Category: WSLAM

Grills and Formal Wear: The 2024 WNBA Draft Was Full of Fire Fits

April 16, 2024

Gleaming grills, bedazzled basketball accessories and format fits. The 2024 WNBA Draft was a night to remember, and the orange carpet is the new runway.

Headlined by No. 1 pick and SLAM 249 cover star Caitlin Clark, as well as No. 2 pick Cameron Brink and more, this year’s draft welcomed the arrival of the League’s new, and stylish, rookies.

Let’s take a look back at yesterday’s draft night fits:

Breaking records and making history isn’t anything new for Caitlin Clark. She reportedly is the first athlete, ever, to be dressed by Prada on draft day.

Cameron Brink was runway ready.

Bayou Barbie shining bright, both on and off the court.

Nika Mühl pulled up to the draft rocking grills. Seattle fans, get ready for the tunnel fits.

Rickea Jackson had an ICONIC outfit change during the draft. Rockstar status.

Alissa Pili, who is Samoan-American, paid homage to her tribal heritage. Powerful.

Aaliyah Edwards with the fit AND the bedazzled basketball accessory. Baller.

The beauty is in the details of Dyaisha Fair’s draft suit.

Photos via Getty Images.

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The Greatness of Dawn Staley Continues: Leads South Carolina to their Third National Title

April 9, 2024

Undefeated. Undisputed. Uncommon favor.

The Gamecocks had posted back-to-back undefeated seasons going into the well-anticipated national championship matchup against Iowa. Led by Dawn Staley, their passion, drive, and motivation had been evident all year—their dominant roster includes standout freshman MiLaysia Fulwiley, and WNBA draft Kamilla Cardoso to name a few. As for their head coach, well, her resume speaks for itself: four-time Naismith Coach of the Year and, up until this point, had led the Gamecocks to two ‘chips.

The showdown between Iowa and South Carolina lived up to the hype. In the end, South Carolina proved, yet again, why they are the best of the best. They ultimately defeated the Hawkeyes, 87-75.

We haven’t stopped thinking about how iconic that championship game was. Here, we relive the big-time blocks, standout performances, Dawn’s epic speech and more.

Pregame: Aliyah Boston, WNBA ROY and Broadcaster

Aaliyah Boston, who led the Gamecocks to a national championship back in 2022 and is now a star on the Indiana Fever, has expanded her off-court ventures into broadcasting. For the Final Four, she joined the on-air studio crew and was also a sideline reporter during the national championship game.

Whether she was sharing her expertise and knowledge of the game or interviewing her former college coach, Boston was a star during the entire broadcast. Our favorite part? This very special moment she shared with Staley, just minutes after South Carolina won the title.

Big Energy on the Boards

The Gamecocks were straight up dominant in the paint against Iowa. Cardoso racked up 17 rebounds and forward Chloe Kitts followed right behind her with 10 boards.

 …From Threeeeee!

The “fearless” freshman Tessa Johnson was cooking all night long—hitting shots from deep, making crazy layups in the paint and putting on a 19-point performance coming off the bench. Then there were standouts Te-Hina Paopao and Raven Johnson, who hit clutch shots for the Gamecocks.

The Artistry of MiLaysia

She’s only a freshman, but MiLaysia Fulwiley has shown all season, and especially in the tournament, that she’s a star in the making. Fulwiley showed up on both ends of the floor—from crazy dimes to steals and making plays. We can’t wait to see her game only to continue to evolve.

You can read more about MiLaysia in our recent player spotlight:

The Brilliance of Dawn Staley

The GOAT. This third championship title has only continue to solidify what we’ve always known: she’s the greatest. Period.

“…My freshies are at the top of my heart because they wanted this. And I hope we can erase whatever pain they had last year, experiencing not being able to finish it here. So I’m just super proud where I work,” Staley said per GMA.

As we’ve mentioned before in her SLAM cover, she is a college basketball author of evolution. Her legacy will last forever.

Featured image via Getty Images.

South Carolina’s MiLaysia Fulwiley is an ‘Artist’ with Crazy Court Vision and Transcendent Talent 

April 8, 2024

All she needed was four dribbles. 

In South Carolina’s season opener against Notre Dame, MiLaysia Fulwiley made headlines after she blew by a swarm of green jerseys with an elite behind-the-back move, finishing with flair.

The Gamecocks would go on to dominate the Fighting Irish, 100-71, in their season opener held in Paris, France. Fulwiley finished the game with 17 points, six assists and six steals in her collegiate debut. And it didn’t take long for her compelling stat line and highlight clips to flood timelines.

Word traveled 4,000 miles back to the United States: a star was on the rise. 

Gamecocks fans were enlivened, haters were quieted and the world was put on notice. Since then, Fulwiley has just kept on hoopin’. The Columbia, S.C. native is a burst of speed, undeniable swagger and equipped with a shot-making ability and handles. It’s been clear from the start that she is special, and since then, she’s been in her first season, averaging 11.7 points and logging 82 assists and 63 steals. Her season crescendoed into the SEC Tournament final matchup against LSU, where she dropped 24 points off the bench. The silky-smooth sorcerer of the basketball was then rightfully crowned the SEC Tournament MVP. 

“MiLaysia is a generational player, an artist who is expanding her understanding of how to marry all aspects of her game every day,” South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley said, per a press release announcing Fulwiley had signed with Curry Brand. “We are learning things from each other about how to maximize her game, and it has been incredible to work with her on that process.” 

Her flashy game is transcendent. “When it comes to the ability to change the game for good, nobody can speak to that more than MiLaysia,” Stephen Curry said. “She’s changing the women’s game on the fly with how she plays and moves on the court.”

While Fulwiley’s offensive prowess is undeniable, that isn’t all she can do. Despite being a natural scorer, Fulwiley isn’t afraid to show up on the defensive end of the floor: she grabbed nine boards against East Carolina and has multiple games with six steals. And most impressively, she does all of this while coming off the bench.

It’s crazy to think Fulwiley is only a freshman, but then again, she’s helping lead a new generation of phenoms who don’t just got next, but right now. Look no further than her, SLAM 248 cover star Juju Watkins, Hannah Hidalgo (to name a few), and even her own teammate, Tessa Johnson, who also dropped buckets in last night’s iconic championship win against Iowa.

Under the guidance of head coach Dawn Staley, Fulwiley has shined all season long.  What we witnessed from her in this year’s NCAA tournament is just a glimpse of what she can do: jaw-dropping plays, unreal dimes and finishes at the rim. She’s fun, she’s got flair and she’s just getting started. 

Photos via Getty Images.

The post South Carolina’s MiLaysia Fulwiley is an ‘Artist’ with Crazy Court Vision and Transcendent Talent  appeared first on SLAM.

The Bayou Barbie is Headed to the W: Angel Reese Declares for the 2024 WNBA Draft

April 3, 2024

LSU star Angel Reese has officially declared for the WNBA, and she did so on her terms by announcing the decision via Instagram on Wednesday.

