The University of Iowa women's basketball team and head coach Jan Jensen will be entering their first season without star player Caitlin Clark since 2019.
The Hawkeyes started 12-4 and were ranked 23rd in the nation, but struggled in conference play in their first year in the newly expanded Big Ten, going just 2-3.
Jensen told reporters after Thursday's loss to Illinois, citing the youth of the current roster, that the Hawkeyes have lost back-to-back conference games for the first time since Clark's freshman season. He spoke of the “lack of senior leadership.”
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“I can't afford to compare what happened in the past because they've given me so much and they're still young. And I think I'm developing a little bit of senior leadership or senior leadership. We need to do it because it's ours,'' Jensen said.
In four seasons at the University of Iowa, Clark broke NCAA all-time scoring records for both men and women and led the team to the NCAA Championship Game twice. She was also named All-American Player of the Year as a junior and senior.
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Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Lisa Bruder (left) and Caitlin Clark speak during practice for the Iowa vs. South Carolina game in the NCAA Women's College Basketball Championship on April 6, 2024. (Zach Boyden Holmes/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
Clark was selected with the first pick by the Indiana Fever in last year's WNBA Draft after his career at Iowa State.
As a WNBA rookie in 2024, Clark set records for most points and 3-pointers by a rookie in league history, as well as becoming the first rookie to record a triple-double, a feat he accomplished twice. Her 337 assists were not only the most by a rookie, but the most ever by a player in a single season.
The Iowa State women's basketball team announced that it will hold a ceremony to retire Clark's jersey on February 2nd.
Clark's number 22. heatwill be hung from the rafters at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City after a ceremony honoring the program's most accomplished players.
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Iowa's Caitlin Clark reacts while playing Holy Cross in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on March 23, 2024 in Iowa City, Iowa. (Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press Citizen/USA TODAY NETWORK)
Clark is also expected to attend, and the event will be broadcast on FOX.
Clark's jersey retirement comes just two months after Time magazine named her Athlete of the Year. The choice drew praise, but also criticism from some, including Washington Mystics owner Sheila Johnson. What I've been wondering about lately In an interview with CNN, Clark talked about why he was chosen for that honor rather than the entire WNBA. Johnson suggested it had something to do with Clark's race.
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