Dick Weiss on College Basketball
PHILADELPHIA– Caitlin Clark has become the face of college basketball this season.
Iowa’s 6-0 senior guard lit up Michigan for 49 points, 5 rebounds and 13 assists with nine threes the other night. In the process, she became
the leading all-time scorer in NCAA women’s basketball.
Clark has swagger. And she made the shot heard round the world when she broke the record– a deep 30 foot three from the logo in the first quarter
of a blowout 106-89 victory at sold out Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City. She ended the night with 3,569 points.
“I’m just really grateful. Thankful for everyone who came out tonight and supports our team night in and night out,” Clark said in post-game. “This wouldn’t be
possible if it wasn’t for these girls standing right here, my coaches. My family is over there. They let me be me every single day and I’m just lucky. I get to
wear Iowa” on my chest and coach (Lisa) Bluder lets me be Caitlin.
“I’m just really grateful, but we got a lot more winning to do, so let’s go!”
The crowd who got to witness Caitlin’s special moment broke into a rousing ovation as soon as Clark’s big shot dropped through the net. Despite protests from Clark,
Bluder called timeout to give Clark, his teammates and the crowd a quick moment to celebrate.
Clark has lived under a bright spotlight all season. But she seems to have embraced.it “We always talk about pressure being a privilege,” she said. “You want those
expectations. You want people to expect you to be great.”
When the game ended, Clark went over and hugged her parents, then was carried off the floor by her teammates, as the video on the scoreboard played
some of her biggest hits.
From here, it appears Clark, much like Steph Curry, is greatest pure shooter in the history of the women’s sport. She has unlimited range and a green light to shoot any shot she wants under game conditions. She has redefined what a good shot is.in basketball.
In my 54 years of covering college basketball, the best two women’s basketball players I have seen are Cheryl Miller of USC and Breanna
Stewart of UConn. Miller made the U.S. the gold standard of international basketball in the ’80s with her ability to dominate the middle
of the court. Stewart was a four-time MOP at the women’s Final Four from 2013 through 2016 the Huskies won four
consecutive national championships and is currently the most versatile player in the world.
Clark belongs in that conversation because of the way she has moved the needle in terms of increasing the popularity of the women’s game
after since last year’s national championship game against LSU that drew a sellout crowd in Dallas and a 9.9 Nielsen rating.
On Oct. 15, 2023, she played at /Crossover at Kinnick, a preseason exhibition game against DePaul at Kinnick Stadium and had a triple double
with 34 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in a 94-72 win. The game had an attendance of 55,646, which set the women’s.
basketball record.
She sells out every game he plays at home and on road in B1G arenas, which have been the beneficiary of the Catlin Clark effect. Her games have become appointment TV on ESPN and Fox, which has devoted a camera to her to record Clark during its broadcasts and to steam on TikTok..
Clark has become a huge celebrity who is shadowed by security officers before and after games. She has partnerships with Nike,
State Farm and Gatorade, worth more than $800,000. She has an easy choice as the No 1 pick in the WNBA draft if she declares and every
coach’s worse nightmare if she comes back for a fifth year, where she will make much more than a WNBA salary.
She has been a model of consistency, never missing a game in 124 outings and only missing double figures once in her brilliant
career.
“Her consistency is off the charts,” Bluder said. ”For her to do this night in, night out in front of sold-out arenas, chasing records.
For her to be this consistent is incredible. Everybody has a bad night. We all have bad nights. Caitlin doesn’t have bad nights.”
She has nights to remember. Fans expect it. And she delivers.
Clark attended Dowling Catholic High School in her hometown of West Des Moines where she was named a McDonald’s All American. She led the NCAA
Division I in scoring as a freshman, sophomore and junior, is a three time and soon to be four-time All America who should sweep the major national
Player of the Year for a second straight years. Clark is currently averaging 32.7 [points, 8.4 assists,6.8 rebounds and 1.6 steals a game.
