"She's going to be a total rock star in the WNBA as well....She's that special."
Indiana Fever win WNBA Draft Lottery & Chance to Draft Caitlin Clark (She won't be taking a Pay Cut)
- Thread starter Franisdaman
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Paige Bueckers announced last night that she is returning to UConn next year. IF she had entered the WNBA Draft, ESPN had her going #3 overall.
Hit the PLAY button.
Hit the PLAY button.
what's interesting is that Paige could play one more year after next season, as well
With her injuries she has had, I think it is a one shot deal to try to win a title.
we are almost 4 years past the start of covid shutdowns and people are still using covid years....crazy....
Should Caitlin Clark stay at Iowa or go to the WNBA? How about the Olympics? It's complicated
Caitlin Clark's Iowa-or-WNBA decision won't be easy. And with the Olympics looming, USA Basketball faces a tough call: Should it make room on a stocked roster for the college megastar?
Christine Brennan
USA TODAY
Feb 20, 2024
The Greatest Show in Sports is humming along, barnstorming the nation, hitting logo threes and breaking records as February works its way to the madness of March, bringing us closer to the answer to two intriguing questions:
Will Caitlin Clark stay at Iowa for her fifth COVID year or will she go to the WNBA?
And, is she going to represent the United States at the Olympics this summer in Paris?
The first question is totally in her control and all hers to answer. Does Clark, a fourth-year senior who gets a COVID year if she wants it, come back to Iowa to sink three-point shots and thread no-look passes and pack arenas around the Big Ten and the nation, which will be basically one and the same by the time the 2024-25 season begins?
Or does she go to the WNBA, where she will be the No. 1 pick in the draft and immediately become the best-known pro in the women’s game, even if there will be the inevitable learning curve playing with and against the best players in the world?
Does she remain or does she leave? It’s Brexit for sports.
On the other hand, she will never be more loved as a basketball player than when she’s playing in her home state of Iowa, and it’s not like the WNBA won’t be there, waiting for her, a year from now.
My guess is she’s going, but I really think she should stay. She should take advantage of that fortunate gift of an extra year at Iowa to turn next season into the most remarkable farewell tour the college game has ever seen.
There are many layers to that decision, but first, there’s another looming question surrounding Clark, and it's coming quickly now. The 2024 Summer Olympics start July 26 in Paris, and USA Basketball has a choice to make. Does it somehow make room somewhere on a stacked roster of the world’s greatest players on the most dominant sports team on earth for a 22-year-old college megastar?
The U.S. Olympic women’s basketball team hasn’t lost since 1992, and isn’t likely to lose in Paris. So it doesn’t need Clark.
Or does it?
I’ve covered quite a few U.S. women’s gold-medal basketball games at the Olympics, and when I look around and see a half-empty press tribune and wonder why, the answer I receive from my peers is that the Americans are just too good for their own good. People already know they’re going to win.
That’s a terrible reason to not report on a team, and we of course know that race is always a part of this conversation, but the fact remains that U.S. sports journalists do not cover this team as they should.
So, what if USA Basketball could somehow tap into the nation’s fascination with Caitlin Clark to help?
Women’s sports are always about more than sports. Someday that won’t be the case, but we’re not there yet. It’s why so many great female sports stars sign every autograph and pose for every selfie and talk about the number of girls in the stands and answer every question about Title IX and the growth of their sport. They are athletes and they are advocates, they are players and they are pioneers, and that’s just the way it is.
How many American sports fans, turning their attention to the Olympics a few days before they begin this summer, will ask this question: Is Caitlin Clark on the women’s basketball team?
Doesn’t the answer “No” sound strange?
If USA Basketball wants more eyeballs on this fabulous Olympic team, Clark will surely bring them, even if she is spending a good portion of her time on the bench — although who doesn’t want a three-point shooter and playmaker like her in international basketball?
Clark has become the human gateway to women’s hoops for hundreds of thousands, likely even millions, of girls and boys, women and men. USA Basketball certainly could draw on her enormous reach to help promote not only its 2024 Olympic team, but the women’s game in general. It wouldn’t hurt to honor the popularity of the college game in this manner, and it has been done before, with collegians like Christian Laettner, Rebecca Lobo, Diana Taurasi and Breanna Stewart making U.S. Olympic teams over the years.
There are of course so many reasons to not put Clark on the Olympic team. The team is just too good, filled with superstars up and down the roster. Who on earth do you cut to make room for Clark? That’s a nightmare of a decision. But for this once-in-a-generation moment, USA Basketball should figure it out and put her on the team.
No matter what happens with the Olympics, Clark will return to the court soon enough in either Iowa City for her fifth year or in Indianapolis for the continuation of her inaugural WNBA season as the first-round pick of the Indiana Fever.
Story continues in next post....
Caitlin Clark's Iowa-or-WNBA decision won't be easy. And with the Olympics looming, USA Basketball faces a tough call: Should it make room on a stocked roster for the college megastar?
Christine Brennan
USA TODAY
Feb 20, 2024
The Greatest Show in Sports is humming along, barnstorming the nation, hitting logo threes and breaking records as February works its way to the madness of March, bringing us closer to the answer to two intriguing questions:
Will Caitlin Clark stay at Iowa for her fifth COVID year or will she go to the WNBA?
And, is she going to represent the United States at the Olympics this summer in Paris?
The first question is totally in her control and all hers to answer. Does Clark, a fourth-year senior who gets a COVID year if she wants it, come back to Iowa to sink three-point shots and thread no-look passes and pack arenas around the Big Ten and the nation, which will be basically one and the same by the time the 2024-25 season begins?
Or does she go to the WNBA, where she will be the No. 1 pick in the draft and immediately become the best-known pro in the women’s game, even if there will be the inevitable learning curve playing with and against the best players in the world?
Does she remain or does she leave? It’s Brexit for sports.
Several layers to Clark's decision
Clark is said to be torn, and who can blame her? Conventional wisdom says she will go to the WNBA because what more could she possibly do in college once she passes Pete Maravich to become the all-time leading scorer in Division I basketball? She has single-handedly lifted the national perception of the women’s game to a level that would have been unthinkable even a couple of years ago, so she certainly owes us nothing more.On the other hand, she will never be more loved as a basketball player than when she’s playing in her home state of Iowa, and it’s not like the WNBA won’t be there, waiting for her, a year from now.
My guess is she’s going, but I really think she should stay. She should take advantage of that fortunate gift of an extra year at Iowa to turn next season into the most remarkable farewell tour the college game has ever seen.
