A little bit of tough love can go a long way. I’m sure Caitlin Clark had all the best intentions here, and wanted to do everything in her power to ensure that her Iowa Hawkeyes wouldn’t lose to a 16th seed. She plays with a real attitude, which is part of what makes her so universally celebrated by basketball fans. Not to mention, she’s essentially the female play style equivalent of Steph Curry. No wonder the women’s Final Four is outselling the men’s so hard.
But I gotta say, Clark’s dad is totally in the right in this instance. You can catch the tail end of this clip after her latest airing of grievances that he appears to tell her to quite literally shut up.
It’s cool that Clark cares so much, but let’s have some grander scheme of things perspective here. You’re playing against Holy Cross. Caitlin Clark could get zero foul calls all game, or have all the whistles go in Holy Cross’ favor, and the Hawkeyes would still win by double digits. Even though Clark only hit eight of 19 shots from the floor, she still finished with 27 points, eight boards, 10 assists and three steals in Iowa’s 91-65 rout. In other words, she drew plenty of fouls and got to the charity stripe for nine of the Hawkeyes’ 27 free throw attempts, compared to the Crusaders’ 20.
The best part of all this, though, is that Clark defied her father’s stern wishes and had to be restrained from potentially socking an official (kidding mostly) once halftime hit, like, 50 seconds later in the game.
Perhaps Caitlin Clark is so next level and can anticipate what’s going to unfold in a basketball game better than anyone on this planet, because her preemptive complaints preceded her getting smoked in the face in broad daylight.
Ignore the absolutely horrendous Andrew Perloff take there, which has been ratioed into oblivion. This is what you’d call hardwood headhunting. No I’m not trying to be a perv with an untoward innuendo. I’m referring to the surface of a basketball court and the practice of going after the other team’s star player that’s typically reserved for a football field.
Just glad to see Clark and the Hawkeyes live to fight another day. Not that anyone expected them to bow out in the first round. It’d be amazing for the sport if they can make it all the way to the national championship game and win it to send Clark into the WNBA on a high note. Then maybe the few stragglers who question her greatness can finally be silenced.
