“I love coaching this group already” — Iowa HC Jan Jensen pumped up training young guns after taking over from Lisa Bluder

Jan Jensen reflected on her early experience of coaching the Iowa women's basketball team. She shared a clip of a training session with the group and gave her views on how it has been as their head coach so far. She seems to have settled into her new role, a month after being promoted to take over the program from Lisa Bluder.

Jensen has been on the Iowa coaching staff since the turn of the century. She spent 24 years as the associate head coach before being promoted to head coach last month. Now, she is tasked with achieving what the team came so close to in the last two seasons: a national championship title.

In an Instagram story, the Iowa Hawkeyes women's basketball head coach shared how she feels about leading the team:

“I love coaching this group already.”

Coach Jensen on coaching Iowa's young guns.

The clip she shared was originally posted by the Hawkeyes on social media. It showed Jensen mic’d up during a training session, encouraging the players. She also talked about the importance of discipline, saying that it doesn't guarantee confetti but there would be none whatsoever without it.

Her predecessor Lisa Bluder announced her retirement from the head coaching role in May, about a month after the end of the 2023-24 season. Under her, Iowa reached the national championship game for the first time in its history. So, the only thing Jensen can do to separate herself is win the title.

Jada Gyamfi backs Jan Jensen with a three-word message

Jan Jensen already enjoys a good rapport with the Iowa women's basketball team, as she has been with the girls for a long time. But being the head coach is different from being in any other role in the program. As the Hawkeyes assembled for their summer practice sessions, the new boss got the backing of one of the biggest stars on the team, Jada Gyamfi. She took to her Instagram story to share a three-word message for Jensen:

“That's my coach.”

Jada Gyamfi's message for the new boss. (Credit: Instagram/@jadagyamfi)

Gyamfi and others will have to step up for the team, as they won't have the services of Caitlin Clark anymore. While most of the roster has been retained, Clark's absence since leaving for the WNBA is still a big void to fill.