By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – No disrespect to the 15 players who made the ballot.

And yes, I’m willing to recognize that my opinion could have some Hawkeye bias.

But the fact that Iowa freshman guard Caitlin Clark isn’t among the 15 women’s basketball players named to the Wooden Award national ballot makes absolutely no sense.

Clark helped to accentuate that point by scoring 35 points in Saturday’s 83-75 victory over Nebraska on Senior Day at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

It marked the 11th time this season that Clark, a graduate of West Des Moines Dowling Catholic, has scored at least 30 points in a game. She is the first freshman woman in this century to reach 11 30-point performances.

Clark entered this week as the nation’s leader in total points, recording 564 on the season. She also ranks second in total assists (149), assists per game (7.1), points per game (26.9), 3-pointers made (82), triple doubles (1), and 3-point field goal attempts (202).

And her team is in position to make the NCAA Tournament with records of 15-8 overall and 11-8 in the Big Ten.

The Iowa women’s basketball Twitter account called Clark’s snub a glaring omission, and that’s pretty accurate.

UCONN’s Paige Bueckers is the only freshman among the 15 players on the ballot, and she’s deserving.

Bueckers has led UCONN to a 21-1 record and a No. 1 ranking in the Associated Press poll.  She also joined former UCONN star Maya Moore as the only women to sweep Big East player and freshman of the year awards in the same season.

Bueckers leads UCONN in scoring (19.8), assists (6.2), steals (2.4), and 3-point shooting (47.6).

Bueckers was considered by many as the top high school recruit in the country last season, while Clark was ranked fourth in the 2020 senior class by ESPN.

Both players have been as good as advertised, or maybe even better.

Bueckers without question has the edge over Clark in team success, but Clark has the advantage in scoring and assists.

Clark is also a major reason why Iowa is in position to make the NCAA Tournament. She hardly is a solo act, but it’s hard to imagine Iowa being in this position without Clark leading the way.

Clark being a freshman probably didn’t help her cause, and it also seems that the traditional powerhouse programs get the benefit of the doubt when it comes to individual postseason awards.

If it would’ve been a top-five list and Clark didn’t make the cut, okay, that would be understandable.

But a top-15 list without Clark just seems unfair.

Because what more does she have to do?

Clark’s statistics are similar to what Iowa senior center Luka Garza is doing on the men’s side.

Garza also leads the nation in scoring and is considered the leading candidate for National Player of the Year, and deservedly so.

It probably helps that Garza is a senior because he’s had time to build his brand at the collegiate level, while Clark is just starting to build her brand.

These postseason awards are so subjective, and there might even be some regional bias that impacts the selection process.

But whatever the case, it’s ridiculous to suggest that there are 15 players who are more deserving to be on the Wooden Award national ballot than Caitlin Clark.