WVU’s Kellogg backs off Clark ‘packing’ comment

IOWA CITY, Iowa — West Virginia girls folk’s basketball coach Model Kellogg was looking out to fireside up his fan coarse on Decision Sunday, but if he had one more likelihood, he also can choose a particular formulation to defend out it.

After the No. 8 seed Mountaineers chanced on out they have been within the NCAA girls folk’s match early spherical games at IowaKellogg told the team and its followers, “Let’s obtain one after which ship Caitlin Clark packing.”

The Mountaineers will face No. 9 seed Princeton within the first spherical Saturday (5:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2) at Carver-Hawkeye Area. That game follows Clark and the No. 1-seeded Hawkeyes meeting 16-seed Holy Unfriendly (3 p.m. ET, ABC).

Chatter about Clark, the face of her sport this season, has been constant. Quiet, Kellogg acknowledged he bought some online ache from Iowa fans. He was asked about his comment again Friday.

“I’m now not a [trash-talker]. … I wasn’t out to score Caitlin Clark. It’s now not Model Kellogg versus Caitlin Clark,” acknowledged Kellogg, who pointed out that the Mountaineers have to middle of attention on Ivy League champion Princeton earlier than he can even judge about the explicit technique to late down Clark if Iowa wins too.

“With our seed is truthfully the put it started. That wasn’t actually the seed perhaps that some folks within the room have been awaiting, now not even from me essentially. So it grew to change into into, ‘OK, properly, let’s score previous that. Now let’s talk about Princeton.’ Then, undoubtedly, all individuals within the room is aware of Caitlin Clark.”

Hence, Kellogg’s quip. Within the intervening time, Holy Unfriendly coach Maureen Magarity acknowledged her young daughters are Clark fans and joked that her oldest also can relieve with the scouting document.

“They’ve watched extra Caitlin Clark games than I actually have,” Magarity acknowledged. “It’s hard now not to be in terror of all the pieces she does. I likely mustn’t assert this, but we did move to the [Iowa] bookstore the day prior to this. … There was one shirt we have been actually looking out out for that was about to be sold out, so we also can need needed to amass that.”

As for Clark, admire a kind of athletes, she might perhaps perhaps presumably also be fired up by perceived slights or hostile comments but did now not seem tantalizing about what Kellogg acknowledged. That is the last NCAA match for the senior guard, who leads Division I in scoring, assists and 3-pointers. Clark has experienced huge highs (leading Iowa to the 2023 Closing Four) and lows (being upset by Creighton within the 2022 2d spherical in Iowa City) and acknowledged she and the Hawkeyes also can peaceable be ready for something.

Clark also talked Friday about how the Hawkeyes discover that they are in a hard negate with several challengers. But after their ride going to the Closing Four closing season, they are ready for it.

“I’d assert our negate likely has essentially the most skills in it,” Clark acknowledged. “But at the the same time, we’re the 1-seed in that negate. There is no space off of us to insecure some distance from something. We are in a position to dangle with every single team within the country. But to boot, there is a kind of actually appropriate groups within the country that can beat us, and also you better advance ready to play every single night.

“Our neighborhood understands that. … I score now not judge any of us would desire a cakewalk to the Closing Four. That is now not how this works. It’s now not how it worked closing 300 and sixty five days. … We needed to safe ways to be resilient to score to the put we wanted to move.”