take on how well Fred Hoiberg would do at Iowa State.

Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will involve Willy.

2010-02-03, 2010-02-11, and 2010-02-13

Today’s walk down will involve 3 folders, but hardly any pictures. The pictures in the folders 2010-02-03, 2010-02-11, and 2010-02-13 are some self-portraits and pictures for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE, then known as THE RANDOM WEEKLY PHOTO EXPERIMENT.

The picture of me with the basketball was taken to commemorate an extremely rare victory for the Computer Mine basketball team. We were a decent team the first few years, but we quickly descended to becoming the “girlfriend game”.

There is no Computer Mine team now and I doubt there is a rec league this year, but I don’t know if these old bones will continue to play any more any ways. Maybe I have one more year in me. I’m certainly rested right now.


WEEK 5 - FRAMING - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT

WEEK 6 - ADVENTURE - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT

Little Dribblers

Before

By adding these pictures to the Photography 139 Gallery, I was able to restore the following historic “An Artist’s Notebook” entries to their original glory:

RWPE #5 – FRAMING

A Phenomenal Week

RWPE #6 – ADVENTURE

Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will involve hearts. At least I think it will involve hearts. It won’t involve hearts. It will involve flowers though.

2010-01-19 & 2010-01-25

Happy 4th of July everybody! This holiday celebratory picture is a bit different.


Happy 4th of July - 2020

This historical marker commemorates the crew of a U.S. Army Air Force B-24 Bomber that were killed when their plane crashed in Boone County during a training flight during WWII.

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The pictures in the folders 2010-01-19 & 2010-01-25 are from a couple different PERSONAL PHOTO PROJECT(s). One is of a Sara through the window in my entry way. The other is a picture of some family Bibles. There is also a picture from the 3rd ever WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. The theme was PEOPLE.


Hearts Beat High with Joy Alternate

Hearts Beat High with Joy Alternate

Hearts Beat High with Joy Alternate

Hearts Beat High with Joy Alternate

Hearts Beat High with Joy Alternate

Hearts Beat High with Joy Alternate

WEEK 3 - PEOPLE - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT

The Lovely Silhouette

By adding these pictures to the Photography 139 Gallery, I was able to restore the following historic “An Artist’s Notebook” entries to their original glory:

RWPE #3 – PEOPLE
Personal Photo Project of the Week No. 5
Personal Photo Project of the Week No. 6

Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will involve Willy and some flowers.

Pride. Integrity. Guts.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day to those of you that celebrate. I don’t. I’m mostly of Scottish and Welsh stock, so I’ve been trained by the English to hate the Irish and I do. I do hate the Irish. At least I hate the Notre Dame Fighitn’ Irish. They can straight bugger off.

That being said, under normal circumstances, I would make my way to West Street Deli and have the most delicious Reuben in the world. That was before we were in a global pandemic. Also, I think West Street Deli closes during Spring Break anyways.

Another thing that would normally happen tonight would be the beginning of the NCAA Tournament. This year it was cancelled due to fears of over the coronavirus. I one hundred percent support this decision. In situations like we find ourselves in, we should very vigilant. When this is over, nobody will regret being too cautious. That being said, it still makes me a little sad. The NCAA Tournament is by far my favorite sporting event every year. There isn’t a close second. Maybe Championship Week. Followed by bowl games. Followed by about every college football Saturday.

So let me quote a Brandi Carlile song to express a little bit of how I feel about the cancellation of the NCAA Tournament.


Look to the clock on the wall
Hands hardly moving at all
I can’t stand the state that I’m in
Sometimes it feels like the wall’s closing in
Oh, Lord, what can I say?
I’m so sad since you went away
Time, time, ticking on me
Alone is the last place I wanted to be
Lord, what can I say?
Trap all my troubles away
Drown my sorrow the same way
Seems no matter how hard I try
It seems like there’s something just missing inside

However, while I drown my sorrows, it seems I should still honor last years NCAA Tournament and the winners of my annual Roundball Oracles Pool.

