I'll be honest - when it comes to basketball, I can be lazy at times. I watch the NBA, I'll head to London Lions games and I'll take whatever information that my social media feed decides to feed me on any given day. This often includes the WNBA, but outside of that, I'm embarrassed to say that women's basketball doesn't often hit my radar.
I was pleasantly surprised, then, when NCAA women's basketball began to dominate all my usual channels over these past few months. Whether podcasts, IG posts or suggested YouTube videos - it was evident that something significant was happening in women's college-level basketball.
After digging a little deeper, I became engaged with the games in a way that I hadn't been for a while. Admittedly, it helped that teams were heading into their conference tournaments and the competition heat was turned up a little higher than usual, but the action had me hooked nonetheless. The action was fast-paced and intense. The players were playing hard and with passion. The level of play was high. Very high. Has the bar been raised in terms of talent, or has my (sometimes) ignorant brain begun to be reconditioned to appreciate the women's game more freely? I think it's a little bit of both... With the universal game-changing in the last decade (mainly thanks to Stephen Curry) and there being a higher emphasis on 3-pointers than dunks - combine this with the likes of Sabrina Ionescu making history at this year's NBA ASW - then the women's game is being appreciated more than ever.
In addition, this year's class of college players is impacting the game in a way that hasn't been seen previously. Angel Reese is playing with a flair and charisma that is reflected in her fiery personality. Juju Watkins is putting up numbers that are almost unbelievable with a consistency that's beyond impressive. Caitlin Clarke just broke the NCAA's 3-point scoring record that was previously held by Curry. Not only that but just watching her highlights will show you that she's no stranger to regularly pulling the trigger from the logo.
I make that last point, to say that one of the biggest obstacles to the progression of the women's game, is our attitude towards it. Sadly, they'll always be ignorant and, I hate to say it, blatant sexism towards women's basketball.
While these women break records playing against the toughest competition on the court, they continue to compete against a world of lopsided attitudes off the court that need to be broken too. More power to them.
