Caitlin Clark’s last day as a college superstar: No championship, but contentment

CLEVELAND — With 41 seconds left on the clock and her team technically on defense, Caitlin Clark knew it was over.

Iowa coach Lisa Bluder knew it, too, which might have been why after initially being upset that none of her players were even attempting to guard South Carolina, she let it go.

Clark stared into space, the final seconds of one of the greatest collegiate careers in basketball ticking down as South Carolina willingly took a shot clock violation, up 87-75 in Sunday’s national championship game.

Twenty seconds later, Bluder subbed out her famous No. 22 for the final time. “I’m proud of you,” she told her superstar. And one by one, Clark hugged her coaches and teammates — one of the harder moments for her Sunday, she’d later say — as she prepared to walk into the Iowa locker room with the Hawkeyes one last time.

“I’m so lucky,” Clark said after Iowa fell to the Gamecocks, finishing as the runner-up for the second consecutive season. “I’m so fortunate. That’s what I always remind myself.”

Caitlin Clark with one final goodbye for Iowa 💛 🖤

(📸 @CaitlinClark22/IG) pic.twitter.com/apbI5AOwBt

— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) April 7, 2024

In the next 48 hours, the emotions will come, Clark figures. There will be tears. By then she’ll be able to fully process her college career coming to an end and the memories she’ll leave behind with this team from this run in this era of women’s basketball.

But in the instant aftermath of her final collegiate game, before she inevitably goes No. 1 in next week’s WNBA Draft, Clark seemed at peace Sunday. She spoke like someone who was content with everything she gave — both to Iowa and women’s basketball at large as the sport underwent a tectonic shift. Someone who understands her place in the sport and the joy her logo 3s and effortlessly beautiful passes have created for generations of fans.

“I’ll be able to sleep every night even though I never won a national championship,” she said. “I never sit and sulk about things that didn’t happen.”

Clark leaves Iowa with an NCAA Division I record 3,951 career points and with a record 1,144 career assists. She achieved two Final Four berths, won two Naismith Player of the Year awards, earned four first-team All-Big Ten honors, claimed three Big Ten tournament titles and holds too many records to count as the most electric talent in the country. Iowa was out of season tickets by August. The Hawkeyes sold out every home game in Carver-Hawkeye Arena this season as dads and daughters, and moms and sons packed the stands, excited to see basketball’s generational talent up close. Those who were lucky snagged an autograph. Those at home watched the greatness from their living rooms as Clark became drop-everything, must-see TV, and television numbers soared.

There will be plenty of debates in the near and distant future about whether Clark is the greatest player in her sport’s history now that she leaves Iowa without a title. To some, she needed a championship to solidify her status as the best. To others, her singular greatness will be enough.

As Clark made her way to her postgame news conference down the tunnel of Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse — still in her Iowa uniform with a towel in-hand — the celebration for South Carolina coach Dawn Staley winning her third national championship had just begun on the other side of the wall.

Confetti covered the court as DJ Khaled’s “All I Do is Win” blared over the speakers. The national championship hats and T-shirts had been passed out.

But when it came time for Staley to speak, she didn’t want to talk about just her team — an undefeated crew that went a perfect 38-0.

“I want to personally thank Caitlin Clark for lifting up our sport. She carried a heavy load for our sport,” Staley said. “Caitlin Clark, if you’re out there, you are one of the GOATs of our game, and we appreciate you.”

LeBron James likes what he’s seen from Caitlin Clark’s game so far in the women’s NCAA national championship game 👏 pic.twitter.com/u0AamhJjCw

— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) April 7, 2024

Clark said Sunday that she thinks reflecting over the next week or so will be the most special part of this experience for her. She spent Saturday night looking through old pictures and embracing the nostalgia that came with thinking back to where she was three years ago compared to where she is now. She smiled recalling fans her grandmother’s age who became fanatical about Iowa’s team this year. Little girls and boys will look up to her for years to come.

It is her sincere hope that she “showed everyone how fun women’s basketball is” and “how fun women’s sports are.”

“She has raised the excitement of our sport. There’s no doubt,” Bluder said. “I really think that when she came in as a freshman and she said, ‘We’re going to the Final Four,’ a lot of people laughed at her. And maybe even laughed at her for coming to Iowa, quite honestly.

“But she believed, we believed and she got everybody else in that locker room to believe. And that is not an easy thing to do.”

Next up for Clark is the WNBA, a league that is waiting with its arms outstretched to greet Clark as she takes the next step in her career. The Indiana Fever have the No. 1 pick on April 15, and the Las Vegas Aces have already moved their scheduled matchup against the Fever in July to a bigger arena. This isn’t the end for Clark, but it is the end of an era.

GO DEEPER

With the WNBA Draft nearing, what’s next for Caitlin Clark?

As Clark wrapped up her news conference, she said she hoped that her records would be broken some day. Maybe even some day soon.

Then she walked back down the tunnel with the gray and beige carpet and through a set of double doors to take off her jersey for the final time.

“It was a special year,” she said. “Yeah, I’m sad we lost this game, but I’m also so proud of myself, I’m so proud of my teammates, I’m so proud of this program. There’s a lot to be proud of.

“I think for me I know what’s next is soon. But at the same time, I’m not blind to the fact that I need to enjoy this, I need to soak this in.”

(Photo: Jason Miller / Getty Images)