You may recall that there are two trophy winners. The winner and then the biggest adult loser. The winner of last year’s Roundball Oracles Pool was Becky Parmelee:


2019 Roundball Oracles Champion
Becky with her Championship Trophy

Then the winner of The Sara Trophy for last place adult was Russell Kennerly:


2019 Roundball Oracles - The Sara
Russell with the Sara.

Last year, 42 people vied to join the List of Immortals with Becky finishing on top. Here are the final standings:

Roundball Oracles – Year 15

1. Becky Parmelee – 281
2. Linda Bennett – 265
3. Michelle Haupt -242
4. Lowell Davis – 242
5. Angie DeWaard – 242
6. Dawn Krause – 239
7. Sean Clubine – 237
8. Paul Golden – 237
9. Rachel Gildersleeve – 237
10. Jason Baier – 236
11. Jesse Howard – 231
12. Michael Augustin – 230
13. Corey Faust – 225
14. Derek Dohrman – 224
15. Shannon Bardole – 224
16. Cathie Raley – 223
17. Jordan Toot – 221
18. Robert Henning – 220
19. Frank Meiners – 219
20. Brandon Kahler – 210
21. Jackson Faust – 209
22. Which Mascot Would Win a Fight – 202
23. Bill Wentworth – 202
24. Ben Baier – 201
25. Derrick Gorshe -201
26. Humble Narrator – 198
27. Elizabeth Nordeen – 196
28. Jason Stensland – 195
29. Olivia Baier – 195
30. Tim Peterson – 193
31 – William McAlpine – 192
32. Jorge Rios – 189
33. Sarah Karber – 189
34. Toby Sebring – 185
35. Joseph Lynch – 181
36. Teresa Kahler – 181
37. Will Baier – 177
38. Jon DeWaard – 173
39. Carrie Baier – 170
40. Laura Miller – 166
41. Sean Gildersleeve – 161
42. Russell Kennerly – 160
43. JJ Baier – 150

The Updated List of Immortals

2019 – Becky Parmelee
2018 – Paul Golden
2017 – Paul Golden
2016 – Michelle Haupt
2015 – Derek Dohrman
2014 – Brandon Kahler
2013 – William McAlpine
2012 – Lowell Davis
2011 – Carrie Baier
2010 – Mark Wolfram
2009 – Mark Wolfram
2008 – Mark Wolfram
2007 – Tim Peterson
2006 – William McAlpine
2005 – William McAlpine

A few final thoughts on the end of the college basketball season. This year’s Iowa State men’s team was one of the worst in school history. At least one of the worst in my lifetime. In some ways there is little in the way of hope for next season as Iowa State will (barring a miracle) will lose their best player (Tyrese Halliburton) to the NBA. They only lose 2 seniors in Jacobson and Nixon, but I’m not sure how much talent is returning. Every guy that returns has shown flashes of greatness and then has returned to the mean. Freshman like Tre Jackson had to play way too much before they were remotely ready. The bumps those guys took could pay off next season as at least Tre could take a big jump. Solo is the heart and soul of the team and he could have a big senior season. George Conditt is an NBA talent, but he struggled this season, but if there is anybody on the roster that is able to make a bigger jump than him, I don’t know who it would be. If T-Lew could learn to play just a little bit of defense he could be a big contributor. I’m sure his flex after his dunk against Okie State instead of running back on defense will be a big motivator this offseason. Zion might be the biggest question mark on the roster. His playing time diminished as the season went along, but he still has a huge upside. Bolton is in line to be the best player on next year’s roster, but he has to start playing with more discipline.

There is a great recruiting class coming in with Xavier Foster being one of the biggest recruits in school history. With his silky smooth shot, he could easily fill that stretch 4 role that Jacobson struggled to fill this season. Dudley Blackwell is also a highly regarded recruit that could also contribute immediately. Darlinstone Dubar has an incredible name and frankly that is how I evaluate most recruits. He wasn’t a highly regarded recruit when he signed with Iowa State, but then he shot up the rankings. He has good size. which is something this year’s team lacked. Jaden Walker is another mystery. He isn’t all that highly regarded, but he is built like Tyrese. His rankings are similar to Tyrese. I’m not saying he is the next Tyrese Halliburton, but even the Steve Prohm haters that came out of the woodwork this year would struggle to criticize his record with point guards.

The other big mystery is sit-out transfer Javon Johnson. He is a 6-6 small forward that averaged double digits for Troy. He has a good shot and allegedly had NBA athleticism. But it is a big jump from Troy to what has been the best basketball conference in the country for the last decade. He is a big wild card.

Finally, Iowa State will have at least one scholarship to fill. I’d like to live in the world where Tyrese comes back, but even with his injury, some mock drafts having him going as high as #4 in the draft. That gives at least one scholarship to fill. I imagine Iowa State will try to sign an immediately eligible experience point guard. Bolton can play the point, but he is clearly better as the 2. Otherwise, you are looking at Tre taking over at the point. He didn’t get a ton of time there this season, so it isn’t the best case scenario.

