Exactly., Geno is not a coach that dodges a challenge!

True. LSU, on the other hand, prefers to line up the cupcakes.

Bluder did it right waiting until after the first of May to announce her retirement. That way players couldn't jump ship into the portal leaving the next coach with a decimated roster. I know Stanford was a different story with the dissolution of the Pac 12 but if their coach had waited until after the portal closed to let anyone know her retirement plans maybe the exodus wouldn't have been so bad. UConn always plays a tough non-conference schedule that way they have fewer surprises in March.

@@rollandhawkins8311 I believe that when the coach leaves, players have 28 days to transfer. Portal doesn't matter.

@@buzzard6410 the rules are not exactly as you stated but close enough. I stand corrected. Did you know that the new coach can kick existing players off of the team. The school must honor their scholarship but they have no right to be on the team and they don't count as part of the roster limit.

@@rollandhawkins8311 Didn't know that about the new coach. Kinda weird rules. But at least the scholarship is still honored.

No top player wanted to go to Iowa because of Clark. They asked the McDonald’s All American girls who would they like to play with, all of them said Juju or Paige, none of them picked Clark.

Average coach indeed..no excuse for not signing better recruits - especially after the unprecedented multi-million dollar marketing, advertising, and promotion campaign that publicized her program nationally and internationally the past 2-3 years....EVERY game televised...constant exposure, yet never signed any significant players.

You're right, she didn't give them a chance to win. It's the NIL era

Did they finish 2 game series with UConn. I remember they played UConn in 22-24, and at tx in 23-24. Way harsh calling Bluder average. Cori , would understand but feel like Bluder maxed out the talent they had.

@@devinbrines - "NIL era" has nothing to do with it. The world of business changes everyday and has been doing so since Day 1. "NIL" ain't nothing but a natural sequence along that path. Competent managers in business adapt and can perform as the world changes; incompetent ones can't, or they lean on excuses like "its the era's fault" they can't perform. Bluder was at Iowa for 24 years - way before "NIL." The ball don't lie. She was a lame recruiter before NIL and the same lame one after NIL. If lucky local player Caitlin Clark didn't stay home and fall in her lap, Bluder's 15 mins of fame the past 2 years would have never occurred. Now, she will forever be remembered as "Caitlin Clark's coach."

Flip side is, the past 2 seasons with Clark is the ONLY time in 25 years Bluder had any spotlight on her performance as a coach. For 23 years she basically cruised under the radar with no expectations of high performance from fans or Iowa Administration, which is exactly what she delivered. Its only after local product Clark fortuitously dropped in her lap (as opposed to Bluder having to compete with top schools and attract Clark from the other side of the country) that Bruder for the first time had performance expectations for her program. With expectations and fan following at Iowa now at an all time high, but lucky local player Clark gone, Bluder FOR THE FIRST TIME was going to have the spotlight and performance pressure that coaches at UCONN, SC, or Notre Dame, for example, have EVERY YEAR. For the first time Bluder's mediocre local recruiting radius and other coaching shortcomings that were covered up by Clark the past two years would be exposed and be forced to improve under the new spotlight. Instead of confronting this first time challenge, Bluder's response was to quit...get out while the getting good....take the money (from the unprecedented multi-million dollar marketing and publicity campaign that followed her team all year...sponsorships, endorsements, national exposure) and run. Expect Bluder to parlay her newfound notoriety as "Caitlin Clark's coach" into a position somewhere on the business end of sports or in broadcasting, where she can make the same (or more) money without the pressure of having to recruit top players and consistently win games.

@@waldolydecker8118 Well, a couple of thoughts about your comments. There's a lot of truth to what you say, but in the end, if what you say is all true, then Bluder is a genius for heading for the exits now. She's just going to maximize her future earnings potential by leaving now. Also, she is 63. How many people want to work until they're 70? Almost nobody, if they can avoid it. After losing three of her best players, it could take at least a few more years to get back to the final four. Best case scenario, she'd be like 67 years old. Why hang around if she can make more money on the business end of sports or in broadcasting, like you said?

@@user-gn3wq1mt7g - can't argue with you (or would I be arguing with myself?). Agree, its the right move...didn't know she was 63. Even if she stayed, no way would she surpass the past 2 years...don't think she could even if she stayed another 10, frankly. Good point.

