Did Caitlin Clark play AAU basketball? Exploring Iowa star guard's journey from high school to college
NCAA all-time scoring leader Caitlin Clark outclassed the Ohio State Buckeyes with yet another powerful display. Clark scored 35 points, grabbed 6 boards, and had 6 assists in the match, during which she broke LSU legend Pete Maravich's record.
She now holds the record for Division I’s all-time scoring across men's and women's basketball, and has 3,685 career points.
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Did Caitlin Clark play AAU basketball?
Clark is no stranger to the spotlight. The current #22 Hawkeyes guard was earmarked for greatness at an early age while playing AAU basketball from 2009 to 2016.
However, her father stated that he was unable to find a girls league for her age, and she had to compete with boys. Clark ended up winning an AAU State Championship with those boys and was the key piece on the team.
In September 2023, Clark won the 93rd AAU James E. Sullivan Award, after public voting, as well as votes from the AAU Sullivan Award Committee, the AAU Board of Directors, sports media, and past winners.
What sports did Caitlin Clark play in high school?
Clark also played softball, volleyball, soccer, tennis, and golf as a child before focusing on basketball. She started playing basketball at the age of 5. She was in sixth grade when Jan Jensen first heard about her.
Caitlin Clark's skills were so developed that when she was in grade school, she used to play on the boys' team. When she entered middle school, her name was well-known across Iowa's basketball fraternity.
“It didn’t take but a second, maybe a minute,” Jensen said. “That little step-back sassy 3, this little seventh-, eighth-grader. Yeah, she’s diff. You could just tell. They’re easy to identify but really hard to get. Everybody can see the true, true ones. The trick is to get them.”
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Can Caitlin Clark go to the WNBA?
Clark announced her decision to enter the 2024 WNBA draft after four historic seasons with the Iowa Hawkeyes.
“I think just going into Senior Night, having that decision clear not only for myself, but our fans, my teammates. I think that was super important,” Clark said. “And honestly, just getting the weight of the world off my shoulders and being able to enjoy this last month with my teammates, I think is the biggest thing.”
She had a supplementary year of eligibility granted by the NCAA to all players who played in the COVID-19-affected season. Furthermore, Clark said that she had known “for a little while” about her immediate future.
Will Clark be the first pick at the WNBA Draft 2024? Sound off in the comments section below.
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