Gustafson Embraces Her Hawkeye Past
She was assigned two escorts, following her wherever she went to make sure she wouldn’t be bothered, but Megan Gustafson has never been bothered with the attention.
The former Iowa center, back in Carver-Hawkeye Arena for Sunday's ceremony to retire her No. 10 jersey, was walking back to her seat in the second half when she stopped to take a photo with a fan.
Kids began to flock, and one of the guards stopped them. No worries — Gustafson made sure to high-five every one of them.
The reason why Gustafson’s No. 10 jersey was raised to the rafters was because she was the school’s all-time leading scorer and rebounder, because she was a consensus national player of the year last season, because she was a consensus All-American.
But that number means more. How she represented the Hawkeyes through her career that ended last season means as much as the numbers.
Sunday was about Gustafson, but to Gustafson, the day was about being a Hawkeye.
Which is why anyone who came up to her got a greeting, or an autograph, or a photo, or whatever.
“I love representing Iowa. I’m going to represent Iowa from here on out, even after I’m gone,” Gustafson said after the ceremony honoring her after the Hawkeyes’ 74-57 win over Michigan State.
“I don’t play the game of basketball just because of the game. I play it to inspire other people, to inspire other girls and boys, that they can play and they can realize their own dreams.”
Dreams can make you cry sometimes, which is why Gustafson got emotional as her number was raised.
“Just seeing it unravel, seeing my number go up. It kind of hit me that this is real, that I was able to accomplish this dream I had,” she said.
Lisa Bluder understands the Gustafson impact better than anyone, as the coach who watched her grow into her status on and off the court.
“She was somebody to cheer for,” Bluder said. “We always want someone to cheer for, and she was the perfect person to cheer for. You couldn’t have asked for a better representative of our program than Megan was. She is such a kind person. And that goes a long way these days.
“Being nice to people, it’s kind of a lost art sometimes.”
Gustafson finished her career with 2,804 points and 1,460 rebounds. She set 12 Iowa records and eight Big Ten records. Last season, in helping Iowa to a Big Ten Tournament title and an Elite Eight appearance in the NCAA tournament, she led the nation in five categories, including scoring (27.8 points), field goal percentage (.696), and total points (1,001).
Her seats for the game were courtside, across from the bench with so many of her former teammates.
“It was so fun,” Gustafson said. “Great seats, thank you. I really wanted to go out and suit up, to be honest.
“It was weird. I was like, ‘I should be out there.’”
The Hawkeyes have moved on without Gustafson, and that’s been the plan all along, Bluder said. They moved to 17-3 overall, 8-1 in the Big Ten and all alone in first place.
“I could not be more proud of these young women,” Bluder said. “We’re moving forward. We never look back. We love Megan. It was move forward, move forward. And I think this team has done a remarkable job of doing that.”
Senior guard Kathleen Doyle said she was never concerned that the Hawkeyes could have this kind of season.
“It happens to every team,” Doyle said, referring to the loss of Gustafson as well as seniors Hannah Stewart and Tania Davis. “We had a really good year last year, which magnified it.”
Gustafson was as animated as anyone when the Hawkeyes outscored Michigan State 28-9 in the fourth quarter. At one point, when Doyle scored and was fouled, Gustafson pointed at Doyle, and Doyle pointed back.
“I had to give her some love,” Doyle said.
Gustafson teared up in the post-game ceremony, as her number was raised.
“That’s kind of when it hit me,” she said. “The whole day was kind of busy. My head was spinning.”
Asked if the day went as she thought it would, Gustafson said, “I think it was everything, and more. Just being able to come back is pretty surreal.”
Gustafson is playing professionally in Hungary. She wants to come back and play in the WNBA next season — she played for the Dallas Wings last season.
Gustafson hung out with the Hawkeyes before the game, and she celebrated after.
“They really shaped me into the person I am today,” she said.
Her day was an embrace of the past. And the past embraced her back.
“No matter where you are in life,” Gustafson said, “you can accomplish really good things.”
