Caitlin Clark Phenomenon

[shrek2]

I liked Caitlin Clark last year because she had all the tools and she said the right things. She can dribble, shoot and pass. Ohio State will be at Iowa tomorrow at 8am HT/10am PDT on Fox. She's created a new interest in women's basketball. Every game she's played in has been a sellout and the tickets for GA at the OSU/Iowa game is $491.

[Walkoff Balk]

From way downtown isn't a bad shot.

[shrek2]

As a fan with no vested interest in whether Iowa goes all the way or not, it was annoying to me that Sports Reporters interview Clark in the middle of the game. I think this is the only sport pro or amateur where this athlete gets interviewed while the game is in process. I watched an earlier game and they did the same thing.

[Walkoff Balk]

U of Iowa almost lost today. If Iowa had lost early in the NCAA tournament. It would have been like the Dan and Dave promo before the Olympics. One of them didn't even make the Olympics.

[shrek2]

I watched some of Clark's old high school games on YouTube and she would get harassed by the guys from the opposing school chanting overrated when she went to the freethrow line and she was pretty consistent. I was looking to see if she would break in some interview like complaining about the officiating or saying something negative but have yet to find it. So many sports commentators, coaches, pundits are trying to make their mark by saying her name to get their name up in lights, like the West Virginia coach and Trae Young of Atlanta saying he wanted to be in a three point contest next year against her. She did sort of show a letdown when she started complaining to the referees and her dad called her out during the Holy Cross game.

[shrek2]

Oops, seems like somebody caught her on X saying shut the f- up to what I believe is the West Virginia crowd harassing her. So, there's a chink in the armor.

[shrek2]

Another Angel Reese/Caitlin Clark match on Monday. Surprised its not major network tv since a lot of Clark's games have drawn 5M+ viewership per game. My guess is LSU will beat them with the inside game with the two bigs for LSU which will put Hannah Steulke in foul trouble.

[shrek2]

It's really too bad that some people are making it more than just basketball. It's only about basketball and nothing else. I feel bad for the LSU players but somebody had to lose. Angel Reese came off classy with interviews.

[shrek2]

I was watching the replays because I hate subscribing to all the sports channels cause it just makes me a couch potato. The thing that stuck me immediately from the first Clark shot was why do they have a shorter LSU guard against CC. Flau'jae Johnson who is 5'10 was scheduled to guard CC but then they stuck 5'7 guard Haley Van Lith. The angle on the three point shot out of CC's hand look like it was coming at a 30 degree angle whereas a taller guard would have caused the shot to come out at a 45 degree angle which would have caused for more misses by Clark. Hopefully we see somebody like Paige Bueckers guard CC. Otherwise its really going to disappointing to not see a fully competitive ball game.

[Walkoff Balk]

Will the U of Iowa win it all with Caitlin Clark and the Clarknettes? I don't want to see U of Connecticut's men's or women's basketball teams hog cheese NCAA basketball titles.

[shrek2]

South Carolina is probably the favorites to take the women's BB crown. I'm actually hoping for a UConn/South Carolina final. Haven't been watching the men's except for occasional Purdue and Edey games. Understand that UConn has been beating opponents by 30 pts. so it may be a repeat.

[shrek2]

This was a class final post game interview for Iowa after their loss to South Carolina.


Link
In comparison, the postgame interview with Geno Auriemma and UConn was terrible. Coach did not set the table for the questions by saying that he was proud of the effort, yada, yada, yada. Our Dave Shoji presented a lot better than Geno on the national stage win or lose. Different sport, but, UH doesn't get to that stage often.

I have renewed interest in NCAA basketball and will be watching UConn/Purdue.

[Walkoff Balk]

U of South Carolina seemed like on every offensive possession. They either hit their first shot or had an offensive rebound put back in score. The only way Caitlin Clark can win a NCAA championship is to use her another college year to transfer to U of Connecticut to even the talent of U of South Carolina. It would be like Kevin Durrant joining the GS Warriors.

[shrek2]

Caitlin Clark, I believe, would not have flourished under Geno as she did under Bluder. Geno along with Dawn Staley and Kim Mulkey are all about winning. Lisa Bluder seemed to always say the right things in post game and pregame interviews. This is probably why Caitlin always said the right things; as in no controversy. CC would never have been able to take the logo three under Ariemma, Staley or Mulkey. It's tough to beat 6'7 Kamilla Cardoso when you have 6'2 Hannah Stuelke but it was amazing that you had Kate Martin 6'0 forward and others boxing out to keep South Carolina out of the paint in the first half. The way the lady Hawkeyes were able to race up the court and have a quick release on a left handed layup made you think that they were left handed dominant. Don't know if that's coaching or just the players they recruited. It was more entertaining to watch the women's than the men's. Don't know if it'll be that interesting in the future if the stars come off like prima donnas.

[Walkoff Balk]

Would Caitlin Clark be the superstar Caitlin Clark if she played for a women's college basketball power? The saying that the only person who could hold Michael Jordan under 20 points was coach Dean Smith. But, U of North Carolina had a starting lineup of NBA players. So, he could develop a more all around game.