April 7, 2024: Women's College Basketball Grows Up

Raven Johnson guarding Caitlin Clark

NOTE: While these entries are dated 2022, I decided to backdate the posting dates of events from 2023 onward to the same date in 2022.

April 7, 2024: The Final of the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament is held at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (now the Rocket Arena) in Cleveland. The generally-agreed-upon best player was facing the generally-agreed-upon best team.

The University of South Carolina were coached by Dawn Staley, who had been one of the greatest players in the history of women's basketball. They entered their 3rd National Championship game in 7 years at 37-0. The University of Iowa were coached by Lisa Bluder, and were 34-4. This was the first time where the top #1 seed won both the Men's & Women's NCAA Tournament since 2012.

Iowa's Caitlin Clark was the most-hyped player in the history of women's college basketball, having become the all-time leading scorer in college basketball, men's or women's, surpassing the point total of Pete Maravich at Louisiana State from 1967 to 1970 -- albeit needing 4 years to do it, to Maravich's 3, and not surpassing Maravich's still-record average. 

Kamilla Cardoso, a senior center from Brazil, was named a 2nd Team All-American, but was the only player from coach Staley's South Carolina Gamecocks named to any of the top 3. Te-Hina Paopao, a senior guard of Samoan descent from San Diego, was named Honorable Mention. So, instead of relying in a single star, like the Iowa Hawkeyes were doing with Clark, Staley had a more balanced team.

Sportscaster Jemele Hill pointed out that Clark, who is white, was receiving better press than previous black collegiate trailblazers, calling it "an insult to our culture." She listed Maya Moore of Connecticut, Chamique Holdsclaw of Tennessee, Sheryl Swoopes of Texas Tech and, before any of them, and before her brother, NBA star Reggie, Cheryl Miller of USC.

I suppose it was the women's game's turn to face what men's basketball has always been hit with: Recency bias. If today's young people didn't see something happen on TV, they treat it as though it didn't happen. They didn't see Cheryl in the 1980s, or even Sheryl in the 1990s. I did, and they were amazing. (Heck, I even saw Lynette Woodard of Kansas, also black, play for the Harlem Globetrotters at the Meadowlands.)

It should be noted that Hill did not mention Dawn Staley of Virginia. Or a black hoops pioneer who preceded even Miller: Luisa Harris of Delta State. Nor did she mention Lisa Leslie and Cynthia Cooper of USC, both of whom became much bigger in the WNBA than they were in college. She also didn't mention Candace Parker of Tennessee, also black and a better player than Holdsclaw, who was retiring after one of the best careers in women's basketball history. She also didn't mention Rebecca Lobo of Connecticut, white and broadcasting this Final on ABC, alongside Ryan Ruocco.

Iowa scored the game's 1st 10 points, and led 27-20 at the end of the 1st quarter. Clark scored 18 points, a women's Final record for any quarter, and it began to look like she would, in her senior year, win her 1st National Championship. But the more balanced Gamecocks went on a run, and won each remaining quarter: 29-19, 19-13 and 19-16, finishing as 87-75 winners.

Clark led all players with 30 points, but Cardoso's 15 points and 17 rebounds ended up controlling the game. Tessa Johnson scored 19 for South Carolina, who finished undefeated, 38-0. It was their 3rd National Championship, in 8 seasons, all under Staley. In contrast, their men's team has reached the NCAA Final Four only once, in 2017, the year of their women's team's 1st title.

It was the 2nd straight Final Four for Iowa, but they had never made it before 2023, despite 10 Big Ten Conference titles. Their men's team has made the Final Four in 1955, 1956 (losing the Final to the University of San Francisco) and 1980.

Let's not kid ourselves: Clark was tailor-made to be the player to lift women's basketball up. Unlike many of the established stars, she wasn't black. Unlike a few of the stars, she wasn't courting controversy through outrageous quotes or behavior. And, unlike a few of the stars, she apparently is not gay: At the time of the Final, she was dating Connor McCaffery, who played basketball and baseball for Iowa, and was the son of Fran McCaffery, then the Hawkeyes' men's basketball head coach.

And so, for the 2nd consecutive season, ABC elected to broadcast the Final on its main network, instead of on its subsidiary ESPN as usual. Broadcast instead on ESPN and ESPN+ was The Bird & Taurasi Show, with Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi, 2 previously beloved white women's basketball stars, though both lost some fans when they came out. (Taurasi is married to former teammate Penny Taylor, Bird to soccer star Megan Rapinoe.)

The Nielsen ratings reported that the Final was seen by 18.7 million viewers, the largest-ever audience for a women's basketball game in the United States, and an 89 percent year-over-increase over 2023. It was the 3rd consecutive tournament game to break the record in a single week, following the Regional Final game between Iowa and Louisiana State on April 1, which had drawn 12.3 million; and the National Semifinal game between Iowa and Connecticut on April 5, 14.2 million. It was the 2nd most-watched non-Olympic women's sporting event ever broadcast on live U.S. television, behind only the 2015 Women's World Cup Final.

