Now that the NBA draft is in the books, your 2 main opportunities to see some basketball in the months ahead are the NBA Summer League and The Basketball Tournament. The TBT is an open-application, single-elimination tourney featuring 64 teams and offering $2 million in winner-take-all prize money. There will be 8 regionals during July in Columbus/Greensboro/Lexington/Memphis/Salt Lake City/Wichita/Richmond/Syracuse, followed by the final 3 rounds during August in Chicago. It is usually an all-male field but there might be some diversity this year as national POY Megan Gustafson signed up to play for Iowa United alongside some other former college stars from the Hawkeye State including Marcus Fizer (2000 Big 12 POY at Iowa State) and Reed Timmer (the all-time leading scorer in Drake history). She will probably be busy this summer as she commences her WNBA career…but $2 million is a LOT of money! HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Megan about being named national POY and starting her new blog.
You were born in Minnesota and grew up in Wisconsin: what made you choose Iowa? The aspect of family was important to me. I grew up in a small town and the coaches emphasized being inclusive/welcoming and helping me out in any way possible. The team chemistry helped us have some great seasons.
In 2016 you were the only freshman in the Big 10 to lead her team in FG%/BLK/REB: how were you able to come in and be a star right from the start? It was an adjustment at 1st: I spent a few months trying to learn everything but I wanted to contribute so it took a lot of hard work/confidence in myself. Whether you are young or old if you are good then you are good.
In the 2017 WNIT you scored a career-high 33 PT/15-16 FG in a 5-PT win over South Dakota: was it just 1 of those situations where every shot you put up seemed to go in because you were “in the zone”? That was a really fun game and the start of my “scoring prowess”! The confidence level was there and I credit my teammates for setting me up during every single game.
In 2018 you led the nation with 25.7 PPG/67.1 FG%: what is the secret to being a great scorer/shooter? I do not think there is a secret: just getting into the gym and shooting. I am a strong believer that if you spend a lot of time on something you will be really good at it, which is how my confidence grew over time.
You were a 2-time Big 10 POY and in March you were named national POY: what did it mean to you to receive such outstanding honors? It is always exciting to get something like that but I have always felt those were team honors because it is a sport about 1 unit working together. I was excited to help my team in any way that I could.
In the Elite 8 last April you scored 23 PTS in a loss to eventual champion Baylor: where does that Lady Bears team (37-1 with only a 5-PT loss at Stanford in December) rank among the greatest that you have ever seen, and what was the feeling like in your locker room afterward? Baylor was a very good team: they won the title! I think they are up there as 1 of the best: I had not seen a pair of bigs before like the ones that they had but I think that I held my own. I learned that I could handle myself against “bigger bigs” and that we kept fighting even though we were down. The locker room atmosphere was sad but we got a chance to reflect on all that we had accomplished.
You were picked 17th overall by Dallas in 2019 WNBA draft: what did it mean to you to get drafted, and what did it mean to you to get cut? Getting drafted was pretty special: I got to attend the draft in New York City in person, which was great. I wanted to know where I was headed so it was a big sigh of relief once I heard my name called. I had never been to Dallas before so I was super-excited and I thought that it would be a really good opportunity. I worked hard during training camp but still have things to improve on. Getting cut was the most devastating thing that I have ever been through but then I got re-signed by Dallas a couple of days later: it was a crazy 48 hours!
You recently began a blog called “She’s Got Faith”: what role does your faith play in your life? It plays a huge role because I have been a practicing Christian my whole life. I had originally planned my blog to be about my basketball adventures but I revamped it after getting cut and it is now focused on God. I have found a much better way to share my faith and will keep at it.
Your sister/father/mother all played basketball: who is the best athlete in the family? My mom/dad were great athletes, as is my sister. I am the only 1 still playing so I can take pride in that, but I credit them for the good genes.
Next month you will become the 1st active women’s player to compete in the TBT: what is it like to be the only woman on Iowa United, and what will it be like to face male opponents? Now that I have been claimed by Dallas I will be in the WNBA and hope to still be there when the TBT rolls around. However, after I got cut I was excited to compete and was up for the challenge.