More To The Story: Caitlin Clark And Kim Mulkey Aren't Only Hot Topics In Women's Sweet Sixteen

Starting today, it’s Sweet Sixteen time in women’s college basketball, and the tournament games so far have been fun to watch.

I was at Monday’s second-round game in South Bend, Ind. between Ole Miss and Notre Dame and the victorious Irish packed the place at 2 p.m. on a Monday afternoon. Parking was an inexplicable nightmare, but overall, very nice show!

Of course, some of the sideshows in the women’s tournament, like the questionable antics of Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark or the threats of a lawsuit against the Washington Post by LSU coach Kim Mulkey, have been just as entertaining.

Iowa star Caitlin Clark (Photo: Matthew Holst, Getty); LSU coach Kim Mulkey (Photo: Eakin Howard, Getty).

Make no mistake, though, there are other great side stories out there, too. They're just flying a bit more under the radar than Caitlin and Kim, whose teams could face each other in the Elite Eight (a rematch of last year’s national championship game), if we’re lucky.

In the meantime, here’s something worth knowing from each Sweet Sixteen game:

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Notre Dame Fighting Irish guard Hannah Hidalgo (3) goes up for a basket against Ole Miss Rebels guard Kennedy Todd-Williams during a game in the second round of the NCAA Division I Women's Championship on March 25 at Purcell Pavilion. (Photo by Joseph Weiser/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

No. 3 Oregon State vs. No. 2 Notre Dame, 2:30 p.m. Friday, ESPN

Two of the best players in the country are freshmen.

One is guard JuJu Watkins from USC, and she’s featured further down. The other is Notre Dame guard Hannah Hidalgo. Both are part of the five-player Associated Press first-team All-America team.

That is an incredible, and rare honor for freshmen.

Hidalgo is a native of New Jersey and was coached by her father Orlando through both middle school and high school.

"Obviously, a lot of people think, oh, your dad's the coach. They're like, he's going to treat you so nice and give you whatever you want," Hidalgo told NPR in an interview. "I think my dad was the hardest on me for sure because he knew what I could accomplish. And he saw, you know, kind of so much greatness in me."

Hidalgo still turns to her father for guidance and affirmation. In fact, she prays with both of her parents before each game. She also listens to gospel music, which she says relaxes her and keeps her focused.

Throughout this season, Hidalgo has seemed laser-focused, leading the ACC in scoring at 23.3 points per game. She was named the ACC Freshman of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and the ACC Tournament MVP.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Yarden Garzon of the Indiana Hoosiers looks for a teammate against the Oklahoma Sooners during the second round of the 2024 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament held at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on March 25.  (Photo by Joe Robbins/NCAA Photos/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

No. 1 South Carolina vs. No. 4 Indiana, 5 p.m. Friday, ESPN

Basketball has been a blessing and an escape for Indiana sophomore guard Yarden Garzon this season.

Garzon is from Ra’anana, Israel and has spent much of the last six months worried sick for family and friends in Israel while the conflict with Hamas rages on. In fact, a friend of the Garzon family was kidnapped by Hamas and her 12-year-old child was also held hostage.

Playing basketball has allowed Garzon a temporary reprieve from her worry, but her family and homeland are never far from her thoughts. In fact, she has used her platform as a player on a Top 25 basketball team to bring awareness to the atrocities in Israel. 

Garzon, who ranks third on the team in scoring (11.5 ppg) and has the second-most 3-pointers (59), has worn wristbands during games in honor of Israeli hostages. During the team’s season-opening intrasquad scrimmage in front of fans in October, she was draped in an Israeli flag when she was introduced. 

"I’m trying to do whatever I can on this stage," Garzon told the Herald-Times in an interview. 

Garzon is in frequent contact with her mother Ruth, who is in Israel, and she finds comfort in knowing that her older sister Lior is also safe in the United States.

