Iowa stud switch arrives with Caitlin Clark’s ghost lingering

Lucy Olsen received a hearty midwestern greeting as quickly as she arrived at Iowa.

Olsen, the nation’s third-leading scorer in Division I girls’s school basketball final yr, transferred to Iowa from Villanova, because the Hawkeyes enter their first season post-Caitlin Clark.

At Massive Ten media day Wednesday, Olsen told reporters she was acknowledged by followers at Chick-fil-A shortly after she arrived on campus in June.

“They get out of the automobile, and so they’re like, ‘Hey, you’re Lucy Olsen, you’re the brand new Hawkeye,’” Olsen stated. “And I used to be like, ‘Yeah, how are you aware me? I haven’t touched the ball but.’ That is loopy, however it was positively a extremely cool time.”

With Clark, Iowa reached the finals of the NCAA Event in 2023 and ’24 earlier than dropping to LSU and South Carolina, respectively.

On the Massive Ten media occasion, Jan Jansen, the brand new Iowa head coach who succeeded Lisa Bluder, was requested if it was a motivating issue that the Hawkeyes are “greater than” Clark and proceed to succeed after she moved on.

“I don’t know if that’s actually the place we’re,” Jansen stated.

“I feel Michael Jordan continues to be a part of North Carolina. They in all probability don’t undergo a recruiting course of the place somebody doesn’t make some reference that Michael Jordan went there. I’m actually happy with that [with Clark]. I really feel like [the players’] mindset is, ‘That was a part of it, however that is right here and that is now.’ I feel they’ve a extremely good strategy on that.

“It’s not utilized in any inappropriate play, for my part. It’s there. It’s apparent. We’re gonna get a variety of questions on that. It’s out of respect and gratitude, however this can be a new chapter.”

New Iowa head coach Jan Jensen says Iowa’s legacy at all times will embrace Caitlin Clark, like North Carolina’s contains Michael Jordan. However the workforce is worked up to write down the subsequent chapter in Iowa WBB historical past. pic.twitter.com/Wq8yyOtxw4

— Scott Dochterman (@ScottDochterman) October 2, 2024

Jansen additionally in contrast and contrasted how Olsen and Clark play the guard place.

“It’s not the traditional solid of characters, and that time guard place goes to be performed loads completely different,” the coach stated. “[Olsen] doesn’t shoot it from Kinnick [the football stadium]. She shoots it from the traditional 3-point line. She will move it, however she’s not going to perhaps make that three-quarter size move. And when she shoots, a variety of them are going to be in that mid-range space. So I feel there’s a enjoyable fashion to her play that’s thrilling to look at, as a result of it’s all artful.”

So far as the challenges of changing Clark, Iowa ahead Hannah Stuelke said, “It’s clearly going to alter. Caitlin’s a loopy scorer. Kate [Martin] introduced loads too. However I feel Lucy brings simply as a lot, and she or he’s an incredible basketball participant. I feel we’re gonna rating another way, perhaps, however I feel we’ll rating simply as a lot. So yeah, completely different — however the identical.”