Inequalities between the men’s and women’s versions of March Madness were massive when Bueckers and Clark were watching the respective tournaments as girls…
Inequalities between the men’s and women’s versions of March Madness were massive when Bueckers and Clark were watching as girls from the midwest in the 2000s and 2010sOf AAU tournaments and Team USA practices. Of gold medals and deep 3s. Of the girl with the brown ponytail with the unlimited range who always seemed to know what was coming next and the blonde who never got rattled with the ball in her hands, by opponents or the sea of eyes constantly transfixed on her.
And while Iowa coach Lisa Bluder made it a point on Thursday to say she didn’t want the national semifinal to be pitted as “Caitlin vs. Paige,” everyone else involved seems to be OK with the arrangement because of what it means for not just their respective teams, but the women’s game in general. Thing is, Bueckers and Clark don’t view themselves as rivals. Not in a traditional sense. If anything, they believe they’re simply riding the crest of a wave that’s been building for years, long before they reached a first-name-only level of fame.
“It’s the platforms that that should have been there for a really long time,” Clark said. “We’ve had some amazing talents come through our game, over the last 10, 20 years.” That hasn’t changed, though the dynamics around the way Clark and Bueckers are perceived have flipped over the last three years.It was Bueckers, not Clark, who was the top recruit in the Class of 2020. It was Bueckers, not Clark, who was recruited by the Huskies, though Auriemma did point out this week “if Caitlin really wanted to come to UConn, she would have called me.” It was Bueckers, not Clark, who won that first meeting in 2021 and became the “media darling,” as Bueckers put it Friday.
Even for a player who says on the court she can see things before they happen, it’s been a lot. The 22-year-old Clark welcomes the attention because she understands it has brought new people to her sport. Yet she’s not here to be The Star, as much as people want to thrust that moniker on her.
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