Clark was the 1st player chosen in the 2024 WNBA Draft, by the Indiana Fever. For the 1st time, people -- men and women alike -- paid close attention to the WNBA Draft. Women's college basketball has "grown up." It remains to be seen whether she can elevate the WNBA from where it is now, which is roughly at the same level as Major League Soccer, at a level below the "Big Four."

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April 7, 2024 was a Sunday. These baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 8-3 at Yankee Stadium. Rookie Luis Gil started, but reached 95 pitches in the 5th inning, and was removed. Jake Cousins ended up as the winning pitcher. Giancarlo Stanton hit a grand slam home run. Aaron Judge went 0-for-3 with 2 walks.

* The New York Mets beat the Cincinnati Reds, 3-1 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. Francisco Lindor hit a home run. Pete Alonso went 0-for-4.

* The Washington Nationals beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 3-2 at Nationals Park in Washington. Bryce Harper went 1-for-4 against his former team.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 5-2 at Truist Park in the Atlanta suburb of Cumberland, Georgia. Ronald Acuña Jr. went 0-for-4.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Baltimore Orioles, 3-2 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.

* The Oakland Athletics beat the Detroit Tigers, 7-1 at Comerica Park in Detroit.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 8-1 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Shohei Ohtani went 2-for-4, and drove in the Dodgers' only run.

* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Seattle Mariners, 12-4 at American Family Field in Milwaukee. Julio Rodríguez went 1-for-3 for the Mariners. Christian Yelich did not play for the Brewers that day. No injury, he just got a day off.

* The Miami Marlins beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 10-3 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Chicago White Sox, 5-3 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.

* The Houston Astros beat their arch-rivals, the Texas Rangers, 3-1 at Globe Life Field in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. Jose Altuve went 1-for-3 with a walk. Corey Seager went 0-for-4.

* The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Colorado Rockies, 3-2 at Coors Field in Denver.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Los Angeles Angels, 12-2 at Angel Stadium of Anaheim.

* And the San Francisco Giants beat the San Diego Padres, 3-2 at Oracle Park in San Francisco.

There were 13 games in the NBA:

* The New York Knicks beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 122-109 at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee. Jalen Brunson scored 43 points.

* The Brooklyn Nets lost to the Sacramento Kings, 107-77 at the Barclays Center.

* The Boston Celtics beat the Portland Trail Blazers, 124-107 at the TD Garden in Boston.

* The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Charlotte Hornets, 121-118 at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte.

* The Orlando Magic beat the Chicago Bulls, 113-98 at the Kia Center in Orlando.

* The Dallas Mavericks beat their arch-rivals, the Houston Rockets, 147-136 in overtime at the American Airlines Center. Kyrie Irving scored 48 points.

* The Philadelphia 76ers beat the San Antonio Spurs, 133-126 in double overtime at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio. Tyrese Maxey scored 52 points.

* The Toronto Raptors beat the Washington Wizards, 130-122 at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.

* The Indiana Pacers beat the Miami Heat, 117-115 at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

* The New Orleans Hornets beat the Phoenix Suns, 113-105 at the Footprint Center (now the Mortgage Matchup Center) in Phoenix.

* There was a doubleheader at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Clippers, led by 39 points by Paul George, beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 120-118. But the Los Angeles Lakers lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves, 127-117.

* The Golden State Warriors beat the Utah Jazz, 118-110 at the Chase Center in San Francisco.

And there were 9 games in the NHL:

* In an "Original Six" matchup, the New York Rangers beat the Montreal Canadiens, 5-2 at Madison Square Garden.

* The New Jersey Devils lost to the Nashville Predators, 3-2 in a shootout at the Prudential Center.

* The Ottawa Senators beat the Washington Capitals, 3-2 at the Capital One Arena in Washington. Jake Sanderson scored the winning goal, 41 seconds into overtime.

* The Carolina Hurricanes beat the Columbus Blue Jackets, 3-0 at the PNC Arena in Raleigh.

* The Detroit Red Wings beat the Buffalo Sabres, 3-1 at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.

* The Minnesota Wild beat the Chicago Blackhawks, 4-0 at the United Center in Chicago.

* The Dallas Stars beat the Colorado Avalanche, 7-4 at the Ball Arena in Denver.

* The St. Louis Blues beat the Anaheim Ducks, 6-5 in a shootout at the Honda Center in Anaheim.

* And the Arizona Coyotes beat the San Jose Sharks, 5-2 at the SAP Center in San Jose.

