maly, too: Iowa Signs Women's Players Disterhoft, Kastanek

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Iowa Signs Women's Players Disterhoft, Kastanek

Iowa women’s basketball coach Lisa Bluder said today that Ally Disterhoft (Iowa City, Iowa/West High School) and Alexa Kastanek (Lincoln, Neb./Lincoln Southeast High School) have signed national letters of intent for the 2013-2014 season.

“It’s one of the smaller classes we have brought in, but it’s a quality class.” Bluder said. “Ally and Alexa are two very good basketball players. They both fit into our system and we are excited to have them join our program.”

Ally Disterhoft (AL-ee)

6-0, Guard/Forward

Iowa City, Iowa

Iowa City West HS

High School… ESPN HoopGurlz Top 100 recruit… earned a total of seven all-state honors as a sophomore and junior, including six first team accolades… all-district selection as a junior and senior… two-time unanimous MVC Player of the Year and first team all-conference pick…Iowa City Press-Citizen and Gazette/KCRG Player of the Year as a junior… averaged 15 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists as a sophomore… averaged 16.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists as a junior… led West High to its first state tournament appearance in school history as a sophomore, finishing runner-up… helped the Trojans claim a state championship as a junior with a 25-1 record… named to state tournament all-tournament team in both seasons… led West high to back-to-back MVC titles… holds school records for single-season field goal percentage (67.4) and 3-point percentage (45.1) and single game blocks (5)… also lettered in track and volleyball… helped West High to a 2010 outdoor state track championship… claimed individual state title in indoor 4x800 as a sophomore… multiple event qualifier for Drake Relays… all-conference and academic all-district pick in volleyball… also excels in the classroom and is an academic all-state and all-conference selection… member of the National Honor Society and holds a 4.0 cumulative grade-point average… awarded direct admission into Tippie College of Business for academic achievement.

Personal… Parents are Missy and Jeff Disterhoft… mother played basketball and softball at Drake and was teammates with current assistant coaches Jan Jensen and Jenni Fitzgerald… has a younger brother, Nate… plans on majoring in business.

Bluder on Disterhoft

“Ally had a tremendous junior year, winning the state championship for West High, but she had an outstanding summer during AAU basketball. I thought she really blossomed over the summer. It’s always great to have the best players in the state in your program, but it’s even more special when they are from right here in Iowa City. Ally is a tall wing player with a long wing-span. She has a great 3-point shot and has worked hard on developing her ability to drive and get to the rim. She fits perfectly into the style that we like to play.”

Alexa Kastanek (uh-LEX-uh kuh-STAH-knick)

5-10, Guard/Forward

Lincoln, Neb.

Lincoln Southeast HS

High School… ESPN HoopGurlz Top 100 recruit… first player in Lincoln Southeast High School history to start and play in every game since freshman season… all-state selection as a junior… named all-city as a freshman, sophomore and junior… selected as team captain every season since her freshman year… averaged 14.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.8 steals as a sophomore… averaged 16.3 points and 5.5 rebounds as a junior… led her high school to three state tournament appearances, including runner-up finish as a junior… claimed city, conference and district championships in each of her three seasons… also excels in the classroom as a member of the National Honor Society and honor roll student throughout high school.

Personal… Parents are Lisa and Dave Kastanek… has two older sisters, Allie and Marissa, and one younger brother, Marcus… Marissa is a senior on the North Carolina State women’s basketball team… plans on majoring in psychology.

Bluder on Kastanek

“Alexa is still ranked as one of the top 100 players in her class, despite not playing this summer due to a slight knee injury. I think that speaks volumes about her talent level. She is a versatile player; she has played every position from point guard to power forward for her high school and AAU teams. Alexa is consistent, works hard on defense, handles the ball extremely well and can finish at the rim. She plays on successful high school and AAU teams and we are very excited about having her in an Iowa uniform.”

[This story was written for Ron Maly by Aaron Blau of Iowa's sports information staff].

