CLEVELAND — While Caitlin Clark is stealing the show on the national women's basketball stage, Hamilton High School graduate AJ Ediger has certainly helped in her role with the Iowa women's basketball team.
"Her line is I will do whatever to help the team whether that's cheering on the bench or coming in and spelling starters legs or getting significant minutes," AJ's dad Jay Ediger said. "Whatever needs to be done she is willing and ready to do it."
Ediger must be doing something right as the Hawkeyes have returned to the Final Four for the second year in a row. She plays around five minutes a game off of the bench for Iowa.
"I think that all of us are still probably digesting all of that a little bit but back to back, I mean, it is incredible," AJ Ediger said.
If you want to talk incredible, that was Ediger in high school. Back then she still wore the black and gold for the Hawkeyes - the Hamilton Hawkeyes. She's a Hawkeye through and through. However, at Hamilton, she was the Caitlin Clark of the school. Ediger was the one hitting every shot for the Hawkeyes and eventually became the school's all-time leading scorer.
"I think she had her moments of Caitlin Clark," Former Hamilton head coach Dan VanHekken said. "She was a very multi-dimensional basketball player here. She definitely left a legacy and left a big mark here in Hamilton girls basketball."
It's a legacy that goes far beyond the game. The current girls basketball team at Hamilton even took a trip to Ann Arbor last season to see the former high school star play the Michigan Wolverines at the Crisler Center. She's their hero.
"She is still continuing to have that inspirational impact on the young girls in the community," Hamilton head coach Jackie Malloch said. "There's a buzz around Iowa women's basketball and for us to be connected to that because of her, we are just grateful and excited for her. We hope she knows the impact she continues to have even after being gone."
Her parents noticed that drive to be great from an early age with a basketball hoop on their trampoline in their backyard.
"She must not have been over 10 or 11 where she was taking over 100 shots with her right and over 100 shots with her left," Jay Ediger said. "And, you know, that was just her play."
Watching her play now is a great joy for her parents. They hardly ever miss a game. They drive from West Michigan to Iowa and also make it to many road games.
"Being there to support her is a great way to be connected with what she is doing, who she hangs out with, how she is growing as a human," AJ's mom Annette Ediger said. "We just appreciate the opportunity to go there and be a part of this movement."
The Iowa women's movement resulted in the most watched women's basketball game of all-time and having Ediger right in the thick of it is a dream come true.
"I am amazed by and so delighted by, she is part of a team that is changing women's basketball," AJ Ediger said.
AJ has also changed herself for the better during her three years at Iowa. She is pursuing a degree in social justice. The junior is also the president of the student chapter of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion on Iowa's campus.
"I am so proud of her that she applied herself and worked so hard, earned herself a position on this incredible team," Annette Ediger said. "After doing that, what she has shown, the growth that she has shown just as a human is incredible."
As much work has been done, Ediger knows the job is not finished.
"We're not done yet," AJ Ediger said. "We will celebrate in the moment, but we still have two more games to win."
AJ's parents and three sisters will be in Cleveland for the big Final Four showdown.
Iowa will play UConn for a spot in the national championship on Friday night. Tip is scheduled for 9 p.m. and the game will be televised on ESPN.
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