@@waldolydecker8118 I'm guessing you took your moniker, waldo lydecker, from that character in the movie, "Laura." Great movie, with Gene Tierney and Dana Andrews. Waldo Lydecker, in the movie at least, was not a good guy. Why choose his name for your moniker?

I think you are right. It was monumental what Iowa accomplished in the semifinals two years in a row. Iowa women were overmatched and still competitive. That's all you can ask.

Yep - was trying to say & maybe badly that tough non conference even more important now due to weakness of big east. But take Ur point

" only Iowa laid a glove on in the last two years"? Except for a miraculous last second three point shot by Camilla Cardoso Tennessee beats South Carolina and their unbeaten season never happens. Iowa barely beat a depleted UConn team who had to start two freshmen.

Sure would be funny...Bluder wouldn't win anymore than Sides will. Doesn't matter who coaches Indiana...they will not beat the better teams. BTW, Clark is the one who is suppose to "guarantee" the championship with her arrival, not the coach. If Clark doesn't produce as heavily advertised and paid, blaming the coach is a cop out excuse....Clark and only Clark is responsible for her performance.

​@@waldolydecker8118something that You & So Many other's seem to be missing, is that basketball is a TEAM Sport. It takes a TEAM to show up & Win a Championship. One player is Not gonna do it, no matter how good they are!

@@waldolydecker8118 Not entirely a cop out, blaming the coach. Remember Paul Westhead with the Lakers in 1981 having them play slow down ball when they had greyhounds led by Magic. You have to fit the system to the skills of the players. Not the other way around.

@@buzzard6410 - True...only one problem: where's the proof Coach Sides is running Westhead's program? Haven't heard the quote from her saying that was her offensive game plan. Clark fanatics have made that claim, but watching the game, I see no evidence Sides is telling her players to play against their skills. Clark fanatics are largely emotional, irrational, and ill-informed...would never take their word for it without hearing it from the coach or seeing it in action. What I see is her players being fully allowed and expected to run. Problem is, if the other team is good defensively and shuts down the run, then you have no choice but to execute in the half court. Top defensive teams aren't going to let Indiana run up and down the court freely. Good teams can walk and chew gum at the same time, so they know how to run AND score in the half court when necessary.

@@waldolydecker8118 Not saying she is, but... people tend to not be very adaptable. If she is a system coach, and most are, they tend to not be adaptable at all. That was the Westhead problem. When you have a unicorn, you need to adapt.

No way....Clark played with no coaching discipline at Iowa...she had free reign to do whatever she liked or "saw" on the floor. Her game would have been more subjugated to the team at team-focused programs like UCONN or SC, which are led by experienced championship coaches. Lisa Bluder isn't on that level of coaching. Probably one of the reasons Clark went to Iowa - Clark knew she would be given complete freedom by Bluder to shoot and would have no equivalent teammate demanding equal touches.

@@waldolydecker8118 The one glaring hole in CC's offensive game is a mid range shot. After four years of college, Bluder should have helped CC develop one. While Indiana's coach made a stupid remark recently about a "long two," the development of a mid range threat (10-15 feet) is what elevated the likes of Kobe, MJ, Kawhi Leonard, etc. When you can score efficiently at all three levels, you become very difficult to defend.

@@buzzard6410 - very true

Is this comment for me? If so taking it from Bluder lovers & haters - but ok

Not the best college player in 24? Wow ok - career stats at Iowa 7 reb, 8 assist , 28 PTS and efg% = 56% . Took team to championship game twice the last 2 years. Yea she is not going to be great as shooting is not important in WNBA. Have fun on that island. Good luck.

did i say Jan? wow. sorry

The NCAAW allows for a 30-day window once a coach decides to leave for players to transfer out.

Must be your stupid day.

Totally disagree re Lisa Bluder. For Iowa women to play in two consecutive championship games where they were essentially overmatched is quite an accomplishment. Bluder deserves to be in HOF.

@@albertjohnson2043 if she makes the HOF make sure to get the refs in there too. Especially this past season.

Choking they were the under dogs in both games.

While they didnt win the Ch either year...but iowa beat those teams..sc last year final 4 and lsu this year elite 8....they played above their talent except for CC