Before Caitlin Clark grew into one of the most famous basketball players in the world, Kate Martin had heard about Clark from her standout high school basketball games locally in Iowa. Martin, now on the Golden State Valkyries, joined the Iowa Hawkeyes two years before Clark, but it didn't take too long for her to learn the impact Clark would eventually have.

“She had come on a couple visits, and she was a big name in Iowa," Martin told Sue Bird on her show Bird’s Eye View. "I had heard about her ... I was like 'Oh this girl thinks she’s gonna come here and rule the world.’ And then she did, came right in right away and ruled the world, and I was like, 'Alright, here we go.'”

"I just remember we had that summer before and she was doing things that I had never seen anybody do before," Martin added. "As a freshman, to come in and have that kind of confidence, not everybody has that. I haven't really seen anything like this. We knew she was gonna be outstanding."

Martin and Clark would become close friends, and Clark later developed into one of the most popular athletes in the sport as she racked up accolades, and in some respects, did take over the basketball world.

Martin notes Clark’s success is no coincidence. Beyond Clark's talent, Martin credits her work ethic for helping her career get off to an incredible start.

"She was in the gym constantly," Martin told Bird. "The way she approached everything too, it was with a sort of excellence. It wasn't like, 'Oh I'm just going to go through the motions.' It was like, 'No, I'm here to kick your butt in every single drill, every practice.'"

More WNBA on Sports Illustrated


This article was originally published on www.si.com as Kate Martin Shares First Impressions of Caitlin Clark Back at Iowa.

Test hyperlink for boilerplate