Geno Auriemma has expressed he doesn’t want to give Caitlin Clark more motivation ahead of Iowa’s matchup with UConn in Friday’s Final Four battle. It seems he already failed at that mission long ago.
According to a story from ESPN’s Wright Thompson, as Clark dominated during her high school days with Dowling Catholic High School in Iowa, she understandably had aspirations of at least being evaluated, let alone recruited by Auriemma’s historically successful program. But for as much as Clark had hoped UConn would at least take a look at her game, it appears Auriemma never really gave her an earnest thought in those days.
“Honestly, it was more I wanted them to recruit me to say I got recruited,” Clark told ESPN. “I loved UConn. I think they’re the coolest place on earth, and I wanted to say I got recruited by them. They called my AAU coach a few times, but they never talked to my family and never talked to me.
“Clark’s coach at Dowling Catholic High School, Kristin Meyer, said that while some of the top schools in the country flooded into open gyms to see Clark play, there was one notable absence. “Geno never came,” Meyer told ESPN.
Phew. Now, that is a story I’m sure both Clark and Auriemma haven’t forgotten to this day. For as successful as Auriemma has been with his Huskies, he never even tried to recruit arguably the greatest college basketball player of all time. That’s kinda wild to consider, even in hindsight.
And now, with a trip to the 2024 national championship game on the line, he has to face down Clark, hoping (praying?) she doesn’t light up his team.
Gulp.