Lisa Bluder's retirement caught those in the basketball world by surprise, including herself . After having a handful of days to fully digest her decision, Iowa's legendary head coach explained to the Des Moines Register that there was one thing that she regretted with how retirement came about .
Though it stands to reason that Bluder's regret stems from the Hawkeyes' inability to win a national championship, the 63-year-old revealed that she wishes she had one more chance to walk into specific arenas, knowing what she knows now.
"I said, 'I wish I had known that Ohio State (on March 3) was our last regular season game," Bluder shared with the outlet about her conversation with her daughter Hannah. "And I wish I would have known that West Virginia (in the second round of the NCAA Tournament) was our last [home] game.
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"She couldn't understand why. But to imprint that in your memory a little bit more, I wish I would have known."
Bluder also added that her decision to retire came after she had spoken to other recently retired coaches for their thoughts. Also, the legendary coach shared how she and her husband Dave were on vacation in Phoenix when it dawned on her just how little time she gets for herself and her family.
As such, when she decided to retire, Bluder and her husband refrained from telling two of their three children until the university made the announcement . "Why now? Why not?" Bluder said. "It's an opportunity for Dave and I to travel while we're still healthy.
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"My son (David Jr.) is going to be a senior at Grinnell College next year, and I'll get to see all of his games. I missed so many of my kids' things, and it's time for me to be able to give to them fully. It's a good time to go out, quite honestly."
Bluder left an Iowa program that she had been coaching for the last 24 years. During her time with the Hawkeyes, the program had a winning season every year, except for the 2006-07 season, which saw Iowa amass a 14-16 season, the only time Bluder had missed the postseason during her tenure.
For now, Bluder will take her time and enjoy her retirement, especially after giving so much of herself to the game she loved. "It's a time-consuming job," she continued. "It's nice to be able to breathe a little bit right now and not jump right back into workouts that'll be starting in a month."
In all, Bluder won 884 games in Iowa, leading the program to two consecutive NCAA title game appearances. Because of her impact, former Hawkeyes star and now prized Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark and other former Iowa players made sure to shout out Bluder for how she has helped her develop.
"Simply no one better at building a team," Clark wrote at the time on her personal X account . "Thank you for believing in me more than anyone. Enjoy retirement, coach. Very much deserved."
Meanwhile, Las Vegas Aces guard and former Iowa starter Kate Martin shared her thoughts on X : "Extremely grateful to have been coached by Bluder & I'm so happy for her. If you know Bluder, you know that wasn't an easy decision for her."
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