Caitlin Clark considering two more seasons with the Iowa Hawkeyes
For Iowa fans caught up in Caitlin Clark mania, she revealed a potential doozy on the Dan Patrick Show this morning.
Forget about one more season with the Hawkeye superstar. How does two more seasons with Clark donning black and gold beyond the end of this year sound?
After host Dan Patrick asked how important the WNBA was to Clark, she revealed that she is mulling whether or not to play at Iowa for two more seasons.
“Very important. That’s where I want to be, but I have another year here and possibly one more after that just because of COVID, so probably will have to make a decision on that sometime next year. I really have no clue of what I’m going to do. Stay for an extra year or leave after next year, but I love watching the WNBA,” Clark said of the WNBA.
Being the professional that he is, Patrick of course followed up on that by asking again if she would seriously consider two more years in Iowa City and why.
“Yeah. I don’t know. I think I just like love this place. I love getting to play in front of a sold out crowd every single night. I don’t know. I love college basketball. I don’t know. It would be hard to leave. I think what we’ve been able to build has been super special, too. But, more than anything, I love this program, I love getting to play for coach (Lisa) Bluder, I love getting to play with my best friends.
“They’re not only my teammates, but I hang out with them every second off the court. It would be really hard to leave that, especially when you know you can go to the WNBA even the year after that. But, yeah, I mean, there’s pros and cons to both sides. I think it’s been hard for a lot of college athletes to decide what to do just because there are pros of staying in college but also your dream of reaching the next level is right there as well,” Clark said.
Clark playing two more years with the Hawkeyes would be huge news for the Iowa women’s basketball program. The full response to Dan Patrick’s WNBA question is included below. Plus, several of the other items they touched on and reaction from Hawkeye fans to this bit of news.
Here’s the full interview with the Dan Patrick Show as well.
On the WNBA
Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
“Very important. That’s where I want to be, but I have another year here and possibly one more after that just because of COVID, so probably will have to make a decision on that sometime next year. I really have no clue of what I’m going to do. Stay for an extra year or leave after next year, but I love watching the WNBA.
“I remember really vividly my dad taking me to my first ever WNBA game. Maya Moore was my favorite player growing up. She played for the Minnesota Lynx, so it was pretty convenient. That was only a four hour trip from where I grew up, and I really remember getting to watch her versus Sue Bird and the Seattle Storm. That was like my first ever experience with the WNBA when I was really young.”
If she would take a pay cut going to the WNBA
(Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images)
“Not necessarily. I think that’s what gets lost sometimes. I think people don’t understand. NIL is still kind of a thing when you get into pro sports, too. You still have all those endorsements. You still have sponsorships and whatnot, so you’re basically just a professional athlete with that on top of it, too. So, it’s not really something that I would factor into my decision of staying or going too much.”
On the game-winner versus Indiana
Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK
“Honestly, we were kind of looking to get the ball for a layup at the rim. We kind of ran a play…we thought the four player would switch out and they would double team me, which they didn’t end up doing. They kind of put the person that was guarding the inbounder in the middle of the lane, so that wasn’t open and I was the second option for the three.
“And lucky enough, I thought our post player Monika Czinano set a really, really good screen. Kind of hit the girl and she almost fell over a little bit, which gave me a second to get it off. It’s a play we practice in practice all the time against our blue squad, which are our managers and practice boys, so we had been though that situation quite a few times and 1.5 seconds was plenty of time for me to get it off.”
She might make more at Iowa?
Let’s be honest – the WNBA is no where near as lucrative as the NBA. She’s gonna make more staying at Iowa. https://t.co/2ABnBKhomR
— Shawn (@beardedhawkeye) February 27, 2023
Iowa City NIL Club c'mon down
With NIL, Caitlin Clark will make more money in Iowa City than she will with the WNBA.
Top WNBA players make around $250,000/year.
NIL in Iowa City will easily surpass this. https://t.co/OQ8RWSlrUh— Jason Kemp (@jasonkemp) February 27, 2023
What he hopes Clark will do
This is exactly what I was hoping she would do. She can continue honing whatever weakness she believe she has (not many if any to me) and become an absolute untouchable LEGEND in college sports.
She’s going to get a contract in the WNBA, the money is going to be there.#IowaWBB… https://t.co/MUOZf2pWa5
— Joe Hugen (@Joe_Hugen) February 27, 2023
Smart to use their college years
NIL is important for all athletes but women in particular. Facts are facts and Caitlin along with other female athletes are able to make more money now than they ever will in professional sports. It’s the sad reality but they are smart to use all their college years! https://t.co/UjiXVgxjtn
— Morgsss✨ (@Morgsss21) February 27, 2023
A decade of marketing
Iowa needs to do all that it can reaching out to the state biz community to throw enough NIL at Clark to keep her in Iowa City. Two more years of branding for a program that is really humming, and one of the best environments in the sport? That's a decade of marketing https://t.co/d8j9AcUXsm
— Jon D. Miller (@jondmiller) February 27, 2023
Told y'all
Been telling y’all…she loves playing at Iowa. https://t.co/Jgyjp5Cidb
— B1GHawkTawker (@HawkTawk08) February 27, 2023
Growing the game
She isn't just transcending Iowa womens basketball or even women's basketball. She is helping grow the entire sport. If we get 5 years of Caitlin Clark, she could revolutionize college athletics. https://t.co/9b30cNCm8e
— Derek Bredeson (@derekbredeson) February 27, 2023
Torn on it
I’m so torn on this. Yes I’d love to see Caitlin play a full 5 seasons… but inevitably, so many of her records would have an unseen asterisk because she used a COVID year.
I’d love to see what she can do with an even 4 years, and let her records stand against the rest of history https://t.co/a5VTGVhN6N— Owen Siebring (@owensiebring) February 27, 2023
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