A Hater's Ode To Caitlin Clark
I don't like Caitlin Clark, but her performances over the past month in the NCAA Tournament were undeniably awesome.
I found myself in a very uncomfortable position heading into this weekend. The women’s national title game featured loathsome bigot Kim Mulkey coaching LSU facing off against my No. 1 College Basketball Enemy, Iowa’s Caitlin Clark.
Because I am a normal person who is able to separate my “sports dislike” from “real world dislike,” I was supporting the Hawkeyes on Sunday afternoon. But I sure didn’t like it. It was even worse when Iowa couldn’t even throw me a bone and win the one game in which I’ve ever supported them!
LSU’s offense was dynamic and their defense was just good enough to beat Iowa, 102-85, in a game marred by horrific officiating decisions throughout. Alexis Morris, Angel Reese, LaDazhia Williams, and the impeccable shooting of Jasmine Carson off the bench all delivered championship-worthy performances for the Tigers, but this tournament was still the national coming out party for Clark.
She averaged 31.8 points, 10.0 assists and 5.2 rebounds per game in leading Iowa to the national title game. She had a 41-point triple-double in the Elite 8 against Louisville and then followed that up with another 41-point game in the Final Four against undefeated defending national champion South Carolina.
Clark finished with more points (191) and assists (60) than anyone has had in a single women's NCAA tournament ever. Texas Tech legend Sheryl Swoopes previously held the scoring record with 175 points, but she did it in only five games compared to Clark’s six. As a hater I feel the need to include that she also had 35 turnovers and took some wildly inefficient and head-scratching shots throughout the tournament.
While I am friends with many people who are interested in and follow women’s college basketball, Clark’s scoring rampage through March was a national story that everyone, not just women’s hoops fans, were discussing. The national player of the year showed up and showed out on the biggest stage and the sport is undoubtedly better for it.
I am already excited for next season. I am excited to see what Wisconsin does this offseason. I am excited to watch the Big Ten continue to be the best women’s basketball conference in the country. I am excited to see UConn healthy, and South Carolina reload, and LSU try to defend their title.
It is not Clark’s job to convince people to like and support her sport (quite frankly it is the NCAA’s job to do it and they had been failing at it until very recently) but her performances have certainly helped. She developed thousands of fans over the past few weeks that will now be tuning in to catch her play next year. Many of those fans may also find a renewed interest in their alma mater’s women’s basketball team or find a local team to support.
I don’t like Caitlin Clark on the court. She whines about fouls too much and doesn’t play much defense and also, most importantly, doesn’t play for my favorite team. But what she has done there is amazing and I thank her for it. She also seems (in my extremely limited interactions with her) like a charming and kind person, which is always nice to see in someone in the public eye.
In the next day or so I will return to speaking ill of Clark, and the Iowa Hawkeyes, online, because that is part of what makes sports fun. Disliking your rival and praying on their downfall is integral to the college sports ecosystem. Clark is an excellent heel, and an exciting player, on the court, but sometimes it’s important to take a step back and recognize the heel for what they’ve done for their sport.
Congratulations on a wonderful season, Caitlin Clark, I can’t wait to spend all offseason digging into your efficiency numbers to further my slanderous agenda for next season.
Really nice write-up and analysis. I hate that the media focuses so much on Clark, not because she isn't an incredible player (she definitely is), but because there are so many interesting players. That isn't her fault, and I found it extraordinary how she handled being the face of women's basketball and completely showed out.
I agree she has head-scratching moments and ill-advised shots. I'm reminded of a quote (that I'll butcher) about Manu Ginobilli: he was so talented, but he did all these things that drove Popovich nuts. Eventually Popovich came to peace with the fact that that was the price to pay for all the amazing things he could do. I think Clark is similar: she's so talented that you have to take some of these moments.
I'll never forgive the refs for being the focus of hate instead of Mulkey.
It seemed to me that women's basketball was generally "polite" in the regular season and got rougher as the tournament progressed...and the officials didn't exactly know what to do about it. Rather than call the "rough" fouls, they called a lot of flops. I hate flops.