The UConn star might have the better all-around game.
I know a tidal wave when I feel one, the soaked clothes being one clue, the salt water in the lungs being another.
Iowa’s Caitlin Clark is much, much more than a phenomenal basketball player. She’s a cultural thunderclap who has drawn all different kinds of newcomers to women’s college basketball. Her ability to make shots from galaxies far, far away is remarkable, and her passing skills are exceptional. Children who wouldn’t otherwise have been drawn to the game now shoot hoops and make her trademark heart gesture with their hands after a bucket. Lots of money has come her way via TV ads.
She’s a girl wonder.
With all that in mind, I wonder if a question can be asked without the questioner being sent to a watery grave:
Is Caitlin Clark really the best player in women’s college basketball right now?
There’s very little dunking in the women’s game, but if anything would seem to be a slam dunk in life these days, it’s that Clark stands alone atop the mountain. Everybody and everything tells us this is so – the gushing analysts, the breathless play-by-play announcers and the corporations that want their brands associated with her. If Clark decides to play in the WNBA, she’ll be the No. 1 overall pick. There’s no debate on that.
But … um … er … I can’t shake the thought that Connecticut’s Paige Bueckers is a better all-around player than Clark.
If you’re looking for me, I’ll be in hiding.
Geno Auriemma, the bombastic coach of the Huskies, recently opened the door to a debate on the subject by saying, “We have the best player in America.
