Caitlin Clark is moving on to the WNBA and now it's time for the real fans to show up
This is For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here. Have feedback? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey! Now, here’s Mike Sykes.
Good morning, folks! Welcome back to the Morning Win. Thank you so much for reading today. We appreciate you giving us a bit of your time.
The only appropriate way to describe Sunday's national championship game between Iowa and South Carolina is to call it an instant classic. What an incredible game.
The ebbs and flows were all over the place. Iowa took an early lead behind an 18-point first-quarter blitz from Caitlin Clark. MiLaysia Fulwiley — a freshman! — came off the bench to settle the undefeated Gamecocks down. Meanwhile, Hannah Stuelke continued to make plays for Iowa while Clark showed off her chops as a passer. She had to pass, though, because Raven Johnson played impeccable defense.
Ultimately, South Carolina stamped itself as one of the greatest teams ever. It completed an undefeated season against one of the most prolific scorers the game has ever seen. Dawn Staley's squad delivered her a third national championship, making her one of five women's college basketball coaches to accomplish such a feat.
With that, one of the greatest seasons in college basketball history has been completed. It's been awesome to watch. But do you want to know what I'm curious about? What happens next. I don't mean with the players — I mean with us.
Caitlin Clark brought new fans to women's basketball. Millions of viewers tapped in to watch her journey this season. So many people think she's the greatest women's college basketball player for that reason, including Staley herself.
But will those new fans stick around for women's basketball? That's the question. Luckily, we're about to find out pretty quickly. There's no time to breathe here.
The WNBA draft is next week on April 15. Clark will be drafted No. 1 overall by the Indiana Fever. She'll play in her first WNBA game about a month after that. It'll be so interesting to see if some of these same folks who followed Clark's every step at Iowa will do the same for her when she transitions to Indiana. That's what I'm unsure about.
RELATED: Paige Bueckers gets right what we all got so wrong
College basketball is a different beast. It's tribal in nature. People feel more attachment to teams in college basketball — fanbases are already established because universities have been around for decades. That's part of why Clark's popularity has grown to be so massive.
The test is whether she can bring some of those fans to a league that has struggled with that. The WNBA is growing well, but it's not even 30 years old yet as a league. It doesn't have the tradition of college basketball to lean back on. The W is also a league people tend to hate on for no good reason, which is dumb. But it's a thing, unfortunately.
I think Clark can beat that. I'm not the only one — so does WNBA legend Sheryl Swoopes. Brianna Turner of the Chicago Sky agrees, too. But, to make this work, those fans who have been on this ride for the last few months have to keep on riding.
It's on us, folks. Let's keep the party going.
John Calipari is on the move
And I'm sure Kentucky is relieved it didn't have to pay $35 million to make it happen. Calipari is headed to Arkansas after reportedly agreeing to terms on a five-year deal that will make him the Razorbacks' new head coach.
This deal came out of nowhere in the dead of night on Sunday. I mean, one second, we were all watching The Rock get choke-slammed by The Undertaker at Wrestlemania. Then, the next, Calipari was headed to Arkansas because of a friendship with John Tyson — the dude who owns the company that gave us frozen chicken wings.
This is probably for the best. Calipari wore his welcome out at Kentucky after all these years.
His one-and-done strategy doesn't work anymore. He hasn't made it to the Sweet 16 since 2019 despite typically being a high-seeded team. It was just time to move on. Good on Cal for knowing that his time there was up.
Under Armour is cooking with this one
Under Armour isn't usually the brand I'd go to for excellent marketing — especially on social media.
But, man. This post celebrating South Carolina's title was pretty perfect. You win some. You lose none. Wow. This is so good.
READ MORE: Meghan Hall has more here on UA's celebration of South Carolina.
Quick hits: Shoutout to Dawn Staley ... Listen to Ryan Ruocco's final call ... and more
— Dawn Staley's emotional interview at the end of the national championship will move you so much. Andrew Joseph has more.
— Here's Mary Clarke with Ryan Ruocco's final call in the women's national championship game. It's perfect.
— Here's Christian D'Andrea on the glorious ending to Wrestlemania on Sunday. So. Many. Legends.
— Raven Johnson's facetime call to Angel Reese after winning the championship is so pure. Here's Meg again with more.
— Bryan Kalbrosky has more on the latest coaching openings in the NCAA, including the one at Kentucky.
— Here are five stunning photos of that choke slam I mentioned earlier from Charles Curtis.
That's a wrap, folks. Thanks so much for reading today! I appreciate you taking the time. Let's do it again tomorrow. Peace.
-Sykes ✌️