Jennie Baranczyk recalls fond memories of Iowa, but focused on reaching Sweet 16

Now 21 years since her playing days at Iowa, Jennie Baranczyk still likes to compete on the court. 

Baranczyk was a star for Iowa from 2000-2004, as a three-time All-Big Ten Conference selection only and graduated as the only player in Iowa history ranked in the top 10 of five major statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks. She is also one of only three Hawkeyes to score more than 1,700 points and grab 800 rebounds in their career. The other two are Megan Gustafson and Caitlin Clark. 

Now in her fourth season as the head women’s basketball coach at Oklahoma, Baranczyk occasionally reminds her team just how good she was. 

“She definitely has shown it,” senior guard Payton Verhulst said. “Yeah — no, I know. All good things. I promised Jennie. She definitely has shown us in practice, and she’s kicked our butt some, too; we’ve kicked her butt. Sometimes she doesn’t want to admit that maybe.”

For Baranczyk, she enjoys getting back on the court.

“Sometimes I have to step in and humble them,” Baranczyk said, “and sometimes I get humbled. I just do it because I love it and it’s fun, and sometimes it’s just a little bit more efficient when you’re trying to figure some things out on scout team.”

On Monday at 3 p.m. CT at the Lloyd Noble Center, Baranczyk will face her old team in the biggest game of her coaching career. Her third-seeded Sooners will play the sixth-seeded Hawkeyes with a chance to make the Sweet 16. Baranczyk has reached the Round of 32 in each of her four seasons as the head coach but has yet to make it to the second weekend. 

And to do so, she’ll have to go through her alma mater. 

“I want to keep it less about the fact that I played however many years ago — and I know you’ll all have the dates so please just leave that out — but I really want to keep it on how special our team has been this year,” Baranczyk said on Sunday.

From Iowa’s perspective, there is still a lot of love and respect for Baranczyk. First-year head coach Jan Jensen was an assistant at Iowa under legendary coach Lisa Bluder when Baranczyk played for the Hawkeyes. The two are still incredibly close. 

“I’d prefer to be cheering for her and I think she would be doing the same thing,” Jansen said. “I believe in the teams that we coached when I was part of Lisa Bluder’s staff and what I’m continuing, I hope, is we have that saying — once a Hawk, always a Hawk. I believe that Jennie really feels that way. So I think she’s proud of that. But she’s also an amazing coach, right. Look at the success she’s had. One of the most competitive, fiery, never going to back down kids that I’ve ever coached, right. So she’s really good. 

“She can separate all that. She’s not nostalgic or a sentimentalist. She’s going to get after it and go.”

Still, Monday’s game will undoubtedly be emotional for Baranczyk. Not just because of the circumstances, but because of the recent passing of Jamie Cavey. 

Cavey was a teammate of Baranczyk’s at Iowa, playing at the school from 2001-2005. She was a staple of the Iowa women’s basketball program, serving as the school’s long-time radio analyst after her playing career. In December, she died after a long battle with cancer. And on Monday, Baranczyk plans to honor her. 

“This game will be a little bit sentimental because this last December I lost one of my teammates that I played with at Iowa for three of those four years,” Baranczyk said. “She’s a mom and she did the radio and you all know her. Jamie Cavey. And that’s humbling. That’s hard. That’s going to be something that we’re going to celebrate tomorrow. So you’ll see us have 52 pins on. So we’re going to get some for the Iowa staff as well. And that will be somebody that we want celebrate and honor during this game. She meant a lot to me personally, but she really meant a lot to that program, and that’s important for me on both levels.”

So come Monday at 3 p.m. CT, while Baranczyk will mostly be solely focused on making her first ever Sweet 16 with the Sooners, there are sure to be moments that she thinks back to her playing days, her relationship with Jensen and her late teammate. 

And that won’t be easy for Baranczyk. But like she was as a player, she’s looking forward to the challenge. 

“You can have respect and love for a place that you came from and other programs and you keep it between the lines, because you want to win every game that you play,” Baranczyk said. “Every other game that Iowa I want them to win. Of course I do. I want them to be really successful… I have all the respect in the world (for Iowa). I know how good they are and how good they’ve been. I know for a lot of years I followed that program. We’re not overlooking anything and we better be ready.”