ESPN host and UConn homer Molly Qerim took flak on social media and received a reality check from Stephen A. Smith on Thursday after she took a shot at Iowa point guard Caitlin Clark.
Qerim kept it classy, but she opined that Clark would not be the record-breaking superstar she is had Huskies forward Paige Bueckers not been plagued by injuries in recent seasons.
The “First Take” cohost is from Connecticut and graduated from the University of Connecticut, so her opinion on the matter is biased, which is understandable.
Still, she refused to back down after she claimed that Bueckers might be the greatest active female college basketball player.
During a discussion about Clark’s historic season, Qerim interrupted Smith when she said, “All I gotta say is she’s lucky this UConn team isn’t healthy, and that’s a true statement.”
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Smith cut her off.
“That’s wrong, Molly,” he said. “Molly, that’s excuses. … You would not be saying that if it wasn’t UConn.”
After some crosstalk on the subject, Smith again interjected, “Molly would not be bringing that up if it were not UConn.”
Do you believe Caitlin Clark is the best ever?
Qerim tried to strike Smith with a zinger when she said, “A hit dog will holler.”
Smith told Qerim to stop making “excuses” for why Clark is a superstar and why Bueckers is not shattering records.
“If Paige Bueckers didn’t basically miss two seasons, I don’t know if we’d be talking about Caitlin Clark the way we are right now,” Qerim argued.
Smith grumbled as the show then went to break.
Qerim’s hot take earned her plenty of reactions on social media:
You know women’s basketball is on the rise when ESPN starts tearing down great players for absolutely zero reason. https://t.co/c7Cheye9JW
— Chris Rosvoglou (@RosvoglouReport) April 4, 2024
Yeah. Caitlin would not be hitting logo 3s and making unreal passes? An injury to someone else helped her do that??? Are we for real? https://t.co/JX6EhTjbIj
— Troy Hyde (@troyhyde44) April 4, 2024
Well Paige did get hurt and Caitlin is the face of basketball. Next hot take…
— White House on the Hill (@whitehouseonthe) April 4, 2024
Yeah, if Paige doesn’t get hurt, Caitlin wouldn’t be shooting the ball so well or passing the ball at such a high level. 🙄
— Dean Harrington | Host of The Huddle | C12 (@DeansDesk) April 4, 2024
And if I had the Powerball numbers, Id be a billionaire. Whats the point here? Ifs and coulds.
— Clint DeHaven (@ClintDeHaven) April 4, 2024
Caitlin Clark is doing so much for Women’s basketball right now and here we have another woman in the sports industry trying to bring her down. Sad to see.
— Josh Lucero (@JoshLSports) April 4, 2024
The world will never know whether Bueckers would have blossomed into a historic player had she not suffered injuries during her sophomore campaign and missed a year when she redshirted last season, as The Des Moines Register noted.
Bueckers, the 2021 Naismith College Player of the Year, will face Clark, the 2022 and 2023 Naismith College Player of the Year, on Friday night at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland.
The Final Four matchup will either bolster Qerim’s argument or solidify Clark as the better of the two – and could help the Hawkeyes star make an argument she is the greatest to ever play the sport.
