Iowa City West’s Jack Jensen-Fitzpatrick just blocks out the noise

IOWA CITY — He has taken 116 shots this boys basketball season with his Iowa City West team.

All but 10 of them have come from 3-point range.

That happens sometimes. Guys have roles, specialties, and Jack Jensen-Fitzpatrick’s is distance shooting.

It’s just that his mom, Jan Jensen, has been one of the best post player coaches in the country for years. Jan is head women’s basketball coach at the University of Iowa, of course.

A tiny slice of irony here.

“When I was younger, I knew I had a good 3-ball,” Jensen-Fitzpatrick said. “I mean, I've never been a big guy, so I didn’t really live in there (in the paint). I will say, though, that I have some moves. I’m just not big, so I don’t use them. I wish Coach (Jason) Kern would get me in a mismatch inside and use a little high-low because I’ve got some moves. But shooting has been my role since fourth grade.”

And it has gotten him to a point where he is a team captain and started all 16 games this season for West after being a bit reserve player last season. His scoring average has risen from 2.7 to 8.6 points per game.

His release is quick, his ability to get hot in a hurry real, his on-court smarts obvious.

“I wish my shot would fall a little more than it has,” Jensen-Fitzpatrick said. “But I mean, I'm proud. I knew I was going to get a bigger role this year. I didn't know I was going to start, but we had a bunch of injuries and guys not come out. I’m really proud of the way I was able to step in right away. I think I made a difference in the beginning. Now we’ve had people come back. I used to play the entire game, but it has shifted to where now we have 10 guys who play. That’s been a little bit of an adjustment.”

“First and foremost, he’s a great kid. A great kid and a great family,” said West Coach Jason Kern. “He’s like another coach out there. He’s so smart. Sometimes the things he can’t do athletically he makes up for because of his smarts on the court. So fundamentally sound, a great shooter, our best 3-point shooter.”

As you’d expect, basketball always has been a thing, the biggest thing for Jensen-Fitzpatrick, a 6-foot senior guard. It’s a game his mom Jan has made a career out of and a game his mom Julie Fitzpatrick also played in college before a knee injury ended her career.

Jack has had a front-row seat for the best era in Hawkeyes history, and it has left an indelible mark on him.

“Obviously Caitlin (Clark), that whole thing was super special and something I’ll never forget,” he said. “Growing up, I would travel with the team all the time. I’ve been to every Big Ten arena except for the Pac-12 ones. But I would travel with the team, and it was really fun. Being around that, everyone taught me about culture and just how important that is to a team. So honestly being a little small part, the son of one of the coaches for that long, has just been really cool. A very big piece of my life.”

“It was when he was probably 1 or 2 years old, we got him his first Little Tikes hoop, and he loved that thing,” Jan Jensen said. “It’s so funny because I don’t think there’s a day that has ever gone by where the first time I see him shoot, whether he’s 8 and would come to practice at Carver and I’d rebound for him, I just see that little joy of the very first time when he got his own hoop. That’s probably the thing we’ve done most together ... He has always been a kid that has really enjoyed the game.”

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It’s never the easiest thing to be the kid of a coach, someone who is a prominent public figure in the state, but Jensen-Fitzpatrick seems to have handled it well. He said he doesn’t feel much pressure, knows people watch what he does closer than the average high school player, though it’s not that big of a deal.

Chirps may come from student sections every now and then, but he said it’s nothing like what he witnessed first hand last season as a teammate of Jack McCaffery, youngest son of then-Iowa head men’s basketball coach Fran McCaffery.

“Jack got bombed,” Jensen-Fitzpatrick said. “I used to feel (pressure) a little bit more. When I was younger, I stepped into a role where people just know who I am, being Jan’s kid. But as I’ve grown, I’ve just realized I don’t pay attention to the noise that much. I just kind of do my own thing. I just think it’s best to stay in that mindset the whole time of just staying the course.

“I mean, people can get on you. I’m not the biggest offensive threat getting down hill, so people can be like ‘Come on, you’ve been around basketball.’ But I really don’t care. I just am who I am, and I’m proud of that.”

His parents are, too.

Jensen-Fitzpatrick will be part of the Iowa women’s program next season as a manager. At Iowa, the managers practice against the team at times, so he’ll get an opportunity to keep his shot sharp.

“I’m over the moon for him about that. I’m excited ... I’ll get to see him more hours in a day than I do now,” Jan Jensen said. “He has always kind of been a manager. I remember he came with us to Nebraska when he was 3 ... I remember I told him ‘Mommy’s not with us,’ that’s Julie name, so I told him ‘You’ve just got to sit behind the bench and there is a manager if you need to go to the bathroom.’

“The way things were situated, they were truly right behind us. We got down really fast in the game, probably 12-2 or 12-4, something like that. We called a timeout. I was sitting down and felt a tap on my shoulder. I looked back at him, and with his big eyes, he says ‘Mom, we need to play better defense.’ I just looked at him and said ‘We do. We’re gonna work on it.’ He was so earnest. He’s got a good take on most things, even did at that age.”

Sounds like a coach, though Jensen-Fitzpatrick said he doesn’t plan on pursuing that route. He’ll major in sport and rec management, with his eye on getting into a front-office position some day.

Comments: jeff.johnson@thegazette.com