“The Queen has spoken!”: Fans react to former Iowa star Caitlin Clark paying tribute to Lisa Bluder after retirement
Fans on social media were understandably excited when young Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark celebrated her former coach Lisa Bluder, who is stepping down from the helm at Iowa after roughly 24 years.
The former no. 1 overall pick in this year`s WNBA Draft took to Twitter to heap a ton of praise towards her former head coach.
"Simply no one better at building a team… Thank you for believing in me more than anyone 🤍 Enjoy retirement, coach. Very much deserved" 🥹
Fans saw Clark's tribute on X, and here's how they reacted to the Fever guard giving her college coach her well-deserved flowers:
A few other fans continued the chain of positivity in the replies, with one fan even saying that Coach Bluder should follow Caitlin Clark to Indiana:
"Hawkeye Legend 👏🏽💐" , writes one fan.
"Iron sharpens iron. Great run as a coach. Two legends in coaching retired this year," says another.
"Maybe she can consult with the @IndianaFever 🤔," posits one fan.
"Built the greatest womens team in college history that never won a chip," says another user.
Lisa Bluder notably coached the Fever guard for her entire time in Iowa City, helping her hone her skills and become arguably the greatest scorer the NCAA hardwood has ever seen.
Under Bluder's tutelage, Clark became the new all-time leading scorer for both men's and women's NCAA basketball, surpassing the previous records held by WNBA star Kelsey Plum and NBA legend Pistol Pete Maravich.
Aside from that, Lisa Bluder also coached Clark's squads to two consecutive appearances in the national title game in 2023 and 2024.
Who is replacing Lisa Bluder?
With Lisa Bluder now heading out of the door, her replacement is set to be former associate head coach Jan Jensen, the school announced.
Jensen has served under Bluder for the last 20 years and is understandably also an integral part of the overall success of Iowa women`s basketball. With her promotion, she is set to be the program`s sixth-ever head coach hired under current athletic director Beth Goetz (via Hawkeye Sports). Overall, Jan Jensen has coached for over 30 years.
Perhaps the greatest asset that Jensen brought to the Iowa Hawkeyes is her incredibly keen eye for recruiting. Over the years, she has managed to secure immensely talented young players including a handful of McDonald`s All-Americans, as well as consensus All-Americans including the indomitable Caitlin Clark.