Angel Reese, the Bayou Barbie, began her career at the University of Maryland before transferring to LSU for her junior year. That season, she averaged a double-double of 23 points and 15 rebounds while becoming a standout on and off the court—from her social media presence to gracing the cover of SLAM 243 alongside teammate and star Flau’jae Johnson.

“I just wanted to figure out who Angel Reese really is,” Reese told us back in 2023, prior to winning the NCAA championship. “Coming to LSU, I feel like I figured out who I am. I’m able to be myself here. It’s just something I really love.”

The 2023-24 SEC Player of the Year explained her decision to Vogue’s Leah Faye Cooper, which she shared just a week before the start of the NCAA Tournament. “I want to start at the bottom again,” she said on her playing in the WNBA. “I want to be a rookie again and build myself back up; I want to be knocked down and learn and grow at the next level.”

The post The Bayou Barbie is Headed to the W: Angel Reese Declares for the 2024 WNBA Draft appeared first on SLAM.

No. 2 Ranked Senior Joyce Edwards Talks All-Around Game, Dawn Staley and Her Future at South Carolina

March 28, 2024

Joyce Edwards hasn’t even suited up for the South Carolina Gamecocks yet, but she already knows what she wants to achieve at the next level. The Camden (SC) High School star—and the No. 2-ranked player in the class of 2024—is a versatile, 6-2 forward who can knock down shots, finish at the rim, block shots on the defensive end and put up big time numbers. In the state championship game, she had a monster double-double of 27 points and 20 rebounds, as well as 6 blocks, to help lead the Bulldogs to their second consecutive 3-A state title.

But for Edwards, this is just the beginning. 

“When I go to South Carolina, my main goal is to just get on the floor, be a defensive player—because you can’t get on the floor without defense—and then sculpting my offense to be what the team needs,” she says. “I’m not coming in looking to be, like, the star player and none of that. I’m just trying to come in and do what the team needs and fit into my role.” 

She’s set to join a program that’s synonymous with winning. By the time we go to press, South Carolina has just posted back-to-back undefeated regular seasons, won its second SEC Tournament championship in a row, and is gearing up for March Madness as the No. 1 seed. It’s that prestige—as well as the legacy of Dawn Staley, now in her 16th season since taking over the program in ’08—that led Edwards to commit to the Gamecocks in the first place. After narrowing down her top three schools to SC, LSU and Clemson, Edwards was contemplating signing later in the signing period, and it was Dawn who she felt truly respected her decision.

“The way Dawn responded was completely different from everybody else. She was like, OK, why do you feel this way? I feel like it was really just the coaching. What Dawn said just hit me a little bit different than every other coach.” 

Over the years, Dawn has molded future WNBA legends, from the 2023 WNBA Rookie of the Year Aliyah Boston to A’ja Wilson, a two-time WNBA champion and the 2023 Finals MVP, whom Edwards had a chance to meet when South Carolina beat Maryland this past November. Wilson even gave her some advice.

“[She] was talking about how when she came into South Carolina, and they had her starting,” Edwards recalls of their conversation, “and she came out the next game and did whatever she had to do. I feel like her transition from being more of a role player at SC to her having to be that more dominant player in the paint and take them to the national championship. Just the whole process and her mentality throughout and the progression she had through that, that’s one of the biggest things that I took away from it.” 

Edwards sees similarities in their games, too, and says her dad often compares her to Wilson. “Obviously, she’s left-handed, but she has the middy in the bag. She can drive, she can face up, she posts up. All those things that she does—obviously, I’m not doing it [at] as high a level as her—but I’m doing a lot of similar things at my age.” 

As she wraps up her senior year at Camden—Edwards also plays soccer, which she says has helped with her conditioning and footwork on the court—she’s already looking forward to the opportunities that await just 40 minutes away in Columbia. 

“I feel like for some players, it could definitely be intimidating,” she says. “But then I just remember that I play my best when I’m going against and playing with great players in practice and stuff like that. I feel like at South Carolina, with the competition I’ll be playing against in practice, like, these are WNBA legends. These people are about to go to the League and do great things. Going up against them in practice will just make me better, and hopefully when I show up in a game, I think I’ll be really prepared.”  

Deyscha Smith is an Associate Editor at SLAM. Follow her on Instagram and X, @deyschasmith.

Portraits by Kai McNeil. Follow him on Instagram, @thekaimac.

The post No. 2 Ranked Senior Joyce Edwards Talks All-Around Game, Dawn Staley and Her Future at South Carolina appeared first on SLAM.

WSLAM x BCA: Meet the Black Women Coaching DI College Hoops

March 25, 2024

Leaders. Trailblazers. Mentors. Every team has a visionary leading the helm, and what they represent is bigger than overall records and postseason wins (those are also great, too). All across the country, Black women are leading their respective college basketball programs and paving the way for more people of color, and women, in the industry.

As we continue to celebrate Women’s History Month—and Black history every day—WSLAM and the Black Coaches Association are spotlighting those coaching DI, DII and DIII college hoops.

Regardless of whether they’re competing in the NCAA tournament right now or not, these are the women leading favorite squads.

Dawn Staley:
South Carolina | Began as head coach in 2008 |

Accolades include getting inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, leading the program to two National Championships (2017, 2022) and five NCAA Final Fours.

Felisha Legette-Jack:
Syracuse | Coaching Career began in 1989 | Joined Prior to 2022 season

In multiple hall of fames like the Greater Syracuse Hall of Fame, the Syracuse Urban Sports Hall of Fame and Syracuse University Orange Plus Hall of Fame

Ashley Langford:
Stony Brook | Coaching career began in 2009 | Joined Prior to 2021 season
Selected to the Advancement of Blacks in Sports Mid-Major Head Coaches Watch List

Vanessa Blair Lewis:
George Mason | Coaching career began in 1996 | Joined Prior to 2022 season
First women’s head coach in MEAC history to win College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 three consecutive years

Niele Ivey:
Notre Dame | Coaching career began in 2007 | Joined prior to the 2020 season
Was chosen as the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Division I National Assistant Coach of the Year award

Aqua Franklin:
Lamar | Coaching career began in 2009 | Joined prior to the 2019 season
Finalist for the Nancy Lieberman Award

DeLisha Milton-Jones:
Old Dominion | Coaching career began in 2016 | Joined prior to the 2020 season
2022 Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame Inductee

Tomekia Reed:
Jackson State | Coaching career began in 2006 | Joined prior to the 2008 season
Guided JSU to four consecutive SWAC Tournament semifinals

Mary Grimes:
Le Moyne | Coaching career began in 2009 | Joined prior to the 2021 season
In the first two years of being head coach, led the team to two Northeast-10 Conference Regular Season Championships

Dawn Thornton:
Arkansas Pine Bluff | Coaching career began in 2007 | Joined prior to the 2019 season
Qualified for the conference tournament for the first time since 2017

