Normally it would be a bad look for someone to miss a dinner in which they will be presented a prominent national award.
In Caitlin Clark’s case, I think ºüÀêÊÓƵ can let it slide.
Besides, enough people have knocked Clark for pointless and petty reasons.
One of the biggest names in sports unfortunately won’t be on hand for Wednesday’s U.S. Basketball Writers Association’s college basketball awards banquet at the Missouri Athletic Club. Someone will have to accept on Clark’s behalf her second consecutive Ann Meyers Drysdale Award, which is given to the national player of the year. In defense of the three-time Big Ten player of the year and back-to-back winner of this award, her schedule is pretty tight these days.
Clark appeared on “Saturday Night Live†over the weekend, and on Monday night she still was in New York for the WNBA draft, in which the Indiana Fever took her with the first pick. (And congratulations to Edwardsville's Kate Martin, Clark's Iowa teammate who was selected 18th overall by the defending WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces.)
People are also reading…
There’s busy. Then there’s Clark.
She’s everywhere, all at once. On our TV screens, in our social media feeds and featured heavily in our daily sports discussions. Sure, she shattered gobs of records on her way to becoming the NCAA’s career scoring leader. But she also helped lift her entire sport to a heightened state at the perfect time. And the best part? Women’s college basketball was more than ready for the brighter spotlight and capitalized upon its arrival.
That last part seems to be what some women’s basketball veterans, none more prominently than Diana Taurasi, could not seem to grasp. If Clark was the only reason some watched women’s hoops this season, and those newcomers are more likely to stick around, is that not a great thing?
The women’s game isn’t just thriving because of Clark. But with each jaw-dropping 3-pointer and perfectly timed pass, she demanded more eyeballs for all. Even after beating her and the rest of the Iowa Hawkeyes in the national championship game, South Carolina coach Dawn Staley praised Clark for making her mark.
“I want to personally thank Caitlin Clark for lifting up our sport,†Staley said then. “She carried a heavy load for our sport, and it just isn’t going to stop here on the collegiate tour, but when she’s the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft, she’s going to lift that league up as well.â€
Unfortunately, others missed the mark
Whether it's jealousy, college loyalty to other programs or something else entirely, it stinks.
Breanna Stewart said Clark shouldn’t be considered as one of the greats in women’s college basketball history because she did not win an NCAA championship. Lynette Woodard, after accepting Iowa’s invitation to be toasted and celebrated as her scoring record was surpassed by Clark, later undercut Clark by saying she didn’t think Clark truly broke her record after all because Woodward didn’t benefit from the 3-point shot. Taurasi, a decorated WNBA veteran of the Phoenix Mercury, bizarrely turned her ESPN commentary during the NCAA Tournament into repeated subtle and sometimes not-so-subtle shots at Clark.
“Reality is coming,†Taurasi said about Clark.
Maybe. Or maybe it’s coming for Taurasi. Maybe Clark is about to become the best thing that has happened to the WNBA since its 1997 launch.
Before I left home for my Cardinals spring training shift, I made sure to hold my daughter up to a TV so I could tell her years from now that she saw Clark play in her Iowa prime. Corny? Even by Iowa standards. But I didn’t care. A ºüÀêÊÓƵ sports question-and-answer discussion I hosted recently started with three rapid-fire questions about Clark and the women’s NCAA Tournament. I know I’m not the only one who had more fun watching the women’s tournament than the men’s version.
These are not isolated occurrences.
Women’s Final Four tickets were harder to find and more expensive than the men’s equivalent this year. Iowa’s highly anticipated NCAA Tournament rematch against Louisiana State shattered recent TV ratings records for the sport. Then powerhouse South Carolina’s defeat of Iowa in the title game earned a reported 18.9 million viewers, making it not just the most-watched women’s college basketball game ever but also the most viewed among men’s or women’s games ever on an ESPN platform.
You can see why Fox Sports reportedly floated the idea of a name, image and likeness offer for Clark that would have been aimed at keeping her at Iowa for her final year of college eligibility. But Clark never waffled on her desire to jump to the WNBA. Lucky for the WNBA.
Taurasi doesn’t seem to get it, but her team sure does. The Mercury already started marketing Clark’s fist WNBA clash with her lead critic as a ticket-selling stunt. And guess what? It’s working.
It’s on women’s college basketball to sustain its momentum without Cark. It’s on the WNBA to not screw this up. As for those of us who will miss seeing Clark here in ºüÀêÊÓƵ this week, the good news is we won’t have to drive far to see her star.