Jan Jensen's big challenge in Iowa is to get the 'spirit' of Caitlin Clark to stay with the team

Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Jan Jensen revealed Caitlin Clark's ability to lift all the players around her up is what the college basketball team will miss the most after she completed her first season as a pro in the WNBA.

The 22-year-old gained a feared reputation throughout the NCAA for her exceptional shooting rate, regularly hitting 30+ points, as she smashed Pete Maravich's record for most points by a single player.

Known for her "logo three" shots from distance, which have since been compared to slam dunks, it isn't actually her talent on the court that the Hawkeyes will miss most as per Jensen, but her locker room presence.

"Jan Jensen when asked what Iowa will miss the most about Caitlin Clark: The ability to empower those around her," reported David Eickholt via X.com, formerly Twitter, on Thursday, October 10.

Clark's leadership is also a respected part of her game as she manages to inspire her colleagues and coaches to continuously strive for that extra one percent and Chad Leistikow then added further context from Jensen's words.

"Beyond production," Leistikow wrote via X.com. "The biggest thing is being able to elevate everyone's game/intensity and how she got them to believe they could be great."

Clark's exceptional WNBA season

Clark, after being selected as the overall first pick of the 2024 WNBA Draft by the Indiana Fever, took a little bit of time to adapt to life as a professional player but when she finally did, she truly did.

The youngster finished the season with 19.2 assists per game, 8.4 assists per game and 5.7 rebounds per game as she speared the Fever on to their first playoffs appearance since 2016 and a .500 record.

But away from her shooting, she once again proved her class as a team player by setting the single-season record for assists by a rookie, as well as the most assists by a rookie in the WNBA All-Star game.