Erin Dickerson Davis:
William & Mary | Coaching career began in 2020 | Joined prior to 2022 season
Led the team to the most wins by a first year head coach in program history

Jesyka Burks-Wiley:
Florida International | Coaching career began in 2013 | Joined prior to the 2020 season
Led the team to the Conference USA Championships for the second time in program history

Carrie Moore:
Harvard | Coaching career began in 2010 | Joined prior to 2023 season
Led Harvard to highest NET ranking in Harvard History

Margaret Richards:
Alabama A&M | Coaching career began in 2005 | Joined prior to the 2016 season
Led the team to SWAC tournament semifinals

Freda Freeman-Jackson:
Alabama State | Coaching career began in 1991 | Joined prior to the 1998 season
Led the team to three NCAA Tournament appearances

Natasha Adair
Arizona State | Coaching career began in 1998 | Joined prior to the 2023 season
Started the season 5-0 for the first time since 2002

Destinee Rogers:
Arkansas State | Coaching career began in 2015 | Joined prior to the 2018 season
First African-American female head coach to win a game in school history

Johnnie Harris:
Auburn | Coaching career began in 1998 | Joined prior to the 2022 season
Inducted in Watson’s Chapel High School Hall of Fame

Brittany Young:
Austin Peay | Coaching career began in 2013 | Joined prior to 2023 season
First head coach in program history to lead the team to back to back conference tournament semifinals

Janell Crayton:
Bethune-Cookman | Coaching career began in 2007 | Joined prior to 2021 season
Member of Women’s Basketball Coaches Association

Charmin Smith:
California | Coaching career began in 2003 | Joined prior to 2007 season
Led the team to postseason every season

Andrea Williams:
Chicago State | Coaching career began in 1995 | Joined prior to 2023 season
Recognized for the Shadow League Leadership Award in 2017

Katrina Merriweather:
Cincinnati | Coaching career began in 2001 | Joined in 2023 season
3x Horizon League Coach Of the Year

Ganiyat Adeduntan:
Colgate | Coaching career began in 2007 | Joined prior to the 2022 season

Tamika Williams-Jeter:
Dayton | Coaching career began in 2002 | Joined prior to the 2023 season
Led the team to A-10 Championship Tournament

Sarah Jenkins:
Delaware | Coaching career began in 2006 | Joined prior to 2023 season
Led the team to Colonial Athletic Association title

Jazmone Turner:
Delaware State | Coaching career began in 2014 | Joined prior to the 2022 season
Part of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association 30 Under 30 Class

Doshia Woods:
Denver | Coaching career began in 2001 | Joined in 2020
Led the team to be in the top 50 in NCAA free throws made

Kara Lawson:
Duke | Coaching career began in 2019 | Joined in 2020
Led the team to best season in recent history of 26-7 record

Kim McNeill:
East Carolina | Coaching career began in 2013 | Joined in 2019
Named AAC Coach of the Year

Ke’Sha Blanton:
Eastern Michigan | Coaching career began in 2010 | Joined in 2022
Led the team to Horizon League Women’s Basketball Championships

Charlotte Smith:
Elon | Coaching career began in 2002 | Joined in 2011
Led the team to four consecutive years of advancing to the CAA championships

Bridgette Gordon:
Florida A&M | Coaching career began in 2004 | Joined Prior to the 2023 season
Seven NCAA Tournament Appearances

Jennifer Sullivan:
Florida Atlantic | Coaching career began in 2012 | Joined prior to the 2022 season
Guided a 140% increase in wins

Bridgette Mitchell:
Fordham | Coaching career began in 2013 | Joined prior to the 2023/24 season
Won CAA Coach of the Year

Anita Howard:
Georgia Southern | coaching career began in 2012 | Joined Prior to the 2019 season
Led the team to the first 20-win season since 2002

Courtney Simmons:
Grambling State | Coaching career began in 2008 | Joined prior to the 2023 season
Guided prior teams to Sun Belt Tournament Championships

Danielle Santos Atkinson:
Hofstra | Coaching career began in 2006 | Joined in 2019
Led the team to CAA Women’s Basketball Championships

Ty Grace:
Howard | Coaching career began in 1998 | Joined in 2015
Won first MEAC Tournament title since 2001

Special Jennings:
Jacksonville | Coaching career began in 2016 | Joined in 2023
Led Montverde Academy to 3 National Championships

Octavia Blue:
Kennesaw State | Coaching career began in 2008 | Joined in 2020
Fasted KSU head coach to 30 Wins

Kyra Elzy:
Kentucky | Coaching career began in 2001 |

Kia Damon-Olson:
Lafayette | Coaching career began in 1993 | Joined in 2017
Brought the team to Patriot League Semifinals

Lauren Sumski:
Lipscomb | Coaching career began in 2014 | Joined in 2019
First Female in Lipscomb History to be Head Coach

Rene Haynes:
Long Island | Coaching career began in 2012 | Joined in 2019
12th Head coach in 54 years

Erika Lang-Montgomery:
Longwood | Coaching career began in 1995 | Joined in 2022
Had three teams go to NCAA Tournament

Danielle O’Banion:
Loyola (MD) | Coaching career began in 2002 | Joined in 2021
12th Head Women’s coach

Aarika Hughes:
Loyola Marymount | Coaching career began in 2011 | Joined in 2021
Named Top 21 Coaches by The Athletic Magazine

Alex Simmons:
Memphis | Coaching career began 2009 | Joined in 2018 but named head coach in 2023
Named Big South Coach of the Year

Kimberly Anderson:
Mississippi Valley State | Coaching career began in 1982 | Joined 2022
6th Women’s basketball head coach

Trelanne Powell:
New Orleans | Coaching career began in 2007 | Joined 2023
Second Coach of the Year in 2023

Jada Pierce:
Niagara | Coaching career began in 2004 | Joined 2015
Set new program record with 16 MAAC wins

Priscilla Edwards-Lloyd:
Northeastern | Coaching career began in 2010 | Joined 2023
8th Head Coach in Program History

Tanya Warren:
Northern Iowa | Coaching career began in 2007 | Joined 2007
First Black Female Head Coach

Yolett McPhee-McCuin:
Ole Miss | Coaching career began in 2004 | Joined 2018
Led the team to 11th Sweet 16 in Program History

Carrie Banks:
Omaha | Coaching career began in 2007 | Joined 2020
Led the team to 29 Wins

Sandy Pugh:
Prairie View A&M | Coaching career began in 1987 | Joined 2018
Led the team to WNIT Appearance

Erin Batth:
Providence | Coaching career began in 2004 | Joined 2023
Guided former teams to NCAA Tournament appearances

Jen Brown:
Queens University | Coaching career began in 2005 | Joined 2020
Led the team to the D1 Level

Coquese Washington:
Rutgers | Coaching career began in 1999 | Joined 2022
WBCA Carol Eckman Integrity in Coaching Award

