Basketball <\/p>\n
Caitlin Clark is the all-time leading scorer in NCAA Division I basketball, finishing her career with 3,951 points across four seasons. <\/p>\n
Now, when she looks back, she questions why she wasn\u2019t guarded better. <\/p>\n
In a TIME interview<\/a> with Sean Gregory, Clark noted just how much higher the basketball IQ is in the WNBA<\/a> than in the women\u2019s game. <\/p>\n \u201cProfessional players and professional coaches \u2014 this is no disrespect to college women\u2019s basketball \u2014 are a lot smarter,\u201d Clark said. \u201cI love women\u2019s college basketball. But if you go back and watch the way people guarded me in college, it\u2019s almost, like, concerning. They didn\u2019t double me, they didn\u2019t trap me, they weren\u2019t physical.\u201d<\/p>\n Clark acknowledged that many of the players she faced were not continuing their careers past college, and that basketball IQ played a role. <\/p>\n \u201cA lot of those women will never go on to play another basketball game in their life,\u201d Clark said. \u201cThey don\u2019t have the IQ of understanding how the game works. So I completely understand it. And it\u2019s no disrespect at all. They don\u2019t have the IQ. You have to simplify it for girls at that age.\u201d <\/p>\n In her senior season, Clark averaged 32.1 points, 8.5 assists, and 7.3 rebounds, recording six triple-doubles. Her 2024 tournament run was punctuated by a 41-point, 12-assist outing in an Elite Eight win over LSU<\/a>. In that game, she was primarily guarded by Hailey Van Lith, a 5\u2019 7 guard who clearly struggled to keep up with her. <\/p>\n At the time, many wondered why LSU didn\u2019t double-team her or put a more physical defender on her. The end result was a 94-87 Iowa victory. <\/p>\n Now, we know that Clark also often wondered about opposing teams\u2019 and coaches\u2019 lackluster schemes as well. <\/p>\n Clark struggled in the early days of her WNBA career, but quickly found her footing, going on to average 19.2 points, 8.4 assists, and 5.7 rebounds per game. From the jump, she faced a level of physicality and defensive intensity she rarely faced in college.<\/p>\n In her TIME interview with Gregory, an NCAA women\u2019s basketball game between USC and Ole Miss<\/a> was fitting playing in the background.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like if I was out there, I would literally have 50 [points],\u201d Clark said. \u201cThe college game is so much easier than professional.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div>\n