Caitlin Clark
Caitlin Clark is the greatest Iowa basketball player to ever play at the professional level.
This is the part where I’m supposed to tell you about how great Clark is at basketball. I could draw comparisons of Clark’s college reign to that of what Michael Jordan did in the NBA in his respective era.
But you already know that, so I’m going to refrain from sounding like a broken record.
We all know Clark’s dominant career at the University of Iowa was nothing short of spectacular. Yet, where does Clark rank compared to other Iowa basketball greats who have made the leap from college to the pros?
Clark was drafted first overall to the Indiana Fever in the 2024 WNBA draft and is the only Hawkeye to ever be drafted at first overall. Clark went from schooling opponents in March Madness to starting in the WNBA in a short couple of weeks.
In her first season with the Indiana Fever, Clark averaged — through the regular season alone — 19.2 points per game, 5.7 rebounds per game, and 8.4 assists per game, the latter of which is a league high.
She was an All-Star, finished fourth in MVP voting, and broke a handful of other statistical records you’ll have to look up in your own time — far too many to list them here.
As a rookie.
What is even more impressive is that Clark did all of this — what no former Hawkeye hooper has done before — while only having a couple of weeks to prepare for her WNBA debut.
These numbers propelled Clark to unanimously receive Rookie of the Year honors. And she’s propelled what was an abysmal Fever team to a competitive playoff spot.
Clark is only in her first season at the pro level; the championships and other accolades are bound to come. And when they do, will it really matter? Clark has already proven she’s the greatest Iowa hooper-turned-pro — now and forever.
B. J. Armstrong
Will Caitlin Clark go down as the greatest Hawkeye hooper playing professional basketball? I’m sure. But let’s all rejoice at the fact that we’re in the present. And right now, that title belongs to B. J. Armstrong.
Technically, it should be Connie Hawkins, but we’ll count him out due to his expulsion from the university.
Drafted 18th overall to the Chicago Bulls in the 1989 NBA Draft — that saw the likes of Glen Rice, Nick Anderson, Tim Hardaway, and Shawn Kemp selected around him — Armstrong made a name for himself in arguably the toughest era of basketball ever.
In 1991, Armstrong backed up John Paxson and played in all 82 games, shooting 50 percent from deep for 8.8 points per game and 3.7 assists. That’s the first championship.
In 1992, Armstrong backed up John Paxson again, playing in all 82 games and shooting 40 percent from deep for 10 points per game. That’s the second championship.
In 1993, Armstrong earned the starting nod, playing 30 minutes per game and shooting a league-leading 45 percent from deep for 12.3 points per game and four assists per game. That’s the third championship.
Armstrong averaged a career-high 14.8 points per game in 82 starts for the Bulls in 1994 en route to a 55-27 record without Jordan, finishing second in the league in three-point field goal percentage. That earned him a starting spot on the All-Star team that year as arguably the best point guard in the league — in one of the NBA’s toughest eras.
The statistics speak for themselves.
At the end of the day, the goal in sports is to win. Armstrong has three rings. And while it might not be everything, he’s got the statistics to back it up.
Armstrong stood out as a top point guard and key asset to the Bulls’ first three-peat as he battled through a much tougher environment than any other Iowa hooper has ever played through. And he remains the greatest Hawkeye professional hooper.