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Leistikow: 5 changes in Iowa women’s basketball as the Jan Jensen era gets rolling

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Leistikow: 5 changes in Iowa women’s basketball as the Jan Jensen era gets rolling

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IOWA CITY − In the final action of Thursday’s Iowa women’s basketball practice, senior forward Sydney Affolter squared up a 3-pointer from the left wing and knocked it down.

While scoring is nothing new for a high-octane program, Affolter’s face lit up with a smile as her teammates roared. New Hawkeye transfer Lucy Olsen raced toward Affolter, and they gave each other a chest bump. That is how you finish a practice.

And it was one of those reminders that even though this is a clear period of transition for the Hawkeyes’ nationally recognized program, their fun-loving atmosphere hasn’t missed a beat.

That’s the kind of stuff that was important for Jan Jensen, who has been Iowa’s head coach for two months, to maintain after the abrupt mid-May retirement of coaching icon Lisa Bluder.

Bluder is nowhere near the gym these days, an indication that this is Jensen’s show.

And Jensen has begun to put her own stamp on a program that has reached back-to-back national championship games and is now trying to rebuild from the two most amazing years, arguably, from any Hawkeyes team in school history.

This team, in the beginning stages of finding its way without Caitlin Clark, without Kate Martin, without Gabbie Marshall … has arrived with a hunger to match that of their new leader.

Jensen reminds them regularly that many outside the walls of Carver-Hawkeye Arena believe they’ll regress considerably without a generational star like Clark leading the way. Jensen’s hope is that instead of feeling the pressure of a post-Clark existence, this new batch of Hawkeyes will embrace the fun of a major challenge ahead … to prove people wrong.

So far, so good.

“They’re ready for a few more looks. They get a few more shots,” Jensen said. “They get a few more plays called for them, not in a self-centered way, but they worked their tails off. So now this is their time where they can be like, ‘OK, I can really showcase what I’ve been doing my whole career.’

“I think this group, what they’ve showed me, is that it’s fun. And I could not ask for any more energy or just a great work ethic to start.”

A window into Thursday’s practice revealed early clues to what is brewing behind the scenes for the Hawkeye women.

Olsen looks like the real deal at point guard, with her passing and shot creation from 15 feet and in. Freshman Ava Heiden will be an instant-impact force at center and is showing her own potent mid-range game. Junior Taylor McCabe refuses to miss from 3-point range and seems primed for an expanded role. Wisconsin natives Teagan Mallegni and Taylor Stremlow are smooth and confident rookies.

You’ll probably read and hear about how the Jensen era is off to a seamless start from the Bluder era. That was obviously the goal, wasn’t it? For this program to not miss a beat after the retirement of a legend.

But that’s not fully accurate. Look and listen closely, and there are plenty of changes (beyond the roster) already in the works in the Jan Jensen era.

Here are five changes that are underway.

1. A football-inspired coaching staff

Bluder’s retirement, Jensen’s promotion and the retirement of longtime assistant Jenni Fitzgerald essentially opened up two coaching roles on Iowa’s staff. And Jensen landed her top two choices in Randi Henderson (the head coach at Washington-St. Louis) and Sean Sullivan (an assistant coach at North Carolina). Both are former Hawkeyes coming home; Henderson as a former player, Sullivan as a former manager and video coordinator.

“You spend so much time together. It’s not just a professional relationship,” Jensen said. “To me, I’ve got to love you. I’ve got to know you. I’ve got to know that you want to shape these young women first. And then we’re going to win. That was the biggest challenge and nervous thing I faced. It was, ‘OK, if they’re not interested, I’ve got to find that.’ … So, I was hopeful in my first hires that it would be people I knew and I really trusted.”

Jensen is a big-time football fan, and while final details need to be worked out, she’s reassembled her staff to resemble a football-style structure.

The offensive coordinators, so to speak, will be Henderson and Abby Stamp.

Henderson, formerly Randi Peterson when she was a senior in the first year of Bluder/Jensen/Fitzgerald at Iowa (2000-01 season), has familiarity with Iowa’s offense. And, yes, she’ll actually take over Jensen’s renowned role of coaching the post players (though Jensen, much like Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz does with the offensive line, will still gravitate toward that position).

Stamp will continue to as point-guard coach and is a valued expert in out-of-bounds and late-game situations. She’s also taking on a greater role with practice planning, something Bluder had down to a science.

Jensen likes the idea of having defensive coordinators, too, and they will be Raina Harmon and Sullivan. Harmon has always had a passion for the defensive side of the ball (more on that later) while working for offensive-minded coaches (including Central Michigan’s Sue Guevara).

Basketball coaches must collaborate in all areas, obviously, but Jensen’s hope is that by splitting those offense/defense responsibilities that it’ll generate excitement among a decidedly younger coaching staff to take ownership of those areas.

