Caitlin Clark is the first TRUE star in the history of woman’s basketball.

[FarBeyondDriven]

I don't think Clark's impact will translate to the WNBA. Not because she's not amazing and capable, but because her opponents (and likely her teammates) will resent and hate her and will sell out to stop her at all costs even at the detriment to their team winning. She'll likely adjust and easily lead the league in assists but that's not what got her famous. After awhile, people will get bored and the ratings will crater. Hopefully she'll cash in on the initial craze so she can set her and future generations up for life.

[shrink]

Congrats to South Carolina for ruining the Clark circle jerk. You would have thought they were the underdog and afterthought the way ESPN and fans went about things.

This board also, look what thread everyone was posting in.

Every single person on the ESPN pre-game show picked South Carolina to win.

And the game before, all four picked UConn to beat Iowa too.

[SalsaNchips]

People discrediting what Clark just did for women’s basketball by insinuating it was fueled by the media is unfortunate.

[FuShengTHEGreat]

I'm an Iowa guy for life and of course I'm thrilled about our run with Clark and Marshall and Martin (from 5 miles from my house go Kate!).

I really wish the media had pushed more on USC and just how much of a juggernaut those women were this year and last. Quite simply, one of the greatest teams in college sports history. My Hawks came out gunning from the get-go, and the Gamecocks just took it in stride, played their game, and demolished their opponent like they did 37 other times in a row this season. What a team. Undefeated, wow. (ps go Hawks I'm so proud of our squad)

I don't know what happened but I don't know how they weren't able to recruit Audi Crooks. That girl was born n bred right in Iowa and is a absolute unit but somehow ended up a Cyclone instead.

With her Nobody on SC would've been able to boss her around like what happened to that Charmin soft Hawkeye frontcourt and Caitlin would likely have been on a winning title team.

[boogiezen]

I'm an Iowa guy for life and of course I'm thrilled about our run with Clark and Marshall and Martin (from 5 miles from my house go Kate!).

I really wish the media had pushed more on USC and just how much of a juggernaut those women were this year and last. Quite simply, one of the greatest teams in college sports history. My Hawks came out gunning from the get-go, and the Gamecocks just took it in stride, played their game, and demolished their opponent like they did 37 other times in a row this season. What a team. Undefeated, wow. (ps go Hawks I'm so proud of our squad)

I don't know what happened but I don't know how they weren't able to recruit Audi Crooks. That girl was born n bred right in Iowa and is a absolute unit but somehow ended up a Cyclone instead.

With her Nobody on SC would've been able to boss her around like what happened to that Charmin soft Hawkeye frontcourt and Caitlin would likely have been on a winning title team.

I doubt Crooks can change the outcome of the game. Sure she can help but Staley is known for her adjustment. Clark was on fire at the start of the game. The whole coaching staff of South Carolina knew it wasn't sustainable for 40 minutes because Iowa has no bench.

Anyway, I will put Clark as one of the GOATS in College basketball. A generational player. She stayed in Iowa. Helped their program. She didn't go to powerhouse programs and choose an easy way out. Especially with the whole transfer portal thing. She went to a program that has no luxury in getting ALL American players/5 stars recruits. Back to back Finals is not easy especially beating teams like LSU, UCONN, Colorado twice and the undefeated South Carolina last year. Not to mention the pressure was on her on and off the court, BUT handled it with CLASS.

As for her playing in the WNBA, I don't know if it can translate to anything like in College. It's just a toxic league.

[One_and_Done]

It'll never happen, but if the women want to make real money they should just professionalise women's college ball. It has more eyeballs than the the WNBA, and there's no reason it can't be run as a relegation style league so you only pick the cream. That's how old rugby teams used to be formed; then once the league is profitable you expand to a few non-college teams.

[FuShengTHEGreat]

I'm an Iowa guy for life and of course I'm thrilled about our run with Clark and Marshall and Martin (from 5 miles from my house go Kate!).

I really wish the media had pushed more on USC and just how much of a juggernaut those women were this year and last. Quite simply, one of the greatest teams in college sports history. My Hawks came out gunning from the get-go, and the Gamecocks just took it in stride, played their game, and demolished their opponent like they did 37 other times in a row this season. What a team. Undefeated, wow. (ps go Hawks I'm so proud of our squad)

I don't know what happened but I don't know how they weren't able to recruit Audi Crooks. That girl was born n bred right in Iowa and is a absolute unit but somehow ended up a Cyclone instead.

