Caitlin Clark shoots the ball to score during a collegiate women’s basketball game. Photo via Bryan Ray, Iowa women’s basketball.
Basketball Phenom: Caitlin Clark
I’m quite sure you have heard the name Caitlin Clark and if not, let me tell you a little about her. Clark, the senior starting point guard for the University of Iowa women’s basketball team, is breaking records left and right. Caitlin Clark has just recently became the all time leading scorer in NCAA basketball history. On February 15 2024, Clark surpassed Kelsey Plum, who held the record of most points in NCAA women’s basketball history. Caitlin ended the game, where she broke this record, over Michigan scoring 49 points, tallying her total points to 3,569. Even more recently she surpassed Pete Maravich, who held the record of most overall points in men’s and women’s college basketball, in Iowa’s win over Ohio State on March 3 2024. Not only has she changed Iowa women’s basketball, or even women’s college basketball overall. She has impacted basketball, men and women’s. So why should you care? It’s bigger than basketball, it’s about getting to experience life in a whole new outlook than ever before, and that is why it should matter to you.
Sure there have been women basketball greats; Diana Turasi, Kelsey Plum, Sue Bird, Candance Parker, Sabrina Ionescu, and the list could go on and on. But what makes Caitlin Clark so different is the caliber of fans she draws in. In today’s age so many people want to watch greatness, they want to be entertained while watching something. Caitlin Clark is the definition of entertaining to watch, putting up on average 32.8 points per game. Clark in her 4 years at Iowa has led her team to 2 BIG 10 championships, winning both, 2 sweet sixteen games, 2 elite 8 games, a final 4 and even the national championship game. While they ended up falling short to LSU in the 2023 national championship game, it doesn’t diminish how successful Clark is and the power she has, even as a collegiate athlete. Despite this loss, Iowa women’s basketball sold out the 2023-24 season in August, 4 months before the season officially started. Increasing sales by 125% from the 2021-22 season to the 2022-23 season. A 125% increase from one season to the next is insane. It’s something that doesn’t happen often. Everyone wants to see Caitlin Clark be Caitlin Clark.
How the Game is Being Changed
Every news source and sports media outlet talks about “The Caitlin Clark effect” and how she’s changing the game of basketball, but I think it’s way more than just basketball. Caitlin Clark is so much more than a collegiate athlete that’s breaking all these records, she’s a person. She’s a woman with influence who is modeling and producing a lifestyle and mindset. A mindset I would call the “Caitlin Clark way”, a way that’s all about dreaming, no matter how big the dream may feel. Everything starts off with a dream. While most dreams start off with a goal, the extent of what peoples own personal goals, see that varies, and they should. That is what makes goals beautiful and meaningful. When you have goals in life it means you are passionate about something and will do anything to go succeed and accomplish them. Anything is possible when it’s something you feel so strongly about, and Caitlin Clark bodies that. Caitlin Clark has grit and intentionality proving that women’s basketball can successfully draw people in to watch a sport that not a lot of people have cared about in history.
Success of Iowa Basketball
I touch on the question again: why should you care? Well I am a little biased as I have ties to the University of Iowa through the coaches of Cailtin Clark. Head coach, Lisa Bluder, associate head coach, Jan Jensen and assistant coach, Jenni Fitzgerald were once the coaches of my aunt, Julie Sladek. I have been a fan of Iowa women’s basketball since the day I was born. There are countless pictures of me wearing Iowa Women’s Basketball T-shirts. I have a team signed jersey of Megan Gustafson, another powerhouse Iowa women’s basketball has produced, hanging up on my wall. I have watched every game I could, some in person but most on the TV, or on a special occasion, watching on my phone sitting in the parking lot of Red Robin watching the game because they didn’t have the channel and there was no other way for me to watch it. I’ve been a fan long before anyone knew anything about Caitlin Clark. Long before the success and fame Iowa woman’s basketball is seeing today. These coaches are like family so I can confidently say that this isn’t a show. They are true authentic people who care about others deeply. At the end of the day they were once those girls who had the same dream so many girls today have. The only difference is they didn’t have as many opportunities.
Most opportunities are because of the intentions of what a single person is doing in their school, or their workplace, even their community, that is going to help them out in many other situations in the future. Opportunities aren’t just limited to that person doing it for themselves, it can also come from another person’s doing. So, how can one person create so many opportunities for thousands if not millions of people? The more important question is how can one 22 year old woman in college change the trajectory of so many others’ lives. It’s the power of being motivated. Caitlin Clark does just that. Her motivation for her own self to strive in order to get only better and better at basketball but also as a human being, motivates others. She is influencing little girls and boys to get into the mindset that you could be that person one day. Whether that person or idol is a professional or collegiate sports player, an actor, a musician, an author, a scientist, a politician, a doctor, and the list could go on and on, it doesn’t really matter. As long as there are idols that encourage people to want to succeed in life, even if there is no personal connection. It’s so important to have a person that people, especially little kids, could say “I want to be like them when I grow up” or “I’m going to the next ___”, fill in the blank. People need to realize that anyone can do this, you could do this, Caitlin Clark is just that 1 in a million who gets to use her platform to encourage others.
The Impact of Clark
Again, I touch on the question, why should you care, well even if you aren’t an Iowa fan, or even a sports fan, what Caitlin Clark and her team is doing to enhance women’s sports is something you should care about. It’s something that your future kids are going to care about, and then their kids. Women’s sports has come a long way and will only continue to grow even more. With the help of women like Caitlin Clark who want to inspire this next generation, Caitlin Clark is the unifying force. Unifying people who have different teams; men, women, adults, kids, everyone. They all want to have some part of history, even if it just means watching history happen.