There are many layers to that decision, but first, there’s another looming question surrounding Clark, and it's coming quickly now. The 2024 Summer Olympics start July 26 in Paris, and USA Basketball has a choice to make. Does it somehow make room somewhere on a stacked roster of the world’s greatest players on the most dominant sports team on earth for a 22-year-old college megastar?
The U.S. Olympic women’s basketball team hasn’t lost since 1992, and isn’t likely to lose in Paris. So it doesn’t need Clark.
Or does it?
Summer Olympics: What should USA Basketball do?
For all of their victories and medals, the U.S. women’s basketball players are often largely ignored by the sports media at the Olympic Games. The gymnasts and swimmers and runners and of course the U.S. women’s soccer team get so much more attention. It’s a crowded couple of weeks with dozens of medals being handed out every day, so the competition for headlines is always intense.I’ve covered quite a few U.S. women’s gold-medal basketball games at the Olympics, and when I look around and see a half-empty press tribune and wonder why, the answer I receive from my peers is that the Americans are just too good for their own good. People already know they’re going to win.
That’s a terrible reason to not report on a team, and we of course know that race is always a part of this conversation, but the fact remains that U.S. sports journalists do not cover this team as they should.
So, what if USA Basketball could somehow tap into the nation’s fascination with Caitlin Clark to help?
Women’s sports are always about more than sports. Someday that won’t be the case, but we’re not there yet. It’s why so many great female sports stars sign every autograph and pose for every selfie and talk about the number of girls in the stands and answer every question about Title IX and the growth of their sport. They are athletes and they are advocates, they are players and they are pioneers, and that’s just the way it is.
How many American sports fans, turning their attention to the Olympics a few days before they begin this summer, will ask this question: Is Caitlin Clark on the women’s basketball team?
Doesn’t the answer “No” sound strange?
If USA Basketball wants more eyeballs on this fabulous Olympic team, Clark will surely bring them, even if she is spending a good portion of her time on the bench — although who doesn’t want a three-point shooter and playmaker like her in international basketball?
Clark has become the human gateway to women’s hoops for hundreds of thousands, likely even millions, of girls and boys, women and men. USA Basketball certainly could draw on her enormous reach to help promote not only its 2024 Olympic team, but the women’s game in general. It wouldn’t hurt to honor the popularity of the college game in this manner, and it has been done before, with collegians like Christian Laettner, Rebecca Lobo, Diana Taurasi and Breanna Stewart making U.S. Olympic teams over the years.
There are of course so many reasons to not put Clark on the Olympic team. The team is just too good, filled with superstars up and down the roster. Who on earth do you cut to make room for Clark? That’s a nightmare of a decision. But for this once-in-a-generation moment, USA Basketball should figure it out and put her on the team.
No matter what happens with the Olympics, Clark will return to the court soon enough in either Iowa City for her fifth year or in Indianapolis for the continuation of her inaugural WNBA season as the first-round pick of the Indiana Fever.
Story continues in next post....
Rare fifth-year opportunity at Iowa
So, which is it? She’ll win more with the Hawkeyes than the Fever, and she’ll probably have more fun, although some of her running mates on this year’s Iowa team are in their fifth year and will be gone by next season. Will Iowa bring in a couple of transfers if Clark stays? Who wouldn’t relish being on the receiving end of those beautiful passes? And with the Big Ten expanding to the West Coast, the prospect of an Iowa-USC matchup, Clark vs. current freshman phenom JuJu Watkins, is utterly delightful.Clark will sell out every college arena if she stays, once again playing the role of a singular version of the Harlem Globetrotters. Will she sell out WNBA arenas? She should, but the WNBA fan base isn’t as big or as passionate as the fan base for the women’s college game. It’s a shame that the visibility of women’s professional basketball is dwarfed by the women’s college game, but that’s the reality Clark faces. Over time, with her help, perhaps that will no longer be the case.
With her growing stable of national sponsors, the financial aspects of her stay-or-go decision probably are a wash. She will earn a salary and bonuses and a potential marketing deal in the WNBA, but she’s already making hundreds of thousands of dollars now with the new rules in college sports. Most if not all of those deals are certain to follow her into the pros.
If Iowa were to win the 2024 NCAA title, Clark would almost certainly declare for the WNBA draft because there’s no better ending for her than that. Things would happen quickly in that case. The Final Four is April 5 and 7 in Cleveland. The draft is April 15 in New York. She would need to declare for the draft by April 1 if Iowa doesn’t make the Elite Eight, or 48 hours after her last game if it does.
If Iowa doesn’t win, and perhaps doesn’t even make it back to the Final Four, does that spur Clark to come back for one more try? It’s certainly not going to be easy for her to leave Iowa. She could start studying for a master’s degree and be close to home for one more year. There’s nothing insignificant about that.
I’m one of the lucky people who has seen Clark play in person, with a half-dozen family members at the University of Maryland a few weeks ago. We bought tickets; no press pass for me. It was like being at a concert, or the opera, where you’re there to watch one person: the rock star, the diva. I’ve never seen Maryland’s arena so full, 17,950 spectators officially, with the last row of seats in the rafters as packed as the seats on the floor.
Even though you know what you’re there for, her first three-pointer comes with such surprising ease and certainty that you almost can’t believe what you just saw. The fact that it happens again and again, like that magical start the other night to pass Kelsey Plum for the women’s NCAA record, leaves you laughing and smiling and a little bit stunned. It’s all just so much fun.
So if Clark goes to the WNBA, that’s her call and that’s wonderful and of course we’ll be watching. But there’s something about this rare fifth-year opportunity to do what no one else has done, in front of the most raucous, passionate crowds on college campuses around the nation, that is so incredibly appealing.
What if she, and we, get to do it all again next year? How much bigger could Caitlin Clark become? Why not find out?
Should Caitlin Clark stay at Iowa or go to WNBA? How about the Olympics? It's complicated
Caitlin Clark's Iowa-or-WNBA decision won't be easy. And USA Basketball has a tough call for the Olympics: Make room on its roster for a college star?
www.usatoday.com
Great read of Brennen's piece. unfortunately I think another year , and Clark fatigue will be a very real thing for a lot of people.Rare fifth-year opportunity at Iowa
So, which is it? She’ll win more with the Hawkeyes than the Fever, and she’ll probably have more fun, although some of her running mates on this year’s Iowa team are in their fifth year and will be gone by next season. Will Iowa bring in a couple of transfers if Clark stays? Who wouldn’t relish being on the receiving end of those beautiful passes? And with the Big Ten expanding to the West Coast, the prospect of an Iowa-USC matchup, Clark vs. current freshman phenom JuJu Watkins, is utterly delightful.
