NORMAN, Okla. — Oklahoma coach Jennie Baranczyk knows you know she went to Iowa. She knows that the connection between her and Iowa head coach Jan Jensen, who was an assistant during Baranczyk’s time in Iowa City, has been one of the nation’s favorite storylines going into the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
She’s so aware, in fact, that she’s brought up both facts on her own in press conferences during the Norman pod to make sure everyone is on the same page before Monday’s 3 p.m. CT matchup.
Each time it’s met with something between a chuckle and a groan while she sports a sly smile.
Is it special? Yes.
Is it nostalgic? Sure.
Is it the first time she’s going against her alma mater? No.
Are the stakes higher knowing that the winner goes to the Sweet 16? Obviously.
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But, as she revealed in Sunday’s pregame press conference, she will be focusing on one connection in particular as a way to honor her time with both programs: a No. 52 pin.
The number 52 is a reminder of her Iowa teammate Jamie Cavey-Lang, who passed away in December after a “hard-fought battle with cancer.” Cavey-Lang, who overlapped three years with Baranczyk at Iowa was also the Hawkeyes’ radio announcer from 2016 to 2023.
“That’s humbling. That’s hard,” Baranczyk said, in a rare serious and sentimental moment. “She meant a lot to me personally, but she really meant a lot to that program, and that’s important for me on both levels.”
Baranczyk told reporters that she plans to offer the pins to Iowa staff as well, hoping both can come together to recognize Cavey-Lang. A small, but powerful nod to the many connections she still feels to her time there.
“I got into coaching because I loved my experience,” Baranczyk said after Oklahoma’s first-round victory. “I loved playing basketball. And a lot of times people get into coaching for different reasons but I did it because I loved it, and so obviously Iowa always has a place in your heart and then there’s people that are still there.”
Another one of Baranczyk’s former teammates, Randi Henderson, will be on the opposite sideline having joined Jensen’s squad in 2024. She graduated from Iowa in 2001, overlapping one year with Baranczyk.
“At the beginning, it’s personal and you want it so bad for yourself, right? And then you realize it’s really not about you,” Baranczyk told reporters on Sunday. “Then you grow. You start to see your teams compete. Then it becomes a game, and then you can have [real] respect and love for a place that you came from and other programs and you keep it between the lines, because you want to win every game that you play.
“Every other game that Iowa [plays], I want them to win. Of course, I do. I want them to be really successful.”
And Jensen sent back the same kind of playful sentiment in response to a question about facing her former player stopping short of suggesting an intriguing battle of the coaches.
“You know we’re not playing one-on-one right?” Jensen said. “I’m not going to say who would win if we play one-on-one. I’ve still got something in my bag, Jennie, just tell her that.”
On a more serious note, “I’d prefer to be cheering for her and I think she would be doing the same way, the same thing. … We have that saying — once a Hawk, always a Hawk. I believe that Jennie really feels that way.”
Unfortunately for these two, one team will prevail and earn that coveted spot in the Sweet 16. The other will go home.
Either way, it’s a special time in the growth of the sport as another generation advances from player to coach and ushers in the sport’s next stars. And you have to love the Midwestern friendliness sneaking through during peak competition.
“All of our former players, whether they are a doc right now or in law or whatever, it’s fun to watch them grow and succeed,” Jensen said. “Lisa Bluder would feel the same way. It’s really cool.”