Ravon Justice:
Sam Houston State | Coaching career began in 2004 | Joined 2019
Led the team to 35-23 record

Stacie Terry-Hutson:
San Diego State | Coaching career began in 1999 | Joined 2013
Made the WNIT which is the First Postseason Appearance Since 2012

April Phillips:
San Jose State | Coaching career began in 2013 | Joined 2022
Led the team to first Mountain West Conference Tournament win since 2020

Yolisha Jackson:
South Alabama | Coaching career began around 2016 | Joined as assistant coach 2019
Led the team to a WNIT Victory

Rekha Patterson:
Southeast Missouri State | Coaching career began ain 2022 | Joined 2015
Led the team to second OVC Tournament Title

Kelly Bond-White:
Southern Illinois | Coaching career began in 1999 | Joined 2022
Coached the team to score at least 100 points on three occasions

Toyelle Wilson:
Southern Methodist | Coaching career began in 2003 | Joined 2021
First Black Female Head Coach at SMU

Keila Whittington:
St. Francis (PA) | Coaching career began in 1991 | Joined 2023
Made to first NEC Tournament Semifinal Game

Diane Richardson:
Temple | Coaching career began in 2000 | Joined 2022
Led the Team to 11-18 Record with Eight Players

Joni Taylor:
Texas A&M | Coaching career began in 2002 | Joined 2022
2021 SEC Coach of the Year

Vernette Skeete:
Texas Southern | Coaching career began in 2009 | Joined 2022
Reestablished the TSU brand in community

Shereka Wright:
Texas-Arlington | Coaching career began in 2006 | Joined 2020
Won Sun Belt Coach of the Year

Styia Messer:
UCF | Coaching career began in 2000 | Joined 2022
Led the team to 6-0 Start since 1984

Denise King:
UMass Lowell | Coaching career began in 2005 | Joined 2018
Led the Team to Two Straight America East Playoff Semifinal Games

Dionnah Jackson-Durrett:
UMKC | Coaching career began in 2010 | Joined 2022
Led the Team to Summit League Championships

Trina Patterson:
UNC Greensboro | Coaching career began in 1991 | Joined 2016
Named SoCon Coach of the Year

Nicole Woods:
UNC Wilmington | Coaching career began in 2009 | Joined 2023
Inducted into the Gatson Sports Hall of Fame

Amaka Agugua-Hamilton:
Virginia | Coaching career began in 2006 | Joined in 2022
Two-Time MVC Coach of the Year

Semeka Randall Lay:
Winthrop | Coaching career began in 2007 | Joined in 2020
Led Rivalry Wins in 2021-22 against Presbyterian, UNC Asheville and Charleston Southern

Marisa Moseley:
Wisconsin | Coaching began in 2005 | Joined in 2021
Won the 2019 Patriot League Coach of the Year

Dalila Eshe:
Yale | Coaching began in 2006 | Joined in 2022
Coached Ivy League Co-Defensive PLayer and Top 10 finalist for Nancy Lieberman Award

Michelle Clark-Heard

Mercer College | Coaching career began in 2018 | Joined in 2024

Photos via Getty Images. Portrait via AAMU and Harvard Athletics.

Featured graphic designed by Abdel Kyle Traore.

WSLAM x BCA: Meet the Black Women Coaching DI College Hoops

March 25, 2024

Leaders. Trailblazers. Mentors. Every team has a visionary leading the helm, and what they represent is bigger than overall records and postseason wins (those are also great, too). All across the country, Black women are leading their respective college basketball programs and paving the way for more people of color, and women, in the industry.

As we continue to celebrate Women’s History Month—and Black history every day—WSLAM and the Black Coaches Association are spotlighting those coaching DI, DII and DIII college hoops.

Regardless of whether they’re competing in the NCAA tournament right now or not, these are the women leading favorite squads.

Dawn Staley:
South Carolina | Began as head coach in 2008 |

Accolades include getting inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, leading the program to two National Championships (2017, 2022) and five NCAA Final Fours.

Felisha Legette-Jack:
Syracuse | Coaching Career began in 1989 | Joined Prior to 2022 season

In multiple hall of fames like the Greater Syracuse Hall of Fame, the Syracuse Urban Sports Hall of Fame and Syracuse University Orange Plus Hall of Fame

Ashley Langford:
Stony Brook | Coaching career began in 2009 | Joined Prior to 2021 season
Selected to the Advancement of Blacks in Sports Mid-Major Head Coaches Watch List

Vanessa Blair Lewis:
George Mason | Coaching career began in 1996 | Joined Prior to 2022 season
First women’s head coach in MEAC history to win College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 three consecutive years

Niele Ivey:
Notre Dame | Coaching career began in 2007 | Joined prior to the 2020 season
Was chosen as the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Division I National Assistant Coach of the Year award

Aqua Franklin:
Lamar | Coaching career began in 2009 | Joined prior to the 2019 season
Finalist for the Nancy Lieberman Award

DeLisha Milton-Jones:
Old Dominion | Coaching career began in 2016 | Joined prior to the 2020 season
2022 Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame Inductee

Tomekia Reed:
Jackson State | Coaching career began in 2006 | Joined prior to the 2008 season
Guided JSU to four consecutive SWAC Tournament semifinals

Mary Grimes:
Le Moyne | Coaching career began in 2009 | Joined prior to the 2021 season
In the first two years of being head coach, led the team to two Northeast-10 Conference Regular Season Championships

Dawn Thornton:
Arkansas Pine Bluff | Coaching career began in 2007 | Joined prior to the 2019 season
Qualified for the conference tournament for the first time since 2017

Erin Dickerson Davis:
William & Mary | Coaching career began in 2020 | Joined prior to 2022 season
Led the team to the most wins by a first year head coach in program history

Jesyka Burks-Wiley:
Florida International | Coaching career began in 2013 | Joined prior to the 2020 season
Led the team to the Conference USA Championships for the second time in program history

Carrie Moore:
Harvard | Coaching career began in 2010 | Joined prior to 2023 season
Led Harvard to highest NET ranking in Harvard History

Margaret Richards:
Alabama A&M | Coaching career began in 2005 | Joined prior to the 2016 season
Led the team to SWAC tournament semifinals

Freda Freeman-Jackson:
Alabama State | Coaching career began in 1991 | Joined prior to the 1998 season
Led the team to three NCAA Tournament appearances

TUCSON, ARIZONA – FEBRUARY 06: Head coach Adia Barnes of the Arizona Wildcats claps during their game against the Oregon State Beavers at McKale Center on February 06, 2022 in Tucson, Arizona. The Arizona Wildcats won 73-61. (Photo by Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)

Adia Barnes
Arizona | Joined in 2016
WNIT champion and led the program to the Final Four in 2021.

