Lisa Bluder opens up on how she was changed as a person, coach by Caitlin Clark

Though her job as head coach of the Iowa women’s basketball program demands that Lisa Bluder do most of the teaching, planning and coaching, it doesn’t mean it’s not a two-way street. And when a player like Caitlin Clark comes along, Bluder can be the beneficiary as much as anybody else.

Clark is in the waning days of her Iowa basketball career, as she’ll be off to the WNBA Draft when the NCAA Tournament run ceases for the Hawkeyes. On Monday, she played her final game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, as her No. 1 seeded Iowa team fended up an upset-minded No. 8 seed in West Virginia.

And after Clark had done her usual work to dispatch the Mountaineers — 32 points, eight rebounds in a 64-54 win — Bluder was asked to reflect all on she learned coaching the star over four years after her home career had wrapped up.

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“For her to do that every single night and really never have a bad night, to do that with seeing the best defense that she can get every single night, everybody doing different things to her, pulling off being a great teammate, not having people be jealous of her on this team, filming a commercial one day, being in practice fully ready to go the next day, that has impressed me,” Bluder said.

And she added that the way Clark (and other Iowa players) have handled themselves as NIL became the norm and their lives became more commercialized has been admirable.

“I guess I’m just more appreciative of what these young ladies are going through today as far as social media and the haters out there,” Bluder said. “I think I just appreciate them and feel they have a really — it’s a great time to be a female athlete, and it’s also a really hard time. It’s both. It really is.”

The Hawkeyes surely have no plans on their run ending any time soon after losing in the national championship game last season. A Sweet 16 matchup is the next thing in their way.

But Bluder is a useful avatar for what Clark has done this season, and across her storied career.

“I just think I appreciate her so much, her skills,” Bluder said. “I’m very appreciative — I appreciate how she has handled this. Her crown is heavy. She has been the face of women’s basketball — and you could even say men’s basketball — all year long.”