On Saturday, just days before the WNBA Draft, presumptive No. 1 pick Caitlin Clark took the opportunity to shout out a former HBCU basketball coach on Saturday Night Live.
Clark appeared on the ‘Weekend Update’ skit with Colin Jost and Michael Che. The majority of her appearance was aimed at a tongue in cheek skewering of Che, who’s made jokes about women’s basketball in the past. But at the end of her segment she did offer praise for former WNBA players, including Cynthia Cooper who once coached at Prairie View A&M and Texas Southern.
When the fun and jokes ended, Che wished Clark a successful first season in the WNBA. She then took a moment to pay homage to WNBA players who came before her.
“I’m sure it’ll be a big first step for me, but it’s just one step for the WNBA. Thanks to all of the great players like Sheryl Swoopes, Lisa Leslie, Cynthia Cooper, the great Dawn Staley and my basketball hero, Maya Moore. These are the women who kicked down the door so I could walk inside,” Clark said.
Cooper is widely considered one of the top players in WNBA history. She led the league in scoring for three straight years as a member of the Houston Comets and led the franchise to four league championships. After her playing career ended she got into coaching that included stops as an HBCU head coach at Prairie View A&M (2005-2010) and two separate stops at Texas Southern (2012-2013, 2019-2022).
Clark is the back to back college basketball player of the year. Her Iowa team lost to Dawn Staley’s South Carolina team in the women’s championship game last weekend.
The WNBA Draft will air at 7:30 pm EST on ESPN and will stream at ESPN +. Clark is expected to be selected by the Indiana Fever with the No. 1 overall pick. The Fever is the last franchise to draft an HBCU player, selecting Ameshya Williams-Holliday from Jackson State in 2022. The draft will last for three rounds with teams selecting in the following order.
First-round draft order:
- Indiana Fever
- Los Angeles Sparks
- Chicago Sky (from Phoenix)
- Los Angeles Sparks (from Seattle)
- Dallas Wings (from Chicago)
- Washington Mystics
- Minnesota Lynx
- Chicago Sky (from Atlanta, via Los Angeles)
- Dallas Wings
- Connecticut Sun
- New York Liberty
- Atlanta Dream (from Las Vegas, via Los Angeles)
Second-round:
- Chicago Sky (from Phoenix)
- Seattle Storm
- Indiana Fever
- Las Vegas Aces (from Los Angeles)
- New York Liberty (from Chicago)
- Las Vegas Aces (from Washington)
- Connecticut Sun (from Minnesota)
- Atlanta Dream
- Washington Mystics (from Dallas)
- Connecticut Sun
- New York Liberty
- Las Vegas Aces
Third-round:
- Phoenix Mercury
- Seattle Storm
- Indiana Fever
- Los Angeles Sparks
- Phoenix Mercury (from Chicago)
- Washington Mystics
- Minnesota Lynx
- Atlanta Dream
- Dallas Wings
- Connecticut Sun
- New York Liberty
- Las Vegas Aces