Basketball

Former Iowa star Megan Gustafson leans on Christ after getting cut from WNBA

By Joshua Doering May 30, 2019
Former Iowa forward Megan Gustafson (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Megan Gustafson scored 2,871 points in her four years at the University of Iowa. She averaged 27.9 points and 13.5 rebounds per game while shooting 70 percent from the field as a senior in 2018-19. Gustafson won multiple player of the year awards, including the Citizen Naismith Trophy, women’s college basketball’s equivalent of the Heisman.

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The WNBA was the logical next step. On draft night, the Dallas Wings took Gustafson with the fifth pick in the second round. Things were all going to plan — until the call came. When the Wings finalized their roster before their season opener on May 24, Gustafson was one of the players cut.

On Saturday, Gustafson launched a blog called “She’s Got Faith.” In her first post, she pointed to her relationship with God as the most important thing in her life.

“I am so thankful for my hometown background and family. Both have made me the player and more importantly the person I am today,” Gustafson wrote. “Most importantly, however, is my faith in the Lord – being a Christian has been my identity and foundation since as long as I can remember, and no matter where I end up during my lifetime I know that He is always with me.”

On Tuesday, Gustafson announced she will be playing for Iowa United in The Basketball Tournament this summer. The tournament will take place from July 19-Aug. 6 at venues across the country.

While her professional basketball career hasn’t gone the way she planned, Gustafson’s faith in God has never wavered.

“It’s definitely helpful to know that God has a plan for me, and I’ve just got to trust it,” she told Hawk Central this week. “In the past, it’s been really easy to trust that because I’ve had things all figured out for me, in terms of, ‘I’m going to go to college, I’m going to play, I’m going to do everything well, then I’m going to the WNBA, and that’ll be awesome.’

“But there’s a bump in the road.'”

Gustafson is determined to not let this be the end of her career. She plans to play professionally overseas and continue working on her game to earn a shot with another WNBA team,

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