Clark will sell out every college arena if she stays, once again playing the role of a singular version of the Harlem Globetrotters. Will she sell out WNBA arenas? She should, but the WNBA fan base isn’t as big or as passionate as the fan base for the women’s college game. It’s a shame that the visibility of women’s professional basketball is dwarfed by the women’s college game, but that’s the reality Clark faces. Over time, with her help, perhaps that will no longer be the case.
With her growing stable of national sponsors, the financial aspects of her stay-or-go decision probably are a wash. She will earn a salary and bonuses and a potential marketing deal in the WNBA, but she’s already making hundreds of thousands of dollars now with the new rules in college sports. Most if not all of those deals are certain to follow her into the pros.
If Iowa were to win the 2024 NCAA title, Clark would almost certainly declare for the WNBA draft because there’s no better ending for her than that. Things would happen quickly in that case. The Final Four is April 5 and 7 in Cleveland. The draft is April 15 in New York. She would need to declare for the draft by April 1 if Iowa doesn’t make the Elite Eight, or 48 hours after her last game if it does.
If Iowa doesn’t win, and perhaps doesn’t even make it back to the Final Four, does that spur Clark to come back for one more try? It’s certainly not going to be easy for her to leave Iowa. She could start studying for a master’s degree and be close to home for one more year. There’s nothing insignificant about that.
I’m one of the lucky people who has seen Clark play in person, with a half-dozen family members at the University of Maryland a few weeks ago. We bought tickets; no press pass for me. It was like being at a concert, or the opera, where you’re there to watch one person: the rock star, the diva. I’ve never seen Maryland’s arena so full, 17,950 spectators officially, with the last row of seats in the rafters as packed as the seats on the floor.
Even though you know what you’re there for, her first three-pointer comes with such surprising ease and certainty that you almost can’t believe what you just saw. The fact that it happens again and again, like that magical start the other night to pass Kelsey Plum for the women’s NCAA record, leaves you laughing and smiling and a little bit stunned. It’s all just so much fun.
So if Clark goes to the WNBA, that’s her call and that’s wonderful and of course we’ll be watching. But there’s something about this rare fifth-year opportunity to do what no one else has done, in front of the most raucous, passionate crowds on college campuses around the nation, that is so incredibly appealing.
What if she, and we, get to do it all again next year? How much bigger could Caitlin Clark become? Why not find out?
Should Caitlin Clark stay at Iowa or go to WNBA? How about the Olympics? It's complicated
Caitlin Clark's Iowa-or-WNBA decision won't be easy. And USA Basketball has a tough call for the Olympics: Make room on its roster for a college star?www.usatoday.com
Isn't the effective result the same as going to the WNBA? Maybe I fail to see what you mean.
Some people get Messi fatigue, got Bird vs Magic fatigue, MJ fatigue, and get Lebron fatigue (going on 20 damn years) and yet... What rational fan wouldn't have wanted these players on his or her team every step of the way. The best players would secretly, or not, love to play with them. You think A. Boston is so complimentary at half-time just for accuracy's sake?
Winners want to win. Therefore, the fatigue is just noise. It's extra fuel for haters. There's a reason no one listens to the guy telling you Barry Sanders was overrated, even if the listeners never saw him play other than a 2 minute twitter or reddit clip. His greatness is a universal truth. She would forever be CC, Caitlin, or Clark- never again Caitlin Clark. That's what a fifth year @ iowa offers. Immortalization
Edit: I would see it as her 1992 dream team moment. The encapuslation of a movement and time in history. The question for her, is that worth sacrificing a potentially dynasty building partnership with Boston?
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A
anon_salmfilsntd0b
Guest
I have seen multiple stories about Caitlin Clark on CNN now:
WNBA is incredibly boring to watch. Not nearly as exciting as College ball. Think Clark loses a lot of her stardom she acquired. Perhaps she wants to lose some of it.From what you understand? As you will read below, Caitlin says people simply don't understand what she is making now vs what she would make in the WNBA. When she heads to the WNBA, she wouldn't be giving endorsements up and she wouldn't be taking a pay cut.
This is what Caitlin recently stated in a Dan Patrick interview:
Q: Would you be taking a pay cut by heading to the WNBA?
“Not necessarily. I think that’s what gets lost sometimes. I think people don’t understand. NIL is still kind of a thing when you get into pro sports, too. You still have all those endorsements. You still have sponsorships and whatnot, so you’re basically just a professional athlete with that on top of it, too. So, it’s not really something that I would factor into my decision of staying or going too much.”
Caitlin, on how important the WNBA is to her:
“Very important. That’s where I want to be, but I have another year here and possibly one more after that just because of COVID, so probably will have to make a decision on that sometime next year. I really have no clue of what I’m going to do. Stay for an extra year or leave after next year, but I love watching the WNBA.
“I remember really vividly my dad taking me to my first ever WNBA game. Maya Moore was my favorite player growing up. She played for the Minnesota Lynx, so it was pretty convenient. That was only a four hour trip from where I grew up, and I really remember getting to watch her versus Sue Bird and the Seattle Storm. That was like my first ever experience with the WNBA when I was really young.”
Caitlin Clark considering two more seasons with the Iowa Hawkeyes
Caitlin Clark revealed on the Dan Patrick Show that she’s mulling the possibility of two more seasons with the Iowa Hawkeyes.hawkeyeswire.usatoday.com
"The Caitlin Clark story would instantly continue in May."
Kate Martin, Gabbie Marshall and Molly Davis are done after this season. Will Caitlin be done, too? Chad seems to think so.
Check this out & watch:
Kate Martin, Gabbie Marshall and Molly Davis are done after this season. Will Caitlin be done, too? Chad seems to think so.
Check this out & watch:
I agree with you 100%. I don't know how cc could top what she already has. I mean she's a rock star. Too much of a good thing tends to sour in time. Clark fatigue is a very good way to put it. Sometimes it's better to go out on top of the world rather than to stay too long. We all love her to death but I think it would actually hurt her legacy coming back.
Absolutely. Thats been my point all along. Just don't see her either topping what she has done this year, (well beyond great), or getting anywhere near the same reception, especially from non Iowa fans. Next year would be a tough year for her whether people want to believe it or not....
