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"Close. Like we're all just close. And it doesn't matter where people are from, what you believe, we're just close," says the assistant coach."So you and some of them that left this past year, you guys are really tight. But it also wouldn't be anything to see you guys hanging out with Sydney [Affolter], or like hanging out with Hannah [Stuelke] or Caitlin hanging out with Kylie. So I think there's just mutual respect and actual friendship."The Hawkeye connection is so strong that we all got to see Gabbie Marshall and Jada Gyamfi attend the 2024 WNBA Draft event."When I came into coaching, I would always hear this thing like, 'We don't need you to be friends, we just need you to be good teammates on the floor,'" Harmon tells Gyamfi.

Iowa Coach Spills Secrets on Caitlin Clark, Kate Martin & Other Hawkeyes’ Bond.Everybody can bring their authentic self to our space and our circle and I think that’s what’s most important,” says Raina Harmon, assistant coach at the University of Iowa. Under Lisa Bluder and Jan Jensen, the Iowa Hawkeyes had a friendly culture that showed in their on-court performance. Now Bluder may have retired, but Jensen and Harmon continue the culture. And the assistant coach also looks back on what it was like to have the duo of Caitlin Clark and Kate Martin for four years.Appearing on the Taco-Bout Network’s Fresh Tawk with Hawkeyes junior Jada Gyamfi, Harmon discussed what the bond was like among players. “Close. Like we’re all just close. And it doesn’t matter where people are from, what you believe, we’re just close,” says the assistant coach.

“So you and some of them that left this past year, you guys are really tight. But it also wouldn’t be anything to see you guys hanging out with Sydney [Affolter], or like hanging out with Hannah [Stuelke] or Caitlin hanging out with Kylie. So I think there’s just mutual respect and actual friendship.”The Hawkeye connection is so strong that we all got to see Gabbie Marshall and Jada Gyamfi attend the 2024 WNBA Draft event. Then, they made sure to attend as many games as they could. In fact, even former and current head coaches Lisa Bluder and Jan Jensen made it to two of the Iowa alums’ matchups against each other.Then Harmon echoed what is usually considered the norm in team sports, that off the court the relationship does not have to reflect on-court as long as the performance is good. “When I came into coaching, I would always hear this thing like, ‘We don’t need you to be friends, we just need you to be good teammates on the floor,'” Harmon tells Gyamfi. But she doesn’t necessarily agree.Sure that’s fine, but you can have a lot more success if you’re actually friends. So that’s what I realized, like you guys actually love each other, you guys actually do things with each other out of basketball. And the way that you guys know each other off the court just helps all the success that we’ve had on the court,” Harmon continues on Fresh Tawk with Jada Gyamfi.

The trio of Gabbie Marshall, Caitlin Clark, and Kate Martin was essential to the Hawkeyes’ success – they went to two consecutive NCAA Finals together. They also met up with each other recently, their first year after college. While Marshall has retired from basketball to continue her studies, they still remain friends with each other, including Gyamfi.