With Bill Fennelly stating that the team will return to the “Iowa State Way” in their style of basketball, many will be looking toward the guards for the overall offensive production. While the guard play has historically been one of the defining features of the Fennelly teams, the Cyclones picked up a very intriguing piece in 6-3 freshman Tjaša Turnšek.
What does Turnšek bring?
Even while standing at 6-3, Turnšek is currently listed as a forward. She has been playing with the Slovenian national team during FIBA Women’s EuroBasket Qualifiers where she has been averaging eight points and five rebounds per game. In a battle with Estonia, Turnšek registered a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds to help Slovenia register an 84-54 victory. Primarily a post presence, Turnšek does have the ability to shoot from distance, which will be a very interesting tool in the fast paced offense that Fennelly will want to run.
Obviously, Turnšek is coming in from a European style of basketball that is much more predicated on team-oriented playstyles in contrast to the American style of basketball which can be more individualistic. This is not intended to be a dig at the current roster, but I don’t think it is crazy to say that there is not anyone on the roster that we can point to and expect them to score 22 points per game and be the focal point of the offense every day. That will actually be in Turnšek’s favor as she has grown and developed in a more team focused style of basketball that can include very intricate playbooks and tactical precision. That experience may be her ticket to playing time come conference season.
How will Turnšek be used?
This next section comes with a disclaimer that everything is only based on my best guesses based on general roster archetype and what I saw from an hour of practice. With that being said, the coaching staff was using Turnšek primarily as a forward, but can serve the center position if need be. The primary center will be Xiao “Smyle” Zhang, but there may be times where Turnšek and 6-2 forward Gift Ezekiel play off of each other to add some size on the court when Smyle is off the court.
A good comparison in terms of role would be looking at Alisa Williams from the past two years. While she was primarily used as the center when Audi Crooks would sub out, Williams did add some more length and mobility on defense and allowed some more fluidity in the offense. Turnšek can fill a similar role, but has the potential to have a more consistent scoring touch, while also being more presence on rebounding.
As a freshman coming in from Slovenia, Turnšek is one of the biggest unknowns on the team (it can be difficult to find tape for Slovenian U-18 women’s basketball, shocker). Even in a style of basketball that generally spotlights guards, Bill Fennelly will still need a reliable presence in the post, and that person from time to time can absolutely be Tjaša Turnšek. If you want to put your chips into a player now and look like a genius two years from now, this may be the player for you.