Story from today from the Indianapolis Star:
Iowa star Caitlin Clark isn't committing to WNBA draft, Indiana Fever just yet
Evan Frank
Indianapolis Star
Feb 23, 2024
Caitlin Clark is widely expected to go first overall in the 2024 WNBA Draft to the Indiana Fever if she declares, but the all-time leading scorer in NCAA women's Division I basketball isn't ready to commit to anything just yet.
After the Hawkeyes were upset by Indiana on Thursday, Clark was asked about her basketball future.
"I'm just focused on this team right now, playing my heart out for Iowa and getting to represent this state every day," she said. "That's what it's all about, and I'm not really worried about the future. It is what it is, and it comes when it comes."
Fever coaching staff and front office personnel have watched a number of Iowa games in person this season, but similarly to how they handled Aliyah Boston and the No. 1 pick last year, Fever GM Lin Dunn said after the draft lottery they will encourage Clark to make the best decision for her career, whether it be stay in college or go pro.
Iowa star Caitlin Clark isn't committing to WNBA draft, Indiana Fever just yet
Evan FrankIndianapolis Star
Feb 23, 2024
Caitlin Clark is widely expected to go first overall in the 2024 WNBA Draft to the Indiana Fever if she declares, but the all-time leading scorer in NCAA women's Division I basketball isn't ready to commit to anything just yet.
After the Hawkeyes were upset by Indiana on Thursday, Clark was asked about her basketball future.
"I'm just focused on this team right now, playing my heart out for Iowa and getting to represent this state every day," she said. "That's what it's all about, and I'm not really worried about the future. It is what it is, and it comes when it comes."
Fever coaching staff and front office personnel have watched a number of Iowa games in person this season, but similarly to how they handled Aliyah Boston and the No. 1 pick last year, Fever GM Lin Dunn said after the draft lottery they will encourage Clark to make the best decision for her career, whether it be stay in college or go pro.
Iowa star Caitlin Clark isn't committing to WNBA draft, Indiana Fever just yet
After Iowa's loss to Indiana, Caitlin Clark said she is focused right now on the Hawkeyes and isn't worried about the future.
www.indystar.com
Good story from yesterday.
'We've got our Fingers Crossed': Indiana Fever fans await Caitlin Clark's Draft Decision
Zion Brown
Indianapolis Star
Feb 23, 2024
BLOOMINGTON – Thursday’s sold-out Assembly Hall crowd for when No. 4 Iowa visited No. 16 Indiana had fans in attendance for many reasons. Most packed the gym to root for Indiana’s biggest win of the season. Others were there to root for Iowa, and more specifically, the Caitlin Clark Show.
But another portion of fans showed up for a team that didn’t play on Thursday. They were Indiana Fever fans.
With the Fever holding the No. 1 pick for the second consecutive WNBA draft, fans are excited by the possibility of Clark becoming the new point guard of the franchise. So when Clark came to Bloomington for what could be the final time in her college career, Fever fans made themselves seen.
“We're really hoping Caitlin — showing her talent — will come,” Sharon Indrutz said. “Indiana's a good place to be. It's a little like Iowa.”
Indrutz came to Thursday’s game with her neighbor, Mary Waters. Indrutz and Waters traveled from Wabash to see the game. Waters became a Fever fan three years ago when the team went a WNBA-worst 6-26. Although Waters came aboard at the lowest moment in franchise history, she’s eager to see the rebuild completed.
“The whole attitude of wanting to win and maybe not being able to,” Waters said when asked what made her a Fever fan. “And now they're putting a team together that's really gonna be awesome. I think they'll be unbeatable.”
Waters just recently became a fan of the game of basketball. The main reason for her and Indrutz’s fandom? Caitlin Clark.
Waters has watched Clark play six times in person now, including multiple times with Indrutz. The pair went to see Clark play at Purdue on Jan. 10. They also traveled to Iowa City in October when the Hawkeyes hosted Crossover at Kinnick as an exhibition affair against DePaul. These fairly new basketball fans are obsessed with Clark.
“She's steady, and I like the unselfishness,” Waters said. “She knows that her assists are just as important as her shots, and that's seeing the whole court and knowing her intelligence of basketball.
“That's what's brought me in, is watching the phenomenal 'wows,' and those get you the highs. Then it's the continuation of her and how she treats her teammates and how her teammates treat her.”
Adam Weaver has been a women’s basketball fan for much longer. Weaver has rooted for the Fever since Tamika Catchings’ rookie season in 2002 when he was in elementary school. Weaver — who grew up between Columbus and Shelbyville — frequently begged his parents to take him to games, making it to a few each season.
Now as an adult, Weaver and his husband, Jeff Wagerman, are season ticket holders who sit courtside at every game. Wagerman became a fan about four years ago because of Weaver. Like Waters, Wagerman is immersed in the team despite the lows of the post-Catchings era.
“We really like being able to connect with the players,” Wagerman said. “It's cool in the WNBA that the players are accessible. We just really enjoy the environment. It's very inclusive.”
Wagerman and Weaver have watched Clark play in person since her freshman season. As Indianapolis residents, the couple attended Iowa games when the Hawkeyes made consecutive appearances in the Big Ten championship at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in 2021 and 2022.
At the Fever’s draft lottery party in December, Wagerman and Weaver were in attendance. As it was announced the franchise was getting the No. 1 pick again, Weaver envisioned a dynasty.
“It’s so exciting because when you look at the WNBA teams that have historically had the most success, they’ve built through the draft,” Weaver said. “The Las Vegas Aces, three No. 1 picks in a row, the Seattle Storm picked Breanna Stweart and Jewell Loyd consecutively, and now we’re going to have Aliyah Boston and the No. 1 pick — hopefully Caitlin Clark. That's huge for the future.”
Boston and Clark could become the next great guard and post player combination in the league’s history. The WNBA’s great dynasties — like many in the NBA — typically have at least one great perimeter player to pair with a force inside.
The back-to-back champion Aces have Chelsea Gray, Jackie Young and Kelsey Plum to complement A’ja Wilson down low. The Lynx paired Sylvia Fowles in the paint with Maya Moore for the last two of their four championships from 2011 to 2017. Sue Bird won her first two rings in Seattle with future Hall-of-Famer Lauren Jackson before winning another two with Stewart in the latter half of her career.
That said, the idea of Clark joining the All-Star pairing of Boston and Kelsey Mitchell is enticing. With GM Lin Dunn and coach Christie Sides — who attended Thursday’s game — at the helm, the Fever’s quest to make the playoffs for the first time since 2016 would be aided by Clark’s arrival.
