University of South Carolina coach Dawn Staley hasn’t been shy about giving Caitlin Clark much-deserved credit for improving women’s college basketball, and she did so again Wednesday in a radio interview on Chicago’s 670 The Score.
“I want women’s basketball to grow, and I’m not too shy about saying why it’s growing,” Staley said in a radio interview. “She’s grown it over the past two years.”
Clark’s influence on the game has been well-documented over the past year, as his on-court performances drew record viewers to his broadcasts, including a record-breaking three straight during the NCAA Tournament. The show was broadcast on television, and was ultimately watched by a staggering 18.7 million viewers. The national title game between Iowa and eventual champion South Carolina.
The explosion in popularity sparked a massive debate about Clark’s place in women’s college basketball history and how she influenced her dramatic rise in popularity.
“We need to make sure we tell the whole story of the game, so sometimes we have to go against the public and really cut back in order to tell what’s going on in real time,” Staley said. Ta. “The presence of Caitlin Clark is the only reason why our game’s viewership has increased dramatically. The only reason. I think I’m following suit because when I play with Caitlin Clark, I’m playing against someone who I think is pretty good.”
Part of Mr. Staley’s argument was that Mr. Clark’s presence would attract fans who might become fans of other players or teams they met.
She noted that the huge viewership of the national title game will get a chance to see the star players that South Carolina has to offer.
Clark’s influence is already being felt at the professional level, where he was selected No. 1 overall by the Indiana Fever and helped draw 2.4 million viewers to Monday’s WNBA Draft.
