Caitlin Clark: Not overrated, but overcovered | Page 2 | The Boneyard

Caitlin Clark: Not overrated, but overcovered

Bjbod said:
Caught this comment from Dan Patrick on the radio today, and I thought, "that is exactly dead on".

Being an Iowa fan we've loved the attention she's garnered, and absolutely deservedly so. But even I have felt it's become too much. She seems pretty unflappable with a microphone in front of her, but I wonder if could take its toll eventually. Really proud of her comments re: Angel and that whole thing; she knows it will go away quicker if she just lets it go.

SI article states what I've observed watching her for seven years now: https://www.si.com/college/2023/04/03/iowa-ncaa-final-loss-caitlin-clark-lifted
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She isn't overrated or over covered. The sports needs transcendent players to grow the fan base.
 
Simply put, Ionescu and Clark will be seen to have both launched women’s college basketball to a new level. Great personalities, on and off the court. I sense that Dallas’ Sabally will end up doing the same for the professional game.
 
Fowlball said:
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Lol this video is just dumb. The creator is just searching for things to nitpick rather than looking at the overall picture. Someone could make a similarly biased video about the shortcomings of Dawn during the Freshies era by only winning 1 title. And I've never heard anyone claim Bluder is a top tier coach aside from her ability to develop posts and run a great offense.
 
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Fowlball said:
They don't want to admit they are bad on defense:D
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Got it in one! ;)

Early in practices last year, Teri Moren stressed several times that she and her staff and players realized their weakness was defense, and they would be making a concerted effort on their defense. I thought it showed early in the season, but that they let it slide later.

On the other hand, they went to the championship game last year, so they did something right. I personally think it was just that their offense was even better and their defense was about the same as the previous year.
 
Bigboote said:
Got it in one! ;)

Early in practices last year, Teri Moren stressed several times that she and her staff and players realized their weakness was defense, and they would be making a concerted effort on their defense. I thought it showed early in the season, but that they let it slide later.

On the other hand, they went to the championship game last year, so they did something right. I personally think it was just that their offense was even better and their defense was about the same as the previous year.
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Are you referring to Lisa Bluder or Teri Moren? If you're referring to the national championship, it sounds like you have the coaches mixed up here.
 
cancontent said:
Are you referring to Lisa Bluder or Teri Moren? If you're referring to the national championship, it sounds like you have the coaches mixed up here.
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Oops! Brain fart. Lisa Bluder as you said. Indiana's defense has been good the past few years.
 
bballnut90 said:
Lol this video is just dumb. The creator is just searching for things to nitpick rather than looking at the overall picture. Someone could make a similarly biased video about the shortcomings of Dawn during the Freshies era by only winning 1 title. And I've never heard anyone claim Bluder is a top tier coach aside from her ability to develop posts and run a great offense.
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Exactly! The creator of this video cherry picked a lot of information to fit their narrative. Had Iowa pulled off a miracle and won the National Championship, the narrative would have been "Caitlin Clark leads Iowa to the Title".

Lisa Bluder has a done a wonderful job at Iowa. Entering her 23rd year at Iowa, Lisa has managed to get Iowa into the post season 17 times. That is pretty impressive considering Iowa is not a hot bed for recruiting. Coach Bluder (and her coaching staff) does a great job of turning those 3 & 4 Star talented players into a well rounded & competitive unit.

The transfer & recruiting angle is always comical to me. The transfer side of things, players transfer for a host of reasons. In the case of Lauren Jensen, she saw that Iowa had a host of guards and her minutes were going to be limited and in that game of Iowa/Creighton, Creighton was just in that zone that day and tournament.

Recruiting side, I just know here in Minnesota, like any state, 1). You are going to miss out on a lot of home-grown talent. There are only so many slots for a player for the home team and players understand that and move on. 2). Not every player wants to stay in their hometown to play. Some do and some don't. It happens. Programs have a culture, style of play, players in mind that fit that style of play, and a overall philosophy of coaching that when recruiting, that is what they are going for. Not many programs are on the radar of these players. Heck, I think KK was on Iowa's radar but Iowa was not on KK's radar. It happens and you recruit players that seem to like your program. These programs know which players are interested. When a coach from "Skittles University" shows up and kids are giving that coach a stank face look, that coach ain't trying to draw that player. Now if that player shows interest and is excited to talk with that coach from "Skittles University" and what it has to offer, now that coach as an angle to work with.

Coach Bluder is a solid coach. Her players love her. The fans (most reasonable fans) appreciate her and all that she has done at Iowa.
 
