The Hyball is a weekly basketball column.

Spent a big chunk of Thursday kicking myself.

After the Iowa women's basketball team eviscerated Minnesota, I cracked my knuckles and prepared to write a column that wouldn't have been fun for anyone called "Caitlin Clark Should Probably Go Pro."

I'd seen enough.

The woman had nothing left to prove on the collegiate level -- outside of winning a team championship. But in a single elimination format, you can't, in this author's opinion, stake an entire year of your career on something so, well, crapshoot-y.

But work piled up, and for one of the few times ever in the last decade plus, I missed my noon deadline. After talking with the GIA editorial staff, we agreed the column could run later in the day or even Friday.

A few hours later? Boom boom boom:

I am about as pro player choice as you can possibly be and would never, ever begrudge an athlete for chasing their dream. It almost feels offensive to call Clark's pro jump a "dream" when she seems poised to become the face of the league as soon as day one, but you know what I mean.

We all have mini clocks in our head for when we think a player could or should go to the pros. "Yeah, he's ready now, but maybe he'll come back for his junior season to work on his strength" ... "She's not ready yet, but if her shooting improves, she will be next year."

You make these types of statements but also, always, keep your guard up in case the inevitable does happen -- and it just about always does.

Caitlin Clark's Iowa obituary will be written another day, so I thought we could zag and instead think a little bit about the things that won't be missed about the greatest Iowa athlete of all-time suiting up in the black and gold.

1. People Spelling Her First Name Wrong

I mean, I get it. Caitlin has a lot of variations.

But you can't take away the C, man! That alliteration is a big part of the total package.

(Bonus shout out to Nikki Haley.)

2. Thinking About How She Almost Went To Notre Dame

Admittedly, this is probably me carrying some football baggage over to the hardwood, but I thought at least once a month about this:

/shudder

It's funny because, before I even knew about that, I used to regularly say she carried herself with "Notre Dame energy."

Let's never think about this alternate future again.

3. Dumb Discourse That Had Nothing To Do With Her

Kim Mulkey, Jay Williams, Sheryl Swoopes -- pick your poison. Not linking any of them because you know about all of it already. Though 99% of Caitlin Clark's Iowa career was -- and still is! she's still here! -- a joyous celebration of basketball, fan connection, and taking the women's game to new heights, that 1% sure felt pretty loud at times, didn't it?

Greatness does come with that tax sometimes. LeBron James has 159 million Instagram followers and fans all over the world -- yet he's been picked apart since high school.

Remember the Hummer "scandal"? You're lucky if you don't.

4. "Only" Winning The Big Ten Regular Season Once

This is probably the one actual gripe on our list, but I really do wish Iowa could've found a way to get two regular season banners in Clark's four years in Iowa City. That said, they do also have two Big Ten Tournament championships, so if they were to get a third this year, that means Clark would average at least one Big Ten regular season or tournament title each year on campus. Pretty damn good, no?

5. PhD Level Passes To Undergrad Teammates

If you've ever played basketball with a high IQ player, you know it can be as intimidating as it is exciting. Though always exhilarating to run alongside someone so selfless, you always have to be ready. Genius passers like Clark see paths, angles, and outcomes the average hooper won't see for a few more seconds -- or even at all -- during a game. And though her brilliant passing typically led to fantastic dimes with regularity, there were more than a few her teammates simply couldn't corral, yet alone conceive.

I've always wondered what her assist numbers will look like playing at the pro level. It kind of reminds me of a college QB with a laser rocket arm getting some NFL wide receivers to throw to; zero shade at the college teammates, but pros are pros for a reason.

6. The Occasional Bricked 30 Footer

Clark always had the green light -- and with good reason. But it's one thing to miss a normal basketball shot and another to clank a 30 footer. It is a shooter's duty to feel for the heat check... but sometimes you're not as hot as you think you are.

I'm so glad Clark stepped onto campus with the long ball as part of her game, but every so often, she'd miss one, and I'd feel like an old school basketball coach grumbling to themselves on the sideline.

But yeah, this one was rare -- bombs forever.

7. Complaining To Refs On A Luka Doncic-Type Level

This tweet was from 2022!

I'm not sure if I've gotten more used to it these days -- or it's simply felt more 'earned' since she's a senior selling out stadiums across the country -- but it definitely doesn't bother me like it used to.

Still, others noticed.

8. When They Didn't Televise Her Games As An Undergrad

Speaking of two years ago, it was about then I wrote a "Put Every Caitlin Clark Game On TV" column. It almost feels laughable now. We went from conference games that were unavailable to, you know, this.

A little overcorrection never hurt anyone, right?

"There’s no better compliment than you can give to anybody — and any better compliment you can get — than to be trusted."

2/22 - No. 14 Indiana 86, No. 4 Iowa 69: Just a slew of sad notes from this one.

- Iowa looked like superheroes without their powers

- Incredible Indiana crowd; cheering everything; as raucous an atmosphere Iowa has seen all season -- an actual homecourt advantage for the home team

- Molly Davis looked like she didn’t belong on the floor

- Felt like the Nebraska loss, where the other team just had more to play for

- First blowout L of the year for Iowa (Nebraska should've been a win, Kansas State was more of a 50/50 loss, Ohio State a legit loss)

2/25 - No. 4 Iowa 101, Illinois 85: Iowa cracked 100, won by double digits, and Clark had a damn triple double -- but something still felt ho hum about this win. Maybe it was the noon Sunday tip, but the people I watched this with agreed. Game kinda came and went.

2/28 - No. 6 Iowa 108, Minnesota 60: This just might be the game where Iowa perfected the sport of basketball. They looked like the 2014 Spurs out there; ball whirring around, bombing three after three after three. It was probably sometime in the second or third quarter I came up with the "Clark should go pro" column idea. With all due respect to the Gophers, it genuinely looked like Iowa was playing against air. Nothing mattered. Their offense was like standing under a waterfall, opening your eyes, and looking straight up.

(Ross, I am ever so jealous.)

3/3 - Iowa (6) vs. Ohio State (2): Thought the historically high prices might dip for this (at least a little) after tOSU locked up the regular season, but... you know.

This one is gonna get dusty. Can feel myself choking up already.

Massive congratulations to Pay Pay on having the first triple double in Iowa men's basketball history. There was a comedy to his final rebound that felt so appropriate:

Petey was on Audiotree this week, and though I haven't watched a second of it yet, it'll be the first thing put on when work ends today.

Make it make sense.

I have decades of admiration and respect for Juwan Howard's career and life, but I'm really wondering if he's now getting too much of a pass from the past. And yes, I would be very bummed if and when Michigan chooses not to retain him, but would that be outweighed by opposite emotions if retained? Rough times in Ann Arbor.

Picking convention center catch over Actual Michigan Basketball 10 times out of 10 these days.

Hahahahahaha.

We might have to leave that as the standalone contribution to the section this week.

/Hawkeye Historian posts about Thunder Doug

WELL THEN.

k, a few more

Will forever remain one of the coolest things.

Bobby Loesch is a weekly contributor to Go Iowa Awesome. Find him on Twitter @bobbystompy, Instagram @bobbystompy, or email at bobbyloesch@gmail.com.