Iowa’s Monika Czinano (25) shoots the ball over Creighton’s Emma Rosniek in the closing second of an NCAA Tournament second-round game on March 20, 2022 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. (Rob Howe/HawkeyeNation.com)
Hawkeyes Have Talent Around Caitlin Clark
IOWA CITY, Iowa - Caitlin Clark is the face of Iowa women’s basketball. That is not up for debate.
The Hawkeyes have sold a program-record 5,200 season tickets so far. Thanks, Caitlin.
The junior point guard’s reach goes beyond Carver-Hawkeye Arena, too. She’s on a short list of candidates for national player of the year, and takes the court this season as a reigning first-team all-American and Big Ten Player of the Year. She has an NIL deal with Nike.
“She’s poised,” Iowa associate head coach Jan Jensen said. “She’s confident. She’s swag.”
But here’s the truth about Coach Lisa Bluder’s 23rd Iowa team. The Hawkeyes are much more than an elite player, even though Clark is a generational talent. They are a team that includes an elite player. All for one, one for all.
Clark gets - and deserves - the headlines. She became the first player in women’s history to lead the nation in both scoring (27.0 points) and assists (8.0) last season. She won the Dawn Staley Guard of the Year Award for a second straight season and was also named the Nancy Lieberman Point Guard of the Year.
Clark makes life easier for the four senior starters that join her for the opening tip - Monika Czinano, Gabbie Marshall, McKenna Warnock and Kate Martin. But those four also make life easier for Clark.
“They have a cynergy about them, don’t they?” Bluder said.
Those four seniors bring 356 career games, 271 career starts and 3,771 points with them into this season.
“I think the biggest thing is that we’re best friends off the court,” Clark said. “And it’s not like that everywhere else. I think it's the culture that Coach Bluder has built here. It speaks to the product you see on the court. It’s not fake. We love each other. We love stepping on the court every single day.”
Jensen said the pieces fit at Iowa because of some give and take.
“They all have to buy into it,” Jensen said. “The star entity and the team entity, they all have to give a little. They all have bought into it.”
Bluder calls Martin “the glue of our team.” Martin said the Hawkeyes are a tightly-bonded group that have learned to play to defined roles.
“We have a team full of people who want to buy in,” Martin said. “And we have a team full of people who have a common goal. And we know if we want to reach our goals at the end of the season, then you’re going to have to buy in.”
Martin said it took some time to adjust to Clark and her immense talents.
“Cailtin is just who she is,” Martin said. “She’s a good person and she wants what is best for us.”
Warnock said that Clark’s presence gives her teammates a bounce in their collective step.
“I think everyone knows their role, but I also think Caitlin just brings a level to our team as well,” Warnock said. “Great players elevate the players around them. She’s done an amazing job of that. And I think that’s why we’ve been able to be successful. I think she elevates everyone so well, and that’s how we’ve grown the past couple of years.”
Czinano, a first-team all-Big Ten center last season and named to the preseason all-Big Ten team last week, has started 89 games and scored 1,763 points. She played a season at Iowa with national player of the year Megan Gustafson. This will be her third season as Clark’s teammate.
“Our first year was kind of navigating that road,” Czinano said. “She’s like the catalyst, and we go with her. You can’t watch Caitlin without watching us, and that’s a fact. We’ve developed that circle, that understanding, all of us together. She has a lot on her plate.She’s very blessed and she realizes that, too. But at the end of the day she’s a 20-year-old kid, and we have to be there for her. And be her friend. She’s just like us.”
Bluder would be the first to tell you that you never know how a freshman is going to fit in with a team. But it didn’t take long for the coach to see that Clark’s immense skills came with a team approach in 2020-21.
“Everybody sees that she’s the hardest worker,” Bluder said. “Everybody sees all the extra time she puts in. She’s a great teammate as far as crediting her teammates with success and building them up all the time. I think part of that is due to Caitlin, and I think part of it is the culture of our program. We really stress that everyone is important on our team. Everyone matters.”
