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Former Notre Dame women's hoops manager Muffet McGraw has revealed the details of Caitlin Clark's decommitment from her programme during the star's recruiting process successful 2019.
McGraw appeared connected the "Good Game With Sarah Spain" podcast connected Tuesday, and said that if Clark followed done connected her committedness to Notre Dame, past McGraw mightiness inactive beryllium the manager there. McGraw retired from coaching successful April 2020, conscionable months up of Clark's freshman year.
"I whitethorn inactive beryllium coaching if Caitlin Clark came to Notre Dame," McGraw said.
McGraw says she received a verbal committedness from Clark to play astatine Notre Dame, but it ne'er felt certain.
"She committed to us, but I had a feeling it was benignant of a brushed committedness erstwhile she did, due to the fact that she couldn't decide, couldn't decide," McGraw said. "And past yet she said, 'I privation to come.' But it wasn't similar 'I'm coming!' It was benignant of similar ‘I made the decision.’"
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Then, aft a tense and melodramatic wait, McGraw recovered retired she would miss retired connected Clark, who announced her committedness to Iowa connected Nov. 12, 2019.
"After that, we waited and waited for her to denote it, due to the fact that arsenic you know, we're not allowed to denote anything. The players person to bash that themselves," McGraw said. "So she made the announcement a agelong clip aft that, I kept saying 'When is it coming out?' And past erstwhile she made the announcement, she was going to Iowa. But of people she called maine to archer me."
McGraw's status came soon aft the extremity of the 2019-20 season, 5 months aft uncovering retired she wouldn't beryllium coaching Clark, ending a 33-year tally that included 2 nationalist championships successful 2001 and 2018.
McGraw went connected to telephone Clark's decommitment from her programme successful favour of Iowa, "probably a beauteous bully decision."
Clark antecedently told ESPN that her ain household wanted her to play for the Fighting Irish.
"My household wanted maine to spell to Notre Dame," Caitlin said. "At the extremity of the time they were like, you marque the determination for yourself. But it's Notre Dame! 'Rudy' was 1 of my favourite movies. How could you not prime Notre Dame?"
Clark past spoke astir her acquisition visiting Notre Dame and her information of playing for the Fighting Irish during an interrogation connected the "New Heights" podcast connected Jan. 2. She said she yet made the determination not to play determination due to the fact that of a feeling successful her gut.
"I could consciousness it successful my gut, I was similar ‘Ahh, I’m not expected to spell there,'" Clark said.
"I fundamentally narrowed it down beauteous aboriginal connected erstwhile I was going done my assemblage recruitment that I wanted to beryllium similar successful the Midwest, conscionable benignant of a homebody. Family person. Just wanted to enactment reasonably adjacent to home. So that narrowed a batch of worldly down."
Clark past played her full four-year assemblage vocation for the Hawkeyes, wherever she broke aggregate programme and NCAA records, including the all-time starring scoring grounds among each assemblage hoops players, men oregon women, successful history.
Clark besides met her existent boyfriend, Connor McCaffery, portion astatine Iowa. McCaffery played connected Iowa's men's hoops squad for his father, caput manager Fran McCaffery.
Meanwhile, without Clark, Notre Dame fared OK, but not astir arsenic good arsenic Iowa. Under the enactment of existent caput manager Niele Ivey, the Fighting Irish made the NCAA tourney 3 years successful a enactment from 2021-24, but they mislaid successful the determination semifinal each 3 times, portion Clark led overmuch deeper tourney runs successful 2023 and 2024.
Clark led Iowa to 2 consecutive nationalist title crippled appearances, en way to becoming the No. 1 wide enactment by the Indiana Fever successful the 2024 WNBA Draft. McCaffery was already successful Indiana moving connected the Pacers' coaching staff, and they are inactive successful the metropolis unneurotic arsenic helium present works connected Butler's men's hoops coaching staff.
Clark was named WNBA Rookie of the Year, was selected to the All-Star team, led the WNBA successful assists, and helped pb the Fever to the playoffs successful her rookie season.
Clark was besides named Time magazine’s Athlete of the Year for 2024.
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