Capturing Greatness: Iowa Photographer Chronicles Historic Hoops Season

PHOTO: TIM SCHOON/UI OFFICE OF STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION Brian Ray photographs the first round of the NCAA women's basketball tournament this past March at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City.

One of the greatest assists of the Hawkeyes’ return to the national championship game came from a teammate who never took the court. Brian Ray (02BA), director of photography for UI Athletics, delivered Hawk fans an exclusive pass to the Iowa women’s basketball team’s NCAA tournament run.

From momentum-shifting plays to locker room celebrations, Ray captured it all, taking tens of thousands of photos. The team’s full-time photographer recently talked with Iowa Magazine about capturing the remarkable images that tell the story of this inspiring team.

What memories stand out to you from this team?

A lot of [what] I remember most is the stuff that’s never seen the light. It’s the cool moments in the locker room. Kate Martin (22BS, 24MA) rapping and everybody dancing and getting pumped up for the game. That’s always a cool thing to witness, them interacting and having fun outside the spotlight.

One of the funny ones was the women looking at the [solar] eclipse on the airplane on the way home [from the national championship game in Cleveland], just them being people. It’s fun to get to know them in that vein more so than as players.

How have you seen the team have fun on and off the court?

Jada Gyamfi is our ambassador of fun, so she’s always making TikTok videos and trying to get them to dance.

One thing that’s always fun is at the end of shootaround, before the circle, they do what they call the relay, which is a competition where they start off with Mikan drills and then it goes to free throws into three-pointers and ends in half-court shots. It was always Caitlin Clark (24BBA) versus Syd Affolter for the half-court shots. Caitlin would always taunt Syd, and Syd would give it right back to her. I would always cheer for Syd, just because I almost felt bad for her. And I also thought it would get to Caitlin if somebody was cheering for Syd instead of her.

What’s it like to have a front-row seat to all these moments as a photographer?

The weird thing about being behind the camera is you don’t really get to internalize it. You don’t get to enjoy it or remember a lot. You’re always looking for the next thing or the next moment or making sure that your exposure is correct. So you don’t really get to enjoy it in the moment.

How involved are you in team activities beyond the court?

We all have meals with them, as we’re part of the team essentially. There are some things we don’t always attend like their scout meetings. It’s a hotel ballroom where they’re sitting in chairs, watching a video.

But it’s funny, you saying that just triggered something. One of the things that happens every year about this time is my daughter’s birthday, and I’m always gone for it. Coach Lisa Bluder found out it was my daughter’s birthday, and she had me FaceTime her and had the team sing her “Happy Birthday.”

That’s the kind of value that Coach puts on all of us. She wanted to make that special for my daughter in that moment. It’s little things like that that I will remember more than anything. And also just [team] meals where everybody’s sitting around. Sometimes we sit with the players, sometimes we sit with the staff. People come and go, and it’s a good time to talk to them about life, what they’re doing, and school. It’s almost never about basketball.

What stands out from covering a generational talent like Caitlin Clark?

I will always remember the grace with which Caitlin handled her star and continues to handle her star. So many people want a piece of her. So many people feel like they deserve a piece of her. And to a large degree, she owes them nothing, and yet she constantly gives them everything. That’s something I’ll always remember about her almost more than her [greatness] on the court. It’s how she dealt with everything.

Everywhere we went all season was nuts, and no matter how she was feeling on any given day, she always took the time to make them feel special. I always appreciated seeing that because you look at the photos, and you see the way that her walking by or signing an autograph lights up a kid’s face. It meant a lot to them.

Her life is difficult. She can’t leave her room on the road. She can’t go do things, because everywhere she goes she’s hounded for autographs or people want a piece of her to the point where we had several officers that traveled with us, and those guys were amazing. They did their best to let her experience everything. If she wanted to go to Dunkin’, one of them would walk to Dunkin’ with her. She never went anywhere alone. And that’s something that for somebody of her age, to be able to handle it as gracefully as she does is something I will always remember. Even if she was annoyed, even if she didn’t want to do it, she always still did it, and that’s something I will never forget.

