Big Ten Daily (March 1): Iowa's Caitlin Clark Declares for 2024 WNBA Draft

Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark has announced her decision to enter the 2024 WNBA Draft. She will leave an incredible mark on women's college basketball, breaking the sport's all-time scoring record and totaling more than 1,000 assists in her Hawkeye career.

Caitlin Clark is heading to the Indiana Fever. Well, it's not actually official yet, but the Iowa superstar announced her decision to enter the 2024 WNBA Draft following the conclusion of the college basketball season.

The Fever own the No. 1 pick in the draft and are expected to select Clark when the draft rolls around on April 15, 2024. 

Clark made the announcement with a post on X. She leaves behind one hell of a legacy in women's college basketball, becoming the sport's all-time leading scorer earlier this year.

"While this season is far from over and we have a lot more goals to achieve, it will be my last one at Iowa. I am excited to be entering the 2024 WNBA Draft," Clark wrote.

"It is impossible to fully express my gratitude to everyone who has supported me during my time at Iowa — my teammates, who made the last four years the best; my coaches, trainers, and staff who always let me be me; Hawkeye fans who filled Carver every night; and everyone who came out to support us across the country, especially the young kids.

"Most importantly, none of this would have been possible without my family and friends who have been by my side through it all. Because of all of you, my dreams came true."

🖤 pic.twitter.com/9bd3w390Ka

— Caitlin Clark (@CaitlinClark22) February 29, 2024

Clark is averaging 32.2 points, 8.7 assists and 7.4 rebounds per game this season. She passed Washington's Kelsey Plum on the all-time scoring list in women's college basketball. 

Clark is on her way to being a two-time National Player of the Year. In four seasons with the Hawkeyes, she's scored more than 3,600 points, dished out over 1,000 assists and collected north of 900 rebounds. 

For the past two seasons, she's been the most dominant player in women's college basketball. Now, she's ready to take that skill to the WNBA — and likely the Indiana Fever.

Jake Diebler makes his case at Ohio State 

Ohio State's coaching search may not need to extend outside of Columbus. The Buckeyes improved to 3-1 under interim coach Jake Diebler on Thursday, defeating Nebraska 78-69.

Even more impressive? The Buckeyes did it without the services of Bruce Thornton, who missed Thursday's game due to a migraine headache.

After another victory, Diebler declined to take much of the credit. Instead, he lauded the play of his team.

"The character of the people in this program," Diebler said. "I think that's been the most important thing. A lot of times, when you go through adversity — it's been painful at times — we've been able to have some really good moments.

"These guys are playing with an edge right now. They're playing with a great deal of confidence and aggressiveness. But you're kinda seeing the character of the people in this program. It's being revealed at a high level. I'm really happy for our guys, for our staff, to experience the success we've had."

Sure, Ohio State should continue interviewing potential candidates to find Chris Holtmann's permanent replacement, but Diebler deserves to be on the list.

Since receiving the interim tag, Diebler has led Ohio State to wins over No. 2 Purdue, Michigan State at the Breslin Center and a Nebraska squad that had won four straight games. 

It might be a long-shot at this point, but Diebler has Ohio State back in the bubble conversation of the NCAA Tournament. He deserves the opportunity to at least interview to become the next permanent leader of the Buckeyes.

Michigan hits a new low

We're not going to spend a lot of time here, because everything has already been said about the sad state of Michigan's basketball program this year. 

But, somehow, the Wolverines hit another new low on Thursday. Michigan dropped an 82-52 decision to Rutgers, easily one of the ugliest losses of the season. The most telling statistic from the game? The Scarlet Knights shot 52.4% from the floor.

That's just the second time this season Rutgers has converted at a rate higher than 50% this season. The Scarlet Knights shot 54.2% in a November game against Howard.

Speaking of Howard, is it time to start talking about Juwan's job security?

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