Charlie CremeESPN.com5:36 PM ET6 min read
What makes Caitlin Clark so special?
Doris Burke and Diana Taurasi analyze Caitlin Clark’s size during her performance against South Carolina.
DALLAS — Fueled by Caitlin Clark’s history-making game, the Iowa Hawkeyes are in their first national championship game, playing the LSU Tigers Sunday (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN App) for the 2023 NCAA title.
Clark was already the most well-known player in women’s college basketball before the start of the NCAA tournament. Your legend has only grown in the last three weeks. In Friday’s national semifinals against previously undefeated defending champions South Carolina Gamecocks, who was the nation’s top defensive line this season, Clark scored 41 points and gave up eight assists, becoming the first player in NCAA tournament history for either a man or a woman Earn 40 points in consecutive games.
Just five days earlier, in the regional finals against the Louisville Cardinals, she had 41 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists – the first 40-point triple-double in the history of both tournaments.
The numbers are amazing. Clark’s impact on Iowa was even more incredible. In Iowa’s five games in the NCAA tournament, Clark’s shooting and passing accounted for 64% of the Hawkeyes’ attacks, and she’s now averaging 29.8 points, 10.3 assists and 6.5 rebounds since Iowa began a nine-game winning streak. which led to a Big Ten tournament championship and a run to the title game.
Clark was the talk of Dallas. No player has garnered more attention or sparked more conversations. And while Iowa will have its hands full defending LSU’s Angel Reese and Alexis Morris, who combined for 51 of LSU’s 79 points on Friday, players, coaches and analysts had plenty to say about Clark at Dallas, some even provided scouting reports ahead of Sunday’s final.
Lisa Leslie: A mix of Taurasi, Bird and Swoopes
Lisa Leslie, one of the greatest players in women’s basketball history, was quick to compare Clark to some of the game’s other biggest names.
“Caitlin is phenomenal. I think we’ve never seen a player like her,” said the two-time WNBA champion and three-time MVP. “And I say that because she is a mix of Diana Taurasi in her consistency of shooting and ability to take over a game. I think she’s a bit like Sue Bird in that she has the ability to pass the ball. But then she’s big enough like Sheryl Swoopes.
“So if you use those three players today I don’t know, I think you have Caitlin. …I think it’s great for the game. I love it. It’s Caitlin’s time right now and I think it’s great for women’s basketball.”
Diana Taurasi: “You have to disturb Clark
Caitlin Clark sets semifinal record with 41 points in win in Iowa
Caitlin Clark scores an NCAA semifinal record with 41 points in Iowa’s overwhelming upset against South Carolina.
Taurasi, a three-time NCAA champion for the UConn Huskies and voted GOAT by WNBA fans in 2021 as the league celebrated its 25th season, discussed Clark’s game during ESPN’s “The Bird and Taurasi Show” and how she would play against them .
“I would lift her 94 feet and mess with her so badly,” said the WNBA’s all-time leading scorer. “I would nudge them, I would push them, I would frustrate them. I would do stupid things. I would get a technician. I would get a flagrant.
LSU Guards: “She’s One of One”
LSU guard Alexis Morris, who will likely have to guard Clark at various times in Sunday’s game, was asked if she had ever seen anyone like Clark.
“Do you know who Breanna Stewart is? Stewie is pretty amazing to me. [Elena] Dent Donne? Pretty amazing to me,” Morris said. “But not in our generation at all. She’s one of one, period.
LSU freshman Flau’jae Johnson was asked how she would defend Clark. Her answer is a more traditional approach than Taurasi’s – with a little extra help. “I’m going to have to play my best defense ever,” Johnson said, “and maybe throw a prayer as well.”
Kim Mulkey: “Gosh, she’s something special”
LSU’s Kim Mulkey, who has won titles as a player and coach, recalled her playing days to describe her appreciation for Clark’s game.
“She will get her points. This girl is phenomenal when it comes to shooting the ball. But what’s most impressive to me, now that you’re talking to an old point guard, is that she makes everyone around her better,” Mulkey said Saturday. “This is the first time I’ve seen them play in person. … I couldn’t take my eyes off her. Gosh, she’s something special. She is something special.”
Doris Burke: Clarks has “trust in the entire team”
ESPN NBA analyst Doris Burke sees Clark in a similar light and offered what may be the ultimate scouting report.
“She has this innate sense of knowing where players are going to be on her body and knowing how to hit the pocket pass,” Burke said as a guest on The Bird and Taurasi Show. “She’s a player who can give her whole team confidence. She’s so skilled. She puts the ball where it belongs.”
Iowa Coach Lisa Bluder: When In Doubt…
When asked how she would stop Clark if she were an opposing coach, Iowa coach Lisa Bluder was succinct.
“Pray,” Bluder said as she wrapped up her press conference on Saturday.