Women’s basketball has always been looked down upon as a “failure” and “joke” of a sport, with many calling it a “waste of time and money.”
But one University of Iowa point guard has completely changed the way people look at women’s basketball—senior Caitlin Clark.
I was never really interested in sports all that much as a child. But in freshman year, I decided to make a big leap, and I joined the girls’ basketball team.
Still, there were never any major female influences I could look up to on the women’s basketball side.
I barely ever heard anything about the WNBA, let alone collegiate.
The only thing I’ve heard for the past three years was outrage over Biden trading Viktor Bout for Brittney Griner.
Yet lately, I’ve been hearing more and more about one woman, her name exploding over news articles and YouTube videos: Caitlin Clark, the best basketball player to grace college basketball in the history of its existence.
In her four years with the Iowa Hawkeyes, she’s become the player with the most points in a career among women’s NCAA players; she’s also garnered the most three points in a season for men or women and achieved most points in a single season in women’s history. And this is just the tip of the iceberg for achievements under her belt.
At first, I had just heard her name on and off and brushed it off, but as I heard it more and more from many people, curiosity struck. And after a few minutes worth of research, I had myself a new inspiration.
Women’s basketball has been the laughing stock of professional sports for as long as I can remember. But when I saw comments of praise and support for Clark from people who would normally trash women’s basketball, I knew this girl was the real deal. Caitlin Clark is changing the game of basketball for young women and aspiring professional players across the nation.
She single-handedly turned women’s basketball from a comedy show in people’s eyes into an action-packed thriller.
Not only is she a once-in-a- generation player, but she’s a one-in-a-million role model that has given hope to aspiring little girls across the world.
Never before has a female basketball player altered the trajectory of the sport so drastically.
Clark’s career is far from over as well; she has many amazing WNBA seasons ahead of her (she was picked as the first overall pick in last Monday’s WNBA Draft). I’m so excited to follow along with her professional career and see what more records she’ll break and awards she’ll collect.
And I may not be nearly as good as her, but I’ll do my best to follow the footsteps of my basketball inspiration, as well.
