Iowa Women’s Basketball Star Caitlin Clark Breaks NCAA All-Time Scoring Record
10 Things to Know About Caitlin Clark
April 15, 2024
By Jordan Morey | FeverBasketball.com
Entering the franchise’s 25th season, the Indiana Fever chose Iowa senior Caitlin Clark with the first pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft. Clark is Indiana’s second straight No. 1 overall pick, and it is also the second top pick ever for the Fever, as the organization took Aliyah Boston with the top spot in last year’s draft.
2024 Indiana Fever Draft Central – Indiana Fever
The WNBA Draft was held on Monday, April 15. RD 1 P 1 RD 2 P 15 Celeste Taylor G / Ohio State RD 3 P 27 Leilani Correa G / Florida
fever.wnba.com
Here are some relevant stats and 10 things to know about the newest Fever player.
Caitlin Clark
Position: Guard
College: University of Iowa (2020-2024)
Hometown: Des Moines, Iowa
Age: 22
Height: 6-0
Weight: 155 pounds
2023-24 Season Stats (Game averages)
Games played: 39
Minutes: 34.8
Points: 31.6
Assists: 8.9
Rebounding: 7.4
Steals: 1.7
Field goal %: 45.5
3-point %: 37.8
Free throw %: 86.0
Career Stats (Averages and Totals)
Games played: 139
Minutes: 34.8
Points: 28.4 per game, 3,951 total
Assists: 8.2 per game, 1,144 total
Rebounds: 7.1 per game, 990 total
Steals: 1.5 per game, 210 total
Field goals: 46.2 percent, 9.3 per game, 1,293 total
3-pointers: 37.7 percent, 3.9 per game, 548 total
Free throws: 85.8 percent, 5.9 per game, 817 total
10 Things to Know About Caitlin Clark
A record-breaking career
Clark shattered dozens of NCAA and Big Ten records throughout her four-year career at Iowa. At the top of her list of accomplishments is the most points scored all-time by any college player — men’s or women’s — in NCAA history, with 3,951 points. With 1,144 career assists and 990 rebounds, she is also the first collegiate player to notch at least 3,800 points, 1,000 assists and 950 rebounds in a career. Clark’s 28.4 points per game average for her career and 548 made 3-pointers are women’s NCAA Division I records, and her 201 3-pointers and 1,234 points were both women’s D-I records for a season. Clark also finished as the record-holder for points (491), assists (152) and 3-pointers (78) in women’s tourney all-time play, among her other significant records.
Filling the trophy case
The list of awards Clark has collected during her college career is lengthy. Among the most prestigious, which she has won each of the last two seasons, are the AP Player of the Year, John R. Wooden Award, Naismith College Player of the Year, and USBWA National Player of the Year honors. Clark was also a three-time unanimous NCAA First Team All-American member, four-time First Team All-Big Ten honoree, and three-time Big Ten Player of the Year winner.
Must-watch TV
Clark’s popularity exploded during her junior and senior seasons, translating to record-breaking broadcasts. The 2024 NCAA Championship between Iowa and South Carolina drew around 18.7 million viewers on average — the most ever measured for a women’s basketball game. This year’s NCAA men’s final drew 14.8 million viewers on average, so the women’s final outdrew the men’s for the first time. The Hawkeyes progressively built up to that 18.7 million, as their game against the University of Connecticut in the Final Four drew 14.2 million viewers after their game against defending champs Louisiana State University averaged 12.3 million viewers. For measure, the 2023 final between LSU and Iowa drew 10 million viewers on average.
Lethal shooting range
No women’s college basketball player in the sport’s history has shot 3-pointers like Clark. In her senior season, Clark shattered the record for 3-pointers in a women’s season by making 201 from deep, 54 more than the second-place holder in the record books. She also finished with 548 career 3-pointers, which is 11 more than second place, and averaged a record 5.15 made 3-pointers per game. Clark also made shots from deep when it mattered most, as she holds the record for women’s D-I tourney play with 78 total 3-pointers.
Flashy dime dropper
While Clark’s incredible scoring skills often dominated TV highlights during her college career, she’s also highly accomplished in distributing the ball. Clark led the NCAA in assists in her last three seasons and is just one of six women’s basketball players to finish with over 1,000 career assists. Her career mark of 1,144 is third-most all-time, trailing just Andrea Nagy (1,165) and Suzie McConnell (1,307). Many analysts believe that, of all Clark’s skills, her playmaking ability will shine immediately.
