Is Caitlin Clark Really the GOAT? It Doesn’t Matter!

Before discussing the two topics involved in this post, I would like to congratulate South Carolina for winning the championship and completing an undefeated season!  They had an incredible year and completed what seemed impossible after their entire starting lineup was gone.

While it’s been the hottest talking point of the season, I honestly find it to be a dumb thing to debate.  My general mindset is that it doesn’t make sense to compare two different eras when the talent is naturally better (in that regard, I often joke that the NBA 75 should realistically be the 75 best players in the NBA that season, and the NBA 100 should be the 100 best players in the league that season).  While I think it makes sense to speculate how players would fare in different eras, I think it gets ridiculous since many people ignore that talent improves after their favorite era of basketball, which makes a lot of older fans convinced that the basketball talent now is not better than that of the 80’s and 90’s (as a fun little point, the difference between this year and 1989 is the same as the difference between 1989 and 1954). 

Now that we have covered why I think the discussion is stupid, a lot of people are saying Caitlin Clark is the best college player of all time.  I would unfortunately argue that a lot of people claim this because they are new to the party and think nobody has excited the world like this on the Women’s side (I would counter this argument, but that’s beside the point).  That said, this shouldn’t take away just how much of an offensive talent Clark is; she is an amazing shooter, scorer, and playmaker who is extremely hard to slow down.  That said, there is tight competition for the greatest of all time.  I don’t believe a championship is a representation of a player being a better player than another (it’s a team sport for crying out loud, and Iowa had to go up against an unreal South Carolina team this year), so I’m not opposed to her being in the conversation.  That said, if we were to consider champions, we would have to also consider Brittney Griner (she’d probably be my choice), Maya Moore (probably my choice from a UConn player), Breanna Stewart, Cheryl Miller, Sheryl Swoopes (had she not played her first two years at community college, she’d rank higher on most lists), Arike Ogunbowale, Candace Parker (if she played her senior year, she might be my choice), Chamique Holdsclaw, Rebecca Lobo, A’ja Wilson, and Diana Taurasi (though she didn’t take off until later).  Even if you want to consider players who didn’t win a championship, I also feel like you can’t ignore Kelsey Plum (who put up almost as comical numbers as Clark), Angel McCoughtry, Skylar Diggins, Jackie Stiles (she had hysterical stats as well), Elena Delle Donne (who was a UConn commit before moving closer to home in Delaware and dominating there), Kelsey Mitchell, Lynette Woodard, and Sabrina Ionescu (the best comp of the last couple years in popularity).

While I think it’s impossible to truly make a decision about who the greatest of all time is (I wouldn’t want to either), there are several players who put on a showcase like practically nothing I’d ever seen, similar to how Clark did it.  Some of my favorite college basketball memories came from my teenage years were when Moore dominated both ends of the court with ease, as she was an efficient scorer, elite defender, and had a high IQ.  Around that same time, Griner made a reluctant fan out of me (I didn’t feel like I could cheer for Baylor, especially since I was a Virginia Tech fan who was forced to at least masquerade as a UConn fan being in Connecticut) since she put up video game type numbers and highlight reels; she is my favorite active WNBA player since it is so much fun to watch when she is on a roll.  While ahead of my time, Miller and Swoopes were both appointment viewing given their athleticism and scoring abilities.  In Connecticut history, players like Stewart, Lobo, and Taurasi dazzled with their skills, especially with Stewart’s UConn teams dominating in her 4-year tenure.  While Parker only played 3 seasons in college, she was WNBA ready from day one and proved it on both ends.  Even players like Plum and Ionescu were getting attention in the college basketball circles that felt like a bit of a precursor to what the reaction for Clark was.

I’m genuinely not sure if there was any reason other than her talent and showmanship that resulted in Clark being possibly the biggest name in college basketball history during her tenure (Miller is the best comparison in hype, but I think the games are more accessible, so it is primed for someone of Clark’s stardom to explode; Griner is also an interesting comparison due to her dunking and shot blocking ability).  I was always surprised that players like Plum and Mitchell never took off given the scoring ability of each, but they weren’t hitting shots as deep as Clark.  Even while Ionescu was able to hit deep threes, Clark is a better shooter who is more consistent from deep range.  Each of Plum, Ionescu, and Mitchell were not afraid to act in a celebratory manner in a similar way to Clark (for those who haven’t watched her a lot and have heard some saying she isn’t that celebratory, this is not the case), and I honestly love watching that level of passion in something these players work so hard at (and are also incredible at).  I wouldn’t have predicted that a player starring at Iowa would end up with this level of attention, even if there have been blips of players tearing it up at teams not considered super teams and gaining attention. 