Interestingly, Lior Garzon is a player on the Oklahoma State women’s basketball team. But the Cowgirls did not make the NCAA tournament, so the sisters won’t get to have a magical March Madness moment. 

SPOKANE, Wash. - Head coach Tara VanDerveer of the Stanford Cardinal celebrates cutting down the nets after beating the Texas Longhorns 59-50 during the Elite 8 round of the 2022 NCAA Womens Basketball Tournament held at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena on March 27, 2022. (Photo by Jack Dempsey/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

No. 3 NC State vs. No. 2 Stanford, 7:30 p.m. Friday, ESPN

Even Tara VanDerveer had humble beginnings.

Now the winningest coach in college basketball history, VanDerveer once coached a JV team and drove the team van.

In January, Stanford’s uber-successful coach for the last 39 years, moved past Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski on the NCAA’s all-time list when she earned her 1,203rd career win.

Besides winning basketball games, VanDerveer has made it her mission to help women become coaches. In her nearly four decades at Stanford, she has never had a male coach on her staff. She hires all women, and many of her former players.

She also started the Tara VanDerveer Fund For The Advancement Of Women In Coaching, which creates coaching fellowships for women across the country. This year, the fund was set to provide $200,000 to 10 universities for those opportunities.

No. 1 Texas vs. No. 4 Gonzaga, 10 p.m. Friday, ESPN

There’s nothing better than humility and graciousness in sports. 

Probably because there’s often not enough of it.

Kudos here to Texas coach Vic Schaefer, who posted a sweet, hand-written message to the Texas women’s basketball team’s X (formerly Twitter) account, thanking fans for showing out so well (17,220 over two games) to last weekend’s first and second rounds hosted by the Longhorns. 

"You created a tremendous home court advantage for our student-athletes," Schaefer wrote. "But even more than that, you showed the country on national television how special the University of Texas easily is. Thank you again for your love and support of our program."

GREENVILLE, SC - LSU Tigers guard Aneesah Morrow during the SEC Women's Basketball Tournament Championship Game against the South Carolina Gamecocks on March 10 at Bon Secours Wellness Arena. (Photo by John Byrum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

No. 3 LSU vs. No. 2 UCLA, 1 p.m., Saturday, ABC

It’s easy to get caught up in Angel Reese and Kim Mulkey when talking LSU hoops.

But perhaps the X-Factor this year for the Tigers has been junior transfer Aneesah Morrow. The 6-foot-1 guard from DePaul has been a consistent rock in a season that has at times been, well, rocky for LSU.

I covered Morrow while she was at DePaul. She was the Blue Demons’ first option on every play, and often their second, third and fourth. Last year, as a sophomore, Morrow ranked fourth in the country in scoring at 25.7 points per game and seventh in the country in rebounding at 12.2 rebounds per game. 

Besides future teammate Angel Reese, Morrow was the only player in the country last year to rank in the Top 10 nationally in both points and rebounds.

It took a special player to be able to go from being the every-possession focal point to one of many great options on an LSU team in which six players average double-figures.

But Morrow made the transition seamlessly and is still putting up great numbers. She’s second in scoring (16.5 ppg), second in rebounding (10.0 rpg), and first in each of the following categories: field goals made (227), minutes (32.5 mpg), blocks (42) and steals (91).

Leaving DePaul in Chicago, the city in which she grew up, was a tough decision for Morrow. But once she made up her mind, she never looked back.

"It was tough. I didn’t really know if I wanted to go into the portal," Morrow said prior to the season on Media Day. "I contemplated for about a month, a month and a half. (But after) making my decision, I felt at ease."

Head coach Lisa Bluder and Caitlin Clark of the Iowa Hawkeyes can always count on tough practices, thanks to the guys on the "Gray Squad." (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

No. 1 Iowa vs. No. 5 Colorado, 3:30 p.m., Saturday, ABC

Ever wonder how Caitlin Clark got to be so tough? She’s been surrounded by a bunch of guys throughout her childhood and playing days.

She has brothers, book-ending her. 