February 9, 1997: The NBA's 50th Anniversary 50 Greatest Players

February 9, 1997: The NBA hosts its All-Star Game at the Gund Arena (now the Rocket Arena) in Cleveland. The East beat the West, 132-120. Glen Rice, then with the Charlotte Hornets, was named the game's Most Valuable Player.

But the game was secondary to the halftime entertainment. Although the names had already been announced a few weeks earlier, to coincide with the NBA's actual 50th Anniversary -- the 1st game was played on November 1, 1946 -- the 50 Greatest Players, as chosen by a special panel (including, as it turned out, some of the players in question) were introduced.

Of the 50, 49 were still alive at the time. The only one who had died was Pete Maravich, who suffered a heart attack in 1988, only 40 years old. He was represented at the ceremony by his sons, Jaeson and Josh.

Of the 49 living players, 47 were on hand. The two who weren't? One had a good excuse: Jerry West, the legendary guard and executive of the Los Angeles Lakers, was in a hospital, recovering from surgery. (He did recover, and was still alive to be selected to the 75th Anniversary 75 Greatest Players.)

The other player who didn't show up did not have a good excuse. It was Shaquille O'Neal. He'd played 4 seasons, thrilling fans with ferocious dunks, and leading the Orlando Magic to the 1995 NBA Finals. This was his 1st season with the Lakers, and there were people who said his worthiness as a selection as an all-time great was premature. (That turned out to be true.)

But it wasn't humility, a belief that he didn't yet belong, that kept him away. No, it was an injury. He decided that, if he couldn't play in the game, he wouldn't show up. So he didn't. And so, when his name was announced, the crowd in Cleveland -- a city which had absolutely no reason to dislike him, or the Lakers, or even the Magic -- booed him hard.

Hakeem Olajuwon of the Houston Rockets was selected, for both the All-Star Game and the 50 Greatest Players. So was Patrick Ewing of the New York Knicks. Like Shaq, both of these men were injured, and unable to play in the game. But both of them showed up, anyway, wearing suits instead of their uniforms. And each of them was solidly cheered by a crowd in a city for which he had never played.

The members of the 50 Greatest Players who were still active, and selected for the games, wore their East or West uniforms. All the others wore suits. All of them were given special leather jackets, with the NBA 50th Anniversary logo, white sleeves, and torsos in the solid color of the team with which they were the most identified.

Only 4 of the NBA's 1st 50 Championship teams were not represented: The 1947 Philadelphia Warriors, the 1948 Baltimore Bullets, the 1951 Rochester Royals, and the 1979 Seattle SuperSonics, although their head coach, Lenny Wilkens, was named as one of the 50 Greatest Players.

Here they were, in (roughly) chronological order:

* From the Minneapolis Lakers' dynasty of the 1950s: George Mikan.

* From the Syracuse Nationals' 1955 NBA Champions: Dolph Schayes.

* From the Philadelphia Warriors' 1956 NBA Champions: Paul Arizin.

* From the St. Louis Hawks' 1958 NBA Champions: Bob Pettit.

* From the Boston Celtics' dynasty of the 1950s and '60s: Bob Cousy, Bill Sharman, Bill Russell, Sam Jones, John Havlicek.

* From the Philadelphia 76ers' 1967 NBA Champions: Wilt Chamberlain, Hal Greer and Billy Cunningham.

* From the New York Knicks' 1970 NBA Champions: Willis Reed, Walt "Clyde" Frazier and Dave DeBusschere. From their 1973 Champions: Those 3, plus Jerry Lucas and Earl "the Pearl" Monroe. But not, interestingly, Bill Bradley.

* From the Milwaukee Bucks' 1971 NBA Champions: Oscar Robertson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

* From the Los Angeles Lakers' 1972 NBA Champions: Chamberlain and Jerry West.

* From the Celtics' Champions of 1974 and '76: Havlicek and Dave Cowens.

* From the Golden State Warriors' 1975 NBA Champions: Rick Barry.

* From the Portland Trail Blazers' 1977 NBA Champions: Bill Walton.

* From the Washington Bullets' 1978 NBA Champions: Wes Unseld and Elvin Hayes.

* From the Lakers' dynasty of the 1980s: Abdul-Jabbar, Earvin "Magic" Johnson and James Worthy.

* From the Celtics' dynasty of the 1980s: Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish. Nate "Tiny" Archibald was selected, and played on their 1981 title team. Walton was selected, and played on their 1986 title team.

* From the 76ers' 1983 NBA Champions: Julius "Dr. J" Erving and Moses Malone.

* From the Detroit Pistons' back-to-back titlists of 1989 and '90: Isiah Thomas.

* From the Chicago Bulls' dynasty of the 1990s: Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen.

