By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – In this age of name, image and likeness in which money is often the driving force in landing, keeping or adding a student-athlete, it’s nice learning about an old-fashioned recruiting story.

You know, the kind where making a connection is more important than making a transaction, and where just being nice, thoughtful and honest is what matters the most.

Iowa freshman center Ava Heiden shared such a story during this past Tuesday’s media gathering. The Oregon native told her story about why she became a Hawkeye, and why she chose to leave her home on the West Coast and her family to play college basketball halfway across the country.

There was no mention of NIL by her or by the media, because whether it played a role in her decision or not, it seems unlikely that it was the biggest factor.

Heiden more likely picked Iowa because Jan Jensen and Lisa Bluder convinced her that it was the best place to grow as a player, as a student and as person.

Jensen was Iowa’s Associate Head Coach when she first spoke with Heiden during the recruiting process.

Bluder was in her 24^th and what would prove to be her final season as the Iowa head coach when Heiden signed with Iowa.

“The first time they reached out to me was coach (Jensen), Heiden said. “We had like an hour-long call and she’s amazing. She’s a great conversationalist.

“And then her and coach Bluder wanted to call my parents. And I was like, that’s pretty cool. They want to get to know me, but also my family, how we operate, how they instill their values in me.”

While women’s college basketball hasn’t been impacted nearly as much by NIL as men’s basketball and football, it’s certainly a factor in the women’s game.

Heiden might have been asked about NIL during her other interviews on Tuesday, and it’s certainly a fair question, considering she was ranked by ESPN as the No. 4 center in the 2024 class and 42^nd overall in her class.

If the 6-foot-4 Heiden were a men’s basketball player with those rankings, it’s easy to assume that NIL would be a significant part of the recruiting dialogue.

But in Heiden’s case, Jensen’s gift for gab, her reputation for turning post players into stars, the culture that Jensen and Bluder built over the past quarter century, and of course, Iowa’s unprecedented success in each of the past two seasons all contributed in convincing Heiden to be a Hawkeye.

NIL was almost certainly a factor, too, because that’s just the way it is now.

It’s just fun to think that maybe it wasn’t among the biggest factors in Heiden’s decision to play for Iowa.

She obviously had other options as a national recruit, but she chose Iowa because of the people and the culture, and whatever Iowa came up with from an NIL standpoint, probably helped to seal the deal.

Iowa’s culture in women’s basketball is healthy and special in so many ways.

The players are close on and off the court, and there is a mutual respect and admiration that seems to exist with all the players, coaches and support staff.

Iowa’s culture, and its fast-paced offense helped to convince Caitlin Clark to be a Hawkeye. And we all know how that turned out.

And though Bluder’s stunning decision to retire in May certainly was a blow to Heiden, promoting Jensen to head coach helped to soften it.

“It was sad,” Heiden said. “Coach Bluder has done so many amazing things in her career. If there is anyone that I would want to take her place, it’s coach J. So, she’s going to fill the shoes perfectly and she’ll serve the team well.”

Bluder attended this past Tuesday’s practice at the Iowa practice facility, and then joined the team at mid-court in a circle at the conclusion of practice. Meeting in a circle is a tradition that Bluder started at Iowa and that Jensen plans to continue.

Heiden comes from a tight-knit family, so losing that daily face-to-face interaction was one sacrifice she had to make in picking Iowa.

“I was open to everywhere,” Heiden said. “My family and I are very close, though. So, I knew that would be difficult. But they also want me to go explore and find new experiences. So, they’re not the type of family to hold back. They’re like go find something new.

“And then with Iowa, they felt like home. All the people here became dear to my heart. And it made it so much easier transitioning to liking Iowa.”

Heiden didn’t talk much on Tuesday about her goals for on the court, other than to help the team in any way she can.

She did mention some unusual goals she has for off the court, like wanting to see a tornado for the first time.

Iowa City was hit by a recent thunderstorm that had high winds and heavy rain and Heiden enjoyed every minute of it, even when the sirens went off.

She was with her teammates in a dormitory when the storm hit.

“It was awesome,” Heiden said. “This is like a running joke between the freshmen. In Oregon, we only have thunderstorms like once a year or like once every other year. So, it’s like my favorite weather phenomenon.”

Heiden also hadn’t seen fireworks, at least big ones, until she and her parents attended a fire works display on July 4th near Iowa City.

“In Oregon, it’s illegal to have the big ones,” Heiden said. “My family and I watched them in North Liberty, and the show lasted 25 minutes. It was amazing. It had to cost $100,000.”

Heiden has been pleasantly surprised by the food in Iowa City.

“The food here is amazing, too,” she said. “I didn’t know it would be that good.”

Heiden is part of a five-player freshmen class in which the players come from four different states: Oregon, Iowa, Wisconsin and Illinois.

They all picked Iowa for their own reasons, but the culture and the people in the Iowa program appealed to all of them.

The freshmen have since become close friends, making the transition from high school easier, on and off the court.

“All the freshmen have their quirks and personalities and I think that’s what makes it so fun,” said freshman guard Taylor Stremlow, who is from Verona, Wisconsin. “We all just mesh and support each other really well.”

Iowa’s other three freshman are guards Callie Levin from Solon, Aaliyah Guyton from Peoria, Illinois and Teagan Mallegni from McFarland, Wisconsin.

Stremlow said it helps having four other freshmen to lean on as they all make the transition to college.

“We obviously aren’t perfect and happy all the time, homesickness is real sometimes,” Stremlow said. “Frustration just with the learning and the level we’re at, it gets frustrating, sometimes. But having each other there to pick each other up, to talk to, we’re all going through similar things. So, I think that support is really, really helpful.

“The support from the upperclassmen is great, too because they’ve been there and they’ve done that. But having people that can empathize with what you’re going through at that moment has been really nice.”