The team’s draft-watch party at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Monday drew an estimated 6,000 fans, including many who stood in long lines to buy from the first stock of Clark-related Indiana Fever memorabilia.
Clark is expected to have a major impact on the Fever, not only on the court, but in the stands, where the team ranked next to last in attendance in 2023. Her appeal was apparent Monday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, where thousands of fans gathered to watch the draft on the arena’s video scoreboard.
Having taken women’s college basketball to new heights, Caitlin Clark is about to step boldly into her future as the presumed No. 1 draft pick of the WNBA’s Indiana Fever. Here are some questions and answers about Clark’s immediate future in the WNBA.
The Indiana Fever, who are expected to take Clark with their No. 1 pick in the draft, have a draft party scheduled for Monday night.
Caitlin Clark, who is expected to be the No. 1 pick by the Indiana Fever in Monday’s WNBA draft, deftly skewered “Weekend Update” co-host Michael Che in a “Saturday Night Live” appearance, and used the platform to offer a reminder of the many women’s basketball stars who came before her.
The Pacers will enter the postseason with momentum from a dominant regular-season finale. They shot 65% and made 19 of 36 3-pointers against the Hawks on Sunday.
Following what he calls a “very stressful” few weeks, Kuntz received the call with the offer he had been waiting for and officially put pen to paper, shifting his defensive line responsibilities from James Madison to IU on Dec. 13.
Matthew Graves, 49, a former Butler University player (1993-98) and assistant coach (2000-2013) has served as associate head coach for the Sycamores since 2021.
Clark, who is the career leading scorer in Division I men’s and women’s basketball, is expected to go first to the Indiana Fever. It’s the second consecutive year that the Fever have the top pick.
Randy Lewandowski, who has been president and general manager of the Triple A Minor League baseball team since 2016, has been named president and CEO.
Call it the Caitlin Clark effect. The WNBA will show all but four of the Fever’s games on its national broadcast and streaming partners, starting with the season opener at Connecticut on May 14.
Pacers CEO Rick Fuson, journalist Soledad O’Brien and actor Leon Robinson also will receive awards at the June 28 event.
The Sunday afternoon game on ABC and ESPN featuring Caitlin Clark outdrew Monday’s men’s final between the University of Connecticut and Purdue University by more than four million viewers.
UConn joined the 2006-07 Florida Gators and the 1991-92 Duke Blue Devils as just the third team to repeat since John Wooden’s UCLA dynasty of the 1960s and 1970s.
The entire season was a watershed for the women’s game just two years after the NCAA tournament drew headlines for the disparities in the facilities between the men’s tournament and the women’s.
Purdue big man Zach Edey has been an unstoppable force for two seasons. Edey’s size—7-foot-4, 300 pounds—usually forces teams to double him in the post. But UConn has 7-2, 280-pound Donovan Clingan in the middle.
Clark—who is expected to be the No. 1 pick in this month’s WNBA draft, where the Indiana Fever have the No. 1 pick—finished her four-year college career with 3,951 points, an NCAA record for both men and women.
Indiana State, which lost 79-77 to Seton Hall in the NIT championship game on Thursday, finished 32-7 and was among the first teams left out of the NCAA Tournament.
N.C. State poked and jabbed at the 7-foot-4 Edey and gave him fits over his 40 minutes on the floor, but he still dominated the battle of big men against 6-9, 275-pound Wolfpack forward DJ Burns Jr.
Simon, the longest-tenured team owner in NBA history, will be enshrined into the hall during festivities Aug. 16-17 in Springfield, Massachusetts.