Natasha Adair
Arizona State | Coaching career began in 1998 | Joined prior to the 2023 season
Started the season 5-0 for the first time since 2002

Destinee Rogers:
Arkansas State | Coaching career began in 2015 | Joined prior to the 2018 season
First African-American female head coach to win a game in school history

Johnnie Harris:
Auburn | Coaching career began in 1998 | Joined prior to the 2022 season
Inducted in Watson’s Chapel High School Hall of Fame

Brittany Young:
Austin Peay | Coaching career began in 2013 | Joined prior to 2023 season
First head coach in program history to lead the team to back to back conference tournament semifinals

Janell Crayton:
Bethune-Cookman | Coaching career began in 2007 | Joined prior to 2021 season
Member of Women’s Basketball Coaches Association

Charmin Smith:
California | Coaching career began in 2003 | Joined prior to 2007 season
Led the team to postseason every season

Andrea Williams:
Chicago State | Coaching career began in 1995 | Joined prior to 2023 season
Recognized for the Shadow League Leadership Award in 2017

Katrina Merriweather:
Cincinnati | Coaching career began in 2001 | Joined in 2023 season
3x Horizon League Coach Of the Year

Ganiyat Adeduntan:
Colgate | Coaching career began in 2007 | Joined prior to the 2022 season

Tamika Williams-Jeter:
Dayton | Coaching career began in 2002 | Joined prior to the 2023 season
Led the team to A-10 Championship Tournament

Sarah Jenkins:
Delaware | Coaching career began in 2006 | Joined prior to 2023 season
Led the team to Colonial Athletic Association title

Jazmone Turner:
Delaware State | Coaching career began in 2014 | Joined prior to the 2022 season
Part of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association 30 Under 30 Class

Doshia Woods:
Denver | Coaching career began in 2001 | Joined in 2020
Led the team to be in the top 50 in NCAA free throws made

Kara Lawson:
Duke | Coaching career began in 2019 | Joined in 2020
Led the team to best season in recent history of 26-7 record

Kim McNeill:
East Carolina | Coaching career began in 2013 | Joined in 2019
Named AAC Coach of the Year

Ke’Sha Blanton:
Eastern Michigan | Coaching career began in 2010 | Joined in 2022
Led the team to Horizon League Women’s Basketball Championships

Charlotte Smith:
Elon | Coaching career began in 2002 | Joined in 2011
Led the team to four consecutive years of advancing to the CAA championships

Bridgette Gordon:
Florida A&M | Coaching career began in 2004 | Joined Prior to the 2023 season
Seven NCAA Tournament Appearances

Jennifer Sullivan:
Florida Atlantic | Coaching career began in 2012 | Joined prior to the 2022 season
Guided a 140% increase in wins

Bridgette Mitchell:
Fordham | Coaching career began in 2013 | Joined prior to the 2023/24 season
Won CAA Coach of the Year

Anita Howard:
Georgia Southern | coaching career began in 2012 | Joined Prior to the 2019 season
Led the team to the first 20-win season since 2002

Courtney Simmons:
Grambling State | Coaching career began in 2008 | Joined prior to the 2023 season
Guided prior teams to Sun Belt Tournament Championships

Danielle Santos Atkinson:
Hofstra | Coaching career began in 2006 | Joined in 2019
Led the team to CAA Women’s Basketball Championships

Ty Grace:
Howard | Coaching career began in 1998 | Joined in 2015
Won first MEAC Tournament title since 2001

Special Jennings:
Jacksonville | Coaching career began in 2016 | Joined in 2023
Led Montverde Academy to 3 National Championships

Octavia Blue:
Kennesaw State | Coaching career began in 2008 | Joined in 2020
Fasted KSU head coach to 30 Wins

Kyra Elzy:
Kentucky | Coaching career began in 2001 |

Kia Damon-Olson:
Lafayette | Coaching career began in 1993 | Joined in 2017
Brought the team to Patriot League Semifinals

Lauren Sumski:
Lipscomb | Coaching career began in 2014 | Joined in 2019
First Female in Lipscomb History to be Head Coach

Rene Haynes:
Long Island | Coaching career began in 2012 | Joined in 2019
12th Head coach in 54 years

Erika Lang-Montgomery:
Longwood | Coaching career began in 1995 | Joined in 2022
Had three teams go to NCAA Tournament

Danielle O’Banion:
Loyola (MD) | Coaching career began in 2002 | Joined in 2021
12th Head Women’s coach

Aarika Hughes:
Loyola Marymount | Coaching career began in 2011 | Joined in 2021
Named Top 21 Coaches by The Athletic Magazine

Alex Simmons:
Memphis | Coaching career began 2009 | Joined in 2018 but named head coach in 2023
Named Big South Coach of the Year

Kimberly Anderson:
Mississippi Valley State | Coaching career began in 1982 | Joined 2022
6th Women’s basketball head coach

Trelanne Powell:
New Orleans | Coaching career began in 2007 | Joined 2023
Second Coach of the Year in 2023

Jada Pierce:
Niagara | Coaching career began in 2004 | Joined 2015
Set new program record with 16 MAAC wins

Priscilla Edwards-Lloyd:
Northeastern | Coaching career began in 2010 | Joined 2023
8th Head Coach in Program History

Tanya Warren:
Northern Iowa | Coaching career began in 2007 | Joined 2007
First Black Female Head Coach

Yolett McPhee-McCuin:
Ole Miss | Coaching career began in 2004 | Joined 2018
Led the team to 11th Sweet 16 in Program History

Carrie Banks:
Omaha | Coaching career began in 2007 | Joined 2020
Led the team to 29 Wins

Sandy Pugh:
Prairie View A&M | Coaching career began in 1987 | Joined 2018
Led the team to WNIT Appearance

Erin Batth:
Providence | Coaching career began in 2004 | Joined 2023
Guided former teams to NCAA Tournament appearances

Jen Brown:
Queens University | Coaching career began in 2005 | Joined 2020
Led the team to the D1 Level

Coquese Washington:
Rutgers | Coaching career began in 1999 | Joined 2022
WBCA Carol Eckman Integrity in Coaching Award

Ravon Justice:
Sam Houston State | Coaching career began in 2004 | Joined 2019
Led the team to 35-23 record

Stacie Terry-Hutson:
San Diego State | Coaching career began in 1999 | Joined 2013
Made the WNIT which is the First Postseason Appearance Since 2012

April Phillips:
San Jose State | Coaching career began in 2013 | Joined 2022
Led the team to first Mountain West Conference Tournament win since 2020

Yolisha Jackson:
South Alabama | Coaching career began around 2016 | Joined as assistant coach 2019
Led the team to a WNIT Victory

Rekha Patterson:
Southeast Missouri State | Coaching career began ain 2022 | Joined 2015
Led the team to second OVC Tournament Title

Kelly Bond-White:
Southern Illinois | Coaching career began in 1999 | Joined 2022
Coached the team to score at least 100 points on three occasions

Toyelle Wilson:
Southern Methodist | Coaching career began in 2003 | Joined 2021
First Black Female Head Coach at SMU

