New Iowa HC Jan Jensen pays tribute to Lisa Bluder amid retirement news: "She rose to the goat status in every realm"
New Iowa Hawkeyes coach Jan Jensen has been waiting in the wings for 20 years as associate head coach of the program, serving under coach Lisa Bluder, who announced her retirement on Monday. The pair shares a long history together, making the appointment of Jansen as coach the natural progression for the Hawkeyes.
After being named her mentor's successor on Wednesday, Jansen posted a heartfelt message of gratitude to Bluder on Instagram.
"My heartfelt thx to my mentor, my boss & especially my dear friend @lisabluder. She rose to🐐status in every realm & emphatically 'Grew The Game'. But,most importantly, she "grew people"...she certainly helped 'grow' me. Love you, Lis & forever grateful to be part of your legacy❤️," Jansen wrote.
Jan Jensen the natural successor to Lisa Bluder
Former Iowa coach Lisa Bluder started coaching at Drake in 1990, when the new Iowa coach, Jan Jensen, was a senior at the program. Bluder recruited her former player to become an assistant to her at Drake for four years.
Afterward, the supportive Bluder also recruited her to become a coach when she left for Iowa, after which Jansen became an associate head coach and one of the best recruiters in the country for the past 20 years.
The duo has presided over the most successful period for the Hawkeyes, winning multiple Big Ten titles and reaching two consecutive national championship games while coaching possibly the best-ever college basketball player in Caitlin Clark.
During her unveiling news conference on Wednesday afternoon, Jansen promised to keep the traditions championed by the popular Lisa Bluder, which will come as a warm welcome to Iowa fans and players.
"The same vision that I had working with Lisa will be continuing," Jan Jensen said. "You want to do it at a very high level. You want to do it with integrity, never compromising your values, and you want to put a product on the floor that's fun to watch and fun to cheer for and fun to play. That will remain the same."
Jan Jansen also revealed that she had gotten other job offers over the years, but she turned them down to remain on the Iowa staff.
"Some people had called. And I talked, but at the end of the day, there's no place I wanted to be," Jensen said. "So that's why I feel grateful that it worked out. I don't know what the odds are in Vegas that it would work out again, but all I care about is right now."
The blueprint for success has already been laid out by Lisa Bluder, and Jan Jensen knows it inside out, but she will have to continue the vision without the help of perhaps the greatest and most competitive shooter in women's college basketball, Caitlin Clark.