Caitlin Clark is captivating the nation

Have you caught Caitlin Fever yet? I know I have.

The University of Iowa’s Caitlin Clark is simply one of the most remarkable basketball players, male or female, at any level, to grace a court. Seeing is believing with Caitlin, and millions have tuned in to watch this amazing player – in increasing numbers – especially as word has spread while the Hawkeyes advance through the NCAA women’s tournament.

Monday night, the Iowa-LSU Elite Eight matchup drew a record number of eyeballs on ESPN. Iowa’s 94-87 win had 12.3 million viewers, the largest television audience ever for a women’s basketball game in the U.S. Clark might be the most recognizable college basketball player in the nation, male or female, and she and her teammates are even outdrawing the famous March Madness men’s games. The only game to draw more viewers than the Iowa-LSU game during the men’s and women’s tournaments this spring was Sunday’s Duke-North Carolina State game, which drew an audience of some 15.14 million viewers.

Simply put, sports fans – and even casual viewers – are turning out in droves to watch Caitlin, and indeed, her game is remarkable. There simply isn’t anything she cannot do on a basketball court: knocking down long-range three-pointers, driving to the hoop, dishing to teammates and defending. Tall, quick and lean, with long arms, she is the prototypical player, with amazing skills built in.

In Iowa’s four wins in the women’s tournament, Clark has scored 27, 32, 29 and 41 points on the game’s biggest stage. But if you think she’s a ball hog, she also dished off 40 assists in the four games, a remarkable 10 per game.

I started to appreciate women’s college basketball when Lovell’s own Kristen Scheffler (now Brown) played for coach Joe Legerski and the University of Wyoming Cowgirls in Laramie. Talk about a player with special skills, Kristen could do it all on the court, a sniper from long range who could also take an opponent off the dribble to the rim. It was such great fun watching her.

In my 40 years covering high school basketball in Wyoming, she’s the most talented player I have seen. And even though her playing career was cut short by injuries, she is still 17th on the all-time Wyoming list for three-pointers with 119 treys.

Through Kristen and the Cowgirls, I fell in love with the women’s college game, which, I believe, is a pure form of basketball. At its best, women’s basketball features great teamwork and playmaking, when so many levels of the men’s game – remarkably talented as they are – have become a one-on-one display of individual play, especially at the NBA level.

Another thing I like about the women’s game is that players tend to stick around for the entirety of their college career, at least at UW, when men’s basketball rosters turn over every year under the new transfer portal rule.

Clark, herself, is an Iowa girl from West Des Moines playing for her hometown university in an era when she could go and play anywhere. Indeed, with her notoriety and skill, she could make bank with NIL money somewhere else, but she already is featured in numerous TV ads and sponsorships. I’m sure she’s doing just fine.

In short, it’s amazing – and in my view pleasing – to see a woman’s basketball player and her time get so much glory. It’s a great game well worth watching. And by the way, Caitlin plays next on Friday against UCONN – 7:30 p.m. on ESPN – in the NCAA semifinals.

Players like Caitlin – and Kristen – grew up with a basketball in their hands, practicing, practicing, practicing. Here’s hoping more little girls coast to coast will be inspired to take up the game to become the next Caitlin Clark.