Why Adam Carriker Thinks Iowa's Caitlin Clark Remains So Divisive

The nation's leading scorer is one of the most exciting players in college hoops. So what gives?

Superstar Iowa Hawkeyes guard Caitlin Clark, now the most prolific scorer in the history of women's college basketball, captured the world by storm last spring, when burst onto the national scene in a Davidson-era Stephen Curry type explosion through March Madness.

But why isn't everybody on board the Clark train?

On a fresh installment of his Bleav podcast The Big 10 Show With Adam Carriker, the former First Team All-Big 12 defensive end at Nebraska unpacked why the six-foot one-time Naismith and Wooden award winner, two-time Big Ten Play of the Year and three-time Associated Press All-American remains fairly divisive among certain fandoms. 

"I've got a lot of respect for Caitlin Clark and what she can do and her game. She's not just a scorer, she's a passer. She does a lot of things really, really well. She's also insanely polarizing now. When you're really, really good at something that sometimes just comes along with the territory. Okay. But she seems to be more polarizing than most people," Carriker said. "So I've tried to figure out why, and I have a couple of theories now. Some people think she's cocky. Now, I remember the Iowa-LSU championship game [last spring, which Iowa lost] and going back and forth and all of that. And I think that struck some people the wrong way. Struck a nerve. Maybe some people have just kind of held onto that in their memory banks. For a lot of people, that was their introduction to Caitlin Clark. Hey, first impressions matter and sometimes that just sticks with people."

"It's a well-rounded game," Carriker complimented Clark. "And when she goes to the WNBA, she's going to be someone who could potentially take a team to the next level. I am interested in how some of the other players and her teammates reactors are going to be jealousy. Are they going to accept her as a teammate? How is that locker room atmosphere going to be to whatever team she goes to and what can she potentially do to try to make it more positive?"

Through his first 27 games this year, Clark is averaging 32.4 points on .468/.390/.847 shooting splits, 8.5 dimes, seven rebounds, and 1.7 steals a bout.