Let's separate myth from reality. As a freshman, Alexa's game needed a lot of development. She was recruited as a zone busting guard but she shot the ball very poorly and her defense was very suspect. She did work hard and would periodically make a play, where you would go "I did not know she had that in her".
She got better during her sophomore year and had her best LV season as a junior: that season, she shot close to 40% from behind the arc; had several big offensive games, and became a very solid defender. She was poised to be a major contributor before she transferred.
Regardless of the reason for her departure, the argument that she was dying on the vine as a LV and then suddenly blossomed when she went to Iowa St is just not true. Her stat line for this is fairly comparable to her junior year as a LV:
Middleton_LV