What Vanderbilt coach Shea Ralph, MTSU’s Rick Insell said of Caitlin Clark-Angel Reese rivalry

Vanderbilt women’s basketball coach Shea Ralph delights in the enormous attention the WNBA is experiencing and doesn’t mind the controversy that has been a part of it.

With rookie star players such as Caitlin Clark, who is white, and Angel Reese, who is Black, at the center of the explosive growth, there have been allegations of racism in their respective fan bases when it comes to why the WNBA has become so popular, who should be named rookie of the year and who should be on the Olympic team.

It’s all part of a maturation process that at times has been uncomfortable, and that’s OK, according to Ralph, who was among several Middle Tennessee-area college basketball coaches at the 2024 Nashville Tip Off breakfast Monday, sponsored by the Nashville Sports Council at First Horizon Park.

“It’s part of growing, and the positive is that I don’t think attention can be bad,” she said. “As long as you’re not doing bad things, and that’s not happening, then having eyes on you is a good thing. So there’s high-level competition, there’s jawing back and forth, there’s women that want to win and prepare to win, there’s great coaching. I mean, who wouldn’t want to watch that? It’s awesome. I love it.”

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Clark’s WNBA debut with the Indiana Fever against the Connecticut Sun in May was played at a sold-out Mohegan Sun Arena and was watched by 2.13 million people on ESPN2. It was the league’s highest single-game TV rating since 2001 and the highest ever on cable.

When Reese tweeted early in the season that she had as much to do with the WNBA’s burgeoning popularity as Clark, it brought even more attention to the league. Reese also said in a television interview that any negativity has not outweighed the positives.

“Negative things have probably been said about me.” she said. “But honestly, I’ll take that, because look where women’s basketball is. People are talking about women’s basketball that you never would think would be talking about women’s basketball. People are pulling up to games. We’ve got celebrities coming to games, sold out arenas.”

The rivalry reminds Tennessee Tech women’s basketball coach Kim Rosamond of the friction between Larry Bird and Magic Johnson when she first got hooked on the game. Like Clark and Reese, Bird and Johnson’s feud began in college and carried over to the NBA.

“I’m an ’80s baby, so I grew up watching Larry Bird and Magic Johnson and the rivalry the Celtics and the Lakers had,” Rosamond said. “Rivalries can be a very healthy thing and it draws people in. I think at the end of the day you’ve just got some phenomenal women who are phenomenal players that are drawing a whole different fan to (the WNBA) game. If you can’t step back and appreciate that, then I think something’s wrong with you.”

Middle Tennessee State coach Rick Insell said Tennessee Lady Vols coach Pat Summitt and Nashville deserved credit for helping to spark the growth in the game, which in his opinion began before Clark and Reese arrived in the WNBA.

The 2014 NCAA Final Four was at Bridgestone Arena, where UConn and Notre Dame met in the championship before a crowd of 17,548. More than 30,000 fans attended the two semifinals and final combined.

“You have to go back to the foundation with Pat,” Insell said. “Pat was the catalyst early on that got it to where it was. Then Nashville played a big part getting the Final Four here and the success it had. From there you started seeing the attendance at the Final Four pick up. You started seeing attendance across the country pick up. You’re seeing a better skill level among young players today because of the interest that’s been generated in the game on the college and pro levels.”

Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on X @MikeOrganWriter.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Shea Ralph, Rick Insell said about Caitlin Clark-Angel Reese rivalry