IOWA CITY — It took nothing more than a dinner at The Iowa Chop House for it to become crystal clear how Lucy Olsen would fit into the Iowa women’s basketball program.
Olsen, who was on her visit to Iowa at the time, had not decided where she would play her final season of college basketball yet. The Villanova transfer was coming off the best season of her college career, in which she averaged 23.3 points and 4.8 rebounds per game.
But after her third season with the Wildcats, Olsen entered the transfer portal and found herself in downtown Iowa City with members of the Hawkeye women’s basketball program.
Forward Jada Gyamfi, who was one of the attendees, admitted that being with a recruit in that type of setting can be a balancing act.
“We can be a lot as a team,” Gyamfi said, inferring that the dynamic could be overwhelming to someone new. “Especially we had all been together two years, we’re very close.”
And yet …
“You look down the table and they’re all just having a blast,” said assistant coach Abby Stamp, “having a great time together and stuff like that, too. So that was pretty apparent.”
Said Gyamfi: “I remember just watching her and she just looked really, really happy. She was like smiling and all bubbly and stuff.”
It’s not surprising, then, that shortly after her visit, Olsen committed to the Hawkeyes.
That connection at dinner was an early indication of what has continued to grow since then. After hearing from those within the program, the resounding impression of this new marriage between Olsen and Iowa women’s basketball has become pretty clear. On a variety of levels — personality and on-court ability included — Olsen has fit in the Hawkeye program like a glove.
“I knew as soon as we had the dinner with her — before she even committed here,” guard Kylie Feuerbach said. “I didn’t even know if she was going to come here or not. But even at that dinner, I knew she would fit in perfectly. She’s just a great person. She has our humor. We laugh with her all the time. She’s also just really nice off the floor. She’s ready to go. She fits in perfectly.”
Olsen is one of the many pieces in what has been an offseason of change for the Hawkeyes.
Iowa is dealing with the fallout of losing a generational player in Caitlin Clark, along with two other impact veterans in Kate Martin and Gabbie Marshall. Head coach Lisa Bluder decided to retire (after Olsen had already committed), handing over the reins to her longtime assistant Jan Jensen. A so-called new era is even more fitting considering that Iowa has a freshman class of five, plus the addition of Olsen.
A few things became apparent during the portion of Iowa’s practice that was open to media on Thursday. One was that Jensen is very hands-on and detailed in how she teaches the game on the court. Another is that the culture that was previously built is still alive and well. After Gyamfi hit a contested shot on Thursday, she celebrated by doing a “Take The L” dance from the video game Fortnite.
That kind of energy isn’t foreign to Olsen.
“Just immediately I could tell her personality, who she was as a person, super goofy, lighthearted, bubbly, just like the rest of us,” Gyamfi said. “She’s really funny. Not a lot of people could probably guess that. But she’s really funny. And she just fit in perfectly. Now it’s just easy. We’re just jelling. Everybody’s jelling.”
After that dinner during Olsen’s visit, Gyamfi went to her car and looked up Olsen’s highlights to see what she was about on the court. It brought to mind a familiar face.
“She reminds me of Caitlin,” Gyamfi said. “ Before you knew who Caitlin was, if you were just to see her, you’d be like, ‘Oh there’s no way this is the girl who’s dropping like 30 points in a WNBA game.’ So that’s kinda my first impression when I saw what (Olsen) was doing. I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, she can hoop.’”
The Clark comparisons are a reality of what Olsen faces given that she is the heir to the best player in program history. But it’s important to understand that Olsen is not Clark. Nor would it be fair to ask her to be.
“I don’t think we really talk about it with her a whole lot,” Stamp said, “because, again, it’s like these women do such a good job of keeping our circle tight and understanding what matters is what’s happening within these walls and within our locker room And we don’t expect her to be Caitlin.”
An initial impression of Olsen during Thursday’s workout is that being listed in the 5-foot-9, 5-10 range might not do her frame justice. She is relatively wiry but is still a strong and rangy athlete. Long arms and legs. She utilizes her stride length to help her finish around the rim.
With Clark’s departure, Iowa has a sizeable hole to fill. Clark is the record-holder for most points scored by a Division I basketball player, men or women. So the fact that Olsen can score on all three levels makes her an ideal archetype to take on some of that responsibility.
“It’s really hard to guard her just because she’s really good about getting to that pull-up, reading the play,” Feuerbach said. “But like I said, she can just elevate really quickly. Like right off the dime. She’s mastered that pull-up for sure.”
There is still a long way to go — both for Olsen and Iowa. The Hawkeyes are looking to continue the momentum they built behind the brilliance of Clark and the longevity of Bluder. But at least so far, turning the page to a new era has gotten off to a smooth start — Olsen included.
“She fits in perfectly with this program,” Gyamfi said of Olsen. “She’s so quick. Her ability to like stop on a dime and just create something out of it. Yeah, she’s really special.”
Follow Tyler Tachman on X@Tyler_T15, contact via email at ttachman@gannett.com