Well, Caitlin Clark is now at the level where she's the Grand Marshall of the University of Iowa Homecoming Parade
and
Her exploits are being honored at halftime of Iowa Football games by the marching Band. "She," of course, scores.

 
Dillon77 said:
Well, Caitlin Clark is now at the level where she's the Grand Marshall of the University of Iowa Homecoming Parade
and
Her exploits are being honored at halftime of Iowa Football games by the marching Band. "She," of course, scores.

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Wow, that's pretty crazy. I wonder how many of those kids enacting that even follow the women's basketball team.

If you attend a game at Kinnick, you'd better like the color yellow.;)
 
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Bigboote said:
I haven't been a fan of Clark's on-court demeanor, but I've noticed a marked improvement this year, and I see from the article that she's been working hard on it. Good for her, good for Coach Bluder for hiring the performance consultant (would that have been a sports psychologist a decade or two ago?).

That said, the more I see of her off-court, the more I like her as a person. The post-final presser with her and Czinano was just gut-wrenching.
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Have you ever said anything like this about a male player? Has anyone? as a women, I‘m mighty tired of hearing how women need to act to be likable.

Caitlyn, Sabrina, Stefanie, Angel - you do you and ignore the critics.
 
Paige, Azzi and Caitlin are my top 3 woman college basketball players.
 
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When you walk the walk, you can talk the talk, and act the act. Look at Coach Prime now, and back in the day when he was playing. He never had to deal with this scrutiny!
 
HuskyNan said:
Have you ever said anything like this about a male player? Has anyone? as a women, I‘m mighty tired of hearing how women need to act to be likable.

Caitlyn, Sabrina, Stefanie, Angel - you do you and ignore the critics.
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Can’t speak for @Bigboote, but I have been critical of many exhibits of on court demeanor by males. Many! But I admit I’m from a generation that played when terms like “hotdog” and “ showboat” or “ whiner” were negatives. “Let your play speak for you” is antiquated, I guess.. So maybe we dinosaurs, like Bigboote and I, should shut up and ignore demeanor.
 
visitingcock said:
Can’t speak for @Bigboote, but I have been critical of many exhibits of on court demeanor by males. Many! But I admit I’m from a generation that played when terms like “hotdog” and “ showboat” or “ whiner” were negatives. “Let your play speak for you” is antiquated, I guess.. So maybe we dinosaurs, like Bigboote and I, should shut up and ignore demeanor.
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You kids get off my lawn!
 
I cannot stand to watch the NCAA MBB and/or the NBA!
It is more about the "ME" than the team on at least 80% of MBB!
John Wooden once said, "I don't watch men's basketball anymore because they don't play "basketball" anymore!"
"If I do watch basketball it's women's basketball because women play the game the way it was meant to be played!"
 
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Dillon77 said:
Well, Caitlin Clark is now at the level where she's the Grand Marshall of the University of Iowa Homecoming Parade
and
Her exploits are being honored at halftime of Iowa Football games by the marching Band. "She," of course, scores.

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Not the same thing but Victoria Vivians was the MSU homecoming queen back in 2017.
 
topogigio said:
When you walk the walk, you can talk the talk, and act the act. Look at Coach Prime now, and back in the day when he was playing. He never had to deal with this scrutiny!
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Huh????? He was scrutinized all the time because of his persona, who he was hanging out with and marketing savvy. The only difference now is social media and the internet.
 
visitingcock said:
Can’t speak for @Bigboote, but I have been critical of many exhibits of on court demeanor by males. Many! But I admit I’m from a generation that played when terms like “hotdog” and “ showboat” or “ whiner” were negatives. “Let your play speak for you” is antiquated, I guess.. So maybe we dinosaurs, like Bigboote and I, should shut up and ignore demeanor.
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Yes and no. There are still players out there who are the "let your play speak for you" types. It's not a dinosaur mentality however we have to adjust to a different era of the game.

I sometimes have similar reactions like yourself when watching games. This isn't uncommon in sport however. Every sport has and will continue to go through these evolutions when the next generation gets involved and makes it theirs.

I think HuskyNan's comment also touches on an important point. The double standard where women are expected to "behave" a certain way continues to persist out there. It's unfortunate because all these players are doing is reacting and showing passion for what they do. It's 100% human nature and shouldn't be looked at differently based on unfair stereotypes.
 
cancontent said:
Yes and no. There are still players out there who are the "let your play speak for you" types. It's not a dinosaur mentality however we have to adjust to a different era of the game.

