After a record-setting night when Caitlin Clark passed Kelsey Plumb as the all-time leading scorer in NCAA women’s basketball, the Iowa Hawkeyes’ star players included Tom Brady, Angel Reese, Billie Jean King, I received congratulatory messages from Alex Morgan and others.
Andraya Carter praised Clark’s “magnetism” in drawing crowds to both home and away games, calling her a great player on Saturday’s “College GameDay.”
But Jay Williams, another analyst on the show, didn’t agree that Clark was still great.
He insisted that even though she earned points, she still needed to lead Iowa State to the national championship, the true measure of greatness in his eyes.
“Okay, I think she’s the Stephen Curry of women’s college basketball,” Williams said. “I think she changed the dynamics of how the game is played. I think she’s probably the most prolific scorer in basketball the way she plays, how great she is.
“I don’t want to say she’s great yet, but maybe that’s because of Kobe’s coaching around me. I think she’s the most prolific scorer this game has ever seen. When you win a championship, I appreciate the immortality level or the temple level. …So I’m not saying she’s not at a high, high, high level, but my In my opinion, for her to go to immortality, it must culminate in your team winning the championship.”
But Williams had a hard time explaining that to the rest of the “College GameDay” crew.
Seth Greenberg rested his head on his left hand.
Jay Bilas called Clark “a cultural phenomenon unlike anything basketball has ever seen.” That should be more than Plum’s 3,527 points against Michigan on Thursday, and that’s what happened when she hit a 3-pointer from the logo early in the first quarter.
And Reece Davis told Auburn fans who were watching the game live before the 13th-ranked Tigers hosted No. 22 Kentucky at 6 p.m. that, according to Williams’ theory, alumnus Charles Barkley He said he would not be considered a great player. He never won a national title.
That only led to boos from the fans.
Clark and the Hawkeyes came close to winning the national championship last year, but lost to LSU in the title game despite Clark’s 30 points and eight assists.
They have remained near the top of the AP Top 25 poll through most of the 2023-24 season, although they dropped two spots from second place after the loss to Nebraska.
Clark, who also set the Iowa single-game record with 49 points against the Wolverines, is inching closer to another chance, needing 99 more points to pass Pete Maravich as the all-time leading scorer in both men’s and women’s college basketball. The latest record will be announced on February 22nd against Indiana.
