Iowa Hawkeyes legend Caitlin Clark has made a great transition from college basketball to the WNBA. She smashed through many WNBA records and also ended up winning the Rookie of the Year Award and was named the All-WNBA First Team.

Despite all of the outside pressure that she has faced, Clark has maintained her maturity and risen above all of the negative noise. She has simply focused on playing basketball and being a good teammate, which is something that Iowa fans know well.

Speaking of her teammates, one of them has spoken out with a very high opinion of Clark.

Lexie Hull recently appeared on the “She’s4Sports” podcast. In that interview, she dropped a quote full of praise for Clark and the way she has handled herself.

“It’s really awesome to get to know her as well, because, you know, she’s a great person, but you all have these expectations put on her and our team has put on her and fans have put on her. So to see her kind of be so mature in that transition, it’s been really awesome.”

As can be seen all over Clark’s social media feeds, her and Hull have become very good friends. The two are constantly around each other, even in the offseason.

All Hawkeyes fans could not be more excited about Clark and proud of her for the way she has made the jump to the WNBA.

During her rookie season, Clark ended up playing in 40 games, averaging 19.2 points per game to go along with 8.4 assists, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.3 steals. She shot 41.7 percent from the floor and knocked down 34.4 percent of her three-point attempts.

Clark is just 22 years old and has a very long future ahead of her in the WNBA. If her rookie season tells us anything, she could go down as one of the best WNBA players of all-time.

That would not surprise any Iowa fan, but there were many who thought Clark would be a bust.

Expect to see Clark come out even stronger in her second WNBA season. She wants to the best and her work ethic shows it. While she will continue dominating on the court, she will also continue being the amazing person off the court that she was with the Hawkeyes.

It’s good to see that all of the pressure and hype has not changed who Clark is away from the game.

Associated Press

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Atin Wright scored 18 points as North Texas beat Northern Iowa 68-48 on Thursday night at the NIT Season Tip-Off.

Wright shot 7 for 15, including 3 for 8 from beyond the arc for the Mean Green (6-1). Latrell Jossell shot 4 of 9 from the field and 6 of 6 from the free-throw line to add 15 points. Jasper Floyd went 5 of 6 from the field to finish with 12 points.

The Panthers (3-3) were led in scoring by Ben Schwieger, who finished with 13 points. Leon Bond III added eight points and eight rebounds for Northern Iowa. Jacob Hutson also put up eight points.

North Texas took the lead with 19:39 left in the first half and did not relinquish it. Wright led his team in scoring with 10 points in the first half to help put them up 34-21 at the break. North Texas outscored Northern Iowa by seven points over the final half, while Jossell led the way with a team-high 13 second-half points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

Indianola, Iowa — Santa Claus isn’t driving a sleigh this year in Indianola, Iowa — and instead of presents, he’s bringing joy and light, decorating every house on his block for the upcoming holiday season. 

John Reichart, 74, loves Christmas but there’s something else he loves more: His wife of 53 years, Joan. She was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s four years ago, and since then, the Marine veteran has made it his mission to keep making her memories. 

“If it wasn’t for my wife, I don’t know if I would’ve done it,” Reichart said. “But she wanted Christmas, so I’d give it to her. I’d do anything to make her happy.” 

Now there are tons of extra hands on his project, helping set up lights, decorations and more. A steady stream of admirers are also coming to check out the holiday cheer. 

“I think the whole neighborhood feels very blessed to have him in this neighborhood,” one neighbor said. 

“It’s moving,” added one spectator. “That’s what Christmas is all about.” 

Reichart said he can’t see himself stopping the tradition now. 

“As long as she’s OK,” he said. “And even if she would pass, I’m gonna do it in her memory as long as I can do it.” 

Joan said that she’s loved the holiday spirit her husband has brought to the neighborhood. 

“I didn’t know what to think,” Joan said. “But I’m glad he did it. I love him.” 

To thank Reichart and celebrate Joan, his neighbors have set up a P.O. box to receive Christmas cards. They’ll give the cards to Reichart to read them to his wife. 

CBS News is inviting viewers to send cards. To mail a card to the Reicharts, address it to this P.O. box: 

John Reichart
C/O Frank Ewurs
P.O. Box 133
Indianola, Iowa, 50125