ALBANY, N.Y. — With all of the spotlight on her, Caitlin Clark is staying loose heading into Iowa’s Sweet 16 rematch with Colorado.
On Wednesday, Hip-Hop mogul Ice Cube proposed to Clark a $5 million offer to play in his Big3 basketball league. Clark said she found out about the offer on social media “the same time everyone else did.”
Then on Thursday, the point guard was invited to Team USA’s Training Camp — the only active collegiate player added to the roster. The camp takes place the same weekend as the Final Four, so while Clark said it’s a dream of hers to play for the Olympic team, she hopes to miss camp and still be playing college basketball with her best friends.
“I honestly don’t talk about those things with really anybody,” Clark said on Friday about Ice Cube’s offer. “I have other people that deal with it, and they haven’t said a word to me about it. My main focus is on this team and helping us find a way to beat Colorado and hopefully win another one after that.”
Any time Clark travels around downtown Iowa City, she can’t help but see a seven-story-tall banner of herself shooting a 3-pointer. And in this year’s NCAA Tournament, Clark has a personal beat reporter — ESPN’s Holly Rowe — following her around as her time in a Hawkeye uniform comes to a close.
“I completely trust her maturity,” head coach Lisa Bluder said of Clark on Friday. “She is extremely mature, has handled every situation that’s been thrown at her — and she’s had a lot of different situations thrown at her. She’s handled them all beautifully.”
Clark is 22 years old. During a time when other college students are figuring out who they are and where they want to go in life, Clark is constantly being watched and counted on to be a role model for the younger generation.
Clark has appeared on TV across the nation in State Farm commercials, Nike ads, and Gatorade promotions. Her teammates, like Gabbie Marshall and Kate Martin, think it’s cool to see Clark on TV and it helps shine a light on women’s basketball and the Iowa program.
“Me and Caitlin are roommates. We were sitting in the hotel last night, and the State Farm ad popped up, and we just looked at each other and started laughing,” Martin said with a grin during Friday’s media availability.
With the camera always on her, however, Clark’s best and worst moments are put on display.
In Iowa’s win over West Virginia in the second round, Clark made a basket and yelled, “Shut the f*ck up!” This moment, along with her father reacting in the crowd afterward, went viral on social media. One user on X, formerly known as Twitter, posted, “CC had the opportunity to be a positive role model but fell short.” Clark clarified on Friday that she wasn’t shouting at her dad, whom she called her “biggest supporter” and “best friend.”
Clark’s passion translates to practice, too. Bluder said she’s had to call technicals on Clark in practice. When the point guard was told what Bluder said about her, Clark started laughing and replied, “That hasn’t happened in a while.” Martin also chimed in, saying she’s gotten a technical in practice as well and doesn’t blame Clark for getting upset because the team managers “are not good refs at all.”
Colorado guard Maddie Nolan stood up for Clark and the double standard women athletes face when showing passion on the court.
“If everybody played emotionless, it would be boring to watch, right?” Nolan said on Friday in the Colorado locker room. “You watch our team, and we play with a lot of similar emotions. I think we see it in the men’s game, and they get away with a lot. And then when a woman cusses or says something like that, we’re painted in a negative light.”
What the camera doesn’t show, though, is Clark’s personality off the court. The All-American guard founded the Caitlin Clark Foundation with a mission to “uplift and improve the lives of youth and their communities through education, nutrition, and sport.” The foundation has partnered with several organizations, such as the Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Iowa and the Coralville Community Food Pantry. According to its website, Clark’s team raised $13,000 worth of sports equipment for the Boys and Girls Club and over $77,000 for the Coralville Community Food Pantry in 2023.
Just three days ago, Clark was named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team. She was joined by Marshall and fifth-year guard Molly Davis.
“She is the one that’s cracking the jokes. She’s the one that keeps the locker room happy, fun,” Bluder said of Clark. “What she’s doing for like the Food Bank in Iowa City, what she’s doing with her foundation, how she’s improving our community with that — you guys don’t get to see all of those things. You also don’t get to see the goofy Caitlin that we get to see and that we love.”
