Iowa guard Caitlin Clark shows off the trophy as she celebrates after an Elite 8 college basketball game of the NCAA Tournament against Louisville, Sunday, March 26, 2023, in Seattle. Iowa won 97-83. (AP Photo/Caean Couto)

They said she was too arrogant.

Too slender.

Too selfish.

Too indignant.

Too irritable.

Now, she’s just too good.

The entire college basketball world – and then some – stopped to watch Caitlin Clark and the Iowa women’s basketball team on Sunday night, as the Hawkeyes looked to end a 30-year Final Four drought. Could Clark deliver on the big stage? With the pressure on? Again?

The junior had already dropped 34 points, nine rebounds and nine assists on then-No. 2 Indiana in a Top-5 matchup at Carver-Hawkeye Arena last month. She had 30, 10 and 17 in a dismantling of 12th-ranked Ohio State for the Big Ten Tournament championship. She’d scored 20 or more points in all but three games this season, had seven or more rebounds 22 times, and dished out seven or more assists on 26 different occasions.

If her critics were waiting for some kind of regression to the mean, it didn’t happen in the regional final on Sunday night against Louisville. Clark was arguably at her very best — at least, so far — in recording the first 40-point triple-double in NCAA Tournament history. She finished with 41 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists in a 97-83 victory.

In the process, Clark became the first player — male or female — ever in college basketball to eclipse 900 points and 300 assists in a single season. She accounted for 70 of the squad’s 97 total points – a whopping 20 more than any player in a single tournament game. Ever.

Clark’s shooting is what draws people in. She has almost unlimited range, leading the country with 127 three-point baskets. Fans are dazzled by her ability to either pull up or step back and drain jump shots with remarkable accuracy from virtually anywhere. She swished eight triples on the Cardinals Sunday like it was nothing.

The court vision, though, is what truly sets Clark apart. We first saw it in high school, when Clark came to the Fort Dodge Senior High gym as an underclassman at West Des Moines Dowling and made no-look or cross-court passes that were sometimes too advanced for her Maroon teammates to handle. To this day, Clark still struggles with turnovers from time to time – predominantly because she anticipates a player moving to a spot on the court that even they don’t see or understand.

Clark plays the game with swagger. She tends to show emotion and frustration, reacting to the pressures of competing at an elite level in real time. It’s a demonstrative style that, for whatever reason, is more widely accepted on the men’s side, yet frowned upon by people who still expect a different disposition from women.

Part of that is the left-over, archaic double standards hanging on in our society. Part is the way the social media-driven sports world of 2023 operates, where every athlete is under an unprecedented microscope. Their words and actions are dissected and overanalyzed. Iowa’s megastar is no different.

Ask the former West Des Moines Dowling all-stater if she cares, though. She may rub some viewers the wrong way from time to time because she wears her heart on her sleeve, but truth be told, Clark has matured tremendously during her three years at Iowa. She’s obviously worked very hard on becoming a better teammate, better leader and better person — the type of cornerstone athlete who helps the Hawkeyes reach unprecedented heights as a program, rather than settling for a slew of individual records.

Mighty South Carolina is up next for Iowa. The Gamecocks are 36-0 and have been ranked No. 1 wire-to-wire. They will be heavy favorites in Dallas on Friday.

With all that being said, do you feel comfortable betting against Clark and the Hawkeyes at this point? You may have been able to question some of her shortcomings before, dwelling on the peripheral imperfections in her game, her demeanor or her attitude.

Not anymore.

Eric Pratt is Sports Editor at The Messenger. Contact him via email at sports@messengernews.net, or on Twitter @ByEricPratt