For many years I admired Geno for being at the top of the list of excellent basketball coaches. He demonstrated the ability to recognize talent, to convince many of the most talented players to commit to UConn, and to coach them up when they joined his teams. He usually found ways to promote his players without denigrating the ability of opponents. That changed this past summer when he joined many other in questioning the impact that Caitlin Clark would have in the WNBA. He vocally suggested that she did not have the physicality, speed, and even the skill set to be immediately successful.
I soon learned that UConn had been an early favorite of Clark before she decided to enroll in the Iowa program. I could understand his initial disappointment, which surely grew when Iowa defeated UConn 71-69 in the semifinals of the 2024 final four. His criticism of Clark's game grew even more vocal during the two months that followed. Then he began to praise Clark with the same enthusiasm which he had used in criticizing her.
I wondered what had changed to cause him to reverse gears. I learned that he had become an investor in the new 3 on 3 Unrivaled league. By now most basketball fans had discovered the attention that Clark had brought to women's basketball. The new league could certainly use her to draw fans to the game and to make money for the investors. Money talks, and sometimes it causes people to change dramatically.
I soon learned that UConn had been an early favorite of Clark before she decided to enroll in the Iowa program. I could understand his initial disappointment, which surely grew when Iowa defeated UConn 71-69 in the semifinals of the 2024 final four. His criticism of Clark's game grew even more vocal during the two months that followed. Then he began to praise Clark with the same enthusiasm which he had used in criticizing her.
I wondered what had changed to cause him to reverse gears. I learned that he had become an investor in the new 3 on 3 Unrivaled league. By now most basketball fans had discovered the attention that Clark had brought to women's basketball. The new league could certainly use her to draw fans to the game and to make money for the investors. Money talks, and sometimes it causes people to change dramatically.
