When AJ Ediger got to Iowa, she realized what the entire country has found out: Caitlin Clark is special and the Iowa Hawkeyes were going to be a force.
The former all-state player at Hamilton has helped Iowa win three consecutive Big Ten titles and reach the Final Four.
An NCAA title is on the minds of the Hawkeyes as they start the tournament this week.
“I am 3-for-3 with Big Ten titles,” Ediger said. “It is just crazy to be part of a team that is so successful and works so hard to be so successful. Caitlin’s fame is amazing, but there are a lot of things that happen behind the scenes that make our team great.
“I can’t wait to look back on it in 20 years and remember being part of a world-changing basketball team.”
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The Hawkeyes earned a No. 1 seed in the tournament and will face the winner of Holy Cross and Tennessee-Martin at 2 p.m. Saturday.
Showing that championship pedigree, the Hawkeyes avenged losses to Ohio State and Nebraska in the final two weeks of the season, something Ediger said will pay huge dividends in the NCAA tournament.
“We had a couple of tough losses and came back to beat Ohio State and Nebraska the second time around. It helped us figure out how to fix what isn’t working. That is very valuable heading into the tournament,” she said.
Clark enters the tournament averaging 31.9 points per game, while Hannah Stuelke is at 14.6 and Kate Martin at 12.9. Ediger averages 2 points per game. But her role is about much more than scoring, especially as an upperclassman.
“I just tried to step into the role of doing what ever the team needs me to to, so whether that is sitting on the bench and cheering or going in to give the starters a breather, that has really helped my mindset. It is about working hard to bring your best every day. My confidence has gotten better each year. Getting in there and being aggressive, my ability to finish has been better. It reminds me that I deserve to be here and put in the work to be here.
“The season has been amazing so far.”
In addition to the Big Ten title, Iowa started the season with a win over DePaul at Kinnick Stadium, an outdoor game that drew 55,646 fans.
“It was crazy, absolutely insane. There are not many people in the world who will experience something like that. Our fans at Iowa travel insanely well and support us so much. It is still crazy to try to wrap your head around that once-in-a-lifetime experience,” Ediger said.
One of many for the top-seeded Hawkeyes.
“We never have any drama within the team, which is amazing. We are all good friends and hang out outside of basketball – even when we spend so much time with each other in practice. It helps our performance on the court because we have such great chemistry,” she said.
Not necessarily an easy task when a team has the national player of the year, someone who is transcending the game.
“At this point, you get used to it, so sometimes it is hard to think about Caitlin doing so many amazing things. You spend so much time together and she does so many amazing things, things that other athletes have never done. It is easy to get numb to it, but I try to take a step back and think about all the amazing things she has done for women’s athletes around the world and women’s basketball,” Ediger said. “The media sometimes sees this in press conferences, but her memory and ability to recall things that happen in the game is absolutely insane. She could probably tell you everyone’s stat line on the other team at the end of the game. As someone who doesn’t have a great memory myself, her ability to recall all of that is insane. It helps her read the game of basketball.”She is just next-level.”
So are the Hawkeyes, who are out to prove it.
Contact sports editor Dan D’Addona at Dan.D’Addona@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @DanDAddona or Facebook @HollandSentinelSports.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Iowa’s AJ Ediger part of historic team, ‘next-level’ Caitlin Clark
