{"id":826222,"date":"2025-03-04T11:00:07","date_gmt":"2025-03-04T16:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/?p=826222"},"modified":"2025-03-04T11:00:12","modified_gmt":"2025-03-04T16:00:12","slug":"audi-crooks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/slam-university\/digital-covers\/audi-crooks\/","title":{"rendered":"Iowa State’s Audi Crooks is the CENTER OF ATTENTION | SLAMU 6 Digital Cover"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Don\u2019t let the smile fool you, Audi Crooks is a force to be reckoned with. It seems like no one on Kansas State could stop the 6-3 center when the Cyclones played the Wildcats just three days ago on March 2. That\u2019s because, well, they literally couldn\u2019t, especially not in the paint, where she bulldozed through her defenders with strength and versatility. It was in the second quarter where Crooks shook \u2019em off, annihilating K-State\u2019s attempt at a double-team and hitting a floater right over senior Kennedy Taylor.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Cyclones, up by 2 points, went crazy with excitement after the play, from the bench to head coach Bill Fennelly to sophomore guard Kelsey Joens<\/strong><\/a> and forward Addy Brown, who gave a smiling Crooks a celebratory chest bump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Through the highs and lows of this season, Crooks has been the force propelling the Cyclones forward when they\u2019ve needed it the most. The previous time Iowa State played K-State, in late January, Crooks had a double-double of 28 points and 11 boards in a down-to-the-wire OT thriller, with Iowa State coming out on top, 79-87. This time around, she finished with 36 and 10 in the 85-63 upset win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf we throw it in there, we know it’s going up and it’s going in,\u201d sophomore forward Addy Brown told us earlier this season. \u201cThat’s a good thing to have inside, and we kind of play around her.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Crooks has been dominating in the post since her high school days at Bishop Garrigan High School in Algona, IA, where she led her squad to back-to-back state titles and inked her name in the state record books. She broke the tournament record by dropping 49 points in the state championship game, doing so while ducking the haters who tried to call her a one-hit wonder, like she does her defenders. \u201cThe critics say sometimes that all I do is get baskets right under the basket,\u201d she told The Gazette <\/em>in 2023. \u201cI mean this in the most humble way: It works.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s at Iowa State that Crooks has perfected the art of posting up. The minute the Cyclones get possession of the ball on the offensive end, Audi is always right there, scheming under the basket and boxing out or dancing with her defenders. Sometimes she\u2019ll take a few dribbles and then either push right past her opponent or go right under them for a smooth layup finish. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What\u2019s even scarier for everyone is that this season, Crooks has been challenging herself to knock down jumpers from the mid-range, too. After earning All-Big 12 honors as a freshman, she locked in on it during the offseason. \u201cI took the time to appreciate what I did my first year, but also improve,\u201d Crooks tells us. \u201c[I] focused a lot [on] turning up [on] the defensive end of the floor, being a better defender, being a better shot blocker, and then also coming out of the paint a little bit [with my] mid-range game, trusting myself with the rock and trusting myself to be able to handle the ball.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s that trust\u2014in herself and from her squad\u2014that\u2019s led Crooks to emerge into a college basketball star as just a sophomore. \u201cI chose Iowa State because it made me feel cared for as a person, not just for what I do on a basketball court,\u201d Crooks told us when asked about her decision to play for the Cyclones. During her recruiting process, Fennelly and his staff worked hard to make sure she felt that way, from dining at her favorite restaurant, Cinco De Mayo, a local Mexican spot in Algona, to sending her a picture of her future locker. They even defended her against the aforementioned critics, including on the night that Crooks led her high school squad to a state title. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a disgruntled fan questioned whether she could play at the next level in college, Fennelly remembers snapping back at them then. \u201cWe’re not recruiting somebody to sit on the bench,\u201d he told them then per The Des Moines Register<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That so-called fan, and really anyone who has doubted her ability to compete in college, couldn\u2019t have been more wrong. As a freshman, Crooks played in every game, and by the fifth, became a starter. She then broke records, became the first Cyclone freshman ever to be named an All-American and captivated the world while leading the Cyclones to the NCAA tournament, where she had a monstrous 40-point performance in the first-round win against Maryland. Then Crooks held her own in the paint against future WNBA first-rounder Cameron Brink when Iowa State played Stanford in the second-round. Despite the loss, it was the first time the Cyclones had made it that far in the postseason since 2020-21. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now in her sophomore campaign, Crooks has upped her numbers across the stat sheet and is currently averaging a career-high 23 ppg on an even more efficient 60 percent from the field. Anytime she\u2019s on the floor, you can see she plays with joy\u2014and an ever-present smile\u2014that her teammates feed off. It\u2019s been the case from the moment she arrived, recalled senior guard Emily Ryan. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI just remember when she came on and [visited] the first time, just her personality stands out right away,\u201d Ryan explained. \u201cShe’s a light, and she lights up every room she walks into.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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That energy has been needed, especially this year as the Cyclones have had to grind their way through a tough season. By the time this SLAMU digital cover appears on your feed, their record is 21-10. Expectations are high, especially coming from Fennelly, now in his 30th season coaching in Ames. \u201cHe’s going to be tough on you,\u201d Crooks told us, adding: \u201cBut at the end of the day, you know that he loves you and that he supports you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the Cyclones have yet to make it past the second round of the tournament, they\u2019ve got all the pieces to make a run this March. Their top three scorers include Ryan, a poised and elite veteran leader who helps set up the offense, as well as Brown, who is averaging 15 points and 8 rebounds a game. They have plenty of other experienced bucket-getters, too, and just two freshmen on their entire roster.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Audi is their anchor, though, and where she goes\u2014or posts up\u2014they all follow. As the Cyclones gear up for the BIG 12 conference tournament, they\u2019ll all need to show up for every possession and every match up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201dShe just dominates,\u201d Ryan said of Crooks. \u201cIt\u2019s what she does, and being able to have that enforcer in the paint is huge for us both on the floor. You know what to expect from her every day. She’s super consistent.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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For No. 55, consistency is \u201ckey,\u201d she says, not just right now at Iowa State or in the tournament, but throughout her playing career. When asked how she wants to elevate her game, Crooks elaborated: \u201cI think a part of my game that I like to elevate is not necessarily going to show up on the stat board. I’d like to be a better communicator. I’d like to be a better leader and just more consistent overall, whether that be in the paint, at the mid-range, setting screens, whatever it is, even on the defensive end,\u201d Crooks said. \u201cAfter Iowa State, I would like to play professionally somewhere. We\u2019ll see.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s with those words that a smile appears on her face yet again. Only time will tell whether she\u2019ll be the one having the last laugh\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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SHOP IOWA STATE COLLECTION<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Portraits by Matthew Coughlin<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Don\u2019t let the smile fool you, Audi Crooks is a force to be reckoned with. It seems like no one on Kansas State could stop the 6-3 center when the Cyclones played the Wildcats just three days ago on March 2. That\u2019s because, well, they literally couldn\u2019t, especially not in the paint, where she bulldozed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":424,"featured_media":826223,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[65307],"tags":[65310,62525,7609,678,63367,6157,63726],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-826222","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-digital-covers","tag-audi-crooks","tag-feature-1","tag-iowa-state","tag-iowa-state-cyclones","tag-the-magazine","tag-womens-college-basketball","tag-wslam"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/826222","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/424"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=826222"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/826222\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":826231,"href":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/826222\/revisions\/826231"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/826223"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=826222"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=826222"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=826222"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.slamonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=826222"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}