Dawn Staley: Title would cement Caitlin Clark's GOAT status - ESPN

CLEVELAND — South Carolina coach Dawn Staley had a remarkable college career at Virginia, going to three Final Fours, winning two Player of the Year awards, and setting the NCAA record for steals at the time.

So she has a unique perspective on whether winning a championship cements any player's legacy — the question many are now asking about Iowa guard Caitlin Clark as the teams prepare to meet in the national championship game Sunday.

When asked about it during a pregame news conference Saturday, Staley reflected on her own career at Virginia from 1989-92.

«I was really good in college, never won a championship,» Staley said. «You've got to win a championship. That's me personally. I had a great career. But it's always, did you win a championship?»

Staley pointed to comments UConn forward Breanna Stewart made in a recent interview with SiriusXM Radio, in which she said Clark needed to win a championship to be in the conversation among the game's greats. Stewart led UConn to four national titles from 2013-16 and is widely regarded as one of the greatest — if not the greatest — women's basketball player of all time.

«You are going to look 10 years back and you are going to see all the records that she has broken, points and stuff like that, but anybody knows your goal when you play college basketball is to win a national championship. So you need one,» Stewart told Sirius XM.

Staley agreed.

«I agree with Stewy when it comes to winning the championship,» Staley said. «We're going to talk about GOATs. I think she's the GOAT, to be able to win four national championships and to be MVP. I think she was MVP all four times.»

She then pivoted the conversation to Clark, who became the all-time NCAA Division I men's and women's