We were very lucky to be able to interview the Iowa women’s basketball Head Coach, Lisa Bluder. Lisa is one of the most respected coaches in the Big Ten. She is a 3 time Big Ten Coach of the Year (2001, 2008, and 2010). Out of her eleven seasons with Iowa, they have gone to the NCAA tournament six times. Here are the results of our interview.Q. What has been your most memorable game?
A. Beating Rutgers in the NCAA tournament was one of the most memorable games for me. Just winning in the NCAA tournament is so hard to do, but beating Rutgers – coached by Hall of Famer, Vivian Stringer, made it extra special. We also had a very young team and no one really expected us to do it! It felt great!
A. Losing is always difficult, but the most difficult times are when you have personal problems – maybe a player is not living up to your team values, not trying as hard as they can on the court or in the classroom, or causing trouble within the team. Dealing with them and their parents are the most difficult things that I have to do. Luckily, that hasn’t happened much lately!
Q. What do you do to pump up the Bluder Bunch?
A. We do all kinds of things to motivate our players, things like playing music, making highlight videos of their great plays, giving them goals to accomplish, I also like to use short stories, quotes or poems and sometimes bible verses. The best and most successful players are pretty self-motivated, but as a coach, I need to continue to work to bring it out in them.
Q. What made Kachine Alexander and Kelsey Cermak the players that they were?
A. They became great leaders that loved the University of Iowa and our team. They wanted to do their best because they loved the people around them. They worked hard on their game and bought into our team values and mission statements.
Q. How hard do you think it will be without Kachine and Kelsey?
A. I will miss them both, but luckily we have some great players returning for us and also some great players coming in as freshman.
Q. What do you think of the incoming recruiting class?
A. Our incoming recruiting class is ranked #11 best in the nation! So, we are excited about these 5 young women. They are also great students as 3 of them received presidential scholarships based on their academic success. I think that several of them will contribute to our team right away!
Q. Who do you think will shine next year?
A. I think that Jaime Printy will be one of the best offensive players in the Big Ten conference. Kamille Wahlin will have a great senior season along with Kelly Krei. I am anxious to coach new comers Samantha Logic and Virginia Johnson too!
Q. What does your NCAA bracket look like?
A. It is against NCAA rules for us coaches to fill out the NCAA bracket!! Isn’t that a crazy rule?
Q. Who do you think will win the Women’s NCAA tournament?
A. Unfortunately, I think that UConn will win it all again – I wish that someone new would be in the final four.
Q. What would your words of wisdom be to young players?
A. Work hard; find something that you are passionate about to pursue. Study hard, you won’t go anywhere without a good education. Listen to your parents – they really do know best! Follow the golden rule of do unto others what you want done to you – in other words, be nice to other people!
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