Column: Why Iowa's Caitlin Clark's night in Evanston was one of the most important this basketball season

EVANSTON, Ill. - Iowa star Caitlin Clark found a way to simplify Wednesday night in a remarkably wholesome fashion.

Women’s basketball fans lined up around Welsh-Ryan Arena hours before a 7 p.m. tip off. They wanted to get a glimpse of the phenomenon that took the world by storm in 2023 and aims to do much more in 2024.

"Being 22 years old, it's hard for me to wrap my head around," Clark said. "It's something, once I'm done playing basketball and my career's over, you'll look back and be like, ‘wow. Like those are some of the best memories of my life getting to play these environments with my best friends.’"

Those memories were made Wednesday, as Clark’s superstar tour stopped in Evanston. It transcended basketball itself as one of the most important nights for this basketball season.

How many times does a player break four records in one night? How many times does that player break a record for the opposing school?

That’s why Clark’s tour is justified. In this era of women’s basketball, it shows the potential the sport has to offer when its best players are celebrated as they should be.

Clark needed just minutes to break the first milestone of the night, passing Missouri State’s Jackie Stiles for third on the all-time NCAA scoring list. She passed Ohio State’s Kelsey Mitchell soon after for No. 2 overall, while also becoming the Big 10’s all-time leading scorer.

She did all of this in front of a crowd of 7,039, which was a sold out Welsh-Ryan Arena. There’s the final milestone: it was the first women’s basketball sell out in Welsh-Ryan Arena’s history.

Left the Welsh-Ryan Arena court with 4:13 remaining in the game to a standing ovation after earning a double-double by dishing her 10th assist. 

She recounted one of her most breathtaking plays, where she pivoted in the post against NU’s defense until the ‘Cats over-rotated to leave her wide open, by lamenting her struggles shooting from the perimeter, making only 3 of her 12 3-point attempts.

"You’re due for one of those nights, here and there," Clark said. 

Clark finished with 35 points. She’s scored 30 points or more for the fifth-straight game.

"When you've been in the Big 10 a long time like I have, where you go back to our sport, there's a lot of great players to it," Northwestern head coach Joe McKeown said. "I'm glad that she's created an atmosphere and an identity where some of those players now are being talked about and recognized. So, I give Caitlin a lot of credit too, for expanding our game."

McKeown recounted his mentor, Red Auerbach, when talking about Wednesday night. He spoke of Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Candace Parker and other past women’s basketball stars. It was proof that when you speak of Clark's name, you speak it in tones of greatness and appreciation.

Still, those players never had the chance to do what Clark is doing now, going from town to town and evoking the passion of basketball fans nationwide.

The attention is one thing, but the milestones being set is another for the senior.

"It’s just special for me to be in the same area as them," Clark said. "I’m just very thankful."

A reason why Clark is breaking so many milestones is the personal fit she has with Iowa’s offense. Hawkeyes coach Lisa Bluder’s motion offense is based on player freedom, where the best player is allowed to dictate the flow of the game with the ball in their hands.

Clark, who is not only fearless in how she attacks the basket, is precise in how she involves her teammates.

It’s a kind of offense that requires a star like Clark to operate at a high level. Robin Pingeton at the University of Missouri, a former player under Bluder, saw similar success when current WNBA player Sophie Cunningham had the keys to her offense.

That style of basketball is fun for Clark, and it’s why she revels in how she gets to share it with her teammates. An underrated part of her game is her passing, which is overlooked due to how much she scores. Clark’s 10 assists on Wednesday were a slight nudge that reminds us that she’s pretty good at just about everything.

Clark also gets to display Iowa’s offense for crowds like at Welsh-Ryan Arena, a place where she hasn’t played well in the past.

Clark said Wednesday’s game was circled for her, knowing the history. She thought it was sublime seeing Iowa fans make the trek to support her while also other opposing fans lined up to see her, too.

"It's cool to see what people are willing to give to watch your team for two hours," Clark said. "It shows what we've done for women's basketball. I think it shows the exciting style of basketball that we play, but also just the joy and the fun that we have and we share with one another and that's what makes basketball so fun."

I remember when Derek Jeter had his farewell tour.

Jeter, arguably the greatest shortstop in MLB history, got standing ovations and even gifts from opposing franchises. That kick started the "farewell tour" theme. Kobe Bryant did it to great effect. Paul Pierce "tried" it.

Clark’s is different.

The Iowa superstar, arguably the greatest college basketball player on the planet, is a senior in college but she has an extra year of eligibility. That is, if she wants it.

The will-she-won’t-she turn pro and declare for the WNBA Draft question will be asked in plenty ways until the end of March, but right now? She’s just thinking about Iowa. She’s thinking about the next game, which is why she’s scoring at such a breakneck pace.

This is transcendence that’s arguably never been seen in college sports, let alone women’s basketball.

"I still get to live my dream every single day," Clark said. "There's never an expectation because you can always exceed expectations, so you should just never have an expectation of other people and what you can do in your life."