University of South Carolina coach Dawn Staley thinks Caitlin Clark needs to do one more thing to get into the GOAT speech.
Staley, who had a great collegiate career at the University of Virginia, said in Saturday’s pregame press conference that Clark needs to win a championship to be in the all-time conversation.
If that happens, Clark will beat Staley’s undefeated South Carolina team in the women’s NCAA championship game Sunday in Cleveland (3 p.m., ABC).
“I was really good in college, but I never won a championship,” the Gamecocks coach said. She reached the Final Four three times and won Player of the Year awards twice at the University of Virginia from 1989 to 1992. “You have to win a championship. That’s me personally. I’ve had a great career. But it’s always like, did I win the championship?”
Clark said she doesn’t agree with the win-or-lose statement and said she wants her legacy with the Hawkeyes to be more than that.
“I’ve been playing basketball for four years at this university, and with two games left, it’s about whether I’m proud of myself and the way I am, the way I am. “It’s impacted people’s lives, and I don’t think that’s a fair assessment,” Clark said at a press conference.
“I don’t want my legacy to be, ‘Oh, Kaitlyn won X games,’ or ‘Kaitlyn scored X points.’ I hope that’s what I was able to do for the game of women’s basketball. I hope young boys and young girls are inspired to play this sport and dream of doing whatever they want in life.
“When you say the time is reduced to 40 minutes and I can validate myself in 40 minutes, I don’t think that’s a fair assessment.”
Staley cited UConn legend Brianna Stewart’s GOAT comments in a recent interview on SiriusXM radio, saying Clark needs to win a title to join the conversation among the all-time greats. said.
Stewart led the Huskies to four national titles from 2013 to 2016 and is widely regarded as the greatest women’s basketball player of all time.
“If you look back 10 years ago, you’ll see all the records she broke and the points she scored and things like that, but we all know that when you play college basketball, your goal is to win a national championship. That’s why you need it,” Stewart told SiriusXM.
Staley agreed.
“I agree with Stewie when it comes to winning championships,” Staley said. “We’re going to talk about the GOAT. I think she’s the GOAT because she won four national championships and was able to be the MVP. I think she was the MVP all four times.”
On a personal level, Clark makes a good case for being one of those who attended the GOAT talk.
She led the NCAA in career points with 3,921 points and won numerous Player of the Year awards throughout her career, as well as numerous other awards.
Clark understands that with any big-name player, there will always be detractors and naysayers.
“When you’re in the spotlight like this, there’s going to be a million different opinions about you,” she said. “For as many people as there are people who love you, there are going to be people who hate you.” That’s true for every professional athlete, male or female, who plays on the biggest stage.
“What I’ve been able to do throughout my career is just focus on the opinions of the people in the locker room. That’s what I really value, the people I love to death, every moment of my career. The people who supported me, the people who believed in me more than anyone else.”
Staley acknowledged that if Clark leads Iowa State (34-4) over a 37-0 South Carolina team, she will be squarely in the GOAT conversation.
“If Kaitlyn wins the championship, she’s pretty good, yeah, she’s a goat. I mean, she’s really good anyway,” Staley said. “But her deal will be sealed if she wins the championship. Dear Lord, I hope she doesn’t.”
