“Caitlin Clark is the gift that kept on giving,” said Dan Dakich when explaining just how the ‘Iowa sensation’ has affected women’s basketball. The Indiana Fever rookie’s arrival in the WNBA had signaled a new era for the league. Combined with the Angel Reese rivalry, not only did women’s basketball change on a professional level but also a college level. However, as recent numbers show, these former NCAA superstars have affected men’s college basketball as well.

Dan Dakich in his latest ‘Don’t @ Me’ episode revisits a ‘FOX News Digital’ article in conversation with two of the top men’s recruits in college basketball this year. Dakich mentions how the Reese-Clark rivalry struck a chord with him too. “Caitlin Clark’s game resonated. Caitlin Clark’s rivalry with Reese resonated. It resonated with me which means it resonates with men.”

Then he goes to the article, “It also resonated apparently with a couple of college basketball recruits, Dylan Harper and Ace Bradley, two of whom are headed to Rutgers.” Harper, the No. 2 nationally-ranked recruit in the class of 2024, told ‘FOX’ how he thinks all players are at the end of the day the same, presumably because of their love for basketball. ‘FOX’ writer Jackson Thompson also mentions how the NCAA Women’s Final had 18.9 million viewers, while the men had 14.8 million.

The younger son of former player Ron Harper, Dylan also revealed how he had always followed women’s basketball to a degree because his mom coached teams. Meanwhile Bailey, the No. 3 ranked recruit, told the news network that Reese and Clark were what made him follow women’s basketball.

“With their leadership, especially Clark, she brings a lot of energy to get her team going, whether it’s a long shot, jump shot.” But if he gets the chance to talk to either of them, who would he choose? “I would probably talk to Angel Reese, her competitiveness for sure, what keeps her driving,” Bailey says.

In contrast, Dakich says, “Ride or die with Caitlin Clark, baby.” While many believe, including Dan Dakich, that CC has carried women’s basketball on her shoulders these last few years, her rivalry with Angel Reese is also what has made it more interesting. But the former basketball pro also believes that the WNBA was not ready for this boom.

“You had this tornado hit, and you weren’t ready,” says Dan Dakich on Caitlin Clark

Dan Dakich has long been a Caitlin Clark fan, and in the discourse surrounding her popularity in the league, he’s usually been on the positive side of it. While some dislike a rookie getting this much attention, others want her to be in the spotlight even more. But Dakich believes that while she’s changing the game, the WNBA is not dealing with it properly.

“Not only should you have known that Caitlin Clark was going to be a star, you should have prepared for it,” Dakich said in August. “Meaning, let’s make sure she’s on the Olympic team. Let’s make sure that other (WNBA) women are smart enough not to be morons to her. But that didn’t happen, and they have to [go] through all of this garbage…You had this tornado hit, and you weren’t ready…But in spite of all that, Caitlin Clark, the WNBA, and Angel Reese have grown.”

Indeed, they have. Caitlin Clark had the option of playing a fifth year for Iowa under the additional COVID-19 year, but she chose to graduate on time and enter the W. While many thought her college success wouldn’t translate into success as a professional, the Fever rookie has clearly proven them wrong. So has Angel Reese.

With CC leading the league in assists and the Sky player in rebounds at one point in time, their rookie year has sensationalized the sport, even influencing the men’s side of it. And it’s only the beginning!