Of course, Clark still has to decide if she’s entering the draft. The senior could exercise her fifth year of eligibility due to COVID-19, so there’s a chance the WNBA has to wait another year for her to turn pro. Clark remains uncommitted to publicly making a decision.
“We’ve got our fingers crossed that hopefully she's coming,” Wagerman said. “I think it's going to be a huge game-changer for the franchise. I'm envisioning Gainbridge Fieldhouse sold out and just as loud as (Assembly Hall) is right now.”
For the time being, Fever fans will continue to anticipate the day Clark makes her announcement. Clark has until April 5 or 24 hours after Iowa’s last game — whichever comes last — to make her decision for the draft on April 15.
Whether or not she’s made up her mind yet, it couldn’t have hurt for Clark to see many Fever fans in the stands on Thursday night.
'We've got our Fingers Crossed': Indiana Fever fans await Caitlin Clark's Draft Decision
Zion BrownIndianapolis Star
Feb 23, 2024
BLOOMINGTON – Thursday’s sold-out Assembly Hall crowd for when No. 4 Iowa visited No. 16 Indiana had fans in attendance for many reasons. Most packed the gym to root for Indiana’s biggest win of the season. Others were there to root for Iowa, and more specifically, the Caitlin Clark Show.
But another portion of fans showed up for a team that didn’t play on Thursday. They were Indiana Fever fans.
With the Fever holding the No. 1 pick for the second consecutive WNBA draft, fans are excited by the possibility of Clark becoming the new point guard of the franchise. So when Clark came to Bloomington for what could be the final time in her college career, Fever fans made themselves seen.
“We're really hoping Caitlin — showing her talent — will come,” Sharon Indrutz said. “Indiana's a good place to be. It's a little like Iowa.”
Indrutz came to Thursday’s game with her neighbor, Mary Waters. Indrutz and Waters traveled from Wabash to see the game. Waters became a Fever fan three years ago when the team went a WNBA-worst 6-26. Although Waters came aboard at the lowest moment in franchise history, she’s eager to see the rebuild completed.
“The whole attitude of wanting to win and maybe not being able to,” Waters said when asked what made her a Fever fan. “And now they're putting a team together that's really gonna be awesome. I think they'll be unbeatable.”
Waters just recently became a fan of the game of basketball. The main reason for her and Indrutz’s fandom? Caitlin Clark.
Waters has watched Clark play six times in person now, including multiple times with Indrutz. The pair went to see Clark play at Purdue on Jan. 10. They also traveled to Iowa City in October when the Hawkeyes hosted Crossover at Kinnick as an exhibition affair against DePaul. These fairly new basketball fans are obsessed with Clark.
“She's steady, and I like the unselfishness,” Waters said. “She knows that her assists are just as important as her shots, and that's seeing the whole court and knowing her intelligence of basketball.
“That's what's brought me in, is watching the phenomenal 'wows,' and those get you the highs. Then it's the continuation of her and how she treats her teammates and how her teammates treat her.”
Adam Weaver has been a women’s basketball fan for much longer. Weaver has rooted for the Fever since Tamika Catchings’ rookie season in 2002 when he was in elementary school. Weaver — who grew up between Columbus and Shelbyville — frequently begged his parents to take him to games, making it to a few each season.
Now as an adult, Weaver and his husband, Jeff Wagerman, are season ticket holders who sit courtside at every game. Wagerman became a fan about four years ago because of Weaver. Like Waters, Wagerman is immersed in the team despite the lows of the post-Catchings era.
“We really like being able to connect with the players,” Wagerman said. “It's cool in the WNBA that the players are accessible. We just really enjoy the environment. It's very inclusive.”
Wagerman and Weaver have watched Clark play in person since her freshman season. As Indianapolis residents, the couple attended Iowa games when the Hawkeyes made consecutive appearances in the Big Ten championship at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in 2021 and 2022.
At the Fever’s draft lottery party in December, Wagerman and Weaver were in attendance. As it was announced the franchise was getting the No. 1 pick again, Weaver envisioned a dynasty.
“It’s so exciting because when you look at the WNBA teams that have historically had the most success, they’ve built through the draft,” Weaver said. “The Las Vegas Aces, three No. 1 picks in a row, the Seattle Storm picked Breanna Stweart and Jewell Loyd consecutively, and now we’re going to have Aliyah Boston and the No. 1 pick — hopefully Caitlin Clark. That's huge for the future.”
Boston and Clark could become the next great guard and post player combination in the league’s history. The WNBA’s great dynasties — like many in the NBA — typically have at least one great perimeter player to pair with a force inside.
The back-to-back champion Aces have Chelsea Gray, Jackie Young and Kelsey Plum to complement A’ja Wilson down low. The Lynx paired Sylvia Fowles in the paint with Maya Moore for the last two of their four championships from 2011 to 2017. Sue Bird won her first two rings in Seattle with future Hall-of-Famer Lauren Jackson before winning another two with Stewart in the latter half of her career.
That said, the idea of Clark joining the All-Star pairing of Boston and Kelsey Mitchell is enticing. With GM Lin Dunn and coach Christie Sides — who attended Thursday’s game — at the helm, the Fever’s quest to make the playoffs for the first time since 2016 would be aided by Clark’s arrival.
Of course, Clark still has to decide if she’s entering the draft. The senior could exercise her fifth year of eligibility due to COVID-19, so there’s a chance the WNBA has to wait another year for her to turn pro. Clark remains uncommitted to publicly making a decision.
“We’ve got our fingers crossed that hopefully she's coming,” Wagerman said. “I think it's going to be a huge game-changer for the franchise. I'm envisioning Gainbridge Fieldhouse sold out and just as loud as (Assembly Hall) is right now.”
For the time being, Fever fans will continue to anticipate the day Clark makes her announcement. Clark has until April 5 or 24 hours after Iowa’s last game — whichever comes last — to make her decision for the draft on April 15.
Whether or not she’s made up her mind yet, it couldn’t have hurt for Clark to see many Fever fans in the stands on Thursday night.
