Candace Parker’s Pick for Audi Crooks' Transfer Destination Makes Sense
One of the most interesting stories to follow during this college basketball offseason will be where former Iowa State Cyclones star Audi Crooks will land after announcing that she'd be transferring out of Iowa State after the 2025-26 season.
Figuring out Crooks' fit is interesting because it will take a specific sort of style and fit to make sense for her. Her time at Iowa State showed that she needs the ball in her hands a lot in order to maximize her offensive impact. But she isn't particularly adept at running the floor, would thrive in more of a half-court offense, and has defensive deficiencies that might turn some programs away.
Candace Parker Asserts Notre Dame Makes Sense for Audi Crooks
Candace Parker and Aliyah Boston both weighed in on Crooks' potential transfer fits in an April 8 episode of their "Post Moves" podcast.
When speaking about where they would like for Audi Crooks to go, Boston said, "I know that TCU has been on a hot heater. But it depends on who they have for guards and bigs, because with Olivia Miles out, and [Marta] Suarez out, going to the draft, I mean, what's their offense? Like, is it still gonna play super fast-paced? It all depends on that. But I know they're always a hot spot."
"I'd like to see her at Notre Dame," Parker said. After Boston seemed intrigued by this pick, Parker added, "Do you like that?"
"Okay! That's really not bad. That's really not bad," Boston said.
"I like Notre Dame, because I think Coach [Niele] Ivey will kind of know what to do with her in the pick and roll. Because, obviously, there are some deficiencies on the defensive end. But when you have someone like Hannah, who can cover up stuff, [Crooks] doesn't have to do anything in a pick and roll, because Hannah can get over, under, around, through. Whatever. So I just think that that might make things interesting."
How Hannah Hidalgo and Audi Crooks Might Fit In
As Parker mentioned, the fit between Crooks and star point guard Hannah Hidalgo would be fascinating. Parker already explained why Hidalgo could offset Crooks' defensive struggles.
And offensively, adding Crooks could make it so Hidalgo doesn't need to shoulder so much of the scoring load, and passing it to Crooks and letting her cook in the paint could allow Hidalgo to conserve even more energy for late in games and late in the season.
There's no doubt that Notre Dame could be a very compelling fit for Crooks.
Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.
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