South Carolina coach Dawn Staley believes 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 in his pregame news conference Saturday that Clark must win a championship to participate 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 went to three Final Fours and won two Player of the Year awards during her time as a player at Virginia from 1989-92. “You have to win a championship. I did. I had a great career. But the question is always, did you win a championship?”
Clark said she disagreed with that championship-or-failure statement, saying she wanted her legacy with the Hawkeyes to be more than that.
“I played basketball at this university for four years, and for it to come down to two games and determine whether I’m proud of myself and how I handled myself and the impact I had on people in their lives, I don’t think that’s a fair assessment,” Clark said at his press conference.
“I don’t want my legacy to be, ‘Oh, Caitlin won X games,’ or ‘Caitlin scored X points.’ I hope that’s what I’ve been able to do for women’s basketball. I hope that’s young boys and girls who are inspired to play the game or dream of doing whatever it is they want to do in their lives.
“For it to come down to 40 minutes and for me to have to validate myself in 40 minutes, I don’t think that’s a fair assessment.”
Staley referenced his GOAT comments during a recent interview with UConn legend Breanna Stewart 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 greatest 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’s broken, the points and stuff like that, but everybody knows your goal when you play college basketball is to win a national championship. 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, being able to win four national championships and being MVP. I think she’s been MVP every time.”
On an individual level, Clark has more than proven that he is one of those people talking about the GOAT.
She leads the NCAA in career points with 3,921 and has won multiple Player of the Year awards and numerous other accolades throughout her career.
Clark understands that there will always be critics and naysayers when you’re a big-name player.
“When you’re in the spotlight like that, there’s going to be a million different opinions about you,” she said. “For as many people who like you, there’s going to be people who don’t like you. That’s true of any professional athlete, male or female, who competes at the highest level.”
“What I’ve been able to do throughout my career is focus on the opinions of the people in my 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, the people who believed in me more than anyone else.”
Staley acknowledged that if Clark leads Iowa (34-4) past her South Carolina team (37-0), she will be squarely in the GOAT conversation.
“If Caitlin wins the championship, she’s pretty darn good, yeah, she’s a GOAT. I mean, she’s really, really good anyway,” Staley said. “But winning the championship would seal the deal. I hope to God she doesn’t.”
