CAITLIN CLARK will probably play in the WNBA, but I’ll bet she could do fine in the NBA, too (University of Iowa).
If you’re one of the many who watched the NCAA basketball finals on Sunday and Monday, perhaps you came away with two observations: the UConn men’s team was the most team-like team playing basketball in North America today and that Caitlin Clark is fit to take the next big step.
Now, in that regard, you might say, yeah, sure, WNBA.
Nope.
Yes, I think #22 from West Des Moines, Iowa is ready to be the Jackie Robinson of gender and make a debut in an American major league.
She holds every women’s basketball record you can think of, and is not only a great scorer but also a top passer and rebounder as well.
Alright, she wasn’t at her best against South Carolina. After a scorching first quarter in which she scored 18 points, she did tail off. But she still ended up with 30 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
The story of that game wasn’t Clark’s streaky shooting; it was the weak rebounding of the Hawks, being unable to get the second shot of a miss. The Gamecocks dominated the boards 49-25, almost two-to-one.
CAITLIN CLARK
But anyone can have a blip, and her career speaks for itself. I mean, even Shohei Ohtani was off his best when the 2024 season started, and now he’s red-hot.
To anyone who says, hey, the women’s game is not nearly as skilled as the men’s, I say this: do you mean there’s not one end-of-the bench player on the worst team in the NBA she couldn’t outdo? Admittedly, there are some differences. The WNBA ball is slightly smaller – women have smaller hands, right? – and the three-point line is slightly closer at the arc.
But shooting a basketball is in large part about muscle memory … once you adjust to the small differences, it’s all good.
And, at the very least, she’s a known box-office magnet. Considering the influence of gambling in sports today, I’m willing to bet on her achieving what she’s done all her career: exceed all expectations.