JOLTIN' JOE GOT IT STARTED

When Ron Maly was a kid in Cedar Rapids, he wanted to enter an essay contest, and he did. He wrote about Joe DiMaggio of the New York Yankees being his favorite baseball player. For finishing second in the contest, Ron won a Louisville Slugger baseball bat autographed by DiMaggio. Ron later wanted to be the first person in his family to attend college, and he was. He earned a degree in political science from the University of Iowa, and did what all political science majors do. He became a sportswriter. He had, after all, covered high school football, basketball and baseball games for the Cedar Rapids Gazette while he worked parttime during his university days. Ron wanted to sit in the press box and write about an Iowa-Minnesota football game, and he did. It happened while he was the sports editor at the Albert Lea [Minn.] Tribune, and the game was at Memorial Stadium in Minneapolis. Ron wanted to cover a World Series, and he did. Also when he was working for the Albert Lea newspaper. Ron wanted to cover Rose Bowls, Sugar Bowls, Orange Bowls, Cotton Bowls, Holiday Bowls, a Freedom Bowl, a Sun Bowl, a Super Bowl and NCAA basketball tournaments, and he did those things after he moved to Des Moines. Ron was a four-time sportswriter of the Year in the state of Iowa [the years were 1977, 1978, 1994 and 1996]. In 2006, he was named a charter member of the University of Iowa's media Wall of Fame in the Kinnick Stadium press box. A photo of the plaque that's displayed in the press box is displayed above this story. Following Ron's retirement from the newspaper business, a publisher asked him if he wanted to write a book about the rich football tradition at the University of Iowa, and he did. The hardback version of "Tales from the Iowa Sidelines" was a best-seller, and so was the revised, softback version. Now he's been asked by his publisher to update the book for a second time. He's in the process of doing that at the present time. Ron considers being asked to update a best-selling book for the second time to be the supreme compliment, considering the Hawkeyes won just four games in the 2012 season. When Ron isn't working on books, he's busy traveling and spending time with his family. Indeed, he attends the athletic, theatrical and musical [both vocal and instrumental] events in which his six grandchildren participate. He also writes about anything that interests him for his many websites. Every chance he gets, Ron proudly wears his America Needs Farmers T-shirt.

The Hawkeyes' Rich Football Tradition, Revisited

I mentioned a while back that I was in the process of updating my Tales from the Iowa Sidelines book. Updating it for the second time. The original hardback edition of Tales from the Iowa Sidelines [pictured at the right] was published in 2003, during the 10-3 season, when coach Kirk Ferentz and his Iowa football team had a 10-3 record that included a 37-17 victory over 15th-ranked Florida in the Outback Bowl and after the Hawkeyes went 11-2 in 2002. That book was a best-seller, so the publishers came to me again in 2005, a season that finished with a breathtaking 30-25 victory over No. 11 Louisiana State in the Capital One Bowl on New Year's Day, 2005. Because buyers had cleaned out the the shelves in the bookstores, the publishers wanted to know if I'd do an updated version of the book. I agreed, The revised, soft-cover edition [pictured at the left] was published in 2005. Warren Holloway, who teamed with quarterback Drew Tate on a miraculous 56-yard touchdown pass to win the Capital One Bowl, was featured on the cover. That book, too, turned into a best-seller, So I had reason to feel very good about my years as a published author. It's not every day that a the original version is a best-seller, and so is the updated version. Then, imagine my surprise when I received an e-mail from a senior editor at the publishing company last fall, wanting wanted to know if I was interested in doing a second updated version of the book. It came at a time when things weren't going well for the Hawkeyes in the 2012 season. They lost their last six games and finished with a 4-8 record. Frankly, the thought of doing a revised edition of the book during a 4-8 season seemed to be a stretch. "Maybe producing a revised edition in a year or two would be a better idea," I told the publishers. "We'd like to do it now," I was told. "Let me think about it," I said. After a few days of thought, I accepted the idea. I talked myself into the idea that this was the supreme compliment--being asked to do a second book update during a 4-8 season showed strong confidence by the publishers in me and in the Hawkeyes' football program. So I got back into the business of interviewing players and coaches again, going to postgame press conferences, weekly press conferences and a scrimmage in West Des Moines. After a press conference in Iowa City, I did a one-on-one interview with coach Kirk Ferentz, and mentioned to him that I was in the process of doing a revised edition of my two best-selling books. I congratulated him on the excellent things he had done for Iowa's football program--all of which contributed to the success of my books. "I think Coach Fry had more to do with it," he told me, bringing up the name of Hayden Fry, his one-time boss at Iowa and a man who brought Iowa's football program back from the dead in the 20th century. That's modest Kirk Ferentz for you. Even though the 2012 season wasn't something Hawkeye coaches, players and fans will recall with any special feeling, Ferentz has a 14-year record of 100-74 at Iowa that includes two 11-victory seasons [2002 smd 2009], two 10-victory seasons [2003 and 2004], plus he's been the Big Ten coach of year in 2002, 2004 and 2009, and national coach of the year in 2002. Indeed, Ferentz has done some wonderful things at Iowa City, and I fully expect his success to continue. I've concluded my writing for the second update of Tales from the Iowa Sidelines, and the senior editor has furnished me with an early look at the book. Not only are the Kirk Ferentz years included in the updated version, but so is the stuff I previously wrote about Howard Jones, Dr. Eddie Anderson, Heisman Trophy winner Nile Kinnick and the 1939 Hawkeye Ironmen, Ronald Reagan, Ozzie Simmons, Ossie Solem, Randy Duncan, Alex Karras and lots of other legends from Iowa's rich football history. I expect the book to be in stores soon. I hope you like it.