It is also certainly possible that somebody transfers, opening up another scholarship. If that happens, I imagine Iowa State would look at a sit-out transfer (if that is still a thing). Not sure what they would go after there, but my guess is another combo guard.

Now, the Cyclone women had a much better season. They ended their season by defeating #2 Baylor and ending their 58 game Big 12 Conference win streak. Leaving Hilton Coliseum that day was the most joy I have experienced as a Cyclone fan since leaving Jack Trice on November 16 after the Cyclones knocked off Texas with a 36 yard Connor Assalley walk-off field goal.

The women’s had an up and down season, but they were projected to be in the NCAA Tournament as a 9 or 10 seed. They could have improved that seed with a run in the Big 12 Tournament, but to get to the finals, they would have had to beat that same Baylor team in the semi-finals.

Not much was expected out of the Cyclones this year. They had just lost Bridget Carleton, arguably the best player in school history. If she isn’t the best, the only person in the conversation is Angie Welle… for now. They also lost Alexa Middleton, the best point guard Iowa State has had since Allison Lacey. Finally, they lost Meredith Burkhall. Meredith wasn’t a star, but she was a solid post that might have been primed for a big senior season if she hadn’t experience a serious illness the summer before her senior season.

Iowa State’s season could have went south as the roster constantly battled injuries. Iowa State’s second best player Kristin Scott battled a back injury that sidelined her at the beginning and the end of the season. Starting point guard Rae Johnson also missed several games with a bad back. At the end of the year her minutes were being heavily monitored. Madison Wise missed a good chunk of the season due to debilitating migraines. Maddie Frederick was starting to get good minutes when she went down with an injury and only returned for the last few games of the season.

Despite all of that, Iowa State finished 4th in the Big 12 and were playing great basketball at the end of the season. They had the grit that the men lacked. People played out of position. People stepped up. Having Ashley Joens, who will be in the conversation with Welle and Carleton to be the GOAT when her career is over, probably didn’t hurt either.

But what will next year’s team be like? I think we are at the dawn of what could be another golden era for the Cyclone women. I don’t want to say that they could contend for a conference title next year, because.. you know… Baylor, but they could give Baylor a run for their money. Especially with what Baylor loses. But what does Iowa State lose?

Iowa State graduated 4 seniors. All of them were contributors, but none of them put the kind of a dent in the program that Bridget Carleton did.

Probably the biggest loss is Adriana Camber. Down the stretch, she played almost every minute of every game. Her numbers won’t pop out at you. She averaged 6.5 points and 3.8 rebounds a game. But she wassecond on the team with 845 minutes played. She was the consummate glue player. She did whatever the team needed. Usually that meant guarding the best player on the other team. More times than not, she was able to shut them down. She also lead the Cyclones with 48 thees. All of that will be hard to replace, but that is a role that a healthy Madison Wise could slide into. She struggled from 3 this season, but her history suggests she is a better shooter than she showed this season. Camber also struggled with her shot as a junior after all.

The second biggest loss is probably Ines Nezerwa. Ines was a post and probably one of the biggest fan favorites. Ines came to Iowa State very raw and left a little raw. You could see that talent there, but sometimes that meant bad turnovers. Sometimes it meant several minute stretches where she would dominate games. Sometimes it mean she couldn’t stop fouling. But nobody will ever forget the big 3 she drilled in the final minutes against Baylor to give Iowa State the lead. With Kristin Scott having an injury plagued season she came up big for the Cyclones over and over again. Especially when the only other big on the roster was Morgan Kane, who was a very green freshman. The good news is that there are people ready (hopefully to replace Ines). For starters there is 6-5 sit out transfer Lindsey Jarosinski. Plus it is hard to put into words how much Morgan Kane grew this season. At the end she was able to play valuable minutes. I don’t know that she will ever be much of a scorer, but she doesn’t need to be. Finally, Iowa State redshirted Gabby McBride this season. Iowa State will not be so thin in the post next season. Especially if Kristin Scott stays healthy.

The third Cyclones they lose is Jade Thurmon. Jade came up big for the depleted Cyclones late in the season. She was super fast with the ball and was hard to contain off dribble penetration. However, there are plenty of players coming that are coming that can take Jade’s minutes.

The last senior Iowa State loses is Nia Washington. Nia hardly ever played, but she was definitely a team leader. She was the player that gave the last words to the team before they took the floor. As an outsider, it is hard to quantify how much her leadership could be missed.

