Caitlin Clark’s journey at Iowa is complete, and now she’s prepared to embark on her WNBA journey. Though her impact on college basketball has been great, not everyone is ready to champion Clark’s efforts.

Diana Taurasi, a former star at UConn and current WNBA star, recently forewarned Clark about the transition to the pros. She declared that “reality is coming” for Clark after her legendary Hawkeye career made her look “superhuman” against teenagers.

“Reality is coming. There’s levels to this thing, we all went through it,” declared Taurasi. “…You look superhuman playing against some 18 years olds but you’re going to come play with some grown women that have been playing professional basketball for a long time.”

Lynette Woodard, the former all-time scoring record holder for women’s college basketball, even talked down at Clark’s scoring record recently. Woodard declared her record cannot be broken “because you can’t duplicate what you’re not duplicating.”

Though Woodard was not referencing Clark’s prospect for the WNBA, her criticism of the scoring record is worth mentioning in this discourse:

For what it’s worth, Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder upheld Woodard’s record as the true record Clark was pursuing this season, and the Hawkeyes involved Woodard in Clark’s Senior Day festivities. Woodard also offered a clarification of her remarks as simply trying to show it’s “difficult to compare statistical accomplishments from different eras.”

Why the hate?

At the end of the day, no one is forced to like Clark. Some fans are undoubtedly struggling with a bit of “Caitlin fatigue” after she has dominated the sport for 2+ years now, but that would be fans.

It’s also true that players (and former players) in the pros of any sport sometimes issue warnings to young up and coming players. Plenty of top prospects have proved to be unable to cut it at the next level of competition, but Chiney Ogwumike has an issue with what she described as Taurasi hating on Clark’s current accomplishments vs. challenging Clark in the WNBA.

“Caitlin has done everything she’s needed to, even falling short of a national championship,” said Ogwumike on ESPN’s “First Take.” “Going to the W, it will be difficult. I play in the W, it’s one of the most competitive sports leagues in the world, so I think that’s what people are trying to educate the population to, but nonetheless, her talent is going to be uplifted and her teammates will uplift in ways we didn’t see at Iowa.”

FanDuel already has some interesting odds for Clark’s rookie WNBA season with an expected consensus that she will be the No. 1 overall pick for the Indiana Fever. Clark is listed at -280 to lead the Fever in scoring this season, and a more intriguing line has Clark at +210 to record at least 3 triple-doubles as a rookie.

Even with some of the recent hate, Clark has not let it bother her, at least externally. She has continued to express her gratitude for the legends that came before her and helped pave the way for the recent rise in interest in women’s basketball.

Clark also has her fair share of supporters, even from the ranks of the NBA. LeBron James urged fans to avoid those who “don’t rock with” Clark as “flat-out haters,” and Dwayne Wade thanked Clark for her efforts in raising awareness of women’s basketball even further.

Then there’s Dawn Staley, fresh off her 3rd national title for South Carolina and a win over Clark. Staley’s Gamecocks were 1-1 in head-to-head matchups with Clark, and she was not shy about proclaiming Clark as one of the GOATs of women’s basketball fresh off of Sunday’s win.

Ultimately, Stephen A. Smith sees things a bit differently with the recent hate toward Clark expressed by Taurasi and others. Instead of downplaying the hate, Smith described as an opportunity for Clark to show once again that she belongs among the upper echelon of all-time greats.

“That does give Caitlin Clark an opportunity to show: Excuse me: Yeah, it is different, and the level that I’m entering is different,” Smith claimed. “IF we see that, we might be talking about her in an even more elevated light.”

At the end of the day, greatness will always invite some critics from individuals who just want to tear others down. While Caitlin is no different, it is still odd to see someone like Taurasi and others act like gatekeepers when Clark has taken the opportunity to elevate the status of the sport.

Either way, Clark is primed to continue proving she’s one of the all-time greats at any level, whether Taurasi or anyone else agrees with it.