Mystics head coach Sydney Johnson made a Lucy Olsen statement that’s polarizing among Iowa basketball fans on Wednesday.

The WNBA’s “cut day” was on Tuesday, and the Washington Mystics made a decision that excited Iowa basketball fans. They retained former Hawkeye Lucy Olsen, who they selected in the second round and No. 23 overall in this year’s draft.

Head coach Sydney Johnson explained how the 21-year-old proved her worth to the staff after Wednesday’s practice.

“I think just like everybody else,” he explained. “How hard are you playing? Where’s your growth? How many minutes can you spell? I don’t necessarily see her in our first group, so how good can she be off the bench? How is she learning? How is she competing?”

Olsen has a stacked resume for a second-round pick, but that speaks to the wealth of talent in the 2025 draft class. The 5-foot-10-inch guard was named Miss Pennsylvania Basketball as a high school senior in 2021 before winning All-Big East honors twice with Villanova. She then transferred to Iowa last season and earned a first-team All-Big Ten selection.

Olsen had the unenviable task of filling all-time women’s NCAA scoring leader Caitlin Clark’s shoes with the Hawkeyes. The 2024 Big East Most Improved Player led the team with 17.9 points per game on 43.6 percent shooting (36 percent 3 PT) with 5.1 assists and helped it get to the second round of March Madness.

However, Johnson emphasized that Olsen still has work to do.

“Honestly, it’s still really early in her career,” he continued. “She hasn’t even played her first official game, so there’s a lot of growth for her to still undertake. At this point, we’re just encouraged to see how she can do it.”

The 2023-24 Big East points per game leader didn’t light up the stat sheet in the preseason, totaling just four points on 2-of-14 shooting (0-4 3 PT) with two rebounds and two assists in 37 combined minutes against the Indiana Fever and Atlanta Dream. However, she has a clear lane to establish herself as a core bench piece to start the season, especially with fellow rookie guard Georgia Amoore (ACL) out for the year.

With that being said, Iowa fans are ready to see Olsen with a big role right away.

“Hopefully, she will get a chance to prove her worth in real games,” @untilgame said. “But today is a celebration of making the team.”

” You’re wrong, Coach Sydney, put the ball in Lucy’s hands,” @APPROVEMAN said. “Let her lead and distribute. SHE WILL BECOME YOUR LEADER.”

“This guy [Johnson] implies that the WNBA is such a skilled league that a player of her caliber is not even close yet. Comical,” @IowaHawkFan85 said.

“Come on Lucy, prove yourself, keep your spirits up, Lucy,” @BellaDibala2349 said.

The fact that Olsen has a loyal fan base is a testament to her effectiveness in college, but Johnson and company making her earn playing time in the pros will bring out the best in her if she’s as good as her supporters say.

Brittney Sykes says ‘something’s brewing in the pot’ for Mystics

© Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Someone who won’t have to fight for playing time is Brittney Sykes, who’s in her third season with Washington and ninth in the league. The Syracuse alum, nicknamed “Slim,” is a four-time All-Defensive selection and two-time WNBA steals leader. Johnson will lean on her, Stefanie Dolson, and Shakira Austin as his veteran core to lead the young locker room.

Sykes shouted out Olsen when discussing how the Mystics will recover from losing Amoore.

“I mean, that’s a luxury. Before Amoore went down, we had three [facilitators],” the 5-foot-9-inch guard said. “Now, without her, there’s Sug [Sutton] and Jade [Melbourne]. We also have Lucy, we have me, we have Soni[a Citron]. There’s multiple people on this team who can be the primary ballhandler or dominate the ball. We have trust in Sug and Jade to carry that out. Of course, we wanted Georgia to be a part of it, but that just means that something is brewing in the pot for us next season that somebody hasn’t seen in her.”

Olsen’s first chance to prove her fans right will be in the Mystics’ season opener against the Dream on Friday night.