Brown: Caitlin Clark Makes Time

Caitlin Clark had the hood of her sweatshirt over her head as she walked, head down, into Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines last Friday night.

I asked her if she was trying to slip into the arena incognito. She just smiled. And it didn’t work.

The magnetic play of Iowa’s star guard ruined her ability to fly under the radar a long time ago. Caitlin has lured a large and growing fan base to her front door. A fan base that keeps growing.

A minute after she had entered the arena, where Waukee Northwest and Valley of West Des Moines were about to square off for the Class 4A boys’ state title, Clark was asked for an autograph. And then another. And then a picture. And another. “Caitlin….”

When she tried to leave after the game, it took about 10 seconds for the first photo request. She turned no one down, and honored each request with a smile.

This is your life, Caitlin Clark.

She’s become an Iowa icon, the kind of athlete groomed on Iowa values that has brought her fame beyond the state’s borders. It’s a rare breed that reaches that lofty status. Shawn Johnson, Zach Johnson and Kurt Warner are some recent examples.

Every time she laces up her Nikes, young eyes are watching her every move. Television cameras zero in on homemade signs of adulation from the stands.

It must be a suffocating experience, being the one that everyone, it seems, wants a piece of. And I’m not talking about the players who have tried to defend her. I’m talking about her fans.

And here’s the thing. Caitlin Clark no longer just carries the flag of the Iowa Hawkeyes. She carries the flag for college women’s basketball. She is her game’s biggest ambassador, whether it’s her logo 3-pointers, the three-quarter-court dimes she drops, her behind-the-back bounce passes and, of course, her game-winning jumpers.

Her draw is unmistakable. Attendance at Carver-Hawkeye Arena has spiked this year. Attendance at road games also jumped. Wonder why? The Hawkeyes host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament on Friday and Sunday. Tickets were sold out within the first hour.

Clark’s breathtaking, electric play never disappoints. Be Like Mike? It’s Be Like Caitlin these days. There’s a reason why she has a big-time NIL deal with Nike.There’s also a recently-announced deal with General Motors and Buick. Clark is one of five players who will be featured during March Madness, along with reigning National Player of the Year Aliyah Boston of South Carolina, Cameron Brink of Stanford, Azzi Fudd of Connecticut and Kiki Rice of UCLA.

Iowa Coach Lisa Bluder realized what a special player she had coming in when Clark, a star at Dowling Catholic in West Des Moines, committed to the Hawkeye program.

Bluder gave Caitlin the green light when she arrived on campus. A lot of victories, and an avalanche of national attention for the Hawkeye program that money can’t buy, have been the result.

Clark’s star will only get brighter as her career continues. Already the only player to win the Dawn Staley Award twice, No. 3 is a no-brainer. The award goes to a player “who exemplifies the skills that Dawn possessed throughout her career; ballhandling, scoring, her ability to distribute the basketball and her will to win.”

Scoring? How about 27.0 a game, tied for second nationally. Distribute the ball? The nation’s leader in assists (267) and assists per game (8.3).

Staley is now the head coach at defending national champion South Carolina. Her team is the No. 1 seed in this year’s tournament and her star player, Boston, is getting a lot of buzz as a potential back-to-back national player of the year.

Sports Illustrated anointed Boston the nation’s top player in a recent issue, and Staley was effusive in her praise for her.

But Clark’s last-second 3-pointer in a regular-season victory over No. 2 Indiana on Feb. 26, and the Hawkeyes’ second straight Big Ten Tournament title, have given Clark some late-season momentum to be named the game’s No. 1 player.

Earning Iowa’s first trip to the Final Four since 1993 is Clark’s goal. The NCAA Tournament could be the ultimate decision maker for national player of the year, even though her statistics make it hard to believe that Clark isn’t the best player in the country. Being a first-team all-American again is another lock.

“She’s “an absolute force, someone who is quite literally changing the way basketball is played,” Staley said when Clark won the Staley Award in 2022.

Clark has also turned a lot of young fans into dreamers, girls who want to follow in her shoes.

That, alone, will grow the game that Caitlin Clark loves to play. And with every picture she poses for and with every autograph she signs, Caitlin is doing her part. And that might be more impressive than a logo 3.