Aidan Tyksinski, Editor

A couple of weeks after breaking the NCAA Women’s scoring record against Michigan, Caitlin Clark stood at the free throw line, about to attempt two of her life’s most important free throws. Number four-ranked Iowa was taking on the number two-ranked team Ohio State in Iowa City, with both teams hoping to make a statement win in their last regular season game. Iowa was up 46-39, with Clark about to add to the lead right before the half.

Of course, at this point, no one cared about the score, the implications of the game, or about Iowa’s next step to winning the national title. Everyone’s eyes were on Clark and if she could break Pistol Pete Maravich’s record of 3,667 points scored in a career, the record for both men’s and women’s division one basketball. Clark shot the first free throw. Swish. Record tied. Clark got the ball back from the referee, took two dribbles, then quickly fired the next shot. Nothing. But. Net.

Almost instantly after the record was broken, there was celebration and debate. Yes, Clark’s record was amazing, said her critics, but Maravich got his old record without a three-point line and in one less season. Some, including ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Williams, said Clark will not be great until she wins a title.

Both arguments are in bad faith. If Maravich’s record were so easy to break, then anyone who is an elite scorer who played in the three-point era would have broken it, right? But neither Steph Curry, the NCAA Men’s all-time career three-point scorer, nor Kelsey Plum, the old Women’s all-time leading scorer, could achieve what Clark did. And neither could any other player in Women’s or Men’s Division One basketball.

As for Williams, there is no defense for this take. Elvin Hays, Larry Bird and Plum, all considered some of the best NCAA players of all time, made deep tournament runs without a win. Heck, the farthest Maravich ever got at LSU was to the Final Four of the NIT tournament, and many consider him the greatest player of all time! (Clark, for the record, helped get Iowa to the finals last year, where they lost to LSU).

Throughout the entire commotion, Clark has been calm, collected, and laser-focused. In the Hawkeye’s opening matchup of the Big 10 tournament against Penn State, she broke Curry’s record for three-pointers made in a season. She also announced that she will be entering the 2024 WNBA draft, exciting the Indiana Fever fanbase, the team with the number one overall pick in the draft.

Right now, Clark’s main goal is to get back to the NCAA title game and win it this time, although that is easier said than done. South Carolina, LSU and Stanford all feel they have just as good a shot as Iowa to win, while blue bloods like Notre Dame and Connecticut are still around, no matter how little press they get. At the end of the day, though, this feels like Iowa’s tournament to lose. And no one will doubt what Clark can do, even if they don’t consider her “great.”