Keila Whittington:
St. Francis (PA) | Coaching career began in 1991 | Joined 2023
Made to first NEC Tournament Semifinal Game

Diane Richardson:
Temple | Coaching career began in 2000 | Joined 2022
Led the Team to 11-18 Record with Eight Players

Joni Taylor:
Texas A&M | Coaching career began in 2002 | Joined 2022
2021 SEC Coach of the Year

Vernette Skeete:
Texas Southern | Coaching career began in 2009 | Joined 2022
Reestablished the TSU brand in community

Shereka Wright:
Texas-Arlington | Coaching career began in 2006 | Joined 2020
Won Sun Belt Coach of the Year

Styia Messer:
UCF | Coaching career began in 2000 | Joined 2022
Led the team to 6-0 Start since 1984

Denise King:
UMass Lowell | Coaching career began in 2005 | Joined 2018
Led the Team to Two Straight America East Playoff Semifinal Games

Dionnah Jackson-Durrett:
UMKC | Coaching career began in 2010 | Joined 2022
Led the Team to Summit League Championships

Trina Patterson:
UNC Greensboro | Coaching career began in 1991 | Joined 2016
Named SoCon Coach of the Year

Nicole Woods:
UNC Wilmington | Coaching career began in 2009 | Joined 2023
Inducted into the Gatson Sports Hall of Fame

Amaka Agugua-Hamilton:
Virginia | Coaching career began in 2006 | Joined in 2022
Two-Time MVC Coach of the Year

Semeka Randall Lay:
Winthrop | Coaching career began in 2007 | Joined in 2020
Led Rivalry Wins in 2021-22 against Presbyterian, UNC Asheville and Charleston Southern

Marisa Moseley:
Wisconsin | Coaching began in 2005 | Joined in 2021
Won the 2019 Patriot League Coach of the Year

Dalila Eshe:
Yale | Coaching began in 2006 | Joined in 2022
Coached Ivy League Co-Defensive PLayer and Top 10 finalist for Nancy Lieberman Award

Michelle Clark-Heard

Mercer College | Coaching career began in 2018 | Joined in 2024

Photos via Getty Images. Portrait via AAMU and Harvard Athletics.

Featured graphic designed by Abdel Kyle Traore.

The post WSLAM x BCA: Meet the Black Women Coaching DI College Hoops appeared first on SLAM.

Kansas Standout Taiyanna Jackson is Putting the world on notice, One Blocked Shot At a Time

March 22, 2024

Patience. 

That’s the word Taiyanna Jackson uses when asked to describe how she’s gone from playing at Trinity Valley Community College to becoming the No. 2 shot blocker in the country at Kansas. The Jayhawk has always known that her time is coming, but it’s also been a journey to get there.

Prior to coming to Kansas, Jackson played two years of JUCO ball. Her decision to go that route—despite being a four-star prospect in high school at East Chicago Central HS and originally committed to Ole Miss—came down to her wanting to explore her options and open herself up to something new. At Trinity Valley, Jackson was a NJCAA Region 14 Freshman of the Year and averaged 10.3 points per game throughout those two seasons. 

Stats aside, what Jackson gained from the experience prepared her not just athletically, but mentally, for the DI level. “JUCO is totally different: the class sizes, the games, how we travel, how we prepare for games and everything is just different. Trinity Valley was fun and I would say, like, it prepared me for the mental side DI,” she says, later adding: “Being patient and just knowing that [my] time is coming [and] everything [I’ve] worked for, everything [I’ve] thought of [and] dreamt of [is] eventually going to come to life just by being patient,” Jackson tells us over Zoom in early March before Selection Sunday. 

By the time you’re reading this, Jackson and her squad are gearing up for March Madness—the Jayhawks will take on Michigan in the first round on March 23. To say Jackson has settled well into the Jayhawks program would be an understatement: she’s thrived. As a junior she was the first-ever Jayhawk to be selected to the Big 12 All-Defensive Team and this season she’s become so much of a defensive ace, her 3.1 blocks per game has her currently ranked No. 2 in the nation in blocks, just behind Stanford’s Cameron Brink. 

Jackson has always had a knack shot blocking, but since arriving in Lawrence, she’s been challenged with playing against opponents that are bigger, and more experienced at the DI level, then she was coming in. But it’s how she’s met that challenge—and discovered that her footwork and approach to defense is her speciality—that’s allowed her to make a major impact. “[It was] my first time playing against, like, DI basketball players,” she says looking back at her first season at KU. “I always knew I was a great defender [and] I’m quick on my feet and that’s just something that I have [as] an advantage in my position. I just took pride in that. I let my offensive game come to me and let my defense take over.” 

Jackson is fearless when she matches up against opponents. Don’t sleep though: her offensive game is there, too—she’s currently second on the team in scoring with 12.6 ppg—but on the other end of the floor, Jackson really gets in her bag. “I really just love defense. It’s just like, the excitement and the joy you get when you’re blocking somebody’s shot. I don’t know, I just like it,” she says now with a smile and a slight chuckle. 

The passion in her voice is evident, and at one point, Jackson motions a chef’s kiss with her hand, as if comparing the feeling of blocking someone’s shot to a delicacy. When Kansas played Houston in February, Jackson posted nine blocked shots amidst a double-double performance, propelling her to the top of Jayhawks record book with the most career blocked shots in program history (270). 

 “Just stop sleeping on her,” teammate Zakiyah Franklin told The University Daily Kansan. “She’s been doing this. It’s not new to us…but people around the country should be put on notice more.” All season long, Jackson has been proving time and time again that this is just what she does: a few games later against UCF, Jackson ran all the way from the post to the top of the key and blocked sophomore Taylor Gibson right as the buzzer went off in the second quarter. She had yet another monster double-double performance of 29 points, 10 rebounds and even four blocks to help seal the 65-53 win. 

The Jayhawks will need that same energy from her ahead of the NCAA tournament, where they’ll look to make a run past the second-round for the first time since 2022. Regardless of what happens, this is only the beginning for Jackson, who has her sights set on the WNBA in the future. We can only imagine how her game will grow at the next level. 

“I would like to go play at the next level. That’s the goal.”

Photos via Getty Images. Portrait via KU Athletics.

The Legend of Caitlin Clark: How the Superstar is Writing the Next Chapter in Iowa Women’s Basketball History

March 21, 2024

The signs were all there, even from the beginning. The budding potential. The confidence. While she’d yet to truly master her craft, the vision had already been there. She was unafraid to attempt deep threes, long before the range was really there. She was creative and wanted to dish out dimes to her teammates, too. This is what stood out to Iowa associate head coach Jan Jensen when she first saw Caitlin Clark play as a sixth grader, having just joined the All-Iowa Attack AAU program in central Iowa that same year. 

“It didn’t take but a second, maybe a minute,” Jensen told the Associated Press. “That little step-back sassy three, this little seventh-, eighth-grader. Yeah, she’s diff. You could just tell. They’re easy to identify but really hard to get. Everybody can see the true, true ones. The trick is to get them.”

