Gabby Alfveby
As women's college basketball explodes on various social media platforms with a wide pool of talent, young athletes increasingly look up to star players, and how that impacts this young audience. concerns are growing.
Players like Caitlin Clark, Paige Backers, Angel Reese, JuJu Watkins, and Hannah Hidalgo are growing their basketball games every day. But that kind of honor comes with a lot of pressure, including people watching your every move.
Young players see these stars on TV or live in arenas and dream of being just like them one day. As was the case with many of these players when they were young. For players who are attracting attention, it is important to approach the game with a positive attitude.
It's good to compete, but can you have too much? Will players be able to cross that line?
The answer is, “Yes, they can cross that line.” Humility is important when you have someone who respects you.
No parent would want their child to be an athlete who acts out of character. I don't want my child to follow their behavior.
The increased focus on women's basketball this 2023-2024 season has led to more media coverage of the event.
brawl
The incident occurred on March 10th during a match between the women's basketball teams, the South Carolina Gamecocks and the LSU Tigers.
A scuffle broke out on the court after LSU's Fraujay Johnson bumped into South Carolina's Ashlyn Watkins on his way to the bench. Camila Cardoza, South Carolina's 6-foot-7 senior forward, defended a teammate and pushed the 5-foot-10 Johnson to the ground, resulting in six players from both teams being ejected.
The incident caused Cordoza to miss the first round of the NCAA DI March Madness Tournament.
Yes, we understand that basketball is a competitive sport and players are physically exhausted during the game, especially when they are under the basket or trying to steal the ball. However, there is no need for emotions to escalate to the point where players feel the need to engage in a physical fight.
This is terrible sportsmanship and players should respect their opponents and their skills, even if they don't like them as people. Fans follow both LSU and South Carolina avidly throughout the season.
Young girls and boys fill the stands with their families and friends. They look up to these players, but watching them get into fistfights on the basketball court isn't the best example for kids.
It's important for players to remain professional, no matter how angry they are with the opponent's physicality or the referee's decisions.
Dad always knows best
In all sports, referees sometimes make questionable calls. Or maybe it's not necessarily a questionable call, but players tend to argue based on what they perceive happened during a particular possession.
On March 23, Caitlin Clark's Iowa Hawkeyes faced Holy Cross in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
With less than a minute left in the first half, the Hawkeyes were called for a foul, giving Clark and his team a 19-point lead. Clark immediately went to the referee and began arguing with him about the decision.
ESPN television cameras panned over as Clark's father, Brent, yelled at her to “stop!”
Clark has been the most popular women's basketball player this season and has sold out many games. She broke women's basketball's all-time scoring record and transcended women's basketball forever, and she wants her children to be like her when they grow up.
It doesn't seem right to argue with the referee over a call, foul or not, especially when your team is already up by 19 points and you're coming to the end of a very close game. The final score of the game was 91-65.
I agree that Clark is a very skilled player, but he acted very immaturely in this situation. As the hottest and hottest female basketball player right now, she needs to be aware of how she chooses to carry herself on and off the court.
You can see every action and word that comes out of her mouth. All eyes are on her, including her children, who dream of being just like her someday when they grow up.
She needs to be more conscious of her actions if she wants to continue to grow her game and have people follow and admire her.
the match continues
One of the biggest indicators of a great athlete is their ability to shake things off and keep playing.
It doesn't matter if you flip the basketball over or shoot an air ball because you have to move forward to get on defense and rush back to the court. If you don't, you'll make another mistake and end up harming the other team.
Athletes are taught from a young age to keep their heads up and not worry about the last play. Because in the end, the game is still on.
Women's basketball players must always hold their heads up and set a good example for others.
Children learn by watching others and imitating the behavior of their role models.
As the love for women's sports, especially basketball, grows and more of the spotlight shines on these athletes, it's important that they stay positive on and off the court.