On Sunday (3 PM CT, ESPN), Caitlin Clark will do something very familiar: put on a jersey, lace up her shoes, and dribble a basketball all over the parquet floor on Carver-Hawkeye Arena in front of a sold-out crowd of cheering fans.
The only differences? She'll be in an Indiana Fever jersey instead of the black-and-gold Iowa uniform she made internationally famous during her four seasons at Iowa -- and she'll be passing to a different set of teammates than the likes of Kate Martin, Gabbie Marshall, and Hannah Stuelke.
Clark spoke about her return to Iowa City this week. She is, understandably, very excited about the opportunity to return to a place where she had so much success and created so many positive connections and good memories.
"I'm really excited, it should be fun," Clark said. "I can't believe it's already here. I honestly haven't been back to Iowa City a ton since I left a year ago now. Only been back a couple times -- once for a football game, once for the jersey retirement."
"So it'll be fun to get back there, see some of my former teammates, [and] my friends that are there. A lot of my family will be coming -- I know they're excited," Clark added.
As she noted, Clark was back in CHA just a few months ago, albeit not as a player, but as an alumnus being honored for her legendary playing career with the retirement of her jersey.
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She did have one word of warning for everyone planning to attend the Sunday afternoon (3 PM CT) game in Carver-Hawkeye Arena: CHA might turn into a bit of a hothouse.
"I warned everybody, there's not air conditioning in Carver-Hawkeye. They don't usually play basketball games in May," she said with a laugh.
"Hopefully it stays a little cool in there. I don't know what the humidity is looking like. We'll see how it goes -- it might be a little toasty. People at graduation when it's in Carver get a little hot," she said.
As Clark pointed out, Carver-Hawkeye Arena doesn't have air conditioning -- which usually isn't a concern since it's primarily used for activities between November and March. It does see regular use in May as a venue for graduation ceremonies, though; as someone who went through a graduation ceremony in CHA many (many) years ago, I can confirm that it can get rather warm in there in May. The current Sunday forecast is projecting a high of 71 degrees and minimal humidity.
Clark, entering her second year with the Fever, is the betting favorite to win the WNBA MVP award. Clark is a +195 favorite to win the MVP per BetMGM, ahead of the Las Vegas Aces' A'ja Wilson (+210) and the Minnesota Lynx's Napheesa Collier (+325). ESPN BET has Clark's odds to win the MVP at +200, followed by Wilson at +235 and Collier at +400.
For her part, Clark is looking forward to things slowing down in Year 2 in the WNBA and being settled after the whirlwind experience that was her opening season in Indiana.
"I think there was just a lot coming at me last year at this time," Clark noted. "I'm trying to move to a new a city, I'm living in a hotel, I'm trying to figure out my teammates, trying to figure out new coaches, how this league works. I played the last game of the college season, I played the first preseason game of the WNBA season, and then I played 11 games in 20 days."
"It was a lot to take in, it came at me fast. But I'm also really grateful for that experience, too, I think it taught me a lot about basketball, taught me a lot about myself, and how to be resilient and to come in and to work and to always get better," she added. "I think for myself, just having a year under my belt [and] knowing what to expect [is big]."
"As long as we win, I'm going to be happy. [I] just [want to] be the best leader I can be, knowing that I have a year under my belt, I know what to expect. I'm the point guard, so people are going to be expecting a lot from me. I need to be there for my teammates, be an extension of [new head coach Stephanie White] on the court and just be a great leader and have a lot of fun doing it."
The Fever made several moves in the offseason, including hiring Stephanie White, the former Connecticut Sun head coach who was an assistant coach on the 2012 Indiana Fever team that won a WNBA title. On the player front, the Fever added two-time WNBA All-Star and three-time WNBA champion Natasha Howard and six-time WNBA All-Star and two-time WNBA champion DeWanna Bonner via free agency and traded for Sophie Cunningham and Jaleyn Brown.
Clark likes what she's seen from the new-look roster through the first few practices of the new season.
"Just through these first few days of practice, everybody's been really great and it's been so much fun," she said. "You can tell everyone's just been very selfless and excited to be here and excited to put things together to be a really successful team."
Asked what success would look like this year, Clark was succinct:
"A championship."
As she prepares for her second year in the WNBA, Clark expressed much more comfort now, having been through the whirlwind a year ago.
"I feel like I'm in a much better spot of understanding how the league works, what to expect, what the coaches and your teammates are going to expect of you," she said.
"I've had a lot of time to rest and get better at things I want to get better at. All that being said, we have three more preseason games to practice and really get ready for our opener on May 17."
On Sunday, thousands of fans who cheered on Clark for four years in Iowa City will get to celebrate her one more time -- and see just how much she's improved as she gets ready to contend in her second year in the professional ranks.
The Indiana Fever are scheduled to have their preseason opener against the Washington Mystics on Saturday, May 3 (12 PM CT, NBA TV). The Fever have their second preseason game against the Brazilian National Team in Iowa City on Sunday, May 4 (3 PM CT, ESPN).