That is the bad. The good news is that Iowa State returns their (at least) 3 best players. Ashley Joens will be a junior. Kristin Scott will be a senior. Maggie Espenmiller-McGraw will be a sophomore. They will return Rae Johnson, their point guard and sometimes best player. Hopefully Madison Wise is healthy and returns to her freshman form. They add a 6-5 transfer. I’m very intrigued to see how Maddie Frederick develops. She has shown signs. She is somebody who could potentially take that Camber role as well.

While what returns on paper is more than enough to get excited about, we should talk about what is coming in next year. They have the #7 ranked class in the country.

Lexi Donarski from Wisconsin will be only the second McDonald’s All-American (Alexa Middleton) to play for Iowa State. She is the #12 player in the country.

Emily Ryan from Kansas has never lost a high school game. She has been the Kansas Player of the Year multiple times.

Aubrey Joens in Ashley Joens’ sister. Enough said, but she is also the #58 player in the country.

Kylie Feurbach from Illinois is the #77 player in the country.

If you can’t tell, I’m a little bit excited about the women’s team next year. The fact that thee is no NCAA Tournament this year doesn’t help.

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I also wanted to share some pictures from my trip to the Iowa State Fair with Nader and Logan:


Iowa State Fair - 2019

Iowa State Fair - 2019

Iowa State Fair - 2019

Iowa State Fair - 2019

Iowa State Fair - 2019

Iowa State Fair - 2019

Iowa State Fair - 2019

Iowa State Fair - 2019

Iowa State Fair - 2019

Iowa State Fair - 2019

Iowa State Fair - 2019

Iowa State Fair - 2019

Iowa State Fair - 2019

Iowa State Fair - 2019

Iowa State Fair - 2019

Iowa State Fair - 2019

Iowa State Fair - 2019

Iowa State Fair - 2019

Iowa State Fair - 2019

I still need to crack into flower pictures I took at the Iowa State Fair on this day. I know some of you are looking forward to that!

Part Ballroom, Part Baller

Last April I went up to Minneapolis to checkout all the hoopla that surrounds the Final Four. Dae Hee and I went downtown and checked everything out. I snapped a few pictures. Here are some of my favorites:


Final Four

Final Four

Final Four

Final Four

Final Four

Final Four

Final Four

Final Four

Final Four

Final Four

Final Four

Final Four

Final Four

Final Four

Final Four

Final Four

Final Four

Final Four

Final Four

Final Four

Final Four

Final Four

Final Four

Final Four

Final Four

Final Four

Final Four

Final Four

It appears to be a down season for the Cyclones this year. I can only imagine what this team would look like if THT would’ve come back instead of going to the NBA. That being said, there is still time for the current team to get it figured out, starting tonight against Kansas. Go Cyclones!

Not What I Appear to Be

Happy Friday the 13th! May your night be Jason Voorhees free! Or, if you want, have the proper amount of Jason Voorhees. I have to confess that while I was on vacation I got sucked down a rabbit hole of watching the special features on about all of the discs in THE FRIDAY THE 13TH boxed set. I didn’t know if I would ever watch the movies when I picked up the boxed set for like $3 in a Wal-Mart bargain bin about 3 years ago. Turns out, I’m a sucker for documentaries and commentary tracks on terrible movies. You probably could have guessed that though.

Today’s collection of pictures is from August. Back when MUSIC was the theme for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. I visited Derrick at Rieman Music to take some photos. These are the ones I didn’t select:


Not What I Appear to Be

Not What I Appear to Be

Not What I Appear to Be

Not What I Appear to Be

Not What I Appear to Be

Not What I Appear to Be

Not What I Appear to Be

Not What I Appear to Be

Not What I Appear to Be

Not What I Appear to Be

Not What I Appear to Be

Not What I Appear to Be

Not What I Appear to Be

Not What I Appear to Be

If you have ANY music needs, you really should hop down to the Ames location of Rieman Music and talk to Derrick. The man knows everything there ever is to know about guitars.

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This is your reminder that this week’s WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is SPORTS/GAMES:


WEEK 222 - SPORTS/GAMES
SPORTS/GAMES

A SPORTS/GAMES photo is any photo that involves anything that surrounds SPORTS/GAMES.

Happy photo harvesting!

WPC – WEEK 221 – HIGH PERSPECTIVE

HIGH PERSPECTIVE proved to be a highly unpopular theme. That is the bad news. The good news is that by skin of its teeth, HIGH PERSPECTIVE had double digit submissions, to run the streak of double digit submission to eleven! Woot! Woot!