Seeing Gold?
Clark has been invited to practice with Team USA this spring leading up to the 2024 Olympics in Paris. If Clark makes Team USA, it wouldn’t be the first time she wore the Red, White, and Blue. Clark won three gold medals with USA Basketball on junior national teams, most recently with the 2021 USA Women’s U19 National Team. Fever teammate Aliyah Boston was also invited to practice with the team. The WNBA will take a month-long break from July 18 to Aug. 14 for the Olympics.
Big Ten dominance
Teams outside Iowa will be glad that Clark has graduated from the Hawkeyes’ program. Clark dominated the Big Ten during her college career, as she’s the only player in NCAA D-I men’s or women’s history to lead her conference in scoring and assists in four straight seasons. Clark is the Big Ten all-time leader in points and assists and was named to the All-Big Ten First Team all four years. She was the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, three-time Big Ten Player of the Year, and three-time Big Ten Tournament Most Outstanding Player during her time at Iowa. The Hawkeyes had a record of 55-18 in Big Ten play while Clark was there, and won the Big Ten Tournament three times (2022-2024) and regular season title in 2022.
Midwest nice
Clark was born and raised in West Des Moines, Iowa, and attended Dowling Catholic High School. In he early years, she played on boys’ basketball teams due to a lack of AAU options. She was a two-time Gatorade Player of the Year at Dowling, Iowa Miss Basketball, and was invited to the McDonald’s All-American and Jordan Brand Classic games in her final year. In her senior season, Clark averaged 33.4 points, 8.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 2.7 steals per game, leading the state for a second straight year in scoring. In her junior season, she scored 60 points in a game, the second-highest single-game point total in girls’ basketball state history. Her 13 made 3-pointers in that game is a state record. She finished her career with the fourth-most points (2,547) in Iowa girls’ basketball history.
A family of athletes
Clark comes from a family of athletes. Often shown during TV broadcasts in the stands, Clark’s father, Brent, played basketball and baseball at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa. Her grandfather, Bob Nizzi was a football coach at Dowling Catholic, where she attended high school. Caitlin’s older brother, Blake, won two state football championships at Dowling Catholic and went on to play at Iowa State. Two of Clark’s uncles are also former college athletes: Tom Faber played basketball at Drake and Utica, and Mike Nizzi played football for Nebraska-Omaha.
Multisport athlete
Clark is a multisport athlete. As a kid, she played softball, volleyball, tennis, and golf before focusing on basketball. Clark was a starter on her high school soccer team in her freshman and sophomore seasons and was named to the Class 3A All-Iowa team as a freshman. While basketball is her main focus now, Clark is still an avid golfer. According to Golf Digest, Clark tries to play golf four times weekly during the offseason.
The Fever will open their season on May 14 at the Connecticut Sun before hosting Sabrina Ionescu and the New York Liberty on May 16 for the home opener at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Season ticket packages and single game tickets are available now at FeverBasketball.com/Tickets.
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여자 커리’ 케이틀린 WNBA 데뷔전 티켓 최고가 345만원···NBA PO보다 두 배 높아
미국 여자농구 슈퍼스타 케이틀린 클라크(22) 열풍이 거세다. 그의 미국여자프로농구(WNBA) 인디애나 피버의 데뷔전 티켓 가격이 미국프로농구(NBA) 플레이오프 가격의 2배를 넘어섰다는 보도가 나왔다.
미국 야후스포츠는 22일 스포츠전문매체 ‘디 어슬레틱’ 및 ‘포브스’의 농구 전문기자 에반 사이더리의 소셜미디어(SNS)를 인용, “케이틀린의 WNBA 데뷔전 코트사이드 좌석 가격이 무려 2500달러(약 345만원)에 이를 것”이라고 보도했다. 이는 NBA 6번 시드로 플레이오프에 나서는 같은 지역 인디애나 페이서스의 좌석 최고 가격 1220달러(약 168만원)의 두 배를 넘는다.
