The one star who is revolutionizing women’s basketball is Caitlin Clark.
When Kristin Meyer applied to be Dowling Catholic’s head coach of girls basketball in 2016, she had no idea that she would soon be coaching the next big thing in basketball.
Before she played a single game of high school ball, people in the program soon told her about a rising eighth grader in West Des Moines, Iowa, who lived right down the street and was already becoming well-known across the country. Meyer quickly recognized the reason behind all the excitement.
Not long after accepting the job, Meyer’s phone rang. An assistant coach from a top-10 college school was enquiring about her incoming freshman class on the other end. Since Meyer had yet to see much of the player, she presented a straightforward query: to what extent is Caitlin Clark expected to be good?
As a 14-year-old, the college coach indicated she could start for them immediately away.
At a Creighton preseason camp, Clark met her new high school teammates for the first time. In transition, she made a daring three-quarters court bounce pass for a layup, and she then blasted a behind-the-back dime to a teammate for an additional basket.
“Two amazing passes,” Meyer remarked. The fact that a collegiate athlete made them would have made them stand out. I then understood what she could do with the basketball at that point.
Now that Clark has developed into one of the biggest stars in the sport, everyone in the nation is aware of what she can accomplish with the basketball. Clark’s only real accomplishments as an Iowa Hawkeyes freshman were to lead the nation in scoring (26.6 points per game) and place third in assists (seven per game). As a sophomore this season, she increased both metrics and took first place in both. As she was doing it, Iowa became the first program in school history to win both the Big Ten regular season crown and the conference tournament championship in the same year.
Although Clark’s impressive resume and staggering stats speak for themselves, it isn’t the main reason for her rise to fame this year. Seeing the 6-foot point guard unleash her lethal scoring arsenal, complete with stepbacks, long pull-ups, and logo threes that have all become routine parts of her repertoire, is an adrenaline rush. The amazement of witnessing them swish over the net so frequently surpasses even the daring of some of her shots.
Clark told SB Nation, “They have to guard me when I pass halfcourt now.” “This year, people have been more careful and protective of me. I drill those kinds of shots every day when I go to the gym or practice. My teammates’ lives have been made easier by my ability to extend the floor more.”
The fact that Clark could be the greatest playmaker in the nation also puts opposition defenses in a difficult situation. Millions of people have shared her season’s top highlights. Sue Bird dubbed her the “most fascinating athlete in college basketball right now,” Kevin Durant discussed her on his podcast, and LeBron James shared her on Instagram. Only the greatest names can match Clark’s star qualities at this time, but she isn’t content with viral videos and public acclaim.
In her locker, Clark has the words “Final Four” scrawled down. Iowa has only made it to this level once, and that was in 1993.
Clark declared, “I’m not ashamed to communicate my goals.”
Clark has the Hawkeyes poised for greatness, as they are slated as the second seed in the 2022 women’s NCAA tournament. She wouldn’t have it any other way as a native Iowan.
The thing that most distinguishes Clark is her fierce sense of competition. Playing sports against her brothers and male cousins around the family’s West Des Moines home helped her hone it.
Clark remarked, “I grew up playing with the guys and against the boys, but I got picked on and shoved around a lot.” “I believe that enhanced my physical attributes—getting bigger, stronger, faster, and acquiring a new level of skill.”
Clark supposedly dominated the all-boys league on her first organized basketball team. Although she didn’t think it odd at the time, being the only girl on the floor signaled the start of a trait that has stayed with her ever since: she detested losing.
Clark remarked, “If we didn’t win, I would cry.” “Even as a little child, I enjoyed competing.”
Since her brother was a starting quarterback on a state championship team, her grandpa was the head football coach, and her female cousins were all standout basketball players, Clark spent her formative years fantasizing about playing for Dowling Catholic. She was already scrimmaging against the high school varsity team and winning national attention while playing on the grassroots circuit for All-Iowa Attack by the time she was in the seventh grade.
It was clear as soon as she arrived at Dowling that this would be her team.
Meyer described her as the kind of player who is drawn to the ball and the ball is pulled to her. “When the ball is in her hands, everything goes more smoothly. She would manage to control the ball even if we told her to play a different position.
As a full-time starter, Clark averaged 15 points per game right away, making an immediate impression. Despite being one of the youngest players in the camp, she tested out for the 2017 USA U16 National Team when the year ended. After being selected for the squad, she took a plane to Argentina in order to assist in winning a gold medal. Clark returned to Dowling as a more assured and potent scorer. After the season, she tried out for USA Basketball once more, this time with the U17 team, but in a different age category. She was unable to arrive. Clark heard, for the first time in her life, that she wasn’t good enough.
Before his sophomore and junior years, Meyer claimed to have witnessed the greatest improvement in her game. “She was the top athlete in every event she participated in, so hearing that there were individuals better than her when she went to the USA trials and didn’t make the squad was kind of a first.” That provided her with the extra inspiration and determination she needed to move forward.
When Clark returned for her junior campaign, she was practically unstoppable. She began adding more stepback jumpers to her repertoire as her scoring average shot to 32 points per game. In a game versus Mason City, she scored sixty points on thirteen of her seventeen three-point attempts. With a 90-78 victory, Dowling required each and every one of Clark’s shots to stay in the game.
Clark desired to commit to college before her final year of high school. She was a member of a highly competitive national recruiting class that included players that have shaped women’s basketball since they entered college, including Paige Bueckers (UConn), Cameron Brink (Stanford), and Hailey Van Lith (Louisville). Clark could have performed anywhere in the nation, but she soon came to the conclusion that being near her family was what mattered most to her.
Her choice of the Hawkeyes was motivated by her desire to be near her family, according to Clark. “I desired for them to have access to my games. Having traveled the entire nation, I believe that’s essentially what matters to me. My desire was to be near my home.
Thanks to Megan Gustafson’s illustrious career—she won the 2019 Naismith Trophy and led Iowa basketball to an Elite Eight run as a senior—the program was already seeing growth. Iowa had a new kind of celebrity in Clark, one that made them dream even higher.
In a victory over Northern Iowa, Clark scored 27 points in just 26 minutes to mark her college debut. In the next game, she defeated Drake with 30 points and 13 assists. Iowa took on Iowa State following their victory over Wisconsin. In yet another Hawkeyes triumph, Clark ended with 34 points, seven rebounds, and six assists.
Her stunning collegiate career began, laying the groundwork for an amazing rookie campaign. Around junior large Monika Czinano, Iowa had to replace four players from the previous season, but all of a sudden, they had an emerging point guard who had the potential to be their team’s star. With a 20–10 record, the Hawkeyes secured the fifth seed in the NCAA tournament.
In the second round, when Iowa played No. 4 seed Kentucky, Clark led the Wildcats in points at the half and finished with 35 points overall. That arranged a meeting between Bueckers and UConn. The Huskies squad threw several defenders at Clark for much of the game, and she had one of her worst shooting performances of the season, going 7-of-21 from the field. The Hawkeyes were defeated by 20 points.
Even with the disappointing conclusion, Clark led the nation in total assists (214), field goals made (266), total points (799), three-pointers attempted (286), and three-pointers made (116) at the end of the season. Although it would be difficult for anyone to surpass those figures the following year, Clark has managed to grow in popularity even more as a sophomore.
