Best thing about Caitlin Clark and the Hawkeyes: They play with joy

IOWA CITY — There’s no mystery about Caitlin Clark dwarfing every Iowa college athlete of all-time in popularity, or the loving embrace the Iowa women’s basketball team gets from so much of the public.

Do what Clark has done on the court and the way she has done it, the world will throw its arms around you. Do what the Hawkeyes did all the way from their unforgettable February home win over regular-season Big Ten champ Indiana to the national-title game, you’ve made a permanent mental highlight film for your fans.

The style and substance of last season’s Hawkeyes sold out Carver-Hawkeye Arena (15,056 seats) for this go-around. The team averaged 11,143 fans last season, 8,224 the season before.

That’s due to Clark’s insanely good outside/inside offensive game, and from winning. However, Clark and the Hawkeyes becoming fan magnets is about even more than that.

It’s their contagious joy. It’s them relishing what they’re doing and facing rather than ever acting put upon. It’s welcoming expectations instead of feeling burdened by them.

Iowa didn’t have to assemble an exhibition game against DePaul Oct. 14 at Kinnick Stadium. After being at Iowa since 2000 and posting 16 years of 20-plus wins topped by last season’s 31-7 beauty, coach Lisa Bluder finally doesn’t need to sell her program.

But with the iron never hotter, she’s seizing a moment. She sold her school on doing something big for its most-popular team of the last school year and almost surely the current one. About 47,000 tickets had been sold as of Wednesday morning, with proceeds going to the university’s children’s hospital.

“Why not?” Bluder replied at her team’s media day Wednesday when asked why play at Kinnick.

“Why not give my women an experience that not many people around the country get to do? … I think it brings national attention to not only our program but to the University of Iowa. So why wouldn't we try to do this?”

The sixth-ranked Hawkeyes know the outside world has no idea how hard and, yes, unlikely, it was to peel off three straight wins for a Big Ten tournament title followed by five consecutive victories in the NCAA tournament capped by the semifinal stunner over No. 1 South Carolina.

They know having comparable success this season would take a humongous effort and some luck. They understand expectations for them are higher than they’ve ever been, and they don’t seem concerned.

“You know, we started the season last year, I think ranked fourth,” Bluder said. “So we're down from last year. So there's less pressure already, right?”

She said that as a joke, but it’s a good attitude. Besides, her star never eases up. Yet, though Clark always breathes fire on the court, she plays with a happy spirit that carries from Carver’s court all the way to the lines for ice cream on the concourse.

“I think the biggest thing is just enjoy every single second,” Clark said. “A lot of these moments are going to be some of the best moments of my life.

“You can't expect it to be similar to last year. You don't want it to be. You you want it to be different for this group. Every journey is different.”

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“We’re not Pollyanna,” said Iowa associate head coach Jan Jensen. “People don’t want to sell out an arena expecting you to be 50/50.

“But it’s sure a lot more fun to chase the dream with a joyful heart and a joyful approach.”

There’s only one Clark in college basketball. A season of seeing her play as a senior gives more than enough value to all those tickets. Any championships or tournament runs would be gravy, though she wants all the trophies to be had.

“This is special,” Clark said. “Don’t be afraid of it. Don’t run away from it. Just enjoy it and soak it all in because no Iowa women’s basketball team in history has had an opportunity to be in an environment like this.”

Bluder is currently reading Billie Jean King’s book “Pressure is a Privilege.” King often used that phrase and Bluder often has borrowed it.

“I think we have to remember that we're in this situation of facing pressure because we've done well,” Bluder said. “Let's enjoy that. Let's rejoice about that.”

Another fun winter awaits.

Comments: (319) 398-8440; mike.hlas@thegazette.com