"Thats my coach": Jada Gyamfi compliments new Iowa coach Jan Jensen's plans to build on Lisa Bluder's legacy

In May, Jan Jensen was introduced as the new coach of the Iowa Hawkeyes after Lisa Bluder announced her retirement from coaching. After 24 years with the Hawkeyes, leading them to two consecutive NCAA title games, Bluder decided that it was time to pass on the torch.

With the practice sessions starting, Coach Jensen met with her new team. The Iowa WBB Instagram posted a video from the day which Iowa forward, Jada Gyamfi reposted to her story with the message:

"Thats my coach"

Jada's message (Credit: Instagram/jadagyamfi)

In the video, Jan Jensen touched upon the legacy of former coach Bluder, saying:

"But in this new era together, we're gonna build on all the greatness of the GOAT, coach Bluder, that she did for all those years and we're gonna just keep building and keep growing.

As I told each of you in individual texts and calls in group wise, thank you for sticking with me and believing in this place. Because it's gonna be awesome, we're gonna have one heck of a year."

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Jan Jensen retains the talented Iowa roster and prepares for the post-Caitlin Clark era

The time gap between the retirement and new hire announcements was quite short and Jensen managed to keep all of the existing roster and recruits. When asked if there were any hard sells in an interview with The Gazette, Jan Jensen said:

“No, and that made me feel so grateful. It was a beautiful thing. We had a zoom meeting with the team. You can imagine the reactions. There were some tears, some (silence). It was based on so much love.

The (transfer) portal is what it is. I made sure I reached out individually to everybody. All of the conversations were great. Our (incoming freshmen) were next. Lisa was on one phone in the hallway, I was on the other. Then we switched phones, so we both got to talk to everybody. It was one of the most intense, emotional days of my life.”

The Iowa Hawkeyes are already preparing hard for the new season. The expectations from the team and Jan Jensen are huge. However, the Hawkeyes are navigating a new era without their star players, Caitlin Clark, Kate Martin and Gabbie Marshall.

It is yet to be seen how the new team led by Sydney Affolter and Hannah Stuelke will fare against the lofty expectations. For now, the focus is all on the preparation, as seen in the video shared by the Hawkeyes on Instagram.

What are your predictions for the Iowa Hawkeyes' upcoming season? Let us know in the comments section below: