IOWA CITY — It’s scary how many tricks and treats are in Dani Carnegie’s bag. And they were all on display Thursday night as the junior guard suited up in a Hawkeye uniform for the first time in front of the home crowd at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
In an exhibition game against Maryville, Carnegie tallied 30 points, five assists, three rebounds and zero turnovers in 22 minutes during Iowa’s 124-67 win over the Division II Saints. After a slow start for the new-look Hawkeyes, Carnegie connected on a smooth jump shot at the 3:30 mark in the first quarter and opened her bag, which also included 3-pointers, drives to the basket and a fast-break layup.
“Dani has that ability to kind of just create something, see some things happen, and see them before, and she’s got a good sense,” Iowa head coach Jan Jensen told reporters postgame. “I think working her into the system … you got to remember these guys have been here just since June, and she played a whole different type of system.
“So she’s trying to learn the system and get everyone involved, but also we’re trying to not thwart all those things that she can do individually. But I think you saw a good idea [of] what she’s going to be capable of and what she can do.”
Carnegie took a humble approach to her second 30-point performance this preseason. She had a double-double with 31 points and 13 rebounds in a closed scrimmage against Oklahoma State a couple weeks ago.
“Everything happens because of my teammates. They put me in the right position, where I need to be,” she told reporters after Thursday’s game. “Whatever I need to do to help the team win.”
She did, however, admit that the game comes easily to her.
“Whatever the defense gives me, that’s what I’m going to take. If they don’t see my teammates open, kick the ball. Just play basketball, have fun. That’s my biggest thing,” she added.
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A place to call home
Thursday wasn’t the first time Carnegie had played in Carver-Hawkeye Arena this year. In March, she started for Georgia in a first-round NCAA Tournament game hosted by Iowa. Carnegie had 8 points, five assists and three rebounds in Georgia’s 82-73 overtime loss to Virginia.
The loss ended her sophomore season, during which she averaged 17.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game and was unanimously voted first-team All-SEC.
But for the second straight year, her head coach left in the offseason. Georgia and Katie Abrahamson-Henderson parted ways shortly after the tournament. Carnegie had transferred to Georgia after her freshman year at Georgia Tech — in which she was the ACC Sixth Player of the Year — after Georgia Tech head coach Nell Fortner retired.
So Carnegie again entered the transfer portal, looking for a program where she could thrive and a coach she could trust.
“I wanted a player connection. I want to be close to my coach,” Carnegie told The IX Sports on Wednesday. “The past two coaches I had, they were some good coaches. Things didn’t go right, so it’s OK. It’s life.”
A visit to Iowa on April 11 sold her on the program — and the coach. Carnegie announced her decision on social media the next day.
“Coach Jan is a very open person. We listen to each other. We both hear each other’s goods and bads, what we think and stuff, and that’s what I love about her. She’s very accepting of everything, and she has a listening ear,” Carnegie said.
Carnegie also has a listening ear in Iowa assistant coach LaSondra Barrett, who was an assistant coach at Georgia Tech her freshman year.
“It’s far away from home, and just to know I have a trusted person up here as an adult — even when I was at Tech, she never steered me the wrong way. She always wanted the best for me, and I love that,” Carnegie said. “You always want a coach that you can trust and believe in, and throughout life, it’s a long-lasting relationship.”
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Carnegie has another familiar face at Iowa in junior guard Chazadi “Chit-Chat” Wright. Wright not only was Carnegie’s teammate at Georgia Tech, but is also a longtime friend she grew up with in the Atlanta area.
“She’s a best friend,” Carnegie said. “We grew up together, technically, and just to see what she has become and how she’s grown into herself is just great and amazing. But I just know that I got one of the best point guards around me, so I’m chilling every day.”
While Wright played a part in Carnegie’s recruitment, the entire package sealed the deal.
“It was more like me and the whole team and the coaches, because that’s who I’m gonna be with. Not just Chat, but I will have her. That’s a bonus,” Carnegie said. “But just me and everybody, seeing how the genuineness was, the togetherness and everything was great.”
Carnegie’s family made the 13-hour drive from Atlanta to Iowa City in March for the NCAA Tournament and was in Carver on Thursday for her debut in a Hawkeye uniform.
Norton Carnegie, Dani’s dad, told The IX Sports that the Carnegies had been watching Iowa ever since Wright transferred there because the two families are so close.
The Carnegies plan to attend all of Iowa’s home games, saying the 13-hour drive is “nothing.”
“Everything works out,” Norton Carnegie said. “It’s fate.”
Barrett told The IX Sports a story about when the Carnegies came to Iowa City for the NCAA Tournament game.
“They thought it was a football game going on because the tailgating was out,” Barrett said. “So it’s funny to hear the story of that because they’re like, ‘We already know we were impressed then.’ And that was pre-portal.”
Jocelyn Faison, a second-year guard/forward, also transferred to Iowa after playing her freshman year at Georgia with Carnegie.
“She was a great support system for me as well,” Carnegie said of Faison. “She didn’t play a lot, but I will always listen to her because she can see what I can’t see on the floor, and just the respect that we have for each other. We know each other, our families know each other, and it’s just like she’s my sister as well. And it’s just a bond that can’t be broken.”
Expect Faison to have a bigger role with the Hawkeyes this season. She impressed Thursday off the bench with 14 points and eight rebounds.
Barrett echoed Carnegie in saying that having familiar faces far from home is comforting, but Iowa’s entire package is the key selling point in the recruiting process.
“I think people appreciate where the love and the support is. I think that’s the biggest sell,” Barrett said. “To be able to have Caitlin [Clark]‘s shoe release here and be able to sell out 15,000 [seats regularly at Carver-Hawkeye], I think … most people want to be a part of that. I think the age of staying home and staying close to home is kind of like null and void now. I think people want to go where women’s basketball is treated right and is done right. And Iowa’s that place.”
High expectations
Coming to Iowa as one of the top-rated prospects in last spring’s transfer cycle, Carnegie has already made a splash before the first regular-season game Monday against Towson.
She is on several preseason watch lists, including for the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award, which recognizes the country’s top shooting guard, and the Naismith Trophy, which is given to the national player of the year.
But ever soft-spoken and steady, Carnegie is focused on the team and getting everybody on the same page.
“I try to be calm and make sure everybody’s level-headed and they have confidence in themselves, so that when it’s time to go, we’re ready,” she said.
She added, “A goal that I have for my team [is] we can take it one day at a time, take it one game at a time for sure. Togetherness is our biggest thing, so that’s what we dwell on, and just a legacy that we can hold for the past players and past coaches.
“The accomplishments will come with that. It’s just we want to do everything together and for each other, so that’s a big thing. Individual success — whatever comes, comes. I’m just grateful for everything.”
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