June 13, 2025
Locked On Women’s Basketball: Becoming Caitlin Clark
By The Next
"Becoming Caitlin Clark" explores the historical and contemporary impact of women's basketball in Iowa
On this week’s episode of Locked On Women’s Basketball, Howard Megdal discusses his new book, “Becoming Caitlin Clark: The Unknown Origin Story of a Modern Basketball Superstar,” which explores the historical and contemporary impact of women’s basketball in Iowa. He highlights the influence of six-on-six basketball, which lasted into the 1990s, on modern WNBA strategies. Megdal emphasizes the importance of historical context, and also notes the significance of Caitlin Clark’s rise and the broader implications for women’s basketball. Megdal recorded the audio book himself, aiming to capture the nuances and sarcasm of his writing.
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Save 30% when you order “Becoming Caitlin Clark”
Howard Megdal’s newest book is here! “Becoming Caitlin Clark: The Unknown Origin Story of a Modern Basketball Superstar” captures both the historic nature of Clark’s rise and the critical context over the previous century that helped make it possible, including interviews with Clark, Lisa Bluder (who also wrote the foreword), C. Vivian Stringer, Jan Jensen, Molly Kazmer and many others.
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First, Megdal highlights the intertwined history and current achievements in the Iowa girls and women’s basketball ecosystems, noting the significance of past efforts in shaping the present.
“In 1925 Iowa moved to ban girls varsity high school basketball, as crazy as it sounds in retrospect,” Megdal said on the podcast. “All over the country states did this … [but] a handful of administrators [in Iowa] stood up to this, because girls basketball was already such a significant part of the culture in Iowa, and as a result, we had no gap in Iowa, no period of time where we didn’t see girls playing high school basketball.”
Later, Megdal reflects on his favorite parts of researching and writing the book, highlighting the inspiring experiences and people he encountered. He spent time at the Iowa Women’s Archive, which was a significant source of inspiration and historical context, and interviewed former Iowa women’s basketball coaches C. Vivian Stringer and Lisa Bluder, as well as the current Hawkeyes head coach Jan Jensen.
“I loved every bit of it,” Megdal said. “I mean, listen — that time in the Iowa Women’s Archive and being around those people who their daily charge is to make sure we know and remember and understand the impact of women in the state of Iowa was beyond inspiring. … Knowing I’m going to be able to contextualize it and capture this in a way that goes beyond just a deadline … meant everything to me.”
Tune in to Locked On Women’s Basketball
Here at The Next, in addition to the 24/7/365 written content our staff provides, we also host the daily Locked On Women’s Basketball podcast. Join us Monday through Saturday each week as we discuss all things WNBA, collegiate basketball, basketball history and much more. Listen wherever you find podcasts or watch on YouTube.