What was it like to be in the media frenzy surrounding Caitlin?

It was crazy because if you stand anywhere near [No.] 22, you’re going to be on TV. And so I would get texts from people during the games who’d say, “Oh, I saw you on TV.” If you stand anywhere near her, that’s what’s going to happen.

One of the last things I said to her before she left town, I thanked her and I thanked all the women for taking us on the ride because we as staff—as photographers and videographers—we’ve gotten to do things that all of us dreamed of, going to Final Fours, but were never sure that we’d actually get to do. They made it look somewhat easy for the last couple years, but these are hard things to do. Especially now with the parity you’re starting to see in the women’s game.

It used to be there were six good teams that were Final Four contenders. There were a lot of good teams, but they weren’t contending. It was this group contending for the Final Four, and then there was everyone else. And now you’re starting to see more and more parity throughout where you can get a [good] game from a Holy Cross. Winning these games is hard. To do what they did two years in a row is pretty special.

Team Circle

“This is what they do at the end of every pregame shootaround. They have their circle, where Coach usually has a message. A lot of times it’s from a book she’s read; she reads messages that she wants the team to focus on for a particular game.

“Toward the end of the season, she would pull a senior into the middle of the circle, and everyone would talk about what they appreciated about that person. These can be emotional. It’s a privilege to witness.”

West Virginia Pregame

“This was before Caitlin’s last game in Carver-Hawkeye Arena, so I was looking for moments of her reflecting. She sat next to Syd, and they started talking and laughing, and it made for a nice, quiet moment in the chaos.”

Sydney Affolter and West Virginia’s JJ Quinerly Collide

“This [second-round contest] was such a hard-fought game, and Syd may be the toughest player on the team. She’s not afraid to get on the floor and do the hard things. This was taken from a remote camera underneath the media seating. We can’t put it there during the season because there’s fan seating there, but during the tournament there are tables there, so we’re able to come up with different angles.

“The camera was set up for a deep Caitlin three to try to get her shooting from a different angle, but it just so happened that this play happened right in front of it.”

Hannah Stuelke’s 3-Point Play in Elite Eight

“Our women are good about celebrating each other’s victories. LSU was bigger than us, so it was important for them to celebrate Hannah [Stuelke, No. 45] for that basket. Coach prefers to celebrate the assist more than the basket. As a photographer, this is what I’m looking for—the moment after the moment, the reaction to the action.”

Caitlin Clark After the Elite Eight

“Everyone’s celebrating, and Caitlin laid down on the floor and was taking it all in. The trophy was just sitting there, and Coach Raina Harmon laid it on her. You can see the feet of all the people around her. It’s one of my more memorable shots from the run.”

Final Four Media Session

“This day is always fun—they used to call it the media car wash. The athletes have different stations where they’re interviewed by the NCAA, ESPN, and all the main stakeholders. This is from ESPN’s shoot, where they do their intro video for the game, along with their in-game graphics. The women like to make fun of each other and laugh.”

Hannah Stuelke After UConn Victory in Semifinals

“Coach picks who places the placard. It’s unique to the tournaments and a fun moment.”

Pre-Championship Open Practice

“Coach sat down with Molly Davis [who was injured]. They had a heartfelt moment where Molly broke down a little, and Lisa gave her a hug—and then it turned, and they were laughing. Coach is good at making sure everybody feels valued, from the players to the staff.”

Kate Martin and Caitlin Clark After Final Game

“This is something we’d been preparing for: What would the end look like for these seniors? How do we put a bow on the end of it? One thing I really wanted was to get Caitlin walking off the floor, and it just so happened that Kate was with her, which was perfect.

“As photographers, a lot of what we’re doing is almost trying to see into the future as far as what could happen in any game and what the storyline might be. It’s a little challenging in this environment, especially anything involving Caitlin, because there are so many people trying to get the same shot. You have to muscle your way in.”