Caitlin Clark, Iowa defeat LSU in Elite 8, Angel Reese emotional postgame | WBB | FIRST THINGS FIRST

you're back live from New York it's a

show that's 100% right about several

things it's first things first today I'm

not sure she had many doubters um I mean

we all know about Jay Williams comment

she can't be great unless she wins a

ring and I I think even deep inside he

would walk that one back I don't think

he has publicly but great if you want to

say the goat okay that's another debate

we'll get to that a little later but

great she's clear great saying Caitlyn

Clark's not great is like saying

Einstein wasn't smart I mean she's that

right she's that great all right I'm

proud I'm proud of that good no but I

think one thing because we can't assume

even though obviously the popularity of

the game for women is is skyrocketing we

can assume everybody knows where her

game is like all right so and

specifically asking me about last night

a lot of people may think she's just a

score because she broke BR the scoring

record right but when you saw last night

she is a great passer too she had in

addition to the 41 points to 12 assists

the game before against Colorado she had

29 Points 15 assists she's averaging 10

assists in the tournament and she is not

just and I don't this I don't mean this

in a negative way on these guys but like

a Allen Iverson Russell Westbrook who

would pass they would be looking for a

bucket draw attention double triple team

and kick it to a teammate kind of as the

last resort for assist she is a real

playmaker like she has court Vision she

throws pinpoint passes sometimes even

kind of passing players open like she is

a great passer in addition stuff

absolutely so I think you had to see

that and also if there was any doubt cuz

some people were throwing out Juju

Watkins Paige Beckers who's the best

player in the country it's clearly

Caitlyn Clark on a night when Angel

Reese was on the court who played well

but she's not as good as Caitlyn Clark

uh Beckers and guj gu played later that

night and Beckers was great and guju

played well too but clearly Caitlyn

Clark is the best player in the country

and this graphic kind of sums it up look

at the number of teammates so these are

the top 50 recruits when they were

coming out of high school like a four or

five star think of that way top 50

recruits I has two including Caitlyn got

one teammate one teammate who was top 50

LSU five of them Yukon seven South

Carolina 7 and she's running through the

tournament so this is somewhat like a

Larry Bird when he carried it's not

quite as much cuz Iowa's been a good

program but the way he carried Iowa or

Indiana State in 1979 so I thought she

showed all of that last night and and I

listen Kim muli is getting some

criticism today a little little bit of

it fair of why didn't you switch up the

defensive scheme maybe a FL on or more

Haley obviously was having a really

rough Haley had a rough tournament I

like Haley vanl I liked her attitude

last year I liked the way she stood up

for her teammates this year she shot 20%

for the tournament and had a rough game

offensively last night and defensively

had no answers so maybe Moi could have

switched some things up but one of the

reasons it wasn't just Blitz Caitlyn

doubler is because of what brw is

talking about such a good passer and

such a willing passer that wouldn't have

necessarily solved your problem this was

a legendary performance by a legendary

player this Caitlyn Clark has two career

40 Point double doubles or triple

doubles they have both come in the Elite

8 in back-to-back years last year

against Louisville and then last night I

Wilds your point yesterday that I didn't

mean to but jumped on you a bit on as

far as well as far as I wasn't really

trying to call you a fool I I didn't

like the discussion

that I was seeing which was essentially

saying her greatness is predicated on

this result cuz to me her greatness was

already established but part of that

point is correct which was you could

argue this was the biggest game of her

career bigger than the national title

game I know that sounds counterintuitive

but because this team had beaten her

because everyone came back because

because this was a team because now she

already was instead of last year she was

player of the year but the story and

Legend was growing now she is a legend

she's broken the records if you then

have the same team beat you back toback

years but this one before even the final

four it's going to feel a little funny

that that's the way the Iowa career ends

instead she had one of I don't think

it's the but one of the greatest games

of her career and here's the other thing

I'm going to say about Caitlyn Clark

which I think is so cool for women's

sports and for Sports in general but

particularly this moment for women's

sports I would argue for a decade Young

basketball players not all but many have

said God dog it I want to be Steph Curry

and no one has succeeded and now she has

that's a good take we have seen so many

male players be like I want to play like

that guy I want to take off the bounce

unbalanced deep threes and have them be

good shots and no one has succeeded

doing it Trey Young's trying young I was

going to BR he's not close he's not

efficient corre he doesn't winre right

and his his his shooting if you Trey

young his assist numbers are excellent

his shooting percentage will shock you

if you actually look at it even on those

great playoff runs his three-point

numbers she's she's doing it she is

doing it as like and it's to me that is

the cool part of this it wasn't it was

