Lauren Espy Blue Star Press Popular Books

Lauren Espy Blue Star Press Biography & Facts

Caitlin Clark (born January 22, 2002) is an American professional basketball player for the Indiana Fever of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played college basketball for the Iowa Hawkeyes and is regarded as one of the greatest collegiate players of all time. Clark is the NCAA Division I all-time leading scorer and was a two-time national player of the year with the Hawkeyes. She was selected first overall by the Fever in the 2024 WNBA draft. Clark attended Dowling Catholic High School in her hometown of West Des Moines, Iowa, where she was named a McDonald's All-American and rated the fourth-best player in her class by ESPN. In her freshman season with Iowa, she led the NCAA Division I in scoring and earned All-American honors. As a sophomore, Clark was a unanimous first-team All-American and became the first women's player to lead Division I in points and assists in a single season. In her junior season, she was the national player of the year and led Iowa to its first national championship game. Clark again led Division I in assists and set Big Ten single-season marks in points and assists. As a senior, she repeated as national player of the year and helped Iowa return to the national title game. Clark became the Division I career and single-season leader in points and three-pointers and broke the all-time conference record in assists, while leading the nation in both points and assists. At the youth international level, Clark has won three gold medals with the United States, including two at the FIBA Under-19 Women's World Cup, where she was named Most Valuable Player in 2021. During her college career, she helped popularize women's basketball, with her games surpassing attendance and television viewership records for the sport. Early life Clark was born on January 22, 2002, in Des Moines, Iowa, and grew up in West Des Moines. She started playing basketball at age five and competed in boys' recreational leagues, because her father could not find a girls' league for her age group. Clark also played softball, volleyball, soccer, tennis, and golf as a child before focusing on basketball. At age 13, she began playing several years ahead of her age group in girls' leagues. In sixth grade, Clark joined All Iowa Attack, an Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) basketball program based in Ames, Iowa, for whom she played until graduating from high school. She was coached by Dickson Jensen with Attack, and her AAU teammates included future Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) player Ashley Joens. Clark drew inspiration from Maya Moore of the Minnesota Lynx, the closest WNBA team to her hometown, and traveled with her father for three-and-a-half hours to see their games. She admired All Iowa Attack alumnus Harrison Barnes and became a fan of the North Carolina Tar Heels after Barnes joined the program. High school career Clark played four years of varsity basketball for Dowling Catholic High School in West Des Moines under head coach Kristin Meyer. As a freshman, she averaged 15.3 points, 4.7 assists and 2.3 steals per game. She earned Class 5A All-State third-team accolades from the Iowa Newspaper Association and All-Iowa honorable mention from The Des Moines Register. Clark led her team to a 19–5 record and the Class 5A state tournament, where they lost to eventual champions Valley High School in the first round. In her sophomore season, she averaged 27.1 points, 6.5 rebounds, 4 assists and 2.3 steals per game, ranking second in the state in scoring. Clark was named first-team Class 5A All-State by the Iowa Print Sports Writers Association (IPSWA) and Central Iowa Metro League Player of the Year by The Des Moines Register. She helped Dowling reach the Class 5A state quarterfinals and achieve a 20–4 record. Following the season, she led All Iowa Attack to the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League championship, scoring 23 points in a 64–61 victory over the Cal Storm in the final. On February 4, 2019, during her junior season, Clark scored 60 points in a 90–78 win against Mason City High School. Her 60-point game was the second-highest single-game point total in Iowa five-on-five girls' basketball history, surpassed only by Abby Roe in 1996. She also set the state single-game record with 13 three-pointers. On February 25, Clark set the Class 5A state tournament single-game scoring record with 42 points in a 75–70 triple-overtime win over Waukee High School in the quarterfinals. She helped Dowling reach the semifinals of the tournament and finish with a 17–8 record. As a junior, Clark led the state in scoring and averaged 32.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.3 steals per game. She was named Iowa Gatorade Player of the Year and repeated as a Class 5A All-State first-team selection by the IPSWA. As a senior, Clark averaged 33.4 points, eight rebounds, four assists and 2.7 steals per game, leading the state in scoring for a second time. Her team finished with a 19–4 record and reached the Class 5A regional final, where they were upset by Sioux City East High School. Clark finished her career with the fourth-most points (2,547) and the sixth-most three-pointers (283) in Iowa five-on-five history. She was awarded Iowa Gatorade Player of the Year, Des Moines Register All-Iowa Athlete of the Year, and Iowa Miss Basketball, while making the IPSWA Class 5A All-State first-team. Clark was selected to compete in the McDonald's All-American Game and the Jordan Brand Classic, two prestigious high school all-star games, but both games were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In her first two years at Dowling, Clark was a starter on the school's varsity soccer team but focused on basketball for her final two years. In her freshman season, she scored 23 goals and was named to the Class 3A All-Iowa team by The Des Moines Register. Recruiting Clark was recruited by NCAA Division I basketball programs before starting high school, receiving her first letter of interest from Missouri State before seventh grade. By her sophomore season at Dowling Catholic, she was ranked the number one player in the 2020 high school class by ESPN. At the end of her high school career, Clark was considered a five-star recruit and the fourth-best player in her class by ESPN. Clark's family had wanted her to choose Notre Dame, and she made a verbal commitment to the school's then-head coach Muffet McGraw. However, Clark never signed a National Letter of Intent with the school, and soon reconsidered, announcing on November 12, 2019, that she would commit to play college basketball for Iowa over offers from Iowa State and Notre Dame. Clark was drawn to the team's up-tempo style of offense and head coach Lisa Bluder's development of point guards. She also expected to immediately have a key role on the team with the departure of Kathleen Doyle, the reigning Big Ten Player of the Year. College career Freshman season Clark entered her freshman season as Iowa's starting point guard..... Discover the Lauren Espy Blue Star Press popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Lauren Espy Blue Star Press books.