Caitlin Clark GOAT debates hot topic ahead of March Madness title game

College basketball

By Ted Holmlund

South Carolina coach Dawn Staley thinks Caitlin Clark needs to do one more thing to be included in any GOAT discussion.

Staley, who had a successful college career at Virginia, said during his pregame press conference Saturday that Clark must win a championship to be in the greatest conversation of all time.

If that happens, it would mean Clark would have beaten Staley’s undefeated South Carolina team in the NCAA women’s championship game Sunday (3 p.m., ABC) in Cleveland.

“I was really good in college, I never won a championship,” said the Gamecocks coach, who appeared in three Final Fours and won two Player of the Year awards during her tenure with Virginia between 1989 and 1992. “You have to win a championship. This is me personally. I had a great career. But it’s always: Did you win a championship?

Clark said she disagreed with that championship-or-bust statement, saying she wanted her legacy with the Hawkeyes to be more than that.

“I’ve been playing basketball at this university for four years, and it comes down to two games, whether or not I’m proud of myself and proud of the way I handled myself and proud of the way I handled myself.” I’ve had an impact on people in their lives, I don’t think that’s a fair assessment,” Clark said during his press conference.

“I don’t want my legacy to be, ‘Oh, Caitlin won X number of games’ or ‘Caitlin scored X number of points.’ I hope this is what I was able to do for women’s basketball. I hope it’s the young boys and girls who are inspired to take up this sport or dream of doing whatever they want to do in their lives.

“For it to come down to 40 minutes and I validate myself within 40 minutes, I don’t think that’s a fair assessment.”

Staley referenced his GOAT comments during a recent interview that UConn legend Breanna Stewart had on SiriusXM radio, saying Clark needed to win a title to be in the conversation of all-time greats.

Stewart led the Huskies to four national titles from 2013-16 and is widely considered the best women’s basketball player of all time.

“You’re going to look back 10 years and you’re going to see all the records she broke, the points and stuff like that, but everyone knows your goal when you play college basketball is to win a championship national. So you need one,” Stewart told Sirius XM.

Staley agreed.

“I agree with Stewie when it comes to winning the championship,” Staley said. “We’re going to talk about the GOATs. I think she’s the GOAT, to be able to win four national championships and be MVP. I think she was MVP four times.

On an individual level, Clark more than made his case to be among the participants in the GOAT speech.

She leads the NCAA with 3,921 career points and has won multiple Player of the Year awards as well as numerous other honors throughout her career.

Clark understands that there will always be critics and naysayers when you are a big-name player.

“When you’re in the spotlight like this, there are going to be a million different opinions about you,” she said. “For as many people as will love you, there will be people who will not love you. This is the case for all professional athletes, men or women, playing at the highest level.

“What I’ve been able to do throughout my career is just focus on the opinions of the people in our locker room. That’s what really matters to me, the people I love to death, the people who have supported me every second of my career, are the ones who believed in me more than anyone.

Staley acknowledged that if Clark led Iowa (34-4) past her South Carolina team 37-0, she would be squarely in the GOAT conversation.

“If Caitlin wins the championship she’s damn good, yeah she’s a GOAT. I mean, she’s really, really good regardless,” Staley said. “But winning the championship would seal the deal.” I hope to the Lord that is not the case.