클라크는 지난주 진행된 WNBA 드래프트에서 전체 1순위로 인디애나 피버에 지명됐다. 그는 ‘여자농구 커리’로 불리며 대학농구 시절 엄청난 인기를 모았다. 초장거리 3점슛을 주무기로 득점과 어시스트에서 빼어난 능력으로 미국대학스포츠협회(NCAA) 무대의 역사를 새로 썼다.
아이오와대학 시절 4년간 139경기에서 경기당 평균 28.4득점 7.1리바운드 8.2어시스트를 기록했다.
1학년 시즌부터 NCAA 디비전1 득점 부문 1위를 기록했고 2학년 시즌에는 단일 시즌 득점과 어시스트 부문에서 모두 1위에 올랐다. 3학년과 4학년 시즌 연달아 올해의 선수에 선정됐다. 득점과 3점슛 부문에서 여자 농구 디비전1 통산 및 단일 시즌 기록을 경신했다.
지난 3월 대학 농구 선수권에서는 결승에서 사우스 캐롤라이나대학에 패하며 준우승에 그쳤지만, 1890만 명의 시청자가 그가 뛴 경기를 지켜보며 흥행 돌풍을 일으켰다. 그가 참가한 WNBA 드래프트역시 역대 최다 시청자 기록을 갈아치웠다.
그는 WNBA 규정 상 클라크는 4년 33만 8056달러(약 4억 6700만원)에 루키 계약을 맺을 예정이다. 2024시즌 연봉은 7만 6535달러(약 1억575만원)에 불과하다.
그러나 그에게 연봉은 부수입에 불과하다. 세계 최고의 스포츠 브랜드 나이키와 1000만 달러 이상의 계약을 맺을 것이라는 보도가 나왔다. 나이키는 이번 계약을 통해 클라크의 시그니처 농구화를 제작할 예정이다. 이미 게토레이, 스테이트팜, 파니니 등 여러 기업들이 후원 계약을 맺은 상태다. 여기에 인기 스타의 상징인 신발 후원 계약까지 확정됐다.
그가 대학 무대를 떠나 새로운 무대 WNBA에 진출하면서 인기는 더욱 폭발하고 있다. WNBA는 아직 NBA에 비해 시장 규모가 많이 떨어지지만 케이틀린의 진출로 엄청난 효과를 보고 있다. 당장 클라크 경기의 티켓 가격이 천정부지로 치솟았다.
NCAA에서도 티켓 매진 행렬을 기록했던 그의 프로경기를 보려면 이젠 웃돈을 넘어 엄청난 목돈이 필요한 상황이 됐다. 미국 스포츠를 넘어 전 세계 스포츠의 흥행을 이끌 새로운 여제가 탄생했다.
양승남 기자 ysn93@kyunghyang.com
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미국 여자 농구 전체 산업 판도를 바꾸는 슈퍼스타가 탄생했다.
여자 스테판 커리로 불리우는 아이오아 대학교 캐틀린 클락이 그 주인공이다.
프로 스포츠에 대한 미디어 중계와 유료 시청자를 중요하게 여기는 미국 스포츠계에서
시즌 전 경기 만원을 동원하고 NCAA 8강부터 결승전까지 1,200백만에서 1.800만명에
이르는 엄청난 시청자를 견인한 역사적인 인물과 팀이 되었다.
캐틀린 클락은 미국 농구 뿐만 아니라 스포츠 산업에서 산업 혁명과 같은 영향력으로
미국 여자 대학 농구가 미국 4대 스포츠 보다 많은 시청자를 끌어들이는 놀라운 사건을
기록하도록 견인했다.
스테판 커리처럼 다양한 기술과 엄청난 비거리를 장착한 3점 슛으로 앞으로 진출한
미국 여자 프로농구에 새로운 바람을 불러일으키고 엄청난 관중과 미디어 관심을 받아
미국 여자 농구가 획기적인 투자와
유망한 프로스포츠를 성장하는 새로운 동력이 될 것이 분명하다.
마이클 조던이 농구의 세계화를 이끌고 코비 브라이언트가 농구 묘미로
전세계 팬들을 사로잡고
스테판 커리가 새로운 농구 시스템을 이끌어 낸 것처럼
캐틀린 클락도 앞으로 세계 여자 농구에서
엄청난 슈퍼스타로서 영향력 있는 선수가 될 것이다.
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