By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The Caitlin Clark story would be spectacular and exhilarating under any circumstance.

But for me personally, it’s even more special because of where she comes from as a graduate of West Des Moines Dowling Catholic High School.

I also graduated from Dowling 38 years before Caitlin in the class of 1982.

Two of my classmates were Kathy Nizzi and Tom Faber, and they would go on to get married and are now aunt and uncle to arguably the greatest offensive player in the history of women’s college basketball.

Kathy is an older sister of Caitlin’s mother, Anne.

I hadn’t seen Kathy or Tom in years until the post-game celebration following Iowa’s victory over Ohio State in the regular-season finale at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

They were part of a huge contingent of family members and friends that were on the court to celebrate the special moment with Caitlin and with her teammates and coaches.

It was so cool just to see them after all these years, but it was almost surreal to see them under the unique circumstances.

Kathy and Tom are part of the family support that Caitlin so often and so proudly talks about when trying to explain her rise to legendary status.

The Nizzi family was well-known within the Dowling community long before Caitlin Clark burst on the scene.

Her grandfather, Bob Nizzi, was that Dowling football coach and athletic director during my four years as a Maroon.

I used to sometimes visit his office to talk about sports or anything else that would come up, but mostly sports.

In fact, he was one of the first persons I spoke with about wanting to be a sportswriter.

I told him it was due partly because I was terrible in math, but I was also intrigued by the idea of writing about sports for a living, and especially about Hawkeye sports.

For me, it’s easy to understand why Caitlin Clark has achieved this level of success because I know about her roots and about her sturdy family foundation.

At least half of it.

I don’t know anyone personally on the Clark side, but the Nizzi family is top-notch, good people who have the best intentions, and I assume the Clarks are the same.

Caitlin’s aunt Kathy was everything I wasn’t as a student; prepared, organized, and determined to excel at a high level.

I remember her work ethic as being incredible.

She also played basketball, but if I remember correctly she only played defense during the final days of six-on-six when each team had three players on offense and three on defense.

It’s hard to even imagine playing basketball without being able to shoot.

Imagine Caitlin Clark only playing defense.

That sacrifice is beyond what I could have made in high school as someone that really enjoyed shooting the basketball.

Caitlin’s uncle Tom and I were basketball teammates at Dowling.

Tom was the star of the team our senior year as a 6-foot-9 center who would go on to sign with Drake.

He was big, but with quick feet in the post my father always would say.

My late father I always felt was a great judge of character and I remember him raving about Bob Nizzi as a person.

My father respected Bob Nizzi a great deal and vice versa.

My father appreciated that Bob Nizzi would take time from his busy schedule to talk with me in high school about more than just sports because my father knew that I would benefit from our conversations.

One of my biggest regrets to this day is that I didn’t play football in my senior year at Dowling, even after Bob Nizzi had called me at home to encourage me to play.

I let him and my father down, but mostly I let myself down.

Dowling did just fine without me that season, advancing to the Class 4A semifinals behind a hard-charging fullback/linebacker named George Davis, who would go on to start for three seasons as a linebacker at Iowa under Hayden Fry.

I’ve thought about the Nizzi family as Caitlin Clark has ascended to a level stardom never seen before in college and how they have helped her reach this point, along with the Clark side of the family.

I see now in Caitlin what I saw in her aunt as a fiery competitor at Dowling.

Whether it was sports or academics, nobody was going to outwork Kathy Nizzi.

Obviously, she wasn’t as talented in basketball as her 22-year-old niece.

But who is?

Seriously.

Caitlin Clark makes the game look so easy and fun, and she makes those around her better.

These past four seasons have brought so much joy and happiness to the Nizzi family, and it couldn’t have happened to better people.

The eyes of the nation will be on Caitlin when Iowa faces Connecticut in an NCAA Final Four semifinal on Friday in Cleveland, Ohio.

Every time she and the Hawkeyes play a game, it seems another television viewership record is broken.

She also was named the Naismith Player of the Year for the second straight season on Wednesday.

Caitlin would be the first to say that she is so fortunate to have the family support that she has, and she often says it.

I also had the privilege of seeing Bob Nizzi on the court after the Ohio State game and the first thing I did was give him a hug, and that’s unusual for me to show that much emotion.

I also gave Kathy a hug because it felt good to see a piece of my past having so much enjoyment in the present.

I joked that my biggest claim to fame was graduating in the same high school class as one of Caitlin Clark’s aunts and one of her uncles, but I really wasn’t joking.

We spent a few minutes on the court reminiscing and trying to make sense about everything that Caitlin has achieved as a Hawkeye.

Bob Nizzi also brought up our conversations from high school and he congratulated me for becoming what I had set out to be as a sportswriter.

It was so touching that he would remember our conversations and my goals after more than four decades.

Bob Nizzi looked so proud as he watched his granddaughter soak in one of her final moments on the court where she became a legend.

The family knew that Caitlin, a former five-star recruit, would be good, and maybe even great in college.

But nobody, not even her closest family members, could have expected this.

Sadly, it’s almost over with at most two games left to play.

Caitlin Clark has become a sports phenomenon and a cultural icon, and she has had lots of help along the way from good people.

She was gifted with talent, and with the right people around her.

That’s a powerful combination.