On the latest episode of ‘Nightcap‘, Shannon Sharpe and Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson reacted to the women’s NCAA March Madness Elite 8 contests. Talking about the LSU Tigers suffering a tough 87-94 loss against the Iowa Hawkeyes, Sharpe believed Kim Mulkey did a horrible job. According to the NFL legend, the head coach of LSU could’ve prevented Caitlin Clark from going off for a 41-point performance.
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Preventing Clark from going off on a scoring rampage seems like a difficult job for all colleges in the country. However, with a Final Four appearance on the line, the Tigers were expected to minimize risk and contain the 6ft sharpshooter as much as possible.
Instead, Clark recorded one of the best games of her senior season. Playing the entirety of the contest, the 22-year-old sensation lodged 41 points, 12 assists, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, and a block on a highly efficient 44.8% FG, 45% 3FG, and 85.7% FT, per ESPN.
Per Sharpe, Mulkey could’ve done a significantly better job at instructing her girls to keep the rock out of Clark’s hands for as much time as possible. Stating that UConn managed to trap USC’s JuJu Watkins during their Elite 8 matchup, Sharpe expected the Louisiana side to blitz Clark.
“Kim Mulkey did a terrible job of coaching because they did nothing to get the ball out of her (Caitlin Clark) hands. You gotta trap her, you gotta blitz her, make her give the ball up… Look at the way UConn, how they approached JuJu Watkins. She got the ball, they blitz her, give it up,” Sharpe told Ocho.
While Clark is undoubtedly the best player in the country, Mulkey and her girls should’ve done a better job at denying her from recording a near 40-point triple-double. Apart from the defenders making basic errors such as going under the screens when Clark had the ball at the three-point line, the coaching staff also didn’t have the best possible defender marking her.
For the majority of the contest, Hailey van Lith defended Caitlin. Hailey, who is 5 inches shorter than Clark, had a difficult time on the defensive end. And in all of their plays, the Iowa superstar didn’t hesitate to assert her physical advantage over the defender.
Kim Mulkey couldn’t help praising Caitlin Clark
No doubt Mulkey could’ve done a better job by having a taller and much more gritty player, Flau’Jae Johnson, defend Clark as highlighted in the X video.
Just a baffling decision by Kim Mulkey to have Hailey Van Lith guard Caitlin Clark. She’s too small. Clark is licking her chops with this matchup, and Mulkey won’t adjust. pic.twitter.com/4IYBJmkmAM
— Ricky O’Donnell (@SBN_Ricky) April 2, 2024
Following the Tigers’ loss, Mulkey had some lofty praise directed towards Caitlin Clark. Besides lauding the youngster for being a generational player, Mulkey even revealed how she joked about being glad that Clark was set to leave the college basketball circuit.
“She’s just a generational player. She just makes everybody around her better… What did I say to her? I sure am glad you leaving. Girl, you something else. Never seen anything like it,” Mulkey said in the postgame conference.
Kim Mulkey on what she told Caitlin Clark in the handshake line: “I sure am glad you leaving. Girl, you something else. Never seen anything like it.” pic.twitter.com/tIaW8ASBLD
— Dime (@DimeUPROXX) April 2, 2024
Caitlin Clark and Co. will now face the Paige Bueckers-led UConn Huskies in the Final Four for what is expected to be yet another action-packed thriller. Considering the sublime form that Clark and her team have been in, it won’t be surprising to see Iowa win its first National Championship in program history in the coming week.
