ESPN’s Final Four crew of Rebecca Lobo, Holly Rowe, Ryan Ruocco weigh in on March Madness
There was a time in women’s college basketball where you knew who was going to play in the championship game. This year there are a half-dozen if not more teams that can legitimately win this tournament. It’s a significant change, right?
Lobo: We’re looking forward to excellent games no matter if it’s the Sweet 16, Elite Eight, and we know there is going to be star power in every one of those games because we have a broad base of stars and well-known stars. A lot is driven by that sophomore class — JuJu Watkins, MiLaysia Fulwiley, Madison Booker, Hannah Hidalgo — but you also have Paige Bueckers and Lauren Betts, who are household names now. It used to be where people might know one or two of the major stars. Now once we get to the regionals, it’s going to be this is an exciting team playing against another really exciting team and both of these teams have stars that I’ve known about, that I’ve followed, that I’ve heard about, that I’ve seen highlights of on “SportsCenter,” or that I am following them on TikTok or social media.
Rowe: During the UConn glory days, the 111-game winning streak, the 70-game winning streak, UConn and Geno Auriemma would travel around the country, and it really was like Taylor Swift. Everywhere UConn would go, there would be so much media, so many more tickets sold. UConn was to women’s basketball what Taylor Swift has been to that genre or Beyoncé has. What we’re seeing today in women’s basketball started there, and with Tennessee-UConn, and now we’ve moved up because everybody has had to get better, and the talent has been disseminated and there are NIL opportunities and the transfer portal. All of this is making the talent deeper and richer than it’s ever been, and you can thank UConn women’s basketball in some respects.
Rucco: To Holly’s point we have so many programs now that feel like premier programs with those stars. The brand of South Carolina now holds on its own regardless of who’s there. Dawn (Staley) is obviously a star even though she’s not on the floor. Joyce Edwards is someone I’m excited for us all to personalize, a really talented freshman. LSU has become its own brand because of winning a national championship, and obviously, Kim Mulkey being there and Flau’jae Johnson being a true star on the floor. … The thing that’s so interesting to me and unique about this year is the last couple of years even though there were big-time stars and great stories for us to follow, there was a real (question) of, is anyone gonna knock off South Carolina? This year, I really don’t have any strong conviction over who is going to win. You can make such a good argument for South Carolina, UConn, Notre Dame, UCLA, USC, LSU, Texas, NC State and a team like Duke could easily get to the Final Four.
Excited for tonight’s #FinalFour with a great team. @RyanRuocco @RebeccaLobo pic.twitter.com/rLywskoKiE
— Holly Rowe (@sportsiren) April 5, 2024
One year later, how do you reflect on calling a basketball game that was watched by a women’s college basketball record 18.9 million viewers?
Lobo: Ryan, Holly and I have been having this separate conversation over the last five years, whether it’s on the college or WNBA side. We feel like we’ve got this hidden gem, and when is it going to be discovered by more people? We’re sitting courtside seeing these amazing matchups in the WNBA Finals and college. Don’t just look at last year’s national championship numbers. I mean, look at LSU versus Iowa in the Elite Eight followed by UConn versus USC in the Elite Eight. Granted, we got a series of matchups a year ago where you couldn’t have asked for more in terms of star power and interest level in those particular teams and players, but it’s something we have felt was coming because we’ve seen how good the product is. It was kind of waiting for everyone else to discover what we’ve seen courtside for so many years.
Rowe: I think back to my days spending time with (former Tennessee coach) Pat Summitt. I remember Pat got offered a job to coach a men’s college basketball team. She basically said, why would I think that’s bigger? It reminds me that we have been building in women’s basketball for a long time. There have been so many great players, great coaches, great teams that came before this time. But it really did take a transcendent player for the rest of the country, who were not big women’s college basketball fans, to get intrigued and push this over the top. Caitlin (Clark) just grabbed the imagination of America in a way that I don’t think we’ve ever seen before. But now more people are watching and our ratings are up this year because they saw the product and realized how incredible it is.
