Caitlin Clark and Lisa Bluder’s plan worked.
No, they didn’t win either of their back-to-back NCAA title-game appearances for Iowa. But they have had a certain plan since Clark’s junior year of high school — and they reached the summit Monday night in Brooklyn as Clark was the No. 1-overall pick by the Indiana Fever in the WNBA draft at Brooklyn Academy of Music.
The two shared a moment after the pick was made, hugging and squeezing hands for their accomplishment, quickly following Clark’s celebration with her parents, Anne and Brent, and brothers, Blake and Colin.
“I think the biggest thing is, I vividly remember coach Bluder during my home visit in my recruiting. … Sometime during my junior year, I think the biggest thing is, we talked about this moment,” Clark said. “We dreamed of this moment, but she also believed I would be here and she coached me really hard to get to this moment.
“There was a lot of ups and downs. Something I really appreciated about coach Bluder is no matter what awards or success or wins we ever had or I had, it’s like she never stopped coaching me, she never stopped holding me accountable. … She believed I would be here from the day I committed to her, even before that when I was in eighth grade, but also she pushed me really hard to make me as good as I am.”
Stanford power forward Cameron Brink went No. 2 to the Los Angeles Sparks, who also grabbed Tennessee small forward Rickea Jackson at No. 4. South Carolina’s Kamilla Cardoso was the No. 3 pick by the Chicago Sky, who also tabbed LSU power forward Angel Reese at No. 7. Ohio State shooting guard Jacy Sheldon rounded out the top five, going to the Dallas Wings.
The Fever went 13-27 last season and haven’t had a winning season since 2016. Clark is looking to change that.
“That’s definitely our goal is to get back to championship habits,” Clark said. “ I’m very lucky to be going there to an organization that really loves women’s basketball. You see it today, I think they had 17,000 tickets claimed to just watch the draft. I think that shows the excitement in Indianapolis. There’s a lot of young talent on the team, and just getting back to the playoffs and doing everything we can to win a lot of basketball games is certainly the goal.”
Follow along with The Post’s coverage of WNBA No.1 draft pick Caitlin Clark
- Caitlin Clark goes No. 1 to Fever in 2024 WNBA Draft: ‘Dreamed of this moment’
- Caitlin Clark has wild night celebrating WNBA Draft with ‘favorite person in the world’
- You won’t believe how cheap some Indiana Fever tickets are to see Caitlin Clark
- Where Indiana Fever stand in 2024 WNBA odds after adding Caitlin Clark
- Caitlin Clark’s all-Prada outfit at WNBA draft had boyfriend Connor McCaffery drooling
Clark’s first WNBA game with the Fever is expected to be May 14 at the Connecticut Sun.
In Indiana, she will join 2023 first-round pick Aliyah Boston from South Carolina, who earned Rookie of the Year and an All-Star nod, posting 14.5 points and 8.4 rebounds per game.
The two will rejoin forces after playing together on the United States Women’s Basketball U-19 National Team.
Clark said Boston is the player she is most looking forward to playing with in the upcoming season, along with Erica Wheeler.
“Obviously, Aliyah Boston, there’s so much you can say about her. Rookie of the Year. In my eyes, one of the best players in the league,” Clark said. “Like I said, as a point guard, my biggest job is I’m just feeding Aliyah the ball every single day. That’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to be in there and be like, go make a layup. She’s going to make my life easy.”
The Fever have seen a spike in ticket sales with the anticipated arrival of Clark.
“I think the biggest thing is, I’m just very lucky to be in this moment, and all these opportunities and these things, they’re once in a lifetime,” Clark said. “When things might get tiring or you have to do stuff, I think the biggest thing is to look at it just as an opportunity. This isn’t something everybody gets to do.”
Clark played a large role in the surge women’s basketball has seen and why the sport accumulated record-breaking viewership this past season. She turned Iowa into a must-see program as she finished off a record-setting career, breaking Pete Maravich’s Division I scoring record.
