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Mike Krzyzewski to Caitlin Clark: 'I would've loved to have coached you'

ns_headshot_2024-clearby:Nick Schultz•12/15/23•

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Former Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski and Iowa star Caitlin Clark
Photo of Mike Krzyzewski: © Mark Dolejs-USA TODAY Sports; Photo of Caitlin Clark: © Joseph Cress/For the Register / USA TODAY NETWORK

Over the last four years at Iowa, Caitlin Clark has become one of the faces of women’s basketball. It’s paying off in the NIL space, and she signed a deal with Gatorade earlier this week which featured a commercial with the slogan “You Can Too.”

That message resonated with legendary Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, who showered Clark with praise at the end of their interview on Basketball and Beyond on SiriusXM.

Coach K told Clark about the type of impact she can have away from the court, in addition to her accomplishments as a Hawkeye. He raved about how she carries herself, and he went so far as to say he would’ve enjoyed coaching her.

“You have an incredible platform now,” Krzyzewski said. “You’re gonna be one of the leaders to help millions of young girls realize their dreams — not just in sport. ‘You Can Too,’ does not mean sport. ‘You Can Too,’ means in everything. What I told my wife yesterday about talking to a great player that I would enjoy it, I have to confess, I was wrong. It was fabulous talking to a great player. You made my day.

“You know what? You are so real. I would’ve loved to have coached you. And you’re not afraid. You’re not afraid. And God bless you. I’ve really enjoyed it, and I’ll be pulling for you the whole season. Stay healthy and stay real.”

The projected No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, Caitlin Clark is once again putting up big numbers as a senior. Through 11 games, she’s putting up career numbers, averaging 29.5 points along with 6.9 points and 7.4 rebounds to help Iowa to a 10-1 record to start the year. It’s been quite the follow-up to a junior campaign in which she led Iowa to the national championship.

Off the court, though, Clark is one of the highest-profile women’s basketball players in the country. She currently holds an On3 NIL Valuation of $783,000, which puts her No. 4 in the On3 Women’s Basketball NIL Rank. She also sits at No. 53 in the On3 NIL 100, which is the first of its kind and defacto NIL ranking of the top 100 high school and college athletes ranked by their On3 NIL Valuation.

In addition to her multi-year deal with Gatorade, Clark has partnerships with State Farm and Nike as she continues to capitalize in the NIL space.