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Message: [QUOTE="BigTenGuy, post: 5086871, member: 12979"] The premise of your questioning seems to assume that the Clark phenomenon is a top-down or publicity-driven phenomenon. IMO, that is completely wrong. Clark’s popularity is overwhelmingly driven by Clark and her persona, and the reaction that casual and former non-WBB fans have to her long-range shooting and long-range/crazy passing. The story that Minneapolis sports curmudgeon Pat Reusse tells about encountering Clark in 2022 is instructive. That story repeated over and over among previous non-Clark fans, until an army was formed. [URL unfurl="true"]https://www.aol.com/reusse-caitlin-clark-hype-percolating-033500543.html[/URL] The Clark phenomenon is not the result of some clever marketing or promotion campaign. Playing for a non-blue blood college program and skepticism from some WBB elites/WBB talking heads also helped fuel Clark’s popularity. The non-insider WBB market is ultimately much larger than the insider market, if you can just get outsiders to pay attention and give them something they like. Insider skepticism of Clark also helped to strengthen the fervor for Clark. People know what they like, even if experts or greats (Diana T) disagree. The comparison to Ionescu is also instructive. As the Wall Street Journal pointed out in the last week, Sabrina was Caitlin Clark before Clark. Sabrina was the face of college basketball, supported by Nike and Nike U (Oregon). Sabrina had a Nike shoe contract before playing a professional game. While in college, Sabrina had unbelievable buildup and promotion, including celebrity and male BB endorsement. Sports and basketball-consuming audiences got healthy doses of Oregon/Sabrina and others were exposed to her existence as well. The Gospel of Sab was a thing to behold. And the basketball cognoscenti loved and embraced her. Geno couldn’t have been more complimentary after Oregon clobbered UConn in Storrs. And Sabrina deserved the hype. She was great. She was also robbed of crowning media attention when the 2020 tournament was canceled, with Oregon a national title favorite. Perhaps she could have broken out to the casual or occasional WBB fan, or to the WBB haters/skeptics, of which there are many in the MBB community. Notwithstanding the hype, accolades and success, Sabrina barely moved the needle in college. Her style of play, deliberate, with great substance, didn’t wow the unknowing or unfamiliar upon a casual or accidental glimpse. You can lead a horse to water, but can’t make it drink. Her Final Four appearance in 2019 drew less than 1.5 million viewers, the smallest WBB Final Four audience since at least 2008. For all her greatness, Sabrina was still a creature of the small and static WBB world. That world has now changed, due to the presence and efforts of many, with Clark being at the top of the list. [URL unfurl="true"]https://www.wsj.com/sports/basketball/sabrina-ionescu-caitlin-clark-wnba-ny-liberty-oregon-2fc3e16d[/URL] [/QUOTE]

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