Ultimately, this is why I hate the argument about whether Clark is the best player of all time; we’ll never come to an agreement, and I’d rather just reminisce on the fun of it all.  I still look back with glee at all the amazing players that the women’s game has produced, especially in college, and consider myself lucky to have been able to witness any of them.  Now that the game has grown in popularity over the years, Clark appears to be a breaking point to introduce even more people to a league and game that I find even more fun than the men’s game.  Now all these other people joining can start compiling these memories as well, as every fan has to start at some point.  This way, we can all look back fondly as we then watch the new GOAT take the stage within the next decade…until sports media instigates the same stupid question yet again instead of enjoying the moment.

 

 

Bonus:  Where Does the Virginia Tech Women’s Team Go from Here?

After their first ever Final Four run, Virginia Tech looked like it was primed for another long run; while they still had their superstars Elizabeth Kitley and Georgia Amore, had more balanced scoring depth, and appeared primed for the tournament with an interesting model:  a lot of shooting around Kitley, a slower paced offense that was extremely efficient, and a defense that forced a lot of 2’s and didn’t finish much at the rim.  On February 25^th, they beat UNC to go up to 23-4, which made it seem like a serious possibility that this could happen again.  Then it all fell apart:  first came a bad loss to Notre Dame, then the loss to Virginia where Kitley tore her ACL, and then a blowout loss to Notre Dame in the ACC tournament after they stumbled into a win against a struggling Miami team.  Once they made the tournament, they easily beat Marshall before just losing to Baylor at home by 3 (to their credit, I predicted offline that they were going to lose by at least 20).  After the season, coach Kenny Brooks announced that he is going to take the job coaching Kentucky’s women’s team, and Amore entered the transfer portal to follow him, as did Clara Strack, who was expected to replace Kitley and played well in the NCAA tournament.  Megan Duffy, Marquette’s women’s coach, was announced as the replacement, but there is still the question about what their future holds, especially without Kitley, Amore, and Brooks.

Ever since the transfer year has been waived, it has not been surprising for a new coach to be hired and have to re-recruit an entire team; there have even been some cases where a coach was replaced, and almost the entire team entered the transfer portal.  The logical first step towards creating a team is to try to convince the remaining players on the team not to enter the transfer portal; even while most of the remaining players might not be more than role players, it is definitely easier to navigate the transfer portal and recruiting class with a little more certainty.  It is also worth noting that two of Marquette’s best players, Liza Karlen and Mackenzie Hare, have both entered the transfer portal, so I expect they will be at least considered.  In general, I wouldn’t be as worried about the freshman recruiting class this year due to the coaching change.  In general, I would encourage trying to get a transfer who is a veteran guard, especially with how much Amore had the ball in her hands, but I think this isn’t necessary this year.

Normally, you would expect a team to struggle after getting a new coach and dealing with multiple key players leaving.  That said, I think Duffy will be a great fit immediately since her type of coaching style is one that can work well with a team that doesn’t have stars on the team.  One thing she prides her team on is versatility on both ends, especially on defense; her Marquette teams have been very good defensively, which is something I think she would be able to replicate easily, especially with good athletes.  The bigger issue is with offense; they have been largely inefficient from both 2 and 3 over the last few years while also playing at a slower pace.  While they shot well last season, I’m not sure if that was a fluke or if that is more in line with what to expect with Duffy.  That said, I still think the defensive coaching that she will bring will make this a good hire.

As for this season, it likely won’t be as good as the last two seasons.  I wouldn’t be surprised if Virginia Tech wins 15-20 games, which should be treated as a victory.  If they win 18 or more, they could end up sneaking into the tournament, though it might not be a lock.  That said, I think it will take a bit of time to truly see what their future holds.

What do you think of the GOAT debate?  Who are some of your favorite women's college basketball players of all time?  Let me know in the comments!