Why Was Iowa Star Caitlin Clark Not Signed By UConn?
Among the top stars in collegiate athletics is Caitlin Clark. She first came to prominence in 2020, and the Iowa Hawkeyes have been closely associated with success ever since.
Why Was Iowa Star Caitlin Clark Not Signed By UConn?
Leading the Hawkeyes to an NCAA title would be the ultimate goal for Clark, who revealed in February that she would declare for the 2024 WNBA draft and would forego her fifth season of collegiate eligibility.
It makes sense that Caitlin Clark, a West Des Moines, Iowa native and graduate of Dowling Catholic High School, chose to play under Geno Auriemma at UConn. The Huskies have been Clark’s top women’s basketball program for the whole time, winning 11 national titles in just 21 years.
“All I gotta say is she is lucky this UConn team isn’t healthy… If Paige Bueckers didn't basically miss two seasons, I don't know if we'd be talking about Caitlin Clark the way we are right now.”- Molly Qerim pic.twitter.com/WrxsZ0joHv
— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) April 4, 2024
Clark was recruited by almost every major college team in the nation while he was a top player at Dowling Catholic High, with one notable exception: UConn.
“They called my AAU coach a few times, but they never talked to my family and never talked to me,” Clark stated on ESPN.
Rather, Clark spent the previous four seasons as a player at Iowa, where she rose to fame as the NCAA Division I basketball team’s all-time top scorer.
"The coolest thing about Paige is how resilient she is. Since I've known her since she was in middle school, she's always had that fire, she's always been a great leader…I couldn't be happier for her and the year that she's had."
Caitlin Clark on Paige Bueckers: pic.twitter.com/PFnYQMEFIC
— UConn on SNY (@SNYUConn) April 4, 2024
Auriemma also claimed that Clark didn’t make it abundantly clear she wanted to commit to UConn.
“Well, there’s a lot of kids we didn’t recruit and there’s a lot of kids who don’t want to go to UConn,” Auriemma said, according to CT Insider. “I committed to Paige Bueckers very, very early and it would have been silly for me to say to Paige, ‘Hey listen, we’re going to put you in the backcourt and then I’m going to try really hard to recruit Caitlin Clark.’ I don’t do it that way.
Caitlin Clark said the whole “I wanted to play for UConn” thing is overblown.
Said every women’s basketball player wants to play for Geno Auriemma, but she wanted to be close to home in the Midwest.#FinalFour pic.twitter.com/mmUcxzGomH
— Hayden Grove (@H_Grove) April 4, 2024
“Caitlin is obviously a tremendous player, a generational player. But if Caitlin really wanted to come to UConn she would have called me and said, ‘Coach I really want to come to UConn.’ Neither of us lost out. She made the best decision for her and it’s worked out great. We made the decision we thought we needed to make.”
The plot will most likely be discussed during Friday’s game broadcast on ESPN, which has the potential to briefly shatter records. The Elite Eight battle between Iowa and Louisiana State on Monday night was the most viewed women’s college basketball game ever, with an average of 12.3 million people.
Caitlin Clark talking to a few reporters before Iowa’s #WFinalFour game vs. UCONN on Friday night. pic.twitter.com/3CDGuEqamX
— Shawn Dunagan 🎗️ (@shawndunagan) April 4, 2024
How much does Caitlin Clark make in Nil?
Clark earns an estimated NIL of $3.1 million, which places her above all other female basketball players. With 1.5 million social media followers, Clark has no affiliations with Gatorade, State Farm, Nike (NKE), or Xfinity. On Monday night in the Elite Eight round, Iowa takes on the LSU Tigers, headed by Angel Reese.
What is Caitlin Clark career high?
When Clark played Michigan at Iowa City on February 15, 2024, she scored 49 points, her career high.
No. 1 Iowa vs. No. 3 UConn, WHO YOU GOT? 🍿 🔥 @chiney explains how BOTH Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers can help their teams get the victory 🏆 pic.twitter.com/SV5n5h490F
— ESPN (@espn) April 3, 2024
How does Caitlin Clark make money?
According to On3, Caitlin now has 12 NIL agreements with well-known companies, such as Nike, Gatorade, State Farm, Buick, and more. She earns thousands of dollars a month from each of these collaborations, and two of them were even inked in the last few weeks (since she broke the NCAA Division 1 scoring record), according to the site.
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