My best prognostication is that the streak will make it to fourteen, but that the 15th theme will be a soul crusher. It will be one of those weeks where we get like 3 submissions.

But you didn’t come here to listen to me talk all tommyrot about participation rates. You came to see the submissions:


WEEK 221 - HIGH PERSPECTIVE - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
Christopher D. Bennett

WEEK 221 - HIGH PERSPECTIVE - ANDY SHARP
Andy Sharp

WEEK 221 - HIGH PERSPECTIVE - ANDY SHARP
Andy Sharp

WEEK 221 - HIGH PERSPECTIVE - CARLA STENSLAND
Carla Stensland

WEEK 221 - HIGH PERSPECTIVE - ANGIE DEWAARD
Angie DeWaard

WEEK 221 - HIGH PERSPECTIVE - TAMARA PETERSON
Tamara Peterson

WEEK 221 - HIGH PERSPECTIVE - SHANNON BARDOLE-FOLEY
Shannon Bardole-Foley

WEEK 221 - HIGH PERSPECTIVE - KIM BARKER
Kim Barker

WEEK 221 - HIGH PERSPECTIVE - DAWN KRAUSE
Dawn Krause

WEEK 221 - HIGH PERSPECTIVE - MICKY AUGUSTIN
Micky Augustin

But enough dwelling on the past. Time to look to the future. We are all interested in the future, for that is where you and I are going to spend the rest of our lives. And remember my friend, future events such as these will affect you in the future! This week’s theme:


WEEK 222 - SPORTS/GAMES
SPORTS/GAMES

SPORTS/GAMES! What a great theme! But what is a SPORTS/GAMES image? A SPORTS/GAMES image is any image of a SPORT or a GAME. It doesn’t even have to involve a GAME or SPORT in progress. A picture of a basketball would work. A picture of a fantasy football trophy would work.

Of course SPORTS/GAMES have multiple meaning, so feel free to not be too literal if you don’t want to be.

I look forward to seeing your interpretations.

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HOUSEKEEPING


A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION

The picture has to be taken the week of the theme. This isn’t a curate your pictures challenge. This is a get your butt off the couch (my personal experience) and put your camera in your hands challenge. Don’t send me a picture of you next to the Eiffel Tower, when I know you were in Iowa all week. I will point out that I have let that slide some in the past. I will not in the future. Since it is literally about the only rule.

Your submission needs to be emailed to bennett@photography139.com by 11 AM on the Monday of the challenge due date.

OR

I now allow people to text me their submissions. In the past, I had made exceptions for a couple people that aren’t real computer savvy, even though it was an inconvenience for me and required at least 3 extra steps for me. I am now lifting that embargo because I have a streamline way of uploading photos. I’m not giving out my phone number, but if you have it, you can text me.

It should be pointed out that this blog auto-publishes at 12:01 on Mondays. So it wouldn’t hurt to get your picture in earlier.

That is it, them’s the rules.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION DIVISION

Nobody showed class, taste, and sophistication this week by signing up for a Photography 139 email subscription. I’ll try and do better next week.

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That’s all I got for today, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will commune right here again next Monday. Hopefully it will be a very sporty Monday!

GOAT II (No Actual Goats in this Post)

In the 2018 backlog, I found another collection of pictures I took at an Iowa State women’s basketball game. I decided to post them, to make sure, all of you understand that Bridget Carleton is the GOAT.

Bridge Carleton also:

#1 & #5 Scoring Seasons – 760 + 594
#1 & #4 Scoring Average Seasons – 21.7 + 19.2
#2 Free throws made in a season – 180
#1 Free throw percentage in a season – .939
#1 Field goals made – 254
#4 Rebounds – 302

Here are some pictures from a victory over Arkansas:


Iowa State vs. Arkansas

Iowa State vs. Arkansas

Iowa State vs. Arkansas

Iowa State vs. Arkansas

Iowa State vs. Arkansas

Iowa State vs. Arkansas

Iowa State vs. Arkansas

Iowa State vs. Arkansas

Iowa State vs. Arkansas

Iowa State vs. Arkansas

Iowa State vs. Arkansas

Iowa State vs. Arkansas

Iowa State vs. Arkansas

Iowa State vs. Arkansas

Iowa State vs. Arkansas

Iowa State vs. Arkansas

Iowa State vs. Arkansas

Iowa State vs. Arkansas

Iowa State vs. Arkansas

Iowa State vs. Arkansas

I haven’t made it to a basketball game yet this season, but hopefully that changes on Friday.

