The Hyball is a weekly basketball column.

Everything, everywhere, just this once.

As smart as it probably is to say Caitlin Clark was always going to be inevitable, I choose to believe even the great ones need a little bit of a break here and there. So while this rose certainly could've grown from concrete, a little water and soil didn't hurt either.

In the same way a biracial, thousand-watt smiling, child prodigy, Stanfordian literally nicknamed Tiger winning The Masters in 1997 felt like everything coming together in a perfect way for the world of golf, Caitlin Clark has the tools to be all of that for women's basketball; the deep range, the alliterative name, the brilliant passing, the easy-to-remember jersey number, the competitive fire, the sponsorships, the celebrity shout outs, the -- /deep breath -- biggest of all dogs in her. And the narrative itself.

She isn't a UConn Husky who won three natties in four years in the 2010s. She is an Iowa Hawkeye. This current success is not, historically, expected or regular -- it's generational. If you scan timeline of both Iowa men's and women's hoops, Final Four runs are, sadly, blips. They don't dot up the board. So while it kinda sucks not to see it regularly, we appreciate it that much more when we do.

Rodger Sherman said this on Monday, and I still can't get it out of my head. She has this way of making you appreciate the meticulous work put in while also making it all seem so effortless. She's basketball Beyoncé.

And we've now reached the men lie, women lie, numbers don't portion of the proceedings:

Our little team made the big, bad Final Four. And in these circles, that will matter and be remembered for a lifetime, but doesn't this also feel like part of a bigger movement?

I've been down in Texas all week -- the site of both the men and women's Final Fours -- training for a job and meeting new coworkers. Over dinner, I told a few of them that, due to the recent success of both Iowa basketball and the Chicago Sky (my local WNBA team), I've really gotten into women's hoops these last few years. They looked at me like I had two heads. Can you repeat that?

And if this were a year ago, I might be afraid that, without me, they might never hear about Our Everything Team. But on this same trip, I watched the second half of the Elite Eight at a hotel bar, sound on, without having to ask for it to be put on. The bartender, a North Carolina expat and fan of Wake Forest, spent those 20 minutes of game time whooping it up with me like we'd both been Hawkeye fans for life.

Caitlin Clark is just that good. And, if you love basketball in even a small way, she will take hold of you sooner or later. The more zealous of us fans help spread the legend, but the best PR was always going to be watching her game. Always.

So as the blue bloods bounce from the men's tournament, the triple doubles make the headlines that much juicier, the Naismith sparkles, and the legends take notice, we all get to be a part of something bigger than ourselves.

Ross once said "There are no rules when you're flying this high," but it honestly doesn't feel like flying anymore. It feels like being situated, firmly, for now, on a higher plane.

And god damn, do I love the view.

"Too soon -- or too real?"

Sweet Sixteen | 2-Seed Iowa 87, 6-Seed Colorado 77: Clark had 31 points and 8 assists -- and this was the 'worse' game of the two. Sheesh. I will remember this game for the starters' big minutes (38 for Warnock/Marshall/Martin, 36 for Clark) and worrying about Hannah Stuelke's health. Pulling away in the third quarter was quite helpful.

Oh, also that one Warnock take:

Elite Eight | 2-Seed Iowa 97, 5-Seed Louisville 83: Going down 8-0 sucked, but by the time we came back, I already had tears in my eyes. It was the first quarter. We are not the same.

And Hailey Van Lith -- wow... just... no notes. An absolutely perfect foil character if Caitlin Clark's life were a sports movie.

Was still cool to me.

After, Courtney's tweet summed it up best:

Kate Martin, whom I'd fight alongside in a thousand-year war, continued to be the absolute best when trying to sum it up herself:

We know. We know.

Final Four (!!!) | 2-seed Iowa vs. 1-seed South Carolina: Though not fully apples to apples, the first thing that popped into my head when conjuring this matchup was Lester Averman.

Obviously ignore the facial hair part, but the rest? That rings so true.

Spent a lot of this season thinking about this exact moment, and even with all of the Final Four momentum in the world and vibes at an all-time high... I still don't like it at all. On Sunday night, I put Iowa's chances of winning at 15% (optimistic) or 8% (pessimistic). After seeing the +11.5 point spread, my percent chance, in that moment, fell to 0%.

But it's basketball. And if you have the best player on the court, you can't ever, ever say you don't have a chance. And while I think Iowa's deficiencies play hard into South Carolina's hands, you can't out-athlete that step back. Caitlin Clark gave us everything in the Elite Eight, but it will somehow take more to get to the final. And I know she's been No Ceilings for some time now, but this is an incredibly tall task.

Dear Caitlin Clark,

Right as Iowa was tipping off in the Elite 8, Michigan hockey was advancing to the Frozen Four after a comeback win in OT vs. Penn State.

So yeah, Sunday was a lot.

I'm with Jim -- 73 is not old to me.

Had to look up what they were referencing here and am a much better person for it.

Iowa swiped right on South Carolina. It's time.

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