Iowa’s Lucy Olsen reveals being bewildered after Lisa Bluder’s call: “I had no idea”
It didn't take Lisa Bluder much time to land Lucy Olsen from the transfer portal. The Iowa Hawkeyes was the first program to reach out to the point guard, with Bluder herself giving Olsen a call. Soon, her parents were on a Zoom call with the coaching staff and Olsen was on her way to Iowa.
However, since her commitment, Bluder has stepped down from the coaching mantle and is replaced by Jan Jensen. So, when Lucy Olsen appeared on Players' Tribune's "Sometimes I Hoop" podcast, she was asked about her sentiments on the unexpected coaching change by host Haley Jones.
"I mean right when she called me I was like 'what,' cuz I had no idea," Olsen said. "And she like didn't mention it, she like didn't know yet. But when she was like 'coach J is taking over' I'm like 'okay.' I met her she was always there when I was with Coach Bluder, so I don't know if that was on purpose or not but she was always there."
"I loved her and then I loved the rest of the coaching staff too, they were all staying. And then when the whole team was staying too, that like solidified it for me. I'm like 'okay Coach J has got to be pretty awesome if the rest of them are staying, if they didn't like her at all they would leave.'" (03:04)
Lucy Olsen has already developed a bond with Caitlin Clark
Being a transfer from Villanova, Olsen had her work cut out when she arrived in Iowa. Alongside the pressure of being the third-best scorer in Division I, she had the pressure of carrying Iowa’s legacy and one-of-a-kind fandom.
However, in the abovementioned podcast, Lucy Olsen revealed that she has an open line with Caitlin Clark, who offered her assistance to navigate the tough areas of college basketball.
"I've talked to Caitlin a little bit,” Olsen said. “She's very nice. She's like 'let me know if you need anything. I'm always here. I went through a lot and I got you.'" (05:20)
However, Olsen has yet to reach out to the best player in program history. Just like USC’s coach Lindsay Gottlieb, who needed advice about maintaining star player JuJu Watkins, Lucy Olsen avoided contacting Clark due to her tiring rookie WNBA season.