Caitlin Clark’s ‘Mamba mentality’ almost caused turbulence among Iowa locker room

Jan Jensen reveals Iowa Hawkeyes coaches had to ensure players adjusted to Caitlin Clark's demanding mentality.

Caitlin Clark’s ‘Mamba mentality’ almost caused turbulence among Iowa locker room

WNBA and former Iowa Hawkeyes superstar Caitlin Clark has the same winning mentality as Kobe Bryant

Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark has been the bona fide superstar all throughout her college seasons with the Iowa Hawkeyes as well as in the WNBA. Her game and stardom combined made her the one player most fans wanted to watch in women’s basketball.

But that stardom and play comes with a mentality that usually causes some unrest in locker rooms. The ‘Mamba Mentality’ made famous by Kobe Bryant was instrumental in his side winning five NBA titles. But along with that mentality comes the need for teammates to be on the same page. If a player does not show signs of similar commitment, Bryant never respected that player.

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That was the challenge the Iowa Hawkeyes women’s basketball team faced when Clark joined them in 2020. On one hand was this 18-year-old five-star recruit who wanted to win. On the other hand, they had three- and four-star players who never played alongside an ultra-competitive five. Head coach Jan Jensen elaborated how Iowa had to ensure players adjusted to Clark.

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You really had to get everybody else understanding how rare she was. We had to work really hard on the chemistry. When Caitlin came in, she had such a high expectation.

Jan Jensen on Caitlin Clark

Jan Jensen revealed that she and her predecessor Lisa Bluder had a tough time getting the other players on to the same page. They had to explain Clark was just like Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan, completely focused on winning games.

This meant that her teammates need not feel as if she did not like them personally. Rather it was that she would not trust a teammate to take a shot if they had not put in the work in practice. The Iowa coaching staff eventually succeeded, and Clark led them to two NCAA Championship games.

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Caitlin Clark changed the stature of the Iowa Hawkeyes

When Caitlin Clark committed to the Iowa Hawkeyes, it was rare for a five-star recruit to choose that program. But since she wanted to stay at home and always wanted to be a part of the Hawkeyes, it became a massive coup for them.

Once she started playing and the coaching staff managed to get the rest of the players dialed in, the program was on the up. Their first breakthrough was reaching the NCAA Championship game with Clark leading the team. But they eventually lost to the much more experienced and stronger Angel Reese-led LSU Tigers.

The following year, they went on a similar run. But this time, the overall team was better. They beat LSU and the Paige Bueckers led UConn Huskies to reach the championship game. However, the much bigger and faster unbeaten South Carolina squad was too strong for them.

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The result of that run was that for the first time in its history, the Iowa Hawkeyes had two players going to the WNBA in the same draft. The result of that has seen the likes of the 3rd leading scorer from last season, Lucy Olsen, to transfer to Iowa as well as drawing 5-star recruit Addison Deal to commit to the program next season. Caitlin Clark has managed to transform the fortunes of that program.