Older brother Blake played football at Iowa State, and younger brother Colin played basketball and participated in track in high school. Growing up, the kids were always playing or watching sports together.

You’d better believe Caitlin’s brothers never took it easy on her.

Neither do the members of the "Gray Squad." The Gray Squad is comprised of male students from the University of Iowa who serve as practice players for the women’s team to scrimmage against.

Iowa coach Lisa Bluder has been using male practice players for years, even before she was at Iowa. In fact, when Bluder was the head coach at Drake in the 1990s, get this: Zach Johnson, the American golfer who has won the Masters and British Open, was a practice player for her!

Most women’s teams use male practice players. That’s not so special. But what is special for members of the "Gray Squad" is that they are helping to toughen up the best women’s college player in the nation…and maybe of all time. And on the occasions that they might slightly get the best of Caitlin Clark, well, that’s a big deal.

Usually, Will McIntire, Isaac Prewitt and Tyler Cooper guard Clark in practice. One day, Cooper used his long 6-foot frame to lunge at Clark and block one of her long-range 3-point attempts. That doesn't happen often.

So that’s definitely a story for the grandkids.

"Will and I know her play style well enough to give her a tough time without hurting her or going too far," Cooper told HawkCentral about guarding Clark.

Of course, Clark dishes it right back. Over and over again.

Iowa opponents…the Gray Squad feels your pain.

Said McIntire: "You watch the games and you’re like," I know exactly how those opponents are feeling."

LOS ANGELES - Southern California Trojans guard JuJu Watkins is congratulated by USC legend Cheryl Miller after a game against the Colorado Buffaloes on February 23. USC defeated Colorado 87-81. (Photo by Kirby Lee/Getty Images)

No. 1 USC vs. No. 5 Baylor, 5:30 p.m. Saturday, ESPN

Although she was born years after legend Cheryl Miller was at her prime at Southern California, current USC superstar JuJu Watkins is very familiar with Miller’s legacy. 

And I love her genuine interest in the history of the game and her program and for who came before her.

A native of Los Angeles, Watkins grew up knowing about the Women of Troy and about how Miller guided USC to the 1983 and 1984 NCAA national championships. Watkins went to games on campus as a kid and stared at those banners. She dreamed of being like Miller, and doing the same thing at USC someday. 

"Just thinking of how much she (Cheryl Miller) was able to accomplish in her team. I think that just understanding the history here. Wanting to kind of revive that in a sense and create a new era here at SC was really important to me," Watkins told Essentially Sports. "I aspire to do at least some of the things that she was able to accomplish."

Watkins is well on her way.

Just a freshman, Watkins is a first-team all-American and second in the nation in scoring (27 ppg) behind Caitlin Clark, and she has led the Women of Troy to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time in 30 years.

Best For Last…

And let’s wrap up on this, a great message for all the ballers out there, and, really, for anyone feeling bogged down in life. If you have about 3 minutes of spare time today, watch this video posted in 2022 on Twitter by Duke coach Kara Lawson. The video went viral.

No. 3 UConn vs. No. 7 Duke, 8 p.m. Saturday, ESPN

If Lawson hasn’t decided on a pre-game speech for her team against UConn, I vote for this one. It is so well done, it makes me want to lace up my high tops. 

I firmly believe that kids today need more messages like this. 

Lawson tells her players something that they need to hear again before a game against the surging Huskies: that they need to "Handle Hard Better."

"We all wait in life for things to get easier," Lawson said. "Think in your own life if you’ve waited for something to get easier. ‘Oh, I just have to get through this and then it will be easier.’ 

"It will never get easier. What happens is, you handle hard better. That’s what happens. Make yourself a person that handles hard well. Not someone that’s waiting for the easy. 

"Any meaningful pursuit in life, if you want to be successful, it goes to the people that handle hard well. Those are the people that get the stuff they want.

"So make yourself someone who handles hard well. And then whatever comes at you, you’re going to be great."