Sue Bird applauds Iowa on season, Caitlin Clark for career

Iowa, led by Caitlin Clark, took the nation’s attention with how they played this season. That includes the eyes of other basketball icons in both the men’s and women’s games, such as one Sue Bird.

Bird tweeted her praise at the Hawkeyes and for Clark on Sunday after their 87-75 loss to South Carolina in the national championship. The message was more so directed toward Clark, though, as she shared her gratitude for all that she has done for women’s basketball, both now on the collegiate level and in the future as a pro.

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What a season @IowaWBB and what a career @CaitlinClark22. We undoubtedly watched one of the all time best college careers….ring or not. Thank you for helping elevate our sport with your play, your poise, and of course your logo 3’s! I can’t wait to watch you at the next level!

— Sue Bird (@S10Bird) April 7, 2024

“What a season @IowaWBB and what a career @CaitlinClark22,” Bird wrote. “We undoubtedly watched one of the all time best college careers….ring or not. Thank you for helping elevate our sport with your play, your poise, and of course your logo 3’s! I can’t wait to watch you at the next level!”

This comes after Bird covered the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament alongside Diana Taurasi on a simulcast. That broadcast got interesting too as the pair, who are both former players at Connecticut, watched Clark and the Hawkeyes eliminate their Huskies in the national semifinal.

Still, there’s little questioning for Clark with her college career now complete. In this bracket, which led to her second consecutive appearance in the national final, she averaged 30 points, 8.7 assists, 7.7 rebounds, and 1.7 steals. That goes around her career averages in her 139 games of 28.4 points, 8.3 assists, 7.1 rebounds, and 1.5 steals while shooting 46.3% from the field and 37.7% from three.

Other parts of her resumé includes being Player of the Year in several awards while also being an All-American. That’s not to mention the obvious achievement of her being the all-time leading scorer in the history of Division I.

The next place that Clark will play will be in the WNBA. That will be where players like Taurasi and former players Bird will get an even better look at her. However, even any of that success won’t let anyone, including Bird, soon forget what she did the past four years in Iowa City.

Samuel L. Jackson rips ‘The Bird & Taurasi Show’

With women’s college basketball setting viewership record after viewership record during the NCAA Tournament leading into the national title game, there was always bound to be a little bit of a learning curve or an introduction to the sport for some of the newer fans.

Like Samuel L. Jackson.

Jackson clearly tuned into Sunday’s championship game between Iowa and South Carolina. In doing so, he took to Twitter to share his thoughts on the game on several occasions.

He didn’t find one of the viewing options all that palatable, commenting on The Bird & Taurasi Show, in particular. That was a viewing option on ESPN while ABC had the main broadcast of the national title game. That main version of the game featured Ryan Ruocco, Rebecca Lobo, and Holly Rowe.

“Who TF @ESPN thought this podcast commentary is a good idea??!!” Jackson wrote on Twitter. “I never knew I needed an ABC feed before!!!”