* From the Houston Rockets' 1994 NBA Champions: Hakeem Olajuwon. From their 1995 Champions: Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler.

* From a sort-of dynasty yet to begin, that of the San Antonio Spurs of 1999-2007: David Robinson. Tim Duncan was still in college at this point.

* From a dynasty yet to begin, that of the Lakers in the early 2000s: Shaquille O'Neal. Kobe Bryant was a rookie, but was selected for the All-Star Game, and led all scorers with 31 points.

* Selected, but never won a title, though they did reach the NBA Finals at least once: Elgin Baylor, 1959 Minneapolis Lakers, Los Angeles Lakers of 1962, '63, '65, '66, '68, '69 and '70; Lenny Wilkens, 1961 St. Louis Hawks; Nate Thurmond, 1964 and '67 San Francisco Warriors; Charles Barkley, 1993 Phoenix Suns; Patrick Ewing, 1994 and '99 Knicks; and Karl Malone and John Stockton, both 1997 and '98 Utah Jazz.

* Selected, but never even made the NBA Finals: Dave Bing, 1970s Pistons; Pete Maravich, 1970s Atlanta Hawks and New Orleans Jazz; and George Gervin, 1970s and '80s Spurs.

Every one of these players has been elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame, including those who were still active at the time. Shaq was the last one still active, in 2011.

And every one of these players was also re-selected in 2021 for the 75 Greatest Players. No one was demoted. One player already retired in 1997 who was not selected for the 50, but was promoted to the 75, was Bob McAdoo, who played on the Lakers' 1982 and '85 Champions. And Dominique Wilkens, still playing in 1997 (with the Spurs) but close to the end of the line, whatever legacy he had already secure (and, as a 1980s Atlanta Hawk, his dunking got him nicknamed "The Human Highlight Reel"), was not selected for the 50, but was selected for the 75.

One final note: In the locker room, waiting for the ceremony to begin, Michael Jordan was holding court, smoking a cigar, and telling anyone who would listen that he was the greatest basketball player of all time.

Wilt Chamberlain heard this. He'd been hearing for a few years that Jordan was the greatest, and not just from Jordan himself. He decided to put an end to this. He walked over, towering over the seated Jordan, and said, "Michael, my man, when you played, they changed the rules to make it easier for you. When I played, they changed the rules to make it harder for me. And it didn't work."

And he walked off. Dead silence in the room. Talk about "dropping the Mike."

It didn't put an end to it: There are still people who consider Jordan the greatest ever. LeBron James was then 12 years old, and now, some people think he was greater than either of them. But neither Jordan nor LeBron can ever touch Wilt.

UPDATE: Added for the 75th Anniversary, in addition to McAdoo and Wilkins, were: Dennis Rodman, who won the titled with the 1989 and '90 Pistons, and the 1996, '97 and '98 Bulls; Tim Duncan, 1999, 2003, '05, '07 and '14 Spurs; Kobe Bryant, 2000, '01, '02, '09 and '10 Lakers; Gary Payton and Dwyane Wade, 2006 Miami Heat; Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, 2008 Celtics; Ray Allen, 2008 Celtics and 2012 and '13 Heat; Jason Kidd and Dirk Nowitzki, 2011 Dallas Mavericks; LeBron James, 2012 and '13 Heat, 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers, 2020 Lakers; Kawhi Leonard, 2014 Spurs and 2019 Toronto Raptors; Steph Curry, 2015, '17, '18 and '22 Warriors; Kevin Durant, 2017 and '18 Warriors; Anthony Davis, 2020 Lakers; Giannis Antetokounmpo, 2021 Bucks; Reggie Miller, who reached the Finals on the 2000 Indiana Pacers; Allen Iverson, who reached the Finals on the 2001 76ers; Russell Westbrook and James Harden, who reached the Finals with Durant on the 2012 Oklahoma City Thunder; Chris Paul, who reached the Finals on the 2021 Suns; and never-finalists Carmelo Anthony, Steve Nash and, so far, Damian Lillard.

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February 9, 1997 was a Sunday. There were no other NBA games played that day. Baseball and football were out of season. But there were 5 NHL games played:

* The New York Rangers lost to the Florida Panthers, 4-3 at the Miami Arena.

* The Buffalo Sabres beat the Ottawa Senators, 2-1 at the Marine Midland Arena (now the KeyBank Center) in Buffalo.

* The Dallas Stars beat the Los Angeles Kings, 2-1 at the Reunion Arena in Dallas. Neal Broten scored the winning goal with 44 seconds left in overtime.

* The Calgary Flames beat the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, 6-1 at the Saddledome in Calgary.

* And the Edmonton Oilers beat the Washington Capitals, 4-1 at the Edmonton Coliseum (as the Northlands Coliseum was known at the time).

And football star Saquon Barkley was born on this day.