GOAT

Hitting up the the 2018 backlog with some pictures I took of the Iowa State-Drake women’s basketball game. I think I took these pictures for a SPORTS theme week for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE.

I’m glad that I did, because I got some pictures of probably the best player in Iowa State history, Bridget Carleton.

Bridget Carleton finished in Iowa State’s career record book:

#2 Points Scored – 2,142
#1 Scoring Average – 17.3
#3 Field Goals Made – 713
#6 3 Point Goals Made – 255
#2 Free Throws Made – 461
#3 Free Throw Percentage – .857
#7 Rebounds – 863
#10 Assists =- 349
#3 Steals – 211
#3 Blocked Shots – 124

I was also able to get pictures of a couple of my other favorite Cyclones of all-time in Meredith Burkhall and Alexa Midleton.

While I think that the Cyclones will still be good this year with returning players like Ashley Joens, Kristin Scott, Madison Wise, Rae Johnson, and with Jade Thurmon taking a big step forwards and with newcomer Maggie Espenmiller-McGraw. But it definitely isn’t easy when you have to replace the GOAT!


Iowa State vs. Drake

Iowa State vs. Drake

Iowa State vs. Drake

Iowa State vs. Drake

Iowa State vs. Drake

Iowa State vs. Drake

Iowa State vs. Drake

Iowa State vs. Drake

Iowa State vs. Drake

Iowa State vs. Drake

Iowa State vs. Drake

Iowa State vs. Drake

Iowa State vs. Drake

Iowa State vs. Drake

Iowa State vs. Drake


She is only a sophomore, but Ashley Joens is well on her way to being the next GOAT. She just put up 30 points and 20 rebounds in a game. The biggest mistake Iowa ever made was not recruiting an Iowa City kid with 2 younger sisters that are also great players. One of her sisters has already committed to play at Iowa State next year. I can’t wait to watch the Iowa State women’s basketball team in the next few years. It is going to be a very exciting time!

2009-05-06

The pictures in the folder 2009-05-06 are of Shannon paying off a wager that she lost… to me.

I feel bad calling it a wager, because she didn’t really stand much of a chance of winning. Well she had one chance when I think about it.

We wagered on the outcome of a basketball game between the Iowa State Cyclones and the Northern Iowa Purple Hawks.

I know… I know… why would anybody be foolish enough to put up anything of value at stack, in the vain belief that the Purple Hawks would actually best the Cyclones.

What UNI had going for them was that Iowa State was in the middle of its worst run of basketball in its modern history. This was still a couple years before Fred Hoiberg rode in and saved Iowa State basketball. Iowa State was still being coached by a former Purple Hawk by the name of Greg McDermott. In his defense he had coached okay when he was a Purple Hawk but coming up to the big leagues proved too be too big of a step for him and he failed miserably in Ames.

Fortunately Iowa State got bailed out when some parochial school in Omaha (I think that is in Montana) took him off our hands. A miracle that has repeated itself twice. Once when Auburn took Gene Chizik off our hands and then again when Auburn (seriously thank you Auburn) took James Bond villain and terrible administrator Steven Leath off our hands. Auburn has since fired both of them. I think McDermott still coaches at the parochial school.

But to the results of the wager, the obvious happened. The Cyclones strode into whatever middle school gym the Purple Hawks play in and mercilessly pounded UNI 71-66 in overtime.

I don’t know what would’ve happened if I would’ve lost the bet, but it seems pretty irrelevant. Shannon had to dawn a piece of Cyclone clothing and pose for a photo session.

Here are the results of that session:


Shannon Wager Loss

Shannon Wager Loss

Shannon Wager Loss

Shannon Wager Loss

Shannon Wager Loss

Shannon Wager Loss

Shannon Wager Loss

Shannon Wager Loss

Shannon Wager Loss

Shannon Wager Loss

Shannon Wager Loss

Shannon Wager Loss

It doesn’t appear that I have ever published these pictures. It might have been part of the wager that the pictures were to never become public. I figure either the statue of limitations have run out on that deal or what does it matter? I’m sure they’ll be closing UNI down in the next couple of years and it will be just a footnote in history like Des Moines University or Highland Park College or Sioux Empire College or Iowa Wesleyan… Oh wait, they decided to keep Iowa Wesleyan open.

Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will involve a Mother’s Day barbecue.