Dawn Staley praises Caitlin Clark, ‘the best player’ in college basketball history

IOWA CITY, IOWA- FEBRUARY 15: Caitlin Clark #22 of the Iowa Hawkeyes celebrates after breaking the NCAA women’s all-time scoring record during the first half against the Michigan Wolverines at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on February 15, 2024 in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images)

Dawn Staley had high praise for Caitlin Clark after she broke the women’s NCAA scoring record.

“I don’t think that record is ever gonna be broken again,” Staley said. “The clip that she scores, and she’s not done yet. She’s probably got, I don’t know, 15 more games left in the season. And to do it probably 30, 40 points a clip. What we’re witnessing is something quite incredible.”

The two-time national championship coach and six-time WNBA All-Star then doubled down.

“I think she’s going to go down in the history books as probably, arguably the best player to grace our collegiate sports,” she said.

She joins what has been a plethora of high praise for Clark since breaking the scoring record held by Kelsey Plum. Clark scored a career-high 49 points last Thursday to break the record, also dishing out 13 assists in the win.

With 3,569 career points, Clark sits within striking distance – 98 points – of Pete Maravich’s overall NCAA record. She’s currently averaging 32.8 points per game, putting her at that record by Iowa’s season-ending game against Ohio State on March 3.

The record will likely be further extended, with Clark having four games remaining in the regular season; as many as three games in the Big Ten Tournament; and as many as six NCAA Tournament games should Iowa maximize the number of games they have left to play.