Is Caitlin Clark the GOAT? A national title would ‘seal the deal,’ Dawn Staley says

In college at Virginia, South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley was an All-American point guard who willed the Cavaliers to three consecutive Final Fours.

But she never won it all.

That gives Staley a clear perspective on what it takes for a college basketball player to truly be considered great — or, specifically in regards to Iowa guard Caitlin Clark, who Staley’s No. 1 Gamecocks will face in Sunday’s national championship game, what it takes to be the greatest of all time.

“You’ve got to have a championship,” Staley said.

Throughout Clark’s dazzling senior season, there’s been an ongoing debate about whether or not the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer (3,921 points and counting) needs to win a national championship in order to be considered the sport’s GOAT.

Former UConn forward Breanna Stewart — who has a good argument for that GOAT title, given she won four consecutive national championships with the Huskies from 2013-16 — added some fuel to the debate when she told College Sports on Sirius XM that Clark needed to win a national title to be in consideration.

“Yeah, she does (need a title). I think so, “ Stewart said, per the USA TODAY Network. “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.”

Staley was asked about that debate Saturday in her news conference ahead of the national championship and agreed with Stewart’s take, emphasizing how she herself was an excellent college player but never won a title.

For Clark, “winning the championship would seal the deal,” Staley said.

Then she grinned.

“I hope to God she doesn’t,” she said.

How to watch South Carolina WBB vs Iowa

• Who: No. 1 South Carolina (37-0) vs. No. 1 Iowa (34-4)

• When: 3 p.m. Sunday

• Where: Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio

• TV: ABC

• Betting line: South Carolina by 6.5 points (Draft Kings)