that basketball players men and women or

boys and girls in this case young people

looked at Steph Curry and a lot of them

said I'm not going to be the biggest

person out there I'm not going to be the

most athletic how can I be the most

dominant and the first person to kind of

pull that sword from this Stone it's

good take L is is Caitlyn Clark and that

and that that to me is so dope that she

was 11 years old I would imagine

watching Steph Curry be like that's the

game that I'm going to do while a lot of

11 and 12 year old boys are doing the

same thing and she nailed it first you

know what I liked Brew the makes are

obviously the makes she had a few misses

that were still intimidating I think to

LSU it's very steplike where it's like

I'm going to space the floor so deep and

we see Dame do it too so wide and so

deep where it's like now you're going to

have to cover me out here if I make it

you're like oh demoralized like what can

I do if I miss it there's still so much

space for me to operate um I thought it

was great BR do you have a final word or

you want to talk about my take again

from yesterday I want to hear you

so now we move on to uh where does

Caitlyn belong in this ranking of

alltime players and does she need a

title so yesterday I argued that she

does here's Sporting News there's a lot

of different rankings we pick Sporting

News um of Best Player women's college

basketball players ever number one

Brianna Stewart she had three players of

the Year won four titles with Yukon

Cheryl Miller sha Hol cloth Diana trasi

Candace Parker Britney grinder had two

players year only won one now Caitlyn

Clark has one player of the year last

year we expect her to Win It win year so

it be weird if she had zero titles so

here's why so here's why I don't think

she needs to win a title I want to I

want to be the goat I I think to be in I

think to where if you say I don't I want

to be clear here I don't look at Women's

Basketball like hockey where there is an

Undisputed clear greatest ever I don't

look at it like the NBA where there is

an Undisputed clear you can only make an

argument for three guys at most I think

that that list is a fair list and I also

think some people might throw subir on

there I think some you know what I mean

like that list is it is a lot of people

the reason that I think Caitlyn is

already in the conversation is and this

is why I get frustrated with the count

the ring stuff let's show that graphic

again if we could and again in your

mind's eye imagine that there's a two

for naith player of the year for Caitlyn

cuz she's going to win it this year and

then I'm going to add a column and

that's WNBA

teammates and obviously Cheryl is in a

unique spot because the WNBA didn't

exist so take she had tremendous team

yeah that's I mean that's what I would

Cynthia Cooper who might have been the

greatest WNBA player ever but okay so

what you're going to notice is oh so

wait the only person on the list who

doesn't have multiple titles is Britney

Griner she she's the only person on the

list whose entire starting five wasn't

future Pros Caitlyn Clark now again

Caitlyn's number could grow greater than

zero because you know when her class

graduates some of them could go on but

to me Brew she what she did last year

and I and I apologize for going along I

just want your opinion on this beating

South Carolina last year was more

impressive than if someone else beat

South Carolina and then Caitlyn won the

national title South Carolina going into

that game had won 42 straight games

since that game they've won 36 straight

games over the last two years South

Carolina is 72- one the one loss was

Caitlyn Clark South Carolina has Pros

all over it last year the number one

pick of the draft this year's got more

more people she has and we can show you

her numbers in her biggest games if we

can pull that up real quick hubs in a

leite eight final four National

Championship Games what she's averaging

it's she it's not that she hasn't shown

up it's not that she hasn't been great

in the biggest moments here's what she's

done in her four career biggest games oh

pretty good yeah and so that's yes a

national title Brew would be the guy I

don't want to say the icing on the cake

because I know it's more than that but

the circumstance in a team sport has to

be factored into it it's a great

argument brw is going to be with me

watch this yeah I I I was going to say

look it is cuz we're talking goat now

yesterday we were talking established

all time great which you and I were like

she's already that regardless of what

would happened last night goat is a

different conversation and look hon I am

not I don't claim to be an expert on

women's basketball history all right I

don't have the airtight foolproof

indisputed undisputable or indisputable

argument for the women's go like I do

for the men's goge right that was

airtight there's no de all right but for

this what comes to my mind the person

that comes to my mind is Cheryl Miller

me too because she was just I mean she

won two championships now she won them

when she was freshman and sophomore when

she had those great teammates but she

still wanted she was just legendary

mythical I'm not going to sit here and

act like I was watching her all the time

in the early 80s okay or mid 80s but

I'll say this and I have watched you

know a decent amount of the women's

college game and Pro game Caitlyn Clark

is the best player I've ever seen and

I'm keeping it to College I'm not

compared to W she's the best player I've

seen and you're right she is like Steph

she's very much like Steph Curry I mean