Jensen is 55. Henderson and Harmon are in their 40s; Stamp and Sullivan are in their 30s.

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Raina Harmon will lead Iowa’s defense, recruiting under Jan Jensen

Iowa assistant coach Raina Harmon evaluates her new role, the Jan Jensen era and the Kate Martin effect on her position group.

2. A new face of recruiting in Raina Harmon

Sure, the head coach will always be the No. 1 force in recruiting. But Bluder is gone and the previous front-facing assistant in recruiting, Jensen, is in the top role.

Harmon is a natural to lead in that department: Very outgoing, always with a smile on her face, always bringing straight talk, always looking to build harmony.

“More recruiting. I’ll take the lead on that,” Harmon said. “Which has been fun over the past few months, getting more waist-deep in that. I had a big part of it before, but now just taking it over.”

3. A greater NIL presence, with help from Abby Stamp

This is still in the beginning stages, but Jensen has been vocal that with revenue sharing likely coming in 2025, the Hawkeyes need to be ready when it comes to player acquisition and retention in the coming years.

“It’s such a different model than what we’ve all coached to,” Jensen said recently on the “Talkin’ Hawks” podcast with Laura and Matt VandeBerg. “… The rules haven’t been set yet by the NCAA, but for lack of a better comparison we’re little GMs now. We’re going to have some type of salary cap, which is good.

“But then, you’re operating like a pro team, which none of us signed up for. … So, we’re really fortunate we have a great leader in (athletics director) Beth Goetz. …. But it’s not for the faint of heart how we’re going to get there.”

Jensen has previously said that Bluder will help her out in NIL fund-raising, and Stamp said Thursday that she has been tasked with some NIL responsibilities as well.

4. Changes in defense … and probably better defense

Under Bluder, Iowa has been an offensive juggernaut. One of the reasons for that is because the team practices on that side of the ball relentlessly. Harmon, in particular, has ideas of more full-court pressure on defense – something Bluder did not approve.

“It’ll be interesting to see the things that I present, if they’ll come to fruition or not, but I think I may be able to move the needle just a little bit more,” Harmon said.

Personnel wise, the team is better suited to play better defense. Harmon and Stamp both raved about how good Olsen is defensively. As great as Clark was on offense, she would be the first to admit that she was a defensive liability at times.

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Kylie Feuerbach: Jan Jensen’s transition to head coach has been ‘great’

Kylie Feuerbach meets with the media on July 11, 2024.

“I think Lucy brings a great defensive presence. She’s trying to figure out our defensive scheme,” Harmon said. “But once she’s on the ball, she can get after it. She’s getting a lot of tips. Kylie (Feuerbach) has always been a great defensive presence for us. So, watching those two in tandem has really been fun.

“Ava Heiden, her vertical is insane. She’s already tall, but I think she’s going to be able to adjust some (opponent shots) around the rim.”

Added Stamp: “Collectively, as a team, we have a chance to be pretty well improved defensively, as far as athleticism and length.”

5. Sweet Jan Jensen … the hard-charging boss

Jensen has a flowery disposition on social media, no doubt. But she has hardly been happy-go-lucky since being named head coach on May 13. She even admitted that she has been going so hard that she hasn’t really taken a breath to enjoy her new opportunity.

“There definitely hasn’t been a lazy afternoon by the pool,” Jensen joked.

Stamp, who has been with the program as a player or staff member for 20 of the past 21 years, has noticed a difference in intensity with Jensen at the helm vs. Bluder.

“Lisa worked incredibly hard, too. But Jan is a very, very hard worker,” Stamp said. “There are really no excuses when it comes to working and getting after it. Our practices are a little more on the hop. There’s a little less break time. She wants to go, go, go.

“It’s great. One of the trademarks of our team is that we’re very relentless. You’re going to continue to see that and maybe to another level, that we’re going to keep coming at you.”

Yes, Jensen confirmed after learning of Stamp’s quote, that she is charging harder than ever right now.

This is her time.

This is her team’s time.

The veterans and young players alike are embracing the new opportunity to prove themselves in these offseason moments … just like their head coach.

“These practices have been really, really good,” Feuerbach said. “Honestly, you couldn’t ask for a better incoming class. They pick things up really, really quickly. They all have that competitive drive, which is always something that we want. None of them have been holding us back. They’re just ready to go.”

Hawkeyes columnist Chad Leistikow has served for 29 years with The Des Moines Register and USA TODAY Sports Network. Chad is the 2023 INA Iowa Sports Columnist of the Year and NSMA Co-Sportswriter of the Year in Iowa. Join Chad’s text-message group (free for subscribers) at HawkCentral.com/HawkeyesTexts. Follow @ChadLeistikow on Twitter.

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