'We’ve got our fingers crossed': Indiana Fever fans await Caitlin Clark's draft decision
As Iowa played at Indiana on Thursday, some fans weren't there for either team. These were Indiana Fever fans getting a glance at Caitlin Clark.
www.indystar.com
Full text of tweet;
Caitlin Clark odds, per @BovadaOfficial
Caitlin Clark to declare for WNBA Draft in 2024: -200
Caitlin Clark to return to Iowa for a 5th year: +150
Caitlin Clark to lead the WNBA in PPG in 2024: +400
Caitlin Clark to win WNBA MVP in 2024: +600
Iowa to win 2024 NCAA National Championship: +700
Caitlin Clark to lead WNBA in both PPG and APG in 2024: +1200
Caitlin Clark to be drafted by an NBA team: +50000
Caitlin Clark to be drafted by the Detroit Pistons: +100000
Caitlin Clark odds, per @BovadaOfficial
Caitlin Clark to declare for WNBA Draft in 2024: -200
Caitlin Clark to return to Iowa for a 5th year: +150
Caitlin Clark to lead the WNBA in PPG in 2024: +400
Caitlin Clark to win WNBA MVP in 2024: +600
Iowa to win 2024 NCAA National Championship: +700
Caitlin Clark to lead WNBA in both PPG and APG in 2024: +1200
Caitlin Clark to be drafted by an NBA team: +50000
Caitlin Clark to be drafted by the Detroit Pistons: +100000
Story from ESPN on the impact on Iowa, the Indiana Fever and the WNBA:
The news we thought might not come until March or even April instead rocked the basketball world on the final day of leap-year February: Caitlin Clark will not return for a fifth season at Iowa, and instead will enter the WNBA draft.
Clark made her announcement on Thursday afternoon via social media. She now has 3,650 points, and is 18 from passing LSU's Pete Maravich for the NCAA men's and women's scoring mark.
That could come in what will now be her final regular-season home game on Sunday, as the Hawkeyes face Big Ten regular-season champion Ohio State. Senior day will indeed be an emotional one at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, which has been sold out all season as fans clamor to see Clark and her teammates.
The news is not just big for college basketball, but also for the WNBA. The projected No. 1 picks the past two seasons -- Kentucky's Rhyne Howard (2022) and South Carolina's Aliyah Boston (2023) -- both opted not to utilize the COVID-19 waiver for a fifth season and were indeed picked first. Both were WNBA rookie of the year winners.
Clark is a lock as the top pick, and exactly what the Indiana Fever need: a scoring point guard to pair with young posts like Boston and 2022 No. 2 pick NaLyssa Smith. The Fever haven't reached the playoffs since Tamika Catchings retired in 2016.
Now that we know Clark's time is running short in college and that she will be playing in the WNBA this season -- which opens May 14 -- ESPN's Charlie Creme, Rebecca Lobo, Alexa Philippou and Michael Voepel look at what the news means for Iowa, the NCAA tournament and the WNBA.
Voepel: Charlie is right, it's likely the team and coaches have been at least aware this was coming. For the fans -- some of whom were chanting "One more year!" at Minnesota on Wednesday night -- this will be hard. It's tough to see a generational player leave. But there's also a sense of clarity in mission for Iowa now as it is soon to navigate its last postseason with the program's best-ever player.
"We're looking to see who's going to be the next point guard of this team," Indiana general manager Lin Dunn told ESPN earlier this month. "Now in the WNBA, we're all looking at the size of our guards, looking at whether they can be versatile, can they score, pass and play the 2 and 1 positions."
Clark has had the ball in her hands much of the time at Iowa, but her overall offensive ability will allow her to comfortably play either guard spot. And as much as her passing will help the Fever post players (she is the only Division I women's player with more than 3,000 points and 1,000 assists), so will her ability to stretch the defense. With Kelsey Mitchell (497 3-pointers at Ohio State) and Clark (503 and counting at Iowa), the Fever will have two of the best long-distance shooters in the history of the women's game.
The South Carolina fans who still can't quite forgive Clark for ending their perfect season last year in the national semifinals now will watch her pass to Gamecock all-time great Boston. Look for the Boston-Clark duo to really click.
Philippou: For months we've gotten to watch Boston talk about and even interview Clark on Peacock broadcasts. Now the duo will be taking the court together. Boston's transition to the WNBA was incredibly smooth, and both she and Clark will benefit from having the other on the court. If you thought Clark and Monika Czinano's connection was good, just wait and see what might develop between Clark and Boston.
What a fun core Indiana gets to build around with back-to-back No. 1 picks, as well as Smith, the No. 2 pick in 2022. How Clark and Mitchell share the backcourt will be interesting given they're both ball-dominant guards.
Indiana has gone through some tough years since Tamika Catchings retired, but bringing in a player like Clark is potentially transformational. The fact that she's a Midwesterner who built a massive fanbase, makes her decision to go pro all the more sublime for the Fever. If they do things right with their young talent, the Fever could emerge as an epicenter of the women's basketball world in the coming years.
Lobo: Clark and the Fever are a match made in heaven. The "Hero of the Heartland" staying in the Midwest to play professionally for the Fever couldn't be a more perfect fit for the WNBA or its newest incoming star.
And the fit on the court is ideal as well. Clark has always been at her best when paired with a talented post player who can run the floor and finish inside (à la Czinano and Hannah Stuelke). She is getting exactly that with Boston. The reigning WNBA rookie of the year has terrific hands and catches anything thrown near her in the post.
Clark thrives in the 2-man game. Boston is very strong as the recipient in both pick-and-roll and pick-and-pop situations. Clark manipulates defenses to get her teammates easy catch-and-shoot looks. Mitchell is elite in the catch-and-shoot from long range. This past season, she shot 46% on catch-and-shoot 3s, according to Synergy. The Fever also acquired Katie Lou Samuelson this offseason, another perfect target outside the 3-point line for Clark when she breaks down the defense.
Indiana ranked 10th in pace last season. That will immediately change with Clark and her ability to push the ball off both makes and misses. I expect the Fever to hand her the reins and let her run with them. Jewell Loyd led the WNBA last season in field goal attempts. Will Caitlin put up 22 shots per game like she has her senior season? Maybe not, but there's no reason to think she won't be given the green light to shoot between 15-20 times per game.
Indiana hasn't made the playoffs since 2016 and had the second lowest attendance average a season ago. Of course the team will want Caitlin to be Caitlin, shooting logo 3s and playing a fast-paced game. She will make the Fever a playoff contender in 2024 and without question one of the top draws in the league for years to come.
Clark is part of the first group of college athletes who have been able to take advantage of NIL opportunities, so they come into the WNBA in a little different position financially and in terms of their overall public profile. Are they still going to be treated like rookies by WNBA veterans? Yes, but let's hope the vets also realize that a rising tide can lift all boats. Bringing in a big fan base like Clark will help the Fever and the league as a whole.
