Women's Basketball 5/6/2019
Gustafson's Travels
By DARREN MILLER
hawkeyesports.com
https://hawkeyesports.com/news/2019/5/5/womens-basketball-gustafsons-travels.aspx
IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Spotlights and storylines abound in Hollywood, California.
But there is no way
Megan Gustafson knew in 2015 that when she left Port Wing, Wisconsin, (population 164), that one of her final duties as a University of Iowa student-athlete four years down the freeway would take place in Los Angeles (population 4 million).
It is an appropriate location for a Gustafson curtain call.
There she was, in the City of Angels on April 12, at the ESPN College Basketball Awards Show receiving a trophy as a Wooden Award finalist recognizing the nation's outstanding college basketball player. As Iowa's 2018-19 season progressed, it seemed a foregone conclusion that Gustafson would be up for such a prestigious honor. She led all Division I women's basketball players by averaging 27.8 points per game with a 69.6 field goal percentage. She also led the nation with 33 double-doubles and was third with 13.4 rebounds per game.
There is more symbolism within the Gustafson-Los Angeles merger.
After Gustafson averaged 10.7 points and 6.8 rebounds during her freshman season with the Hawkeyes, Iowa associate head coach
Jan Jensen -- who took the lead in recruiting Gustafson and works with Hawkeye post players -- suggested that the 6-foot-3 prodigy spend the offseason fine-tuning a hook shot. So, Gustafson searched the internet for how-to videos featuring Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, master of the skyhook.
Abdul-Jabbar was known as Lew Alcindor during his college days at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). With Abdul-Jabbar in the post, the Bruins went 88-2 and won three NCAA Championships from 1966-69. He went on to star with the Los Angeles Lakers of the NBA.
Gustafson met Abdul-Jabbar during the Wooden Award festivities.
"To be able to meet him and talk with him was special," Gustafson said. "I told him I watched his hook shot and he thought that was pretty cool."
Los Angeles symbolism, Part II
The groundwork for Iowa's 2018-19 successes on the court was positioned by what happened in Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles on March 17, 2018. The Hawkeyes were making their first NCAA appearance since 2015, but the journey was abruptly halted by a 76-70 loss to Creighton in the first round.
Throughout the 2018-19 season, Gustafson and her teammates admitted they weren't interested in a repeat of that postseason experience that left a bad taste in their mouths.
By all accounts, that postseason loss in Los Angeles served as motivation for the Hawkeyes, who opened the 2018-19 season with four consecutive victories. Three times during the regular season the Hawkeyes put together five-game winning streaks. Then, in a span of eight games from Feb. 25 to March 30, Iowa went 8-0, won the Big Ten Tournament with victories over Indiana, Rutgers, and Maryland, and won its first three games in the NCAA Tournament.
Iowa won a school-record 29 games in 2018-19 and over the course of the 36-game season, Gustafson scored 30-or-more points 13 times and 40-or-more points three times. She pulled down a career-high 20 rebounds at Nebraska on Feb. 25.
Her accolades are extensive:
• ESPNW National Player of the Year
• AP Player of the Year
• Naismith Trophy Winner
• USBWA Player of the Year (Ann Meyers Drysdale Trophy)
• Lisa Leslie Award Winner
• SeniorCLASS Award Winner
• First Consensus National Player of the Year in conference history
• Consensus First Team All-American
• Wade Trophy Finalist
• John R. Wooden Award Finalist
• Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Semifinalist
• Big Ten Player of the Year
• Unanimous First Team All-Big Ten Selection
• Big Ten Tournament's Most Outstanding Player
• Big Ten's All-Time Leading Rebounder
• 23 career Big Ten Player of the Week Awards -- a Big Ten record
• 13-time Big Ten Player of the Week this season -- a Big Ten record
• Led the nation in five categories, including points per game (27.8), field goal percentage (69.6), total points (1,001), field goals made (412), and double-doubles (33). Ranked second in defensive rebounds per game (11), and third in rebounds per game (13.4), and total rebounds (481).
• Became the fourth NCAA women's basketball student-athlete and first post player to score 1,000 or more points in a season
Iowa's season ended April 1 with an 85-53 loss to eventual national champion Baylor in the Elite Eight in Greensboro, North Carolina. It was Iowa's first Elite Eight experience in 26 years.
Then Gustafson's tumultuous month began. She traveled nearly 9,000 miles in 10 days, beginning with a flight to Tampa, Florida, for the Final Four where a majority of national awards were announced. After a day or two in Iowa City, it was off to New York City for the WNBA Draft, where Gustafson was selected in the second round (pick 17) by the Dallas Wings. From the Big Apple, she flew directly to Los Angeles for the presentation of the Wooden Award. Gustafson returned to campus for Iowa's postseason banquet, then left the next day for St. Louis, where she received the USBWA Player of the Year award.
"It has been quite the whirlwind. I have been traveling all across the state of Iowa, too," Gustafson said. "This has been the most incredible few weeks of my life. It has been amazing to wrap up my career and nothing compares to the last couple weeks of what I have been able to do and where I have been able to go."
Gustafson threw out the first pitch for University of Iowa baseball (March 16) and for Triple-A Iowa Cubs baseball (April 29). She visited the Iowa State Capitol on April 24 where she met Governor Kim Reynolds and was recognized with a joint resolution by the House and Senate.
Los Angeles symbolism, Part III
She may not have known it while she was posting monster numbers on basketball courts and representing the University of Iowa with dignity for four years, but Gustafson was also living a motto of Jackie Robinson, another UCLA graduate who went on to do incredible things in Major League Baseball.
"A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives," said Robinson, who broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball.
Gustafson burst on the scene as an influential role model, especially to young girls across the state.
Near the end of her senior season, a video went viral on social media of a girl in her driveway -- wearing a replica of Gustafson's recognizable headband -- trying to imitate Gustafson's two-basketball Mikan Drill.
"That was special to see," Gustafson said.
Then, during an autograph tour in Davenport, Iowa, a girl showed up to the event holding a custom-made Dallas Wings jersey with Gustafson's name on the back.
"It is so exciting to see the impact that I have had on other people across the state of Iowa," Gustafson said. "I am thankful I have been able to interact with them these past few days, get closure, and say my final good-byes."
Before Gustafson left for Dallas on May 2 for a 2 ½-week training camp, the Academic All-Big Ten selection worked with professors to extend assignments and reschedule exams.
"They have been flexible and that has been helpful in figuring out my academics," Gustafson said.
The Wings want her to walk during graduation ceremonies May 11, appropriately enough, in Carver-Hawkeye Arena where she was Queen of Mediacom Court for the past four seasons.
"I'm thankful for that because I have worked so hard for four years, not just on basketball," said Gustafson, who earned a double major in marketing and finance with a minor in psychology.