Jensen played a major part over the years in recruiting Clark, who was intrigued by Iowa’s playing style and what head coach Lisa Bluder had done with the program and the point guard position, specifically. At Iowa, she could play freely. Fast. And, with senior Kathleen Doyle leaving for the WNBA Draft, she would be next in line to not only orchestrate the offense, but make an impact.

Years later, Jensen admitted that they talked to Clark about what she could do at the collegiate level. How she could take them to the Final Four and beyond. It matched perfectly with Clark’s own vision for herself: “I have goals for a Final Four,” she told Sports Illustrated back in 2020. “I have big hopes and dreams, which I think any person should if you’re playing basketball with them. Who wouldn’t want to win and be the best?”

It’s one thing to dream; it’s another to do it, and then a lot more. Could Clark, or anyone who knew her during those early days, have ever imagined that she’d become the greatest college basketball player Iowa has ever seen? Or, arguably, the greatest in the college game today, man or woman? What about the way she’s transcended the sport—not just women’s basketball, but the game entirely. The NCAA all-time scoring record. The logo shots. The Nike commercials. Selling out arenas like a rock star, having rappers like Travis Scott and WNBA legends like Maya Moore pull up to watch her play, the constant crowds of people wanting her autograph after games. What did Beyoncé say again? You know you’re that [girl] when you cause all this conversation. What was it Drake said, too? You know it’s real when you are who you think you are.

SLAM 249 featuring Caitlin Clark is available now. Shop.

Caitlin Clark is bigger than basketball, bigger than any box score, viral clip or logo shot. She’s more than the list of awards she’s won so far during her four-year career at Iowa, too. An exceptional person, woman, human, at the forefront of a very specific moment in history we’re all living in right now. A basketball Renaissance, a new era for women’s basketball. She’s not just doing it alone—there are so many stars who are changing the college basketball landscape right now, and Clark has an entire squad dominating alongside her, too.

To fully appreciate what’s happening in women’s hoops right now, we first have to acknowledge the past and the many, many women who helped paved the way before them: the legends who held the records Clark has now broken—no, not just Pistol Pete, but Lynette Woodard and Kelsey Plum. Then there’s the program Lisa Bluder has built at Iowa over the past two decades, before Clark even arrived. And what about all the Iowan women who competed in 6-on-6 basketball, including Jensen and her grandmother, long before women were even allowed to play fives.

And to even fathom what that young girl, now a woman, from West Des Moines has done, you have to go back. Here is where our story really begins…

***

If you’re new to women’s hoops, this history lesson is for you. While basketball was technically invented by a man we all know of in Springfield, MA, just down I-91 N, it was a woman by the name of Senda Berenson Abbott who first introduced the game to women at Smith College in 1892. This was 80 years before Title IX was passed, but girlie was on to something. Ditching Dr. James Naismith’s peach baskets for wastebaskets, the Smithies dropped buckets (literally) in a version of the game that divided the court into three sections. While ideologies about women—their delicacy, physical activity impacting their ability to reproduce—definitely existed back then (to keep it real, even Berenson once said that “desire to win…will make our women do sadly unwomanly things”), that was truly the catalyst.

The game only grew from there, from the east to the west, eventually reaching rural Iowa in the 1900s. There, women were already used to working on farms alongside their brothers and fathers, bailing hay and sweating, so the idea of them playing basketball wasn’t too scandalous. Rural high schools were really the first in the nation to allow girls to play 6-on-6, a version of the game that split the court in half, involved three forwards and three guards and had rules like players only being allowed to dribble twice.

It’s no coincidence that one of the most electric women’s college basketball players of today was born in the Hawkeye State. The throughlines in Clark’s story really start here.

By 1920, the first state tournament was held in her hometown of Des Moines at Drake University. The following year, Audubon beat Ottumwa in the championship thanks to an 18-point performance by the MVP, Dorcas Anderson, who just so happens to be the grandmother of Clark’s associate head coach, Jan Jensen.

More than half a century later, Jensen, too, would star on that very same court her grandmother did. By 1990, Jensen was averaging 29.6 ppgs as a senior at Drake, where she was coached by none other than newly-hired Bluder, who also played 6-on-6 basketball in high school at Linn-Mar in Marion, IA. After 10 seasons at Drake, Bluder took over at Iowa and eventually hired Jensen, first as an assistant.

“She was just tremendous. She was really just a player’s coach and intense but knew how to make it fun. Obviously, it benefited me,” Jensen told The Athletic.

Bluder’s coaching résumé at Iowa speaks for itself: with an 850-391 overall record, she’s the program’s all-time winningest coach and currently ranks 14th in NCAA DI women’s basketball history. She’s led the Hawkeyes to 21 postseason appearances, including their first-ever national championship appearance just last season. Over the years, she’s coached three Big Ten Player of the Year standouts, including Clark, who’s won it in back-to-back years, as well as Megan Gustafson and Kathleen Doyle. Her success is as much a testament to her brilliant basketball mind as it is her ability to connect with her players; as Clark told The Athletic, Bluder can strike a balance between “serious” and “fiery,” but also “fun” and “goofy.”

The program Bluder has built is now a powerhouse. This year’s squad can run opponents into the ground, shoot the ball in your face, and then stuff you on the defensive end. Not only is the team equipped with Clark but a whole roster of certified bucket getters. Look no further than Kate Martin, a 6-0 graduate student and guard who joined the program ahead of the 2019-20 season, is currently averaging double digits, including a career-high 12.9 points as well as 6.5 boards. Having grown up in a family of Hawkeye fans—Jensen is her aunt—Martin has known that she wanted to suit up in the black and gold since she was 5. Flash forward to today, and she’s emerged as a versatile standout who can do it all: block shots, finish at the rim and knock down threes from beyond the arc. But her impact on the program, and this Hawkeyes team, can’t be measured in just individual stats or accolades. Often referred to as “The Glue,” in the media, she is undoubtedly Iowa’s heartbeat and their tenacious leader.

Then there’s Gabbie Marshall, another sharpshooter with a crazy step-back game who is also Iowa’s defensive ace. Marshall is the first Iowa women’s basketball player to record 200 threes and 200 steals in a career and has been key in matchups against teams like Nebraska this season. Who could forget those final 31 seconds of the Big Ten Championship thriller when she displayed pure grit and blocked an attempted three by Nebraska’s Logan Nissley in overtime. “[Marshall is] one of the best shooters, but I don’t think she gets enough credit for her defense,” Clark said of Marshall, in The Daily Iowan. “She takes the challenge of guarding the best player every single game.”

Sophomore Hannah Stuelke was also key in Iowa’s Big 10 championship win, combining with Clark for 59 points to help bring the Hawkeyes their sixth conference title. The matchup, which averaged over 3 million viewers on CBS, is now the most-watched women’s basketball game on the network since UConn-Tennessee in ’99. Stuelke’s been putting up big numbers all season long, including 47 points against Penn State in February, which is the second-most points ever scored in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. And what’s even tougher is that she did it without attempting a single three. Scary.

