KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Former Iowa State women's star Audi Crooks, who was second nationally in scoring last season, said she left the Cyclones for Oklahoma State after "honest conversations" with her former team.
Crooks, who earned Associated Press All-America second-team honors after averaging 25.8 PPG and 7.7 RPG, was the No. 1 player in the transfer portal this offseason, according to ESPN's rankings. One of America's most dominant players, Crooks and Iowa State lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament to Syracuse.
Nine Iowa State players transferred, including Crooks, who did not make her decision to leave Ames until late April. When asked if Iowa State could compete "financially" to keep her in town, she said "no comment."
"Of the ones that transferred, I was the very last to leave. It's never easy to make those types of decisions. I was there for three years, so I'm not going to sit around and be callous about that," Crooks said during Big 12 media day on Wednesday. "I have a lot of love and care for those people and I always will. But at the end of the day, I had some really honest conversations about the ability to rebuild a roster, and then saw that this [Oklahoma State] roster was already looking pretty dang strong. I entered the portal and then started having those conversations with other schools. I figured this would be my place."
At Oklahoma State, she'll play alongside one of America's top point guards. Former Florida star Liv McGill averaged 22.5 PPG, 6.1 RPG and 6.3 APG last season. Crooks said McGill was a major factor in her decision.
"I played against [Oklahoma State women's head coach Jacie Hoyt] for the last three years and lost quite a few of those matchups, so I just loved her competitive spirit and nature," she said. "And then when Liv McGill comes here, I want her to be my point guard."
Crooks' in-conference move will set up one of the most anticipated women's games of the year when Oklahoma State travels to Ames to play at Iowa State on Jan. 9. Crooks left Ames as a legend but could return as a villain.
"I can't control the reception," longtime Iowa State women's head coach Bill Fennelly said at Big 12 media day. "I don't know what it's going to be. It'll be mixed, probably."
He added: "She played three really good years, and she added a lot to our team. She's part of a really good team now."
Crooks said she doesn't spend "a lot of time" thinking about that upcoming matchup because she's focused on the season ahead overall.
"I think I don't try to look too far ahead. I try to stay present in the moment," she said. "I mean, we'll get there when we get there, but that's a long way away. We've got to handle all of our business that's in front of us before we get to that point."