This is about basketball, but bear with me. It's about a remarkable woman. Caitlin Clark, who plays for the University of Iowa in the Big Ten conference, is a phenomenal college basketball player. With an emphasis on the "phenom" part. In fact, on this Sunday, she may break the all-time scoring record for college women. (Bad timing, unfortunately, since that’s the Super Bowl, but so be it. I believe they may have moved the game up to earlier in the day -- noon in the Midwest, 10 AM in Los Angeles -- so as not to conflict. It will be broadcast on the Peacock streaming service.) By the way, yes, I know that there was a lot of political and legal presidential news yesterday. But, sorry, Caitlin Clark may set the record for college women this weekend, and I want to write about her before it happens. She has priority today. How much of a phenomenon is Caitlin Clark? Let's put it in perspective. The average price of tickets for UCLA women's basketball is $35. For the University of Iowa, it's $527! And courtside seats are far more -- in the thousands. People want to see Caitlin Clark that much. Or this: average attendance for UCLA women's basketball games is 2,700. For Iowa, it's 11,500. But that's nothing -- the past October, the University of Iowa played the NCAA's first-ever outdoor game for women's basketball, which was held at the college's football stadium. And 55,456 fans attended! Yes, that was a record. As I said -- a phenom. The thing is, it’s not that Caitlin Clark is going to score the most points in college women's basketball history, but how she does it. Does it all. She set the bar so high with her skills that she's, as the expression goes, in a league of her own. After all, she’s not only going to become the scoring record-holder, but passing skills are so remarkable that she’s currently #8 on the all-time list for assists! (She probably won’t become #1, though I think could make #5.) But it’s her shooting that leaps out above everything. She makes long-range, 3-point shots from so far away that they’ve been given a name. “From the logo.” (The logo referred to is at the half-court line.) The 3-point line is 22 feet away from the basket. That’s where most basketball players shoot their 3-point shots. They’ll take a step back to make sure they’re in “3-point territory” and can shoot from as close as possible. Not Caitlin Clark. She’ll regularly be five feet from behind the line…and then take several steps back to separate her from the defender. In fact, at one point on a video I’m posting below, you hear the announcer say, “That’s gotta be 40 feet!!! And as you’ll see, even that isn’t uncommon. It's remarkable how far back she shoots from. Regularly. She shoots from so far away – often halfway between the 3-point line and halfcourt line! – that you almost start laughing. And what’s brilliant about it (assuming you can make such shots, which she can) is that it’s almost indefensible. No team will send someone to closely guard a player that far away, because a) if she dribbles past you then there’s so much open court, and b) that’s distance that’s so far away teams will laugh and say, “Ha, you want to shoot for there??! Go ahead, please.” Here are two videos. This first is a 9-minute video of her “From the logo” 3-point shots. Yes, nine minutes of them!! No need to watch all nine minutes, but at least watch a couple minutes to get the idea that this is common for her. Not just a video of, say, three long shots. No, it’s dozens and dozens and dozens of them. At the very least, watch just one minute. I was going to say, “When you watch, she’s #22,” but you’ll be able to tell who she is. She’s the one bombing from mid-court. (Most of her jerseys here will be all yellow or all black, though often they’re just white.) Amazing as that is, this second video is actually a better video to show who she is as – as I mentioned above -- an all-around player, since it not only shows her 3-point bombs, but also driving through the lane and great passing to other players. It’s not as “flamboyant” and eye-catching as the video of bombs, but just shows how amazing she is, in a normal, workmanlike way. The video is only 5-minutes. No need to watch it all, though you might enjoy doing so.
2 Comments
Carolyn Clemons
2/9/2024 10:15:21 am
My oldest daughter went to Iowa, came back there to do her surgical residency and was one of the teachers of the residents. Her son now attends. All this as background to say we have followed Caitlin Clark from her start as a Hawkeye. She is an amazing human being as well as a phenomenal athlete. She is a giving, kind and really grounded individual
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Robert Elisberg
2/10/2024 09:58:45 am
Carolyn, thanks for the note and personal information. Lucky you all.
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AuthorRobert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. Feedspot Badge of Honor
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