Iowa’s Bria Medina is taking on one of the tougher leaps in college basketball, and she’s doing it with the kind of mindset the Hawkeyes can use.
Medina arrives in Iowa City after a standout three-year run at Division III Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, where she scored 1,524 career points and put together a huge final season. Last year, she averaged 23.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game. Now she’s trying to carry that production into a much higher level of competition.
That jump is no small thing, but Medina doesn’t sound like someone trying to force it. During a recent summer practice media session posted by 247Sports, she said she understood it would take time to settle in and that she’s trying to be patient with herself. Her focus is on keeping a “growth mindset,” learning from mistakes and not loading herself down with extra pressure.
She also offered a quick preview of what she can bring to Jan Jensen’s team. Medina said she likes to attack the basket, finish at the rim and push the pace, especially in transition.
That matters for an Iowa offense that could get stuck last season when teams took away Ava Heiden and Hannah Stuelke inside. With Jensen moving back to a four-out, one-in setup, Medina has a chance to fit in cleanly.
The scoring profile is what makes her interesting. Medina’s numbers came against much lighter competition, but she still showed she can score at all three levels and get to the rim, which is exactly the sort of skill set Iowa can use. With Hannah Stuelke headed to Europe to begin her professional career, Jensen is adjusting the offense around the roster she has, and that should open the door for Medina.
There’s no promise she’ll get the kind of minutes needed to match what she did at Knox, but she should be in the conversation for reserve guard minutes depending on how Jensen sets the lineup. Chit-Chat Wright and transfer Dani Carnegie are the only projected “locks” to start, while Taylor Stremlow and Amari Whiting are also competing for spots. Whether Whiting or Stremlow ends up in the starting five, Medina’s scoring gives her a real path onto the floor.
She looks more like an off-guard than a lead guard because of her score-first style, but that only adds to her value as a bench option. The competition gets a lot tougher in the Big Ten, no question. Still, if Medina can keep putting points on the board, Iowa’s offense gets a lot more dangerous.
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