With her Nobody on SC would've been able to boss her around like what happened to that Charmin soft Hawkeye frontcourt and Caitlin would likely have been on a winning title team.

I doubt Crooks can change the outcome of the game. Sure she can help but Staley is known for her adjustment. Clark was on fire at the start of the game. The whole coaching staff of South Carolina knew it wasn't sustainable for 40 minutes because Iowa has no bench.

Anyway, I will put Clark as one of the GOATS in College basketball. A generational player. She stayed in Iowa. Helped their program. She didn't go to powerhouse programs and choose an easy way out. Especially with the whole transfer portal thing. She went to a program that has no luxury in getting ALL American players/5 stars recruits. Back to back Finals is not easy especially beating teams like LSU, UCONN, Colorado twice and the undefeated South Carolina last year. Not to mention the pressure was on her on and off the court, BUT handled it with CLASS.

As for her playing in the WNBA, I don't know if it can translate to anything like in College. It's just a toxic league.

The bolded is the part that bothered me the most about seeing them lose the past 2 seasons.

In addition to getting the creme de la creme of the recruiting classes LSU in 22-23 had 5 talented transfers join a program that already won 20+ games. Then this title winning SC team also added PaoPao who was all Pac 10 in Oregon the year before.

Whereas Iowa to become a powerhouse solely relied on recruiting outta HS. It's not unfair or against the rules, but feels kinda 2010-11 Miami Heat-ish

I don't believe in calling anyone player the GOAT in men's or women's basketball, but imho Caitlin takes a backseat to no woman in NCAA. I don't see any woman in NCAA history that would've faired better winning wise in Clarks shoes. And a lot of them with multi titles wouldn't have gotten Iowa to 2 title games.

Caitlin's not the Michael Jordan or Bill Russell of. College basketball because her teams didnt win it all.

But she can be seen as Barry Sanders or Ken Griffey Jr of NCAA women's basketball. They never played on a team that won it all.....but that hasn't detracted from them being seem as right at the top in their prospectove sports vs people that have played for winners. Those are GOAT tier athletes in their sports.

[jc23]

Can anyone spot what's wrong with this headline and picture card?

Spoiler:

Read on Twitter

Caitlin gets you clicks; the same way a picture of lebron would. Not sure what the headlines were last year but after Denver beat the Lakers i remember alot of talk about lebrons possible retirement and where the lakers go from there.

either way who is getting their sports news from CNN anyway. People need to back off social media when your looking for something like this to trigger you.

[jc23]

I'm an Iowa guy for life and of course I'm thrilled about our run with Clark and Marshall and Martin (from 5 miles from my house go Kate!).

I really wish the media had pushed more on USC and just how much of a juggernaut those women were this year and last. Quite simply, one of the greatest teams in college sports history. My Hawks came out gunning from the get-go, and the Gamecocks just took it in stride, played their game, and demolished their opponent like they did 37 other times in a row this season. What a team. Undefeated, wow. (ps go Hawks I'm so proud of our squad)

I don't know what happened but I don't know how they weren't able to recruit Audi Crooks. That girl was born n bred right in Iowa and is a absolute unit but somehow ended up a Cyclone instead.

With her Nobody on SC would've been able to boss her around like what happened to that Charmin soft Hawkeye frontcourt and Caitlin would likely have been on a winning title team.

I doubt Crooks can change the outcome of the game. Sure she can help but Staley is known for her adjustment. Clark was on fire at the start of the game. The whole coaching staff of South Carolina knew it wasn't sustainable for 40 minutes because Iowa has no bench.

Anyway, I will put Clark as one of the GOATS in College basketball. A generational player. She stayed in Iowa. Helped their program. She didn't go to powerhouse programs and choose an easy way out. Especially with the whole transfer portal thing. She went to a program that has no luxury in getting ALL American players/5 stars recruits. Back to back Finals is not easy especially beating teams like LSU, UCONN, Colorado twice and the undefeated South Carolina last year. Not to mention the pressure was on her on and off the court, BUT handled it with CLASS.

As for her playing in the WNBA, I don't know if it can translate to anything like in College. It's just a toxic league.

i keep hearing this but outside of one former player who said as much i dont see much evidence this is the case. Guess i will see next season as im interested in women's basketball now.