he's a great Pastor too you don't see it

as much cuz they're offense but she's

very much like Steph except and we were

talking about this before the show she's

the equivalent of probably a guy that's

six six in the in men's basketball cuz

she's six feet tall in women's

basketball all right so it's like that's

why she fills up the box score and not

like you know Steph doesn't really do it

because of his size and so I think she's

the best I've seen however Nick there's

not a basketball discussion I don't

think where we don't put when we're

talking about goat where we don't

include Rings it's not the end all be

all but we include Rings it's I can't

really say I can't say she's the

greatest college player ever even though

that's what my eyes tell me unless she's

got a ring and I was not Indiana State

not saying I was Vivian Stringer was

there you know they've been a a good

I'll be honest I know Stringer was there

but shout out toer they're not Yukon or

Tennessee but they have been a good this

is where wilds and this is wild was

making fun of me because he was like

your brain works like this on all things

like that that this is that I am not

just process over results on a lot of

things but also taking things to its

furthest logical conclusion which is if

if we are saying you can't be in the

discussion without a ring then we and we

are saying then take it further so if

she average 60 a game yeah no but so so

wait if I'll be impressive if she scores

60 and gets knocked out by Yukon P Pete

average like 40 nobody ever said he was

I understand that's a different that's

to me that's a different story because

we we were saying that he was playing a

selfish brand of basketball that he

wasn't playing winning basketball nobody

thinks that like that do you guys buy

into at all anything that the most

impressive win in the women's game over

the last two years yes was Caitlyn's win

over South Carolina it just came around

early but here's the thing Nick if she

averaged to your your point 60 then you

look at it like okay there's a clear Gap

the other names on that list that that

you both of you showed they're great

players in their own right too now I

think Caitlyn is better but it's not

like you look at them like she already

has by a huge margin the highest scoring

tournament ever last year if she makes

the final this year she's going to break

her own record in that so like she's

going to have the two highest scoring

tournaments ever if I guess my point is

it's like quarterback two games say it

again she's got to win two more games

but South Carolina South Carolina so she

has to so to be the greatest ever in

surpass all to do I'm just well again

I'm not even saying by the way if she

wins she is the greatest ever what I'm

saying is she that if you you cannot

have the conversation about who the

greatest female college basketball

player is without including her

there is not a definitive clearcut

number one I agree with you on Cheryl

Miller but that is just because it's

when I did my NBA list I was able to go

back and watch stuff I can't with Cheryl

I just trust I trust people right I did

I I was at Shmo holdsclaw Final Four

game when the Jolly girl hit all the

threes I watched women's college

basketball growing up I was at some of

those games so I feel like I actually

know a lot about the Yukon and Tennessee

teams I feel like she's the best I've

seen and the idea that well if this

South Carolina team that has lost once

in three years beats her after she beat

him last year she's out of the

discussion well she she can be in the

discussion discussion but that's going

to be I think it would be a

disappointment would it not yeah I think

that's going to be a point that she

can't overcome in the discussion I mean

South car win the title South Carolina

is the best team they've always they've

been the best team they should have won

it last year Friday 9:00 Yukon Iowa uh

okay talking about angel Reese now 17

points 20 rebounds and four blocks after

the game she opened up about the mental

toll of criticism and scrutiny that

she's faced take a listen Brew your

reaction well it's just very sad that I

mean winning the national championship

should be one of the highlights of her

life and for her to say she hasn't had

peace since then it's just it's just

terrible it's heart-wrenching all right

um and we know last year there was a

controver and that's to me kind of when

it began start doing this init people

jumping all over her and saying nothing

about Caitlyn Clark doing it that was

racism and I think it was classism too

cuz if she was some Suburban black girl

who was you know acted differently I

don't know if it would be as as people

would be on her as much so I think it's

unfortunate she's going through that

there was the article in the LA Times

that compared the the uh L the LSU

players the dirty debutant and I don't

think the author the writer meant it in

a pornographic way but people what you

Googled it and Kim Moy said it you

Google it it it turns to pornography so

I don't think he really meant it that

way I don't think he knew it because I

that wasn't the thing that came to my

mind I just thought okay he's trying to

turn a phrase but that is she's the

reason not that you know because she's

kind of the face of that team and he was

looking negatively at that team because

of what thinks about her and for her to

have to go through that like Kim Mo said

it is terrible that college kids have to

go through this now I will say this as

you become more popular and as women's

basketball is becoming more and more

popular they will also take get some of