All of the hype and media attention we’re seeing around the program now is just part of the cultural fabric of Iowa’s renowned hoops history. Not just the program, but the entire state, which has been supporting women’s basketball since before anyone on Bluder’s current roster was even born. Girls’ basketball drew sold-out crowds of 15,000 people. People bought their tickets way in advance. Sound familiar? We’re not talking about just today, but back in the ’30s, ’40s and ’50s. When the Hawkeyes defeated South Carolina in the Final Four last year, Bluder was just as surprised to hear that Iowa legend Molly Bolin, who also played 6-on-6 and dropped 83 points as a senior at Moravia High School in the ’70s, was in attendance.

Now, imagine if Clark, or Martin, or Marshall or any star college basketball player today was playing back then. The last year 6-on-6 basketball was played was ’93, but stories about that time have been passed down through generations. Even Clark knows what type of time these women were on. “I used to joke with her and be like, Man, Caitlin, you would have been so good at 6-on-6, or, you could have just played offense,” her high school coach Kristin Meyer tells us. “[She] would have averaged over a hundred points a game, but she would have hated it because she would have had to wait on her half and she can’t go get the ball.”

Now picture this: what if those very same Iowan legends—like Denise Long (the first woman drafted by an NBA team, the San Francisco Warriors) and Deb Coates, to name a few—had what Caitlin now benefits from: social media, NIL deals, a magazine cover like this one. Clark isn’t just rewriting women’s basketball history; she’s authoring the next chapter. And she knows her history, too. “When I hear from a lot of people that played basketball, whether it was 6-on-6 however many years ago, I think they’re blown away at where women’s basketball is now and the platform we get to play on,” Clark said in USA Today. “That doesn’t come if it’s not for the people who came before us.”

For those who study and teach women’s sports history, including Jennifer Sterling, a lecturer in the American Studies department at the University of Iowa, Clark’s place in history is monumental. “It’s important history taking place right now,” Sterling says. “What she’s done on the court and off the court, what the team has done, and the coaching and how athletics has supported this moment, I think is all really exceptional.”

And so, our story continues…

***

The “Caitlin Clark Effect” didn’t just happen when she arrived at Iowa. It’s always been something innately within her. Before she’d ever even picked up a basketball, Clark’s parents would hear from her daycare that their 2-year-old had “exceptional motor skills and coordination,” as they told HawkCentral. She was always competitive by nature, too, whether she was playing Candyland on their living room floor or hooping against her brothers. At the age of 5, her grandfather, Bob Nizzi, recalled in HawkFanatic a time when she stood up to a bullyish boy on the court and “put on the best downfield block that I have ever seen and rolled this kid out of bounds and stood over him.”

Always a gifted athlete, her father, Brent, soon noticed Clark could hit shots from 15 feet on a six-foot hoop, and when he was unable to find a girls youth basketball program for her, he put her in a boys league in second grade. They ended up winning the tournament, and as the story goes, someone’s mom was so pressed that Brent remembers them saying that “a girl shouldn’t be allowed to play in a boys tournament.”

But Clark’s always been unafraid and unapologetically herself. She’s always pushed boundaries, too. Today, we’ve seen her hit the MJ shoulder shrug after a deep three and wave off opponents like a G, things she’s been both celebrated and criticized for. “Everybody wants to critique her, everybody wants her to be nicer. They want her to be more ladylike. They want her to be less arrogant. They want her to pass. That kid loves it. She’s an entertainer. She is passionate,” Jensen told the Hawk Central in 2023.

She remembers Clark like that in high school, too. Energetic, even in the classroom. So much so that, as a junior, Meyer remembers one of Clark’s history teachers telling her that on exam days, Clark would finish her tests so quickly that they started having to send her to Meyer’s office, just to keep her preoccupied. “She always took school very seriously, but she needs to be entertained,” Meyer says.

The same goes for on the court. When they’d have conversations about her shot selection, there would be times when Meyer would say to her, Caitlin, we’re not going to do that. But did she listen? “I never really gave her the green light,” Meyer says. “She just always took it to be honest.” As a junior at Dowling, Clark averaged 32.6 ppg and dropped 60 points against Mason City HS, one off the state record. Now she’s doing the same at the collegiate level; as we head to press—and she heads to the NCAA Tournament, Caitlin’s currently averaging a career-high 31.9 ppg, has had multiple 40-plus point performances and is still setting records.

“Her game [now] is very similar to what it was when she was a freshman in high school,” Meyer says. “Her attacking the basket, her court vision and her ability [to make] just incredibly difficult passes look easy. Her range—she didn’t shoot from half court or from the logo necessarily in high school—but she was testing the boundaries a little bit as far as definitely shooting behind the high school three-point line.”

And that is exactly what makes her exceptional: natural talent and work ethic aside, Clark has always been just wired different. “Caitlin, she’s just fearless and she is confident and she is bold and she is brave and courageous,” Meyer says. “It took those natural skills, with the work ethic [she’s built], and to have the courage to just play big.”

***

As for the rest of Caitlin Clark’s story, that is still being written. By the time you’re reading this, Iowa is a No. 1 seed going into the NCAA Tournament. We don’t know yet how this college chapter will end and if she’ll end up winning her first, and the program’s first, NCAA title. Or, how the next one, her arrival to the WNBA, will begin. Will she be able hold her own in the WNBA as the Indiana Fever’s projected No. 1 pick? Regardless of what happens, her impact won’t be tainted in the slightest. Longtime college basketball fans, new fans, young fans, are all enamored by her. At Dowling, Meyer’s current players hear stories about her 60-point game, her competitiveness and her approach to practice and commitment to making her teammates better.

“Whenever she’s stopped by [the school], the girls are just nervous around her. They almost feel like she’s famous, which to me is so weird because she’s just Caitlin,” Meyer says.

Some call Clark the “female Stephen Curry,” while others haven’t stopped comparing her to Pete Maravich since she broke his all-time NCAA scoring record this year. But Clark made it clear to the media after she broke the record that she doesn’t want to be remembered for just her accolades, but rather, “for the way I played with a smile on my face, my competitive fire.”

And that is her legacy. That is what we’ll be talking about in the years to come—Caitlin’s passion, her talent, what she’s done for women’s basketball. When we asked Sterling about Clark’s impact—and whether we can expect a chapter about her in seminar syllabuses one day (the answer is yes)—our theory was proven correct: the legend of Caitlin Clark is just beginning. It’s all part of a larger history.

“Hopefully this is the beginning of more amazing things to come,” Sterling says. “And the culmination of the many changes in women’s sport that have happened along the way.”

Portraits by Atiba Jefferson.

The post The Legend of Caitlin Clark: How the Superstar is Writing the Next Chapter in Iowa Women’s Basketball History appeared first on SLAM.