IOWA CITY, Iowa — As Caitlin Clark is onto the WNBA, she leaves an unfillable void in Iowa City. The nation's third leading scorer, Villanova transfer Lucy Olsen, will certainly soften the blow, but she wants to be her own player.
"I'm not going to be a Caitlin Clark. There's not going to be another Caitlin Clark," Olsen said. "She's amazing. And she's done such great things here, but I think she's definitely paved the way to how hard you should work, what expectations there are and what type of program this is."
Olsen, who averaged 23.3 points per game as a junior, has already left strong impressions in Iowa City.
"She has a very unique skill set, especially the Big Ten," said junior guard Taylor McCabe. "I think people are really gonna have to switch up how they're gonna guard her versus how they would have guarded Caitlin in the past. I can't think of anybody in the Big 10 that plays the way that she does."
Olsen will play the same position that Clark did, but there will be a shift in play style.
"She's crazy quick, she's very shifty," said senior guard Sydney Affolter. "Her game's a little bit different with her mid range and pull up. . . it's money, I love to see that."
For Olsen, the fit was so good that Iowa was the only school she visited after entering the transfer portal.
"I love how fast they play on the court, and they shoot a lot of threes, have a lot of freedom in the offense, and then everyone just worked super hard," she said. "I think that was super attractive."
She committed while Lisa Bluder was still head coach. Once Bluder retired, Olsen stayed true to Jan Jensen.
"I knew she was a big face of Iowa already and she was just awesome personality," the Collegeville, PA native said. "When the whole team was staying as well, I'm like, 'Alright, she's got to be pretty good,' and I'm so happy I stayed."
Olsen will represent Team USA on the U23 3x3 team in Mexico City from July 22-28 as the Americans look to qualify for the FIBA World Cup.