Jan Jensen has been too kind to us to say the least. Iowa’s associate head coach came through again Wednesday, calling Megan Gustafson via FaceTime for an impromptu interview. Jensen coached Gustafson in 2019, when she won the Naismith Trophy.
Gustafson is competing in EuroLeague and connected with us all the way from Greece, eight hours ahead of the Central Time Zone. But she stayed awake (or just got up super early?) to watch Clark win the award live.
“I was like, ‘YES!'” Gustafson said. “She deserves it 100%. I know what she puts in. The work that she puts into it every single day. And she can’t do it without her teammates. And I love what she said about the most important part is that she’s there competing in the Final Four. So I’m just so happy for her and for the team and for the coaches and everything that’s been put into that award. It’s not just an individual award, it’s a team award for sure.”
She and Clark comprise two of the Naismith Trophy winners since the honor was first awarded in 1983, and three Hawkeyes have won it in the past five years (Gustafson ’19, Luka Garza ’21, Clark ’23).
“It takes so much effort, a lot of sacrifice,” Gustafson said. “A lot of time spent in the gym when nobody’s watching. We get the attention but we don’t care about that. All we want to do is get better each and every day. And Caitlin definitely has that drive and that passion to lead the team where it is right now and chase after that national championship, too.”
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