Caitlin Clark is now the all-time leading scorer in women’s college basketball, and barring injury, it’s a matter of when, not if, she’ll pass “Pistol” Pete Maravich in both men’s and women’s D1 basketball.
However, there is one thing missing from her resume: a championship at Iowa.
Clark and the Hawkeyes made the national championship final last year, but they were taken down by Angel Reese and LSU.
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Caitlin Clark #22 of the Iowa Hawkeyes celebrates after breaking the NCAA women’s all-time scoring record during the first half against the Michigan Wolverines at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on February 15, 2024, in Iowa City, Iowa. (Matthew Holst/Getty Images))
The Hawkeyes phenom’s resume speaks for itself – she was the AP Player of the Year last year, won the John Wooden Award, and is well on her way to becoming a three-time First-Team All-American.
But that lack of a championship, though, is preventing her from being “great,” says ESPN’s Jay Williams.
Williams did credit Clark for being “the Stephen Curry of women’s college basketball” and changing “the dynamic of the way the game is played.” Williams also said “she’s probably the most prolific scorer the game of basketball has ever seen.”
But Williams said he was “unwilling” to call her “great.”
“I hold ‘great,’ or the levels of immortality or the pantheon, to when you win championships. That’s just me,” Williams said on Saturday’s “College GameDay.” So, Diana Taurasi, when you win three consecutive championships, two-time National Player of the Year, it has to culminate with a chip; it has to. I mean, Breanna Stewart, if we’re talking about GOAT, legends of the game, she’s won four chips — four chips, multiple National Players of the Year.
Guard Caitlin Clark, #22 of the Iowa Hawkeyes, listens as the crowd cheers after breaking the NCAA women’s all-time scoring record during the game against the Michigan Wolverines at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on February 15, 2024, in Iowa City, Iowa. (Matthew Holst/Getty Images)
“I’m not saying that she’s not at a high, high, high level, but for it to go to the state of immortality — in my opinion — it has to culminate with your team winning a championship.”
CAITLIN CLARK BECOMES NCAA WOMEN’S ALL-TIME LEADING SCORER
Of course, with that logic, that would mean that Hall of Famers like Charles Barkley, Allen Iverson, Dan Marino, and Jim Kelly do not qualify as “great,” but sports legacies have become full of ring culture, and the number of titles one has – or has not – won has become the main argument for greatness.
Clark scored Iowa’s first eight points on Thursday to break the women’s record, previously held by Kelsey Plum. She then went on to score a career-high 49 points, putting her 99 away from Maravich.
Iowa’s matchup with LSU last year was the most viewed women’s college basketball game on record, with 9.9 million viewers tuning in, according to ESPN, so Clark’s influence is truly felt.
Guard Caitlin Clark, #22 of the Iowa Hawkeyes, celebrates with teammates during a presentation after breaking the NCAA women’s all-time scoring record during the game against the Michigan Wolverines at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on February 15, 2024, in Iowa City, Iowa. (Matthew Holst/Getty Images)
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Clark will be back on the floor on Thursday against Indiana.
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