And yes Caitlin easily could have transferred and won it all if she wanted to. Her on LSU would have been a cheat code.

[SA37]

Clearly I'm in the minority because I just don't like watching Caitlin chucker Harden play basketball. Her shot selection is atrocious.

Also, South Carolina was stacked. I can see why they went undefeated.

Caveat that this is the first game I've seen Clark play aside from the highlights.

She looked lethargic and tired, imo. I completely get why the hype is there, and simultaneously, you can clearly see the areas where she can improve. I have been incredibly impressed by how she's handling all this pressure and fame over the last 2 years. This is Wemby hype, and she has performed in record-breaking fashion over 2 seasons.

I really, really hope she has the right people around her to keep her grounded and to keep her working on her game.

As for the game itself, S Carolina shot extremely well and won because they absolutely killed Iowa on the glass. Even when Iowa managed to get stops, S Carolina got the rebound and scored.

Agreed. She seems to be handling all the added pressure like a pro. I also agree she looked gassed. Did she play the entire game?

I watched the LSU game and her shot selection was awful in that one too.

I caught the game from the 2nd quarter and didn't see her sit, so I assume she did play the whole game. That said, I think Iowa only made 1 sub before they cleared the bench at the end. In any case, to me it was less about playing the entire game than just cumulative fatigue. She didn't seem explosive and really didn't create solid separation on her shots. She lost her dribble/the ball in very lazy fashion multiple times....etc. There was no defensive effort on her part; she just kept reaching.

As for the shot selection, I can't really say. I wonder if it isn't a combo of her "needing" to get up that many shots and just simply playing against elite competition with very good defenders tracking her up and down the court. (I saw the highlights of the LSU game and she made some REALLY tough, contested shots.)

[sikma42]

I'm an Iowa guy for life and of course I'm thrilled about our run with Clark and Marshall and Martin (from 5 miles from my house go Kate!).

I really wish the media had pushed more on USC and just how much of a juggernaut those women were this year and last. Quite simply, one of the greatest teams in college sports history. My Hawks came out gunning from the get-go, and the Gamecocks just took it in stride, played their game, and demolished their opponent like they did 37 other times in a row this season. What a team. Undefeated, wow. (ps go Hawks I'm so proud of our squad)

I don't know what happened but I don't know how they weren't able to recruit Audi Crooks. That girl was born n bred right in Iowa and is a absolute unit but somehow ended up a Cyclone instead.

With her Nobody on SC would've been able to boss her around like what happened to that Charmin soft Hawkeye frontcourt and Caitlin would likely have been on a winning title team.

I doubt Crooks can change the outcome of the game. Sure she can help but Staley is known for her adjustment. Clark was on fire at the start of the game. The whole coaching staff of South Carolina knew it wasn't sustainable for 40 minutes because Iowa has no bench.

Anyway, I will put Clark as one of the GOATS in College basketball. A generational player. She stayed in Iowa. Helped their program. She didn't go to powerhouse programs and choose an easy way out. Especially with the whole transfer portal thing. She went to a program that has no luxury in getting ALL American players/5 stars recruits. Back to back Finals is not easy especially beating teams like LSU, UCONN, Colorado twice and the undefeated South Carolina last year. Not to mention the pressure was on her on and off the court, BUT handled it with CLASS.

As for her playing in the WNBA, I don't know if it can translate to anything like in College. It's just a toxic league.

Deleted


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM mobile app

[jc23]

I don't know what happened but I don't know how they weren't able to recruit Audi Crooks. That girl was born n bred right in Iowa and is a absolute unit but somehow ended up a Cyclone instead.

With her Nobody on SC would've been able to boss her around like what happened to that Charmin soft Hawkeye frontcourt and Caitlin would likely have been on a winning title team.

I doubt Crooks can change the outcome of the game. Sure she can help but Staley is known for her adjustment. Clark was on fire at the start of the game. The whole coaching staff of South Carolina knew it wasn't sustainable for 40 minutes because Iowa has no bench.

Anyway, I will put Clark as one of the GOATS in College basketball. A generational player. She stayed in Iowa. Helped their program. She didn't go to powerhouse programs and choose an easy way out. Especially with the whole transfer portal thing. She went to a program that has no luxury in getting ALL American players/5 stars recruits. Back to back Finals is not easy especially beating teams like LSU, UCONN, Colorado twice and the undefeated South Carolina last year. Not to mention the pressure was on her on and off the court, BUT handled it with CLASS.

