By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Thursday was a good day for the WNBA’s Indiana Fever.

Because with Caitlin Clark announcing that she plans to enter the 2024 WNBA draft rather than use her free Covid year to play a fifth season for the Iowa Hawkeyes, the Indiana Fever are now in position to draft arguably the greatest player in Big Ten history, and one of the greatest to ever play women’s collegiate basketball.

Indiana has the first overall pick in the draft, which will be held on April 15 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

Clark is the overwhelming favorite to be picked first in the draft, and that is one of several reasons why her decision to turn pro makes sense.

As much fun as it would’ve been to watch Clark play for a fifth season as a Hawkeye, the 6-foot- senior guard from West Des Moines has nothing else to prove in college despite what former NBA player Jay Williams says.

Clark still has a chance to lead Iowa to a national title, but her legacy and her legend are already solidified.

She did the improbable last season by leading Iowa to a runner-up finish in the 2023 NCAA Tournament. It marked the first time that Iowa has advanced to the national title game.

Clark has since become the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer in women’s basketball, and she is now on the verge of breaking Pete Maravich’s all-time scoring record.

Clark also leads the nation in scoring and assists this season, and she has been named Big Ten Player of the Week 28 times during her career, which is a record.

Fans now wait in line for hours on the road, and some pay enormous amounts of money just to watch Clark play a single game.

Iowa also sets a new record for television viewership almost every time it plays.

It’s hard to think of another college student-athlete, man or woman, that was as popular and influential as Clark is now because there isn’t one.

Clark is clearly in a league by herself, both as a player and as a sports and cultural icon.

She has made triple-doubles, logo threes and no-look passes seem almost routine as a Hawkeye.

Her game is ready to be tested at the next level, and the best want to play against the best.

Clark might have become bored playing for a fifth season in college because it would’ve just been more of the same with her dominating inferior competition.

Some have suggested that Clark would take a pay cut by turning pro because she would lose the chance to make NIL money.

But that’s just silly because Clark’s brand and her popularity go far beyond what NIL can make for her.

Clark has an estimated endorsement portfolio of $910,000 through the companies themselves, which include State Farm Insurance and Hy-Vee, and not through Iowa’s NIL collective.

She doesn’t need Iowa’s NIL collective because her brand sells itself. She’s that powerful.

Clark will continue to make money wherever she goes, and her decision to turn pro will create new revenue streams for her.

As for Jay Williams, he caused a stir recently by questioning whether Clark has achieved greatness without having won a national championship.

Williams is certainly entitled to his opinion, but to suggest that Caitlin Clark hasn’t achieved greatness just because she hasn’t won a national championship seems foolish and narrow-minded.

If Clark were to return for a fifth season, her numbers would have been mind boggling.

But they also would have had an asterisk next to them, and her numbers already are mind-boggling without playing a fifth season.

Caitlin Clark has given her heart, soul and body to the Iowa women’s basketball program, but all good things must come to an end.

Hawkeye fans need to cherish these last few weeks as Clark puts the finishing touches on her Hawkeye legend.

Clark will play her final Big Ten regular-season game on Sunday when Iowa hosts No. 2 Ohio State before a sellout crowd at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Iowa is also expected to host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, so there still is a lot for Clark to accomplish in front of her home fans.

And while some Hawkeye fans probably are sad or disappointed with Clark’s decision to turn pro, hopefully, they will come to understand that she is doing what she feels is in in her best interest.

Caitlin Clark is ready for the WNBA and the WNBA is more than ready to embrace her.

The hope is that Clark as a generational talent, and with the personality to match, will have the same impact on the WNBA as she’s had on women’s collegiate basketball.

It would hardly be going out on a limb to say that attendance is about to soar for the Indiana Fever, whose roster includes former South Carolina All-America center Aliyah Boston and former Ohio State guard Kelsey Mitchell.

Clark broke Mitchell’s Big Ten records for career points and 3-point baskets against Northwestern on Jan. 31 and against Minnesota on Wednesday, respectively.

Just imagine how many assists Clark could have while playing alongside Boston and Mitchell, because as great as Clark is as a shooter, she is arguably a better passer.

Caitlin Clark did what she felt was in her best interest by signing with Iowa out of high school, and she is now doing the same thing by turning pro.

Her once-in-a-lifetime journey as a Hawkeye is almost over.

And, wow, what a joy it has been to watch her play.