Why basketball star Caitlin Clark is the next sporting icon

Sports News ReporterCaitlin Clark has her own gravitational pull, and it’s getting stronger by the day. First it sucked in her teammates and coaches at the University of Iowa, then the fans, then the entire state.

In fact very little in global sport, outside elite men’s football, the NFL and the IPL, can command similar eyeballs. Up until three years ago, women’s basketball wasn’t even allowed to use the famous March Madness branding which has made the men’s college game such a success. And now Clark’s NCAA Elite Eight game – the quarter-final – drew in more viewers than last year’s NBA Finals, the pinnacle of global basketball.

Clark has had a similar effect to Steph Curry in the women’s game, altering the angles and dimensions you expect to use on the court with her long-range three-point shooting. Her extraordinary gravity has reshaped how the women’s game is played, before she’s even reached the WNBA. “She loves being the face of the programme, she loves being the face of women’s basketball. She’s just a really good person. She gives honest, very insightful answers. She’s brilliant in a lot of ways. It’s been really fun to be part of that.”You can tell by the misty-eyed grin with which Bohnenkamp regales stories of Clark’s brilliance just what it’s like to be trapped in her orbit. He remembers a time she waved at him across the court, another where she thanked him for coming after a game.

She’ll still sometimes let a teammate know exactly what she’s thinking, but that only makes the compliments mean more. Her peers have long appreciated what they’ve got and are doing everything they can to make the most of the ride. When Clark was given a haul of limited-edition Nike shoes for her birthday, she shared them among her teammates. The 22-year-old even hired a yacht on tour last year, now known as the great Croatian Booze Cruise.

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