As for her playing in the WNBA, I don't know if it can translate to anything like in College. It's just a toxic league.

Deleted


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM mobile app

true, i think that was her dream school but i could be wrong. Still she could have transferred out and been welcomed with open arms after top schools saw the mistake they made passing on her.

[Statlanta]

I wonder if this is the making of the next Serena Williams or a flash in the pan like Rhonda Rousey.

[prophet_of_rage]

Not blamong Caitlin for the loss at all. Her team was woefully overmatched.

But if she had a midrange game this game would've went right down to the wire and she would've finished with at least 40 points. She almost never looks to shoot in between finishing at the basket or hitting a 3.

Thats the only offensive flaw she has.

So if shebhad game like Bueckers.

Sent from my SM-S9080 using RealGM mobile app

[Rust_Cohle]

Sadly she will never come close to the viewership the NCAA gets, she will do well in the WNBA but long term it won’t move the needle much for the leagues popularity

[eminence]

Caveat that this is the first game I've seen Clark play aside from the highlights.

She looked lethargic and tired, imo. I completely get why the hype is there, and simultaneously, you can clearly see the areas where she can improve. I have been incredibly impressed by how she's handling all this pressure and fame over the last 2 years. This is Wemby hype, and she has performed in record-breaking fashion over 2 seasons.

I really, really hope she has the right people around her to keep her grounded and to keep her working on her game.

As for the game itself, S Carolina shot extremely well and won because they absolutely killed Iowa on the glass. Even when Iowa managed to get stops, S Carolina got the rebound and scored.

Agreed. She seems to be handling all the added pressure like a pro. I also agree she looked gassed. Did she play the entire game?

I watched the LSU game and her shot selection was awful in that one too.

I caught the game from the 2nd quarter and didn't see her sit, so I assume she did play the whole game. That said, I think Iowa only made 1 sub before they cleared the bench at the end. In any case, to me it was less about playing the entire game than just cumulative fatigue. She didn't seem explosive and really didn't create solid separation on her shots. She lost her dribble/the ball in very lazy fashion multiple times....etc. There was no defensive effort on her part; she just kept reaching.

As for the shot selection, I can't really say. I wonder if it isn't a combo of her "needing" to get up that many shots and just simply playing against elite competition with very good defenders tracking her up and down the court. (I saw the highlights of the LSU game and she made some REALLY tough, contested shots.)

Didn't sit in the Elite 8/Final Four or in the Championship.

Unsurprising with Molly out for the tournament (primary bench guard), but very difficult to hold up through LSU/UCONN/SC playing 40 mpg as the alpha/omega ballhandler.

Was nice to see Molly get checked in at the end.

[prophet_of_rage]

Congrats to South Carolina for ruining the Clark circle jerk. You would have thought they were the underdog and afterthought the way ESPN and fans went about things.

This board also, look what thread everyone was posting in.

Every single person on the ESPN pre-game show picked South Carolina to win.

And the game before, all four picked UConn to beat Iowa too.

Iowa is not a good team minus Clark.

Sent from my SM-S9080 using RealGM mobile app

[eminence]

I don't know what happened but I don't know how they weren't able to recruit Audi Crooks. That girl was born n bred right in Iowa and is a absolute unit but somehow ended up a Cyclone instead.

With her Nobody on SC would've been able to boss her around like what happened to that Charmin soft Hawkeye frontcourt and Caitlin would likely have been on a winning title team.

It's not that surprising, the two universities are approximately the same size and Audi grew up in a part of the state where you're more likely to be a Clones fan.

[eyriq]

Good take. I agree.

[BobbyPortisEyes]

I don't think Clark's impact will translate to the WNBA. Not because she's not amazing and capable, but because her opponents (and likely her teammates) will resent and hate her and will sell out to stop her at all costs even at the detriment to their team winning. She'll likely adjust and easily lead the league in assists but that's not what got her famous. After awhile, people will get bored and the ratings will crater. Hopefully she'll cash in on the initial craze so she can set her and future generations up for life.

Do you think she has the type of personality that will make her teammates "likely" to resent her? I have a hard time believing that. There's that famous video of some of Lebron's future Cavs' teammates not being impressed by him. They turned around pretty quickly.. why wouldn't Caitlin's teammates? Caitlin is a more mature, self-aware person and leader than an 18 year old Lebron.

Watch on YouTube