Ryan Ruocco and Caitlin Clark Photo Credit: ESPN
College BasketballESPNBy Arthur Weinstein on

Caitlin Clark, the Iowa Hawkeyes and their fans had a blast Monday night as they rolled over LSU in the Elite 8, but arguably no one in the arena had more fun than ESPN play-by-play announcer Ryan Ruocco.

Clark had yet another huge game in the Hawkeyes’ 94-87 win, with 41 points, 12 assists and seven rebounds. Ruocco had to dig deep into his bag of tricks to find superlatives for all his calls on the Iowa superstar.

Luckily, he has a huge bag of tricks.

Ruocco could not contain his enthusiasm as Clark pulled off her magic. For example, when Clark buried a long-range 3-pointer to open the second half, Ruocco exclaimed. “Clark… Oh my! From Schenectady!”

A couple of minutes later, Clark pulled up from even further out and nailed another 3.

“Clark!!!!!!!” Ruocco called.


A few minutes later, Clark again connected from behind the arc (her nine 3-pointers tied an NCAA Tournament record).

“Clark steps back, fires…YOU BET!” Ruocco said.


Ruocco, like Clark, poured it on late. With about five minutes remaining in the game, Clark hit another 3.

“Here’s Clark, pulls up, another deep one — IT’S GOOD!!!!!” Ruocco called. “She’s simply ridiculous.”

Ruocco finished out strong as Iowa celebrated its win.

“THE HAWKEYES ARE HEADED BACK TO THE FINAL FOUR,” Ruocco exclaimed. “GALACTIC GREATNESS FROM CAITLIN CLARK ON DISPLAY YET AGAIN.”

Fans enjoyed Ruocco’s calls. Those fans in upstate New York especially appreciated the shout out to Schenectady.

[@awful announcing]

About Arthur Weinstein

Arthur spends his free time traveling around the U.S. to sporting events, state and national parks, and in search of great restaurants off the beaten path.

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