The Daily Iowan WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2024
THE INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA COMMUNITY SINCE 1868
DAILYIOWAN.COM
Jan Jensen brings her smalltown roots to the Iowa women’s basketball head coaching position. Jami Martin-Trainor Executive Editor
jami.martin.trainor@dailyiowan.com
Jan Jensen stands at the center of Carver-Hawkeye Arena during an early fall practice, her iconic long bangs swept across her forehead. A whistle resting in her mouth and left hand tucked in her pocket, Jensen waits for players to get in position after giving drill instructions. She pauses for a beat. “Here we go,” she says. The whistle blows. Not a second later, the high ceilings of Carver-Hawkeye Arena fill with the sound of a nationally ranked women’s basketball team at work. The sharp squeaking of sneakers on shiny hardwood. The thumping of rubber and synthetic leather. Teammates shouting encouragement and reminders. When Jensen is talking to her team, however, the court is dead silent. “You win championships when you freaking just play,” Jensen says to her players between drills. “You know what to do. Compete.” Jensen is one of the most recognized faces in the state. At the University of Iowa, they’ve just handed her the keys to one of Iowa’s most cherished possessions: its women’s basketball team. In the tiny town of Kimballton, around 200 miles from Iowa City, there was no doubt Jensen would succeed. To understand Jensen is to understand where she’s from. Those small-town roots have helped shape the person — and coach — she is today. After repeatedly making history with her players, Lisa Bluder, who had led the Iowa women’s basketball team for 24 years with Jensen as her second in command, announced she was retiring. The news came as a surprise to the Hawkeye community, but considering Bluder was coming off of what could be the most defining year in women’s college basketball history, it’s hard to go up from there. Not 20 minutes later, Jensen, 56, was named the next head coach of Iowa’s program. Iowa’s athletics director Beth Goetz officially welcomed her to the program on May 15, 2024. “I was never pining for this office,” Jensen said, gesturing to the space around her as she sat behind her desk. When she got the offer for her dream job, however, Jensen said she was ready to take that step. Jensen comes into this position with Iowa in a state of flux. Iowa women’s basketball has lost two of its most recognizable faces: Bluder, who is Jensen’s former coach, mentor, and friend. And Caitlin Clark, the player who catalyzed seismic changes to the world of women’s basketball. But Jensen is ready for that change. “We’re making a new era,” she said.
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