I sometimes have similar reactions like yourself when watching games. This isn't uncommon in sport however. Every sport has and will continue to go through these evolutions when the next generation gets involved and makes it theirs.

I think HuskyNan's comment also touches on an important point. The double standard where women are expected to "behave" a certain way continues to persist out there. It's unfortunate because all these players are doing is reacting and showing passion for what they do. It's 100% human nature and shouldn't be looked at differently based on unfair stereotypes.
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I was a wide receiver for a few years and one of my coaches complimented me after a catch for "acting like I've been there before." For whatever reason, that stuck with me. Not that I won't smile, sometimes pump a fist or say "yes" under my breath, but I also never want to show up another player...most of whom are guys I play with every week. In fact, I probably celebrate a teammate's good shot or play more than mine.

There are current players I recognize who keep an even keel: Sonia Citron of ND lets other Irish celebrate her great plays.
But I've got nothing against Olivia Miles pumping her fist or doing a few struts...she's celebrating the play, not mocking anyone.

For me, that's what it gets down to: celebrate an accomplishment, but not at the direct expense of the other opponent.
The game is supposed to both be fun and a contest. Find the line or zone.
 
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HuskyNan said:
Have you ever said anything like this about a male player? Has anyone?
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Sure, this conversation happens all the time about male players. The language is usually a little more course, "he can play but he's an as_hole", but it definitely comes up. "Likability" is a big contributor to brand value in the modern world.
 
Dillon77- - -Your quoting this statement "acting like you've been there before." brings me back to the 30+ years I coached Wrestling at East Lyme HS! I always told my wrestlers that as I and my staff believed you always carried yourself with class win or lose!
You don't give opponents or referees something to carry over to your next match!
My teams always were complimented for their behavior on and off the mat!
The greatest compliments I could get is when we stopped to eat at a nice restaurant after a match and when we left other patrons and the owner would come up to me and say what a well-behaved group we are!
I'd tell the kids on the bus they made me very proud to be their coach!
 
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The deacon said:
Wow, that's pretty crazy. I wonder how many of those kids enacting that even follow the women's basketball team.

If you attend a game at Kinnick, you'd better like the color yellow.;)
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Most of the Marching Band also plays in the Pep bands during the winters sports and have a great relationship with the Women's basketball team.

It was the "Be Bold Wear Gold Game" so that would explain the saturation of color.
 
I guess turning 76 is effecting my mind as I meant to finish my above statement by saying that's why I like UCONN WBB so much as they've got class through and though!
 
Caitlin Clark Wins Sullivan Award

This annual award, presented by The York Athletic Club, is drawn from both female and male athletes at the collegiate level.
Congrats are in order to all the finalists, Clark and the sport/university that she represents.

www.espn.com

Clark wins Sullivan Award as top collegiate athlete

Caitlin Clark won the 93rd AAU James E. Sullivan Award as the nation's top collegiate or Olympic athlete. The award also recognizes leadership, citizenship, character and sportsmanship on and off the playing field.
www.espn.com www.espn.com
 
Dillon77 said:
Caitlin Clark Wins Sullivan Award

This annual award, presented by The York Athletic Club, is drawn from both female and male athletes at the collegiate level.
Congrats are in order to all the finalists, Clark and the sport/university that she represents.

www.espn.com

Clark wins Sullivan Award as top collegiate athlete

Caitlin Clark won the 93rd AAU James E. Sullivan Award as the nation's top collegiate or Olympic athlete. The award also recognizes leadership, citizenship, character and sportsmanship on and off the playing field.
www.espn.com www.espn.com
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Well said, Dillon77. This award is about as good as it gets for a collegiate/amateur athlete, gender blind, all sports included... congratulations to Caitlin and to Iowa. Well deserved!

Perhaps this time next year we'll be congratulating Paige for succeeding Caitlin as the Sullivan Award recipient?:cool:
 
HuskyNan said:
Have you ever said anything like this about a male player? Has anyone? as a women, I‘m mighty tired of hearing how women need to act to be likable.

Caitlyn, Sabrina, Stefanie, Angel - you do you and ignore the critics.
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Sorry, I missed this at the time -- I don't even watch men's sports any more for exactly that reason. Can't stand the antics.
 
Bigboote said:
Sorry, I missed this at the time -- I don't even watch men's sports any more for exactly that reason. Can't stand the antics.
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If you aren’t watching the UConn men you’re missing some great basketball. Hurley doesn’t coach showoffs, his player play defense and pass the ball beautifully. Try one game and see decide for yourself
 
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