During the game against the California Baptist Lancers, JuJu Watkins had her 16th NCAA game with 30+ points, and the only player to have more through her sophomore year was Caitlin Clark. While Watkins’ 40-point game was clearly a sign that the 19-year-old is moving towards being the next big thing in college, her comparisons to the W’s reigning ROTY are only prominent. However, an analyst opines that Clark still had an edge in college.

On Wednesday’s episode of Jason Whitlock’s podcast, he shared what helped Clark during her college and why she still is a bigger NCAA star than Watkins. Whitlock shares that the Des Moines-born previously wanted to commit to the UConn Huskies and Geno Auriemma, who either didn’t offer her a scholarship or did it very late in the process. And this proved to be a blessing in disguise.

“She committed to Iowa. She didn’t go to UConn. She didn’t go to Tennessee. She didn’t go to South Carolina. She didn’t go to Stanford. She didn’t go to one of the powerhouse schools with a huge brand. And some mega star coach. She stayed at home in the state of Iowa where she had this local hometown following and this narrative ‘Oh, an Iowa girl is staying home and is going to play for Iowa. This is marvelous.’ That gave her a foundation of fan support” Whitlock added.

While JuJu Watkins grew up and continued in her home town too — Los Angeles — Whitlock believes it is just the wrong state. Why? Because of all the superstars the city already has. “They have everything to distract you in Los Angeles,” he says, noting that the USC drew 4000 fans compared to Notre Dame’s 8000. This closer-to-home factor for Iowa, with not much existing star power, proved to be a plus for Clark, according to the columnist.

Caitlin had already made a name as a high school athlete with her 60-point games and Des Moines Register All-Iowa Athlete of the Year honors. By senior year, she averaged 33.4 points, eight rebounds, and four assists, leading the state in scoring for a second time. So given her first-of-a-kind established status, Whitlock believes, her staying in the home-state only boosted the local support for the star guard, while also keeping her away from being in the shadows of coaches like Dawn Staley and Geno Auriemma, who were already star powers.

“People in Iowa bought into, ‘Hey, one of the most talented athletes that Iowa has ever produced, is actually staying home, and we are going to support her,'” he adds.

Born in Des Moines Iowa, the 22-year-old committed to the Iowa Hawkeyes in 2020 and stayed with them for four years till 2024. In that time she eclipsed a number of records, the most prominent being ending as the all-time leading men’s and women’s basketball scorer. And in the meantime, she amassed a huge fan following which was reflected in her journey of the Hawkeyes to two consecutive NCAA finales.

A part of the reason for Caitlin to remain in Iowa and supposedly failing to make it to UConn, is credited to the Indiana Fever star’s fierce personality on court by the columnist.

Why didn’t Geno Auriemma recruit Caitlin Clark according to Whitlock?

As her temper much visible right now, attested by her Iowa coach Jan Jensen and then the 5 technical fouls in her first year at W, Clark was an aggressive player as a high schooler as well. Playing for Dowling Catholic School, in one game against the Holy Cross Crusaders, Clark made headlines for her antics. She constantly complained to her dad, who was in the crowd, while also getting into the referee’s face at halftime. This fierceness, Whitlock believes, wasn’t an appealing feature for Geno Auriemma.

“I think it’s my speculation he wasn’t big on Caitlin Clark because Caitlin Clark had no control of her emotions in high school, and berated refs, and had bad body language with their team… and again and this isn’t me criticizing Caitlin Clark. This is me understanding Caitlin Clark,” Whitlock concluded.

In the article by Wright Thompson, Clark admitted that while the Huskies called one of her AAU coaches, they never talked to her or her family. She also revealed that it was her dream school. “It was more I wanted them to recruit me to say I got recruited,” Clark revealed.

But that turned into a blessing in disguise as she amassed a huge following. And this, according to Whitlock, is the main distinguishing factor between her and Watkins.