Iowa State’s Audi Crooks Is A Velveteen Unicorn – And March’s Biggest Matchup Problem

The hoops gods really person a point for Iowa. First came Caitlin Clark astatine nan University of Iowa, a scoring sensation who dominated headlines and sparked taste debates. Now, nan state’s different awesome assemblage program, Iowa State, has been blessed pinch Audi Crooks – a thunderclap successful her ain right.

Where Clark dazzled nan masses pinch satellite shot shots and moxie disconnected nan dribble, Crooks is nan benignant of talent that makes different players of stature beryllium up and return notice, nan inferior halfway pinch a consciousness beyond her years. A 6ft 3in ballast successful nan paint, Crooks belongs to a protected people of hooper, nan velveteen elephantine – station players who triumph pinch touch arsenic overmuch arsenic brute force.

In nan early 2000s, Troy Jackson – a 6ft 10in, 375lb streetball fable who played nether nan shape sanction “Escalade” – lit up And1 Mixtape crowds pinch his buttery enarthrosis rolls and no-look passes. Two years ago, 6ft 9in, 275lb DJ Burns Jr was nan darling of nan NCAA men’s tournament, his throwback, back-to-the-basket crippled carrying North Carolina State to their first Final Four since 1983. In fact, his top admirer was nary different than nan erstwhile roly-poly Nikola Jokić – nan large man caput and shoulders supra nan rest.

But nan women’s crippled has ne'er seen a fig rather for illustration Crooks, a bulldozing ballerina fans person taken to calling “Baby Shaq”. The diesel that drives nan Cyclones, Crooks averages much than 25 points a game while making two-thirds of her shots from nan section – ratio that makes her virtually intolerable to guard. Front her connected nan debased block, and she’ll drawback and finish. Defend her consecutive up, and she’ll clear a way to nan hoop. Push her farther out, and she’ll scatter jumpers each day, nary matter which measurement she’s facing. Send other bodies her way, and she’ll either helping nan shot to an unfastened teammate aliases make whoever’s marking her regret their life choices.

Four months ago, erstwhile Iowa State hosted Valparaiso, nan Beacons threw nan room descend astatine Crooks – and it still ended successful a 97‑50 Cyclones blowout, pinch Crooks scoring a career‑high 43 points successful 20 minutes to shatter a 41‑year‑old schoolhouse record. Two-and-a-half weeks later, she dropped 47 points successful an 11‑point triumph complete Indiana, missing conscionable 8 shots mixed from nan section and free‑throw line.

“She’s a monster,” erstwhile NBA all-star Jeff Teague said aft Crooks scored 41 points successful 30 minutes successful Iowa State’s convention opener against Kansas, sympathizing pinch nan Jayhawks’ defender who drew Crooks successful azygous sum and spent astir of nan crippled dodging her elbows. “Her sternum [must beryllium more] bruised than a motherfucker. Get good soon.” Against Iowa past December, Crooks scored 30 points – nan last 1 connected a free propulsion pinch 15 seconds near – to unafraid her first profession triumph complete Iowa State’s main rival.

Crooks comes by nan clutch cistron naturally. Born to precocious schoolhouse hoops legends successful north-central Algona, Iowa (population: 5,500), she has been connected a breakout trajectory since arriving successful Ames arsenic a subordinate scouts erstwhile discounted for coming from a mini municipality and dominating undersized precocious schoolhouse competition. At Bishop Garrigan High – wherever her mother, Michelle, looms ample successful nan hoops grounds book – Crooks excelled not conscionable connected nan hardwood, starring nan Golden Bears to back-to-back authorities titles, but besides successful volleyball, way and section throwing events, and moreover nan schoolhouse band, wherever she played trumpet and drums.

Crooks wears No 55 to grant her parents, who some rocked nan aforesaid digits backmost successful their day. Her father, who died successful 2021 astatine nan property of 55, from diabetes-related complications, is simply a awesome root of inspiration. “Whenever he was astatine immoderate of my sporting events, I would cognize because I could perceive him,” she precocious told ESPN. “He was astir apt nan biggest power successful my life arsenic acold arsenic basketball.”

In her NCAA Tournament debut 2 years ago, Crooks scored 40 points pinch conscionable 2 missed shots to thief rally Iowa State past Maryland successful 1 of nan largest comebacks successful March Madness history. As a sophomore, Crooks shattered Iowa State’s single-season scoring record, shooting 75% aliases amended successful six games. Crooks’s brilliance is simply a large logic Iowa State person go a fashionable prime for a heavy tourney run. But frankincense far, nan 21-year-old has struggled to push nan Cyclones past nan 2nd round.

This season, Crooks’s silky outbursts propelled Iowa State to a 14‑0 start. But then, conscionable arsenic Iowa State were opening to look for illustration Final Four shoo-ins and Crooks seemed to person 1 manus connected assemblage basketball’s Naismith grant (given to nan nation’s apical player), nan Cyclones mislaid their wind. After throttling Houston to notch their 14th triumph and a season-high 10th-place successful nan AP poll, Iowa State dropped 5 consecutive games, and 2 of their past three, to decorativeness nan regular play 22-8.

Earlier this month, a nine-point upset nonaccomplishment to Arizona sent Iowa State crashing retired of nan Big 12 tourney successful nan first round. A ample measurement of nan descent tin beryllium attributed to losing do-it-all guardant Addy Brown – who helped powerfulness nan Cyclones onslaught on pinch Crooks and transportation constituent defender Jada Williams until a little assemblage wounded sidelined her for 11 games. Iowa State were further criticized for stacking their early-season schedule pinch overmatched opponents. But ultimately, nan blasted for nan illness fell connected Crooks.

Audi Crooks’s brilliance is simply a large logic Iowa State has go a fashionable prime for a heavy tourney run. Photograph: Icon Sportswire/Getty Images

The melodramatic slump opened conscionable capable daylight for critics to spotlight nan recurring lapses successful Crooks’s protect effort – “Halfway Crooks”, to get a statement from nan infamous Mobb Deep; that’s moreover arsenic she ranks among nan nation’s starring rebounders and changeable blockers. The slump invited much scrutiny of Crooks’s physique, an rumor that has followed her passim her diversion career.

Women’s assemblage teams do not database players’ weights connected charismatic rosters, arsenic overmuch retired of immoderate Emily Post-inspired deference to etiquette arsenic an responsibility to shield players from misogynistic abuse. Alas, that hasn’t stopped online speculation astir Crooks’s size. But for illustration nan defenses that illness connected her successful nan paint, Crooks refuses to fto keyboard busybodies sound her disconnected balance. “Nobody tin depreciate my play, truthful they travel aft maine personally,” she told ESPN. “This assemblage has gotten maine so, truthful acold successful life, and it enables maine to do what I do connected nan court. The group who knock maine for that surely couldn’t extremity maine successful nan paint.”

With nan Hawkeyes still adjacent nan apical of nan AP rankings 2 years aft Clark moved to nan pros, Crooks has a chance to carve retired her ain bequest arsenic Iowa’s caller standard-bearer against a sadistic 2026 tourney section headlined by South Carolina, LSU and yet different Connecticut squad racking up victories connected a title-defense march. Whether this Audi cruises to a ringing will travel down to seeding, soul spot and that sweet, saccharine velvety touch, of course.

As for those who still uncertainty her fresh successful this game? They would beryllium wise to retrieve nan hoops gods’ wont of smiling down connected nan biggest and boldest.