Philippou: There's been so much discussion over the years about how the women's college game has built a bigger profile than the WNBA over the years. No one player ought to be expected to single-handedly bridge the gap -- and with other bright stars like Angel Reese, Paige Bueckers and JuJu Watkins, it doesn't need to rest squarely on Clark's shoulders. But there's no denying Clark's star power and the impact she'll have in Indiana and for the WNBA in the coming years.
Story continues in the next post....
Iowa's Caitlin Clark declares for WNBA draft: What to know
- ESPN
Feb 29, 2024, 06:36 PM ET
The news we thought might not come until March or even April instead rocked the basketball world on the final day of leap-year February: Caitlin Clark will not return for a fifth season at Iowa, and instead will enter the WNBA draft.
Clark made her announcement on Thursday afternoon via social media. She now has 3,650 points, and is 18 from passing LSU's Pete Maravich for the NCAA men's and women's scoring mark.
That could come in what will now be her final regular-season home game on Sunday, as the Hawkeyes face Big Ten regular-season champion Ohio State. Senior day will indeed be an emotional one at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, which has been sold out all season as fans clamor to see Clark and her teammates.
The news is not just big for college basketball, but also for the WNBA. The projected No. 1 picks the past two seasons -- Kentucky's Rhyne Howard (2022) and South Carolina's Aliyah Boston (2023) -- both opted not to utilize the COVID-19 waiver for a fifth season and were indeed picked first. Both were WNBA rookie of the year winners.
Clark is a lock as the top pick, and exactly what the Indiana Fever need: a scoring point guard to pair with young posts like Boston and 2022 No. 2 pick NaLyssa Smith. The Fever haven't reached the playoffs since Tamika Catchings retired in 2016.
Now that we know Clark's time is running short in college and that she will be playing in the WNBA this season -- which opens May 14 -- ESPN's Charlie Creme, Rebecca Lobo, Alexa Philippou and Michael Voepel look at what the news means for Iowa, the NCAA tournament and the WNBA.
In the short term, how does Clark's announcement impact Iowa and her Hawkeyes teammates?
Creme: Clark's teammates and Iowa's coaching staff likely had some idea this was coming for a while now, so I'm not sure the impact will be that significant. Clark's plans might benefit Iowa, in that her team and the rest of the world know this is the last chance she has to win a national championship. Can there be any greater motivation for the players she has gone to battle with over the course of the past four years? They are all used to the extra attention that comes with playing with Clark, so this won't be any different. But perhaps the sense of urgency is.Voepel: Charlie is right, it's likely the team and coaches have been at least aware this was coming. For the fans -- some of whom were chanting "One more year!" at Minnesota on Wednesday night -- this will be hard. It's tough to see a generational player leave. But there's also a sense of clarity in mission for Iowa now as it is soon to navigate its last postseason with the program's best-ever player.
Clark has been the presumed No. 1 pick for months. How will she fit in Indiana?
Voepel: The Fever haven't been able to talk about Clark specifically because she still had eligibility, but they have made it clear what their top priority was."We're looking to see who's going to be the next point guard of this team," Indiana general manager Lin Dunn told ESPN earlier this month. "Now in the WNBA, we're all looking at the size of our guards, looking at whether they can be versatile, can they score, pass and play the 2 and 1 positions."
Clark has had the ball in her hands much of the time at Iowa, but her overall offensive ability will allow her to comfortably play either guard spot. And as much as her passing will help the Fever post players (she is the only Division I women's player with more than 3,000 points and 1,000 assists), so will her ability to stretch the defense. With Kelsey Mitchell (497 3-pointers at Ohio State) and Clark (503 and counting at Iowa), the Fever will have two of the best long-distance shooters in the history of the women's game.
The South Carolina fans who still can't quite forgive Clark for ending their perfect season last year in the national semifinals now will watch her pass to Gamecock all-time great Boston. Look for the Boston-Clark duo to really click.
Philippou: For months we've gotten to watch Boston talk about and even interview Clark on Peacock broadcasts. Now the duo will be taking the court together. Boston's transition to the WNBA was incredibly smooth, and both she and Clark will benefit from having the other on the court. If you thought Clark and Monika Czinano's connection was good, just wait and see what might develop between Clark and Boston.
What a fun core Indiana gets to build around with back-to-back No. 1 picks, as well as Smith, the No. 2 pick in 2022. How Clark and Mitchell share the backcourt will be interesting given they're both ball-dominant guards.
Indiana has gone through some tough years since Tamika Catchings retired, but bringing in a player like Clark is potentially transformational. The fact that she's a Midwesterner who built a massive fanbase, makes her decision to go pro all the more sublime for the Fever. If they do things right with their young talent, the Fever could emerge as an epicenter of the women's basketball world in the coming years.
Lobo: Clark and the Fever are a match made in heaven. The "Hero of the Heartland" staying in the Midwest to play professionally for the Fever couldn't be a more perfect fit for the WNBA or its newest incoming star.
And the fit on the court is ideal as well. Clark has always been at her best when paired with a talented post player who can run the floor and finish inside (à la Czinano and Hannah Stuelke). She is getting exactly that with Boston. The reigning WNBA rookie of the year has terrific hands and catches anything thrown near her in the post.
Clark thrives in the 2-man game. Boston is very strong as the recipient in both pick-and-roll and pick-and-pop situations. Clark manipulates defenses to get her teammates easy catch-and-shoot looks. Mitchell is elite in the catch-and-shoot from long range. This past season, she shot 46% on catch-and-shoot 3s, according to Synergy. The Fever also acquired Katie Lou Samuelson this offseason, another perfect target outside the 3-point line for Clark when she breaks down the defense.
Indiana ranked 10th in pace last season. That will immediately change with Clark and her ability to push the ball off both makes and misses. I expect the Fever to hand her the reins and let her run with them. Jewell Loyd led the WNBA last season in field goal attempts. Will Caitlin put up 22 shots per game like she has her senior season? Maybe not, but there's no reason to think she won't be given the green light to shoot between 15-20 times per game.
Indiana hasn't made the playoffs since 2016 and had the second lowest attendance average a season ago. Of course the team will want Caitlin to be Caitlin, shooting logo 3s and playing a fast-paced game. She will make the Fever a playoff contender in 2024 and without question one of the top draws in the league for years to come.
While we're on that topic, could Clark have a similar impact on attendance, TV ratings and ticket sales that we've seen this season in college?
