The following article, Watch: Iowa Coach Gives Passionate Speech to Emotional Caitlin Clark, Rest of Team as Historic Run Ends, was first published on another website.Flag And Cross.
Moments of intense disappointment often require leaders to address the past, present and future all at once.
While posterity might not see it immortalized in granite, Iowa Hawkeyes head women’s basketball coach Lisa Bluder’s post-game address to her team in their locker room following Sunday’s 87-75 loss to the South Carolina Gamecocks in the NCAA championship game showed that some leaders know how to encapsulate the different feelings associated with saying goodbye, remembering a common journey and moving forward.
With superstar guard Caitlin Clark seated in the front row, her face partially covered by a towel, Bluder delivered a simple message that began with the present disappointment, reflected on her team’s remarkable achievements and then looked to the future.
“Do not hang your heads. Do not. Yes, we’re sad that the seniors are leaving us. It’s tough. That’s the tough part about this,” Bluder said, becoming visibly emotional and twice smacking the end of a rolled up piece of paper with her open hand, as if to emphasize the difficulty in saying goodbye to those seniors.
Clark, the NCAA Division I all-time leading scorer, could return to Iowa next season if she so chose. The NCAA gave athletes affected by the 2020-21 COVID pandemic an extra year of eligibility. On Feb. 29, however, Clark announced her decision to forego that final year and instead turn pro, per the IndyStar.
The superstar guard, whose games have shattered viewership records, has already said goodbye to Iowa fans.
CBS Sports has projected that the Indiana Fever will select Clark 1st overall in the 2024 WNBA Draft. That event will take place Apr. 15 in New York City.
For Bluder, there will be plenty of time to face life without Clark. In the meantime, the coach wanted her players to think of their shared experiences with gratitude.
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