From 11 in her high school class to NCAA All-American: Iowa’s Megan Gustafson
Gustafson’s town
Since Gustafson joined the Hawkeyes, Iowa T-shirts have started popping around Port Wing and subscriptions to Big Ten Network Plus have increased.
Patrons at the Bear Paw Cafe and Port & Bar Restaurant make small talk about Gustafson’s latest double-double or 30-point game.
The town website provides updates on Gustafson on its homepage, right under photos of this year’s Christmas Lighting Contest winners.
“A lot of people are excited from our neck of the woods. Even neighboring towns know about Megan and follow what she is doing at Iowa,” her father said. “They love seeing Meg able to prove herself at a big school. Most of her scoring in high school was against (small classification) teams, so people said she wouldn’t be able to do it once she got to college. She kind of proved them wrong.”
After a strong start to the season, Iowa hit a few speed bumps. Injuries and a more competitive conference race resulted in some losses.
But Gustafson remained a rock in the post, continuing to churn out big numbers. The secret to her consistency?
“It’s going to sound boring, but it’s old-fashioned work ethic and small-town values,” Bluder said. “She was brought up with incredible values and she never thinks too much of herself. She really embraces the idea of not being able to get anywhere by yourself and always having good teammates around you.”
Gustafson spent last summer back in Port Wing, shooting 100 free throws a day to improve her accuracy and lofting 100 right-handed hook shots a day to improve her off hand.
She has an internship lined up this summer at MidWestOne Bank in Iowa City, and will be staying around campus for workouts.
Bluder is confident Gustafson can take her game to an even higher level as a senior, a thought that surely sends shivers through opposing Big Ten coaches.
For now, Gustafson remains focused on doing everything possible to keep Iowa in contention during this season’s stretch run.
She knows a lot of people are counting on her. Gustafson is representing not just Iowa every time she takes the court, she’s representing her entire hometown.
The Port Wing Wikipedia page lists just one name in it’s “notable people” section — Gary Sherman, a jurist and legislator.
By the time she’s done playing, Gustafson may stake her claim as the second.
“Every coach should have the opportunity to coach a kid like Megan,” Bluder said. “She plays the game with so much passion and is such a great teammate. I’ve run out of words to describe her. She’s truly a special player, and we are fortunate to have her.”