Bruce Jenkins on Caitlin
• Caitlin Clark, the biggest story in women’s basketball, turns pro and launches her WNBA career with Indiana.
If you’re somehow unaware of Clark’s performances for the University of Iowa, it was best summarized by Big Ten Network announcer Mike Hall during Clark’s 40-point masterpiece Tuesday night against Michigan State: “We are watching one of the greatest basketball players of all time.”
That’s right — including the men.
Nobody, including Curry, Pete Maravich and Larry Bird, ever shot better from
way outside than Clark. Forget the routine 3-pointers: Clark is flat-out deadly from 30 feet and beyond. Her footwork and shot release are absolutely textbook. Even from the “logo,” which is just inside midcourt at Carver-Hawkeye arena, this is a routine jump shot for Clark.
That’s where she found herself Tuesday night in the game’s final seconds. The halfcourt stripe is 47 feet from the basket, she cast off from about 10 feet inside that. “I knew it was going in when it left my hand,” she said after the buzzer-beating shot gave Iowa the victory, and so did everyone in the building.
This is where Clark’s admirable perspective came into play. “Honestly, I just look around and I get to play in an arena full of little kids, a lot of little girls who admire our team,” she said. “Fans that are here at 8 p.m. on a Tuesday night in the beginning of January. That’s rare for women’s basketball, but it’s becoming the norm.”
The collegiate game has become the province of great athletes with superb skills (personal favorites: Colorado’s Jaylyn Sherrod, USC’s JuJu Watkins, South Carolina’s MiLaysia Fulwiley and UConn’s Paige Bueckers), but Clark’s talent is such that she rises above them all. Even as she leads the nation in scoring (31.5 points per game), her first instinct is to find an open teammate — and she’s an NBA-level passer in strength and timing, leading the country in total assists (111) heading into the weekend.
Clark has another year of eligibility remaining at Iowa, but this would be an awfully good time to turn pro. Indiana has the first pick in the draft, and Clark cherishes her Midwestern upbringing and values. She always has had a knack for passes of all varieties to players around the basket, and Indiana has a real gem in WNBA Rookie of the Year Aliyah Boston. (All-Star guard Kelsey Mitchell and former Stanford standout Lexi Hull also are on that team.)
Clark would be an invaluable addition anywhere, even with WNBA superpowers New York and Las Vegas. But she would unquestionably be the focus of Indiana’s offense, and the crowd-appeal factor would be a blessing for the league.
And if she stays in college? More sold-out arenas, NIL endorsement money and must-see television. Can’t go wrong.
Bruce Jenkins writes the 3-Dot Lounge for the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: jenksurf@gmail.com Twitter: @Bruce_Jenkins1
