an Jensen was a longtime loyal assistant to a legendary women’s basketball coach at the University of Iowa before getting a shot of her own.
If you’re an old-timer, it’s a vaguely familiar storyline. Nearly three decades ago, Angie Lee was in an identical position.
It was 1995, and C. Vivian Stringer had resigned to move closer to home, vowing to make Rutgers “the jewel of the East.”
Lee was the choice to succeed her mentor, and former coach. Just like Jensen was last May.
“I had a chance to be the coach at my alma mater,” Lee said Monday via phone call from her home in Arizona. “I had a chance to give back.
“In hindsight, I was probably a better assistant coach than head coach.”
Time will determine whether Jensen is able to keep the flame hot on Iowa women’s basketball program. Her first game as head coach is Wednesday, an exhibition contest against Missouri Western.
Tipoff is 6:30 p.m. at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Iowa women’s basketball head coach Jan Jensen gives fans high-fives as she arrives with her team during the Hawkeyes from Downtown event in Iowa City on Oct. 11. Jensen’s first game as head coach is Wednesday, an exhibition game against Missouri Western. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)
From afar, Lee will be rooting for her successor’s successor.
“I’m so excited for Jan,” said Lee, now 62 and retired. “I can’t tell you how thrilled I am for her. She helped build what it has become.”
It has become a national power. Orchestrated by Lisa Bluder (and the wizardry of Caitlin Clark), Iowa was the NCAA tournament runner-up in 2023 and 2024.
Clark has graduated, and Bluder has retired. It’s Jensen’s program now, with veterans like Sydney Affolter and Hannah Stuelke, transfer Lucy Olsen and a promising freshman class led by post Ava Heiden.
Lee’s advice for Jensen:
“I’ll go back to advice that was given to me,” Lee said. “Don’t look over your shoulder. You have to be you.
“Be true to yourself. Don’t change what isn’t broken.”
Like Bluder, Stringer coached Iowa to, what was at the time, unprecedented heights. The Hawkeyes made the Final Four in 1993.
Two years later, in what ended up being Stringer’s final season in Iowa City, the Hawkeyes were 11-17. Despite that, Lee inherited a nucleus of promising sophomores that featured Tangela Smith, Tiffany Gooden, Nadine Domond and Angela Hamblin.
Lee’s first season was nothing short of magical. Iowa (27-4) won the Big Ten regular-season championship and reached the Sweet 16.
“That group really rolled. They were torn, losing Vivian. That was hard for them,” said Lee, who was named the 1995-96 Associated Press coach of the year.
“We said, ‘Hey look, we still have each other.’ There were so many questions, so many what-ifs. You have to give all the credit to the players and the assistant coaches for a magical ride.”
That first season turned out to be Lee’s best season. Iowa won the Big Ten tournament in 1996-97, captured the Big Ten regular-season title in 1997-98 and made the NCAA tournament both years.
Then the genie escaped the bottle, and the magic was over. Iowa went 12-15 in 1998-99, 9-18 in 1999-2000.
Lee announced late in her fifth season that she would retire at season’s end, and Bluder was hired shortly thereafter.
Why the decline?
“That’s a tough one,” Lee said Monday. “You look at the ladder you think you’re supposed to climb, and I think I went one rung too high. I was 33 years old. I was pretty young.”
Jensen is 55.
“You look at Jan, and she’s been with Lisa for 24 years,” Lee said. “It’s difficult to follow a legend, but it’s also an honor.
“Jan is ready. More than ready.”
www.thegazette.com
After leaving Iowa City, Lee had a pet-sitting gig: “It was nice to talk to animals for a while,” she said.
She loaded trucks for a brief time for UPS, then found her calling, spending 14 years in administration at the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse, climbing as high as interim dean of students.
“I loved the work I did there, working with students that really needed help connecting to resources that were available to them.
“It really was rewarding. I found my niche there.”
Now, in Cottonwood, Ariz., Lee said she “is living the good life, lots of hiking and golfing. I can see the snow from here, but I don’t have to move it or drive in it.”
Lee was asked if she missed coaching.
“I just miss the students, working with student-athletes,” she said. “It wasn’t what I gave them. It’s what they gave me. I can look at every player I coached, they all taught me something.
But there are so many differences now. I can’t imagine dealing with the transfer portal or NIL. That’s just not for me, nope.”
From a distance, Lee watched Iowa’s recent climb as an alum, and as a fan.