Ruocco: There’s a phrase that (longtime ESPN producer) Tim Corrigan taught me a long time ago and it’s, be kind to the accidental viewer. The idea is the person who stumbles upon you, make sure you’re not assuming they know everything because they haven’t been on this journey for the first 17 holes. They are just there in Hole 18. It means we have to in some ways service the general audience who’s just tuning in because they’ve heard about Caitlin Clark, and they want to catch a glimpse of this phenom, and they have sort of peripheral knowledge of the story. Then we also want to make sure we are highlighting the storylines of everybody on the floor, and we’re making sure we’re informing our audience.
Let’s do some fun quick hitters. This is the easiest one. Will Caitlin Clark be on the 2028 U.S. Olympic team?
Lobo: If she’s healthy, without question, yes.
Ruocco: There’s no doubt. They might take her even if she’s not healthy.
Rowe: Yes.
Will JuJu Watkins be on the 2028 Olympic team?
Lobo: Yes, I think she will.
Ruocco: Absolutely, and I think she’ll be a starter on that team.
Rowe: JuJu is so intrinsically woven into the culture in L.A., where she grew up, how her grandfather was an activist in her community. I think it’s maybe the most beautiful story that will be told in the Olympics with her hometown love and interwoven connectivity in the L.A. area.
Will Paige Bueckers be on the 2028 Olympic team?
Lobo: I’ll say yes, and when you look at the Olympic team from this past year, some of the guards in that same position are aging out. A yes to Paige.
Ruocco: Yes, Paige will be on that team.
Rowe: I’ll say, if healthy.
Will Caitlin Clark win a WNBA MVP in the next three years?
Lobo: Yes, she will.
Ruocco: Yes.
Lowe: She dang near won one this year. I mean, she was like top three voting, right?
Will the Indiana Fever win a title within the next three years?
Lobo: Yes.
Ruocco: Yes. I think they’re going to attract premium talent every free agency period.
Rowe: The next three years I think is a quick timeline. Three years is too quick. I do love their signings. I love the championship DNA of DeWanna Bonner, and Sophie Cunningham is a great add. But I look around the league and think there’s a lot of vets that will have a lot to say about this.
Lobo: But some of those vets may be in Indiana after 2026.
The year is 2028 in the WNBA. If I gave you the choice, would you build around Caitlin Clark or Juju Watkins?
Lobo: I would build around one of those two because that’s three years from now. Since ticket sales are going to factor into this decision, I’ll probably go with Caitlin.
Ruocco: I honestly don’t have a good answer for which one because I feel like it could be different once we see JuJu with a pro season under her belt. Caitlin proved last year by the end of the season, she was a top-four player in the WNBA as a rookie, which we almost never see. I think it’s almost definite that we’re going to say that with JuJu as well. The reason I would choose Caitlin is that might be JuJu’s rookie year, so Caitlin would be more ready to be the best player on a championship team, If you ask me, say, seven years from now, the answer could be JuJu.
Rowe: I don’t think this year JuJu has gotten enough coverage of how improved her skill set is. I got to go watch her in person in early March, and I was blown away by how different she is as a player. I don’t think she’s getting enough credit for her jump of skill development and improvement from year one to year two in women’s college basketball. So if she stays on that trajectory, I think it would be really hard to not pick JuJu because she’s bigger and stronger. She reminds me of Maya Moore but with a better outside shot. Today, the ability to shoot from distance would make me choose Caitlin. But I’m telling you in three years, if JuJu takes the jump she did from freshman year to sophomore year, that same jump exponentially, my God, she’s gonna be incredible.
Lobo: I just want it on the record that my franchise would be located in Albany, New York.
Ruocco: Google it.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
Sports Business, Women's College Basketball, Women's NCAA Tournament
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