$818,000 NIL-valued Caitlin Clark shares heartwarming snap with BF Connor McCaffery on Valentine's Day: "love you"
With tickets to watch Caitlin Clark break the women's college basketball scoring record against Michigan at Carver-Hawkeye Arena selling as high as $394, the Iowa star turned her focus to matters away from the court for Valentine's Day.
The $818,000 On3 NIL-valued Clark, recovering from a heartbreaking loss to Nebraska, shared an adorable picture of herself with longtime boyfriend Connor McCaffery on her Instagram stories with the caption:
"Love you."
The Hawkeyes take on the Wolverines on Thursday, with tipoff set for 8 p.m. ET.
The pressure of the scoring record
Former college women's basketball record holder Jackie Stiles, formerly of Missouri State, and Kelsey Plum (Washington) have both registered their displeasure at holding the record before.
"I remember, to be honest, [the record] was very much a low point in my life," Plum said on a recent USA Basketball media call. "It felt like a lot of pressure, and my identity was kind of caught up in that record."
When Caitlin Clark inevitably breaks the record, the pressure will only increase. After Iowa's 111-93 win against Penn State last week, Clark addressed that possibility.
"I don't feel that much pressure," Clark said. "I feel like, at this point, it's like 'when' it's going to happen, rather than me chasing it down.
"My main focus is just on winning, having fun, enjoying these environments because it's so special. I've been able to find a lot of calmness and peace in that, and it wasn't always that way in my career. Early on, I would get nervous for these types of games. I feel like my maturity has just grown a lot."
Caitlin Clark gets praise from Steph Curry
Earlier in the week, during the Warriors' media availability, four-time NBA champion Stephen Curry of the Golden Warriors praised Caitlin Clark and her shooting prowess.
"You can't help but watch where she is shooting from, the range, confidence and the flare. She is a performer," Curry said. "It's crazy, though, because her shot is like that and at that level. But if you really watch her floor game, it is just as impressive. She's got the total package.
"Her being on the fringe of breaking that record, the amount of attention that she has gained over these last couple of years, every building she goes into has a different energy, it's great for her and great for women's basketball."
Caitlin Clark will likely write her name in the record books when she faces Michigan, but she has also shown that she has garnered the respect of the game's true titans in her quest for greatness.