Breanna Stewart will not consider Caitlin Clark to be one of the all-time greats unless she wins a women’s college basketball national championship. It is not some kind of trash talk ahead of UConn’s Final Four game against Iowa.
She is dead serious.
Stewart played for the Huskies from 2012-2016 and won a title in all four years. The 6-foot-4 forward was also named the NCAA Tournament’s most outstanding player in each of her four seasons on the collegiate level and was the consensus national college player of the year in her last three.
There is a case to be made that Stewart is the greatest women’s college hooper of all-time. Those who say that she is not would be hard-pressed to back up their claim for why not— even though Cheryl Miller, Diana Taurasi and Candace Parker are also in that mix.
The same cannot be said for Clark… yet.
While it is easy to say that the Hawkeyes superstar shooter is an all-time great because of her individual accolades, it is even easier to point at her lack of national title. Breanna Stewart believes the entire conversation taking place around Caitlin Clark is that simple.
She is not one of the greats in women’s college basketball history without a championship.
Stewart is one of the most decorated players in basketball history as an individual. However, the 29-year-old also won four national titles, two WNBA championships and two EuroLeague championships.
In her eyes, that is the whole point of playing the sport!
This debate has been had at nauseam over the last few days, weeks and months. There is no right answer. Opinions are subjective.
All of this back-and-forth could be put to rest as soon as Sunday. Clark has a chance to get the one thing that evades her with a win over Stewart’s alma mater in the Final Four and a win (likely over undefeated South Carolina) on Sunday.