College Park, Maryland — Perhaps experiencing the Caitlin Clark Experience firsthand is the only way to really understand it.
Everything is more visible when viewed from floor level, including the coast-to-coast layups, flying rebounds, and behind-the-back dribbles that happen before the opposing team can adjust their defense. You watch as she makes slicing, twisting moves to the hoop and drains 3-pointers just when you think a defender has her pinned.
You can also see the smile. It can occur when you ask her a question, when you’re sitting at the podium with one of them after a game, or when you’re in the huddle with your teammates.
“I came to Iowa with huge aspirations and now I’m getting to play in front of 15,000-plus every single night and that’s so cool,” Clark said Saturday night after scoring 38 points to help beat Maryland and get within 66 points of the NCAA women’s scoring record. “Those are moments that you really can only dream of and now I’m living it every single day of my life and that’s really special.”
When No. 4 Iowa hosts Penn State on Thursday, the 6-foot senior point guard can put a significant dent in, or may even break Kelsey Plum’s women’s scoring record (3,527). You wonder if there was a moment when everyone – her parents, her coaches, her fans – realized Clark was capable of an achievement such as this. Few parents, even the most optimistic ones, start kids out with such lofty goals.
Dickson Jensen, Clark’s former AAU coach for the All Iowa Attack in her home state, describes her rise to superstardom as a “stepping process.” Jensen, who met Clark when she was in sixth grade, says she could take older kids to the rim as a young player. She scored 60 points in a game as a high schooler. She averaged 26.6 as a freshman at Iowa and has come back even better each season.
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