Voepel: This is the test: Will Clark's vast college fan club become Fever/WNBA fans? The league has been saying goodbye to an older generation of stars for the past few years, including Sue Bird and Sylvia Fowles. Other big names are at or near age 40, and will be retiring soon. And there is a need for the next generation of young standouts to follow the Las Vegas Aces' A'ja Wilson, who turns 28 this year, and the New York Liberty's Breanna Stewart, who turns 30. Look for players such as Clark to be able to do that.Clark is part of the first group of college athletes who have been able to take advantage of NIL opportunities, so they come into the WNBA in a little different position financially and in terms of their overall public profile. Are they still going to be treated like rookies by WNBA veterans? Yes, but let's hope the vets also realize that a rising tide can lift all boats. Bringing in a big fan base like Clark will help the Fever and the league as a whole.
Philippou: There's been so much discussion over the years about how the women's college game has built a bigger profile than the WNBA over the years. No one player ought to be expected to single-handedly bridge the gap -- and with other bright stars like Angel Reese, Paige Bueckers and JuJu Watkins, it doesn't need to rest squarely on Clark's shoulders. But there's no denying Clark's star power and the impact she'll have in Indiana and for the WNBA in the coming years.
Story continues in the next post....
Is Clark the most hyped rookie in WNBA history? Who would you compare her to?
Philippou: Diana Taurasi and Candace Parker were quite hyped back in the day, so we don't want to sell those legends short. But there's something monumental happening in this moment with the growth of women's sports and the emergence of NIL for college athletes that helped Clark become a special kind of household name. The flashiness of her game with the logo 3s obviously adds to that. It'll be fascinating to see how that hype, both around WNBA circles and among more casual or newer fans, carries over into her first summer in Indiana.Voepel: The women's college game has grown so much even in the last five years, it's hard to compare anything right now to very far back. That said, there was a lot of hype about Oregon's Sabrina Ionescu in 2020, although some of that was diminished by the cancellation of the NCAA tournament that year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the fact that Ionescu's first WNBA season ended after three games because of an ankle injury.
Among the other players with a lot of hype as rookies -- including Taurasi and Parker -- were Tennessee's Chamique Holdsclaw in 1998 (Washington Mystics) and the "Three to See" from the 2013 class: Baylor's Brittney Griner (No. 1 to the Phoenix Mercury), Delaware's Elena Delle Donne (No. 2 to the Chicago Sky) and Notre Dame's Skylar Diggins-Smith (No. 3 to the Tulsa Shock). But the combination of Clark's popularity and high profile is the most we've ever seen on a national front for a first-year WNBA player. Name recognition means so much, still, in women's sports, and Clark has it.
What else can we expect from Clark as a rookie? What will her stats look like compared to what she's doing this season?
Philippou: Clark might not take nearly 23 shots per game as she is doing this year at Iowa (for a frame of reference, Jewell Loyd took a league-high 20.3 field goals attempts per game in 2023), but she will still be an offensive threat, and her assist numbers will be robust with players like Boston, Smith and Mitchell surrounding her. The dual-threat nature of her game as a shooter and passer -- and heck, she can get to the rim too -- should translate, even if there's an adjustment period to the physicality of the pro level. There will likely be more of an adjustment in what's required defensively, and we know Lin Dunn loves defensive-minded teams.Voepel: It's notable that Fever veteran guard Erica Wheeler was at an Iowa game last season and said of Clark, "This kid is ready for the pros now." People also have to remember that most of the "greatest player ever" comments tossed around regarding Clark have come from people who don't have a long history (or any history) watching the women's game. And they certainly didn't come from someone like Clark, who knows she is still growing her game.
There is zero doubt Clark is on the very short list of the greatest offensive players in women's or men's college basketball history. Her impact via her popularity and "watchability" in the women's game has been enormous. But she's now going to a higher level of competition and will need to make adjustments.
At the same time, she's going to be passing the ball to post players like Boston and Smith, who can catch just about anything and score. That will be fun to see. Clark, overall, will have a few ups and downs as rookies do, but is going to be an outstanding pro. This is great news for the WNBA.
How far can Iowa go in Clark's final NCAA tournament? What would it take for the Hawkeyes to reach another Final Four?
Philippou: Clark returning to the Final Four -- maybe even the national title game -- in her final year with the program would be a picture-perfect ending for Hawkeye Nation. And it would be foolish to count out a team with a generational, transcendent player on its roster, someone who last year put together one of the most memorable individual runs in sports history.But without Czinano and McKenna Warnick from last year's squad, Iowa has relied more on Clark than ever before, and recent losses to Nebraska and Indiana showed this team still needs other players to consistently step up offensively, especially if she's having a quiet night. And on the other side of the ball, the Hawkeyes are still giving up a lot of points. Iowa's narrower margin of error means its chances of making another deep March run are slimmer, albeit not negligible, especially depending on the matchups they end up with on their side of the bracket.
Creme: If Iowa is to produce a championship, Clark might have to do even more than she did in last year's NCAA tournament. That is asking a lot, even of Clark. A consistent and highly productive six games out of Hannah Stuelke will be a necessity, and the other Iowa veterans like Gabby Marshall and Kate Martin will have to deliver as well.
Clark is capable of carrying the team to wins even against the best competition in the country in a one-game situation. She essentially did that against South Carolina in the 2023 Final Four, but it wasn't sustainable for two games in Dallas. It might have to be if Iowa is going to be crowned a champion.
Voepel: It's about the matchups: How good will the defenses be that Iowa faces, and how will the Hawkeyes respond? We've seen Iowa at its "worst" -- scoring 69 points against a stifling Indiana defense -- and its "best" -- hitting 100-plus each against Illinois and Minnesota -- all in the past week.
The Hawkeyes made 17 3-pointers against the Illini and a Big Ten-record 22 against the Gophers. Those numbers aren't easy to replicate, especially once you get to the level of Sweet 16 and beyond. But it does show you how potent Iowa's offense can be. Against Minnesota, Clark accounted for 61 points between her scoring assists -- more points than the Gophers had as a team (60).
Clark 'will make the Fever a playoff contender in 2024': How Iowa star will fit into WNBA
Iowa's senior has been projected No. 1 in the 2024 WNBA draft all along. What sort of stats will she put up as a rookie? How will she fit in Indiana?
Erica is a 5'7 guard for the Indiana Fever. She averaged 9.9 pts, 5 assists and 3 rebounds last season. She played her college ball at Rutgers.
I mean this sincerely I think the insinuation she'd make less in the WNBA is a little absurd. I mean if you were Nike, wouldn't you sign her immediately and give her a shoe?