“I’ll always be a Hawk,” Lee said. “And I wish Jan the very, very best.”
If you’re an old-timer, it’s a vaguely familiar storyline. Nearly three decades ago, Angie Lee was in an identical position.
It was 1995, and C. Vivian Stringer had resigned to move closer to home, vowing to make Rutgers “the jewel of the East.”
Lee was the choice to succeed her mentor, and former coach. Just like Jensen was last May.
“I had a chance to be the coach at my alma mater,” Lee said Monday via phone call from her home in Arizona. “I had a chance to give back.
“In hindsight, I was probably a better assistant coach than head coach.”
Time will determine whether Jensen is able to keep the flame hot on Iowa women’s basketball program. Her first game as head coach is Wednesday, an exhibition contest against Missouri Western.
Tipoff is 6:30 p.m. at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
From afar, Lee will be rooting for her successor’s successor.
“I’m so excited for Jan,” said Lee, now 62 and retired. “I can’t tell you how thrilled I am for her. She helped build what it has become.”
It has become a national power. Orchestrated by Lisa Bluder (and the wizardry of Caitlin Clark), Iowa was the NCAA tournament runner-up in 2023 and 2024.
Clark has graduated, and Bluder has retired. It’s Jensen’s program now, with veterans like Sydney Affolter and Hannah Stuelke, transfer Lucy Olsen and a promising freshman class led by post Ava Heiden.
Lee’s advice for Jensen:
“I’ll go back to advice that was given to me,” Lee said. “Don’t look over your shoulder. You have to be you.
“Be true to yourself. Don’t change what isn’t broken.”
Like Bluder, Stringer coached Iowa to, what was at the time, unprecedented heights. The Hawkeyes made the Final Four in 1993.
Two years later, in what ended up being Stringer’s final season in Iowa City, the Hawkeyes were 11-17. Despite that, Lee inherited a nucleus of promising sophomores that featured Tangela Smith, Tiffany Gooden, Nadine Domond and Angela Hamblin.
Lee’s first season was nothing short of magical. Iowa (27-4) won the Big Ten regular-season championship and reached the Sweet 16.
“That group really rolled. They were torn, losing Vivian. That was hard for them,” said Lee, who was named the 1995-96 Associated Press coach of the year.
“We said, ‘Hey look, we still have each other.’ There were so many questions, so many what-ifs. You have to give all the credit to the players and the assistant coaches for a magical ride.”
That first season turned out to be Lee’s best season. Iowa won the Big Ten tournament in 1996-97, captured the Big Ten regular-season title in 1997-98 and made the NCAA tournament both years.
Then the genie escaped the bottle, and the magic was over. Iowa went 12-15 in 1998-99, 9-18 in 1999-2000.
Lee announced late in her fifth season that she would retire at season’s end, and Bluder was hired shortly thereafter.
Why the decline?
“That’s a tough one,” Lee said Monday. “You look at the ladder you think you’re supposed to climb, and I think I went one rung too high. I was 33 years old. I was pretty young.”
Jensen is 55.
“You look at Jan, and she’s been with Lisa for 24 years,” Lee said. “It’s difficult to follow a legend, but it’s also an honor.
“Jan is ready. More than ready.”
Advice from Angie Lee to Jan Jensen: ‘Be true to yourself’
As Jan Jensen readies for her first game as Iowa women’s basketball head coach, Angie Lee has some advice — “Be true to yourself; don’t change what isn’t broken.”
www.thegazette.com
After leaving Iowa City, Lee had a pet-sitting gig: “It was nice to talk to animals for a while,” she said.
She loaded trucks for a brief time for UPS, then found her calling, spending 14 years in administration at the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse, climbing as high as interim dean of students.
“I loved the work I did there, working with students that really needed help connecting to resources that were available to them.
“It really was rewarding. I found my niche there.”
Now, in Cottonwood, Ariz., Lee said she “is living the good life, lots of hiking and golfing. I can see the snow from here, but I don’t have to move it or drive in it.”
Lee was asked if she missed coaching.
“I just miss the students, working with student-athletes,” she said. “It wasn’t what I gave them. It’s what they gave me. I can look at every player I coached, they all taught me something.
But there are so many differences now. I can’t imagine dealing with the transfer portal or NIL. That’s just not for me, nope.”
From a distance, Lee watched Iowa’s recent climb as an alum, and as a fan.
“I’ll always be a Hawk,” Lee said. “And I wish Jan the very, very best.”