the negatives that come with popularity

in terms of I mean LeBron James is the

greatest example he is an awesome player

obviously but with his stature has come

a whole bunch of criticism and scrutiny

that he has to have it should be

different with college kids and a lot of

times it is like when I wrote I would

not criticize college kids or certainly

High School yeah the same way Pro

they're not getting paid I know they are

now with nil but they're not

professionals and so it should be

different in that regard but it's just

you know it's unfortunate and a lot of

what she talking about also is social

media not just traditional media think

that's almost all of it I don't I think

the LA Times article was you know maybe

the straw that broke the camel's back

publicly I so here is I I say this as

and I don't I'm not trying to be preachy

and I empathize with Angel ree but I

have my my two older kids are same much

around her age I have an 18-year-old and

a 25-year-old this is what I say to them

this is what I say to young people

watching adults watching too but

particularly young people you got to log

off and I'm not blame bling Angel Reese

at all but those death threats the

sexualization I bet

98% of it if not 100% of it did not come

from her walking down the street and

someone's saying it to her it is people

who live in your phone who are

terrorizing you and I say this as

someone who has been in some ways in the

public eye for 20 years okay when I

started started the social media did not

really exist it grew as during my time

on on the air and about 6 years ago I

logged off and by that I mean I didn't

stop posting but I stopped reading

anything that is written about me

because it was driving me crazy MH it

was negatively impacting my mental

health y my interactions with other

people how I thought of myself as a

grown man who opted into the spotlight

for young people who are kind of all of

a sudden celebrities nobody's prepared

for it right and anyone that's like oh

ignore it I'm here to tell you it's not

ignorable if you read it that human

beings are not equipped to deal for all

of human civilization you did not have

to deal with strangers saying terrible

things to you we didn't evolve to know

how to deal with it all of a sudden

anyone in the public eye gets it and I'm

here to tell you it's awful for you and

if you if you consume it right and if

you consume it it will negatively impact

you the problem is Wilds the flip side

to it is the dopamine kick of the

stranger saying good things to you and

in order to get that you got to take the

other but it's killing kids literally

it's literally killing kids and so I

just I feel so terribly for

her I'll add just one one thing because

you you did a lot of like you have to

log off and I just want to contrast it

to what Bruce said about the LA Times

article the LA Times article was out of

bounds the author apologized in its old

school print media and several people in

Old School print media and on social

media was like that's out of bounds yeah

LSU coach like that's out of bounds

everyone's like that's out of bounds and

LA Times writer apologized that was out

of bounds the stuff that angel Reese is

going to have has to deal with on her

phone is

100x worse than that and there's no one

there saying that's out of bounds so

there is part of it where you're saying

log off there is a responsibility and

this is way out of sports and we

apologize but give us a minute there is

a responsibility to companies that are

making money off of this that're making

billions of dollars in Silicon Valley to

policing and regulating this whether it

is

by go legislative action or simple

disincentives that need to be uh cooked

in into these programs when the the the

fact that LA Times I just thought it was

the fact that LA Times was out of bounds

and everyone was like quickly squashed

it and the amount of stuff that was just

popping up last night well and when she

says sexualized I like what what she's

talking about is like like whack-a-mole

you can't block them all people on the

internet photoshopped her SI pictures

into pornographic images oh wow you know

what I those type and that is just you

know what I mean one of the the and the

death threats are too many you know bot

accounts to count and I know from afar

people can see it and say well you

they're not real death threats you do

are you actually afraid and I am telling

you as a near near 40-year-old man who

opted into the spotlight that it was

driving me crazy I can't imagine if I

was a 20-year-old kid who just you know

got thrust into the spotlight all of a

sudden and I have political figures and

anonymous people Everyone telling me

what an awful person I am it would drive

you crazy no she you're absolutely right

about logging up like I don't pay

attention to to the criticism I I don't

you guys know I'm not on social media

like that I post right I I post but

human beings are not meant this is some

somebody told me and I I totally believe

it for excessive I'm talking about super

excessive praise or criticism or

criticism and that is what she's getting

incredibly excessive criticism

on social media and it's easier for us

especially me cuz we didn't grow up even

you guys didn't grow up with social

media she did to her it's like

television like for us we can't even

imagine not having television to to them

that age that's what it's like but she

has to do it for her mental health as

you said uh more first things first

